Obesity is something I've never really understood. I come from a long line of skinny people. In my extended family I have one aunt who was at one stage obese, but that was because she was put on meds for a kidney problem and they totally killed her metabolism. Apart from her (and she returned to normal when she was better) no blood relative could ever be described as more than 'stout'. Same goes for my friends. I just don't know any fat people.Of course it could be prejudice; from an early ...

Americans believe their president is a vampire and they long to see him suck the blood of Muslims. It sounds impossible, even implausible. But the evidence is in and it is dramatic. An entire rodeo stadium cheered the declaration of faux-journalist Borat Sagdiyev when he shouted out (and I paraphrase, because I didn't memorise the lines) "I hope that George Bush will drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq". An entire rodeo stadium full of people. And that's what, 5000 ...

There's a quiet revolution going on in the third world, and it's name is micro-credit. The concept is simple. Small loans with no collateral are granted to those who need it most - small stallkeepers, rickshaw drivers, basically anyone who has a pittance to their name but could turn their lives around if only they had a little capital. The amounts are generally tiny in real terms, perhaps just enough to buy a new cart or more profitable stock. The aim is to allow for commercial expansion ...

Steve Irwin died today. Rumours have it he was killed by a stingray sting to the heart. Is anyone surprised he died to one of the animals he spent his entire life pissing off? It's almost poetic justice.

It wasn't until the recent flood of articles on Joeuser about the cartoon incident and its follow-up that I came to this revelation. But the words of brave advocates on this blog site have persuaded me - there is no difference between a Muslim who explodes a bomb and a Muslim who a)doesn't know it happened, b)is appalled or c)doesn't care. They're all the same! I don't know who exactly I have to thank for this revelation, but it really makes my life easier to be able to combine Laska...

As most are probably aware, Bali bomb suspect Abu Bakar Bashir was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison for his involvement in an 'evil conspiracy'. Naturally the US and the Australian governments complained through both official channels and the press about the lightness of the sentence. But that's not the interesting bit. What I found more entertaining was Mr Natalegawa's response: Mr Natalegawa says Indonesia, unlike many countries, has processed its terrorism suspects through...

I doubt any Americans have heard of this story, so unless you have this is probably just for the Aussies. Tune out now if you are easily confused by foreign mutterings. The imminent release of Habib by the US military has created a few small problems for our beloved leader. With his release the door is now open for charges of wrongful imprisonment to be launched through the courts against the US government. The failure of such actions is nigh-on guaranteed, particularly with the Howard ...

I'm sure we've all seen the dramatic footage from NBC and its worldwide affiliates of the US marine shooting an unarmed and seriously wounded Iraqi (from style of dress and surrounding equipment almost certainly a rebel). The fading to black with the inclusion of full audio was particularly dramatic, and certainly got my attention as I worked on the news last night. But is a war crimes tribunal really necesary for the young man who pulled the trigger? Some who've probably pigeonholed me ...

I found this article in my local newspaper this morning and thought it summed up fairly well my own opinions on the problem of terrorism, although I have a few reservations I'll add later if this article doesn't sink. Some might recognise Ziauddin Sardar's name from his collaborative work with Merryl Wyn Davies, Why Do People Hate America? but to those of you who don't, I recommend looking into some of the stuff he writes. It can be quite interesting and possibly enlightening. My favou...