Let's vote this Celebrity Survivor off our island

There has been a lot of criticism of David Oldfield over the years, and the latest thing he's being hammered in the press is perhaps his most innocuous. He's taken two days off from Parliament to film Celebrity Survivor in Vanuatu. But personally, I welcome the idea of David Oldfield not being in Macquarie St, having input into anything resembling policy. In fact, I can't think of anything better NSW taxpayers could do with Oldfield than dump him permanently on a remote island.

Oldfield, of course, was Pauline Hanson's svengali for a time before he dumped her to run for the NSW Upper House on the One Nation ticket. He then cynically spun off One Nation NSW into its own independent entity, meaning it didn't go down the gurgler when Hanson herself did. In so doing also achieved something that his notional leader never did – getting elected on a One Nation ticket. Given that pedigree you can see how badly Oldfield must have wanted publicity if he was willing to travel to an island where he'd be surrounded by people with dark skin.

At a time when our sensitivity on racism issues is appropriately high – ask Dean Jones – I hate to see a man who was once involved with a controversial hate-speech site (muslimterrorists.com) being given this kind of soft publicity. Seven put Pauline on Dancing With The Stars, and Oldfield is even more noxious. Pauline may have been prejudiced, but she was also naive. Oldfield saw a successful brand and used it to catapult himself into a cushy position. I wonder he was ever even particularly sympathetic to her politics, as opposed to seeing them for the electoral gold they briefly were.

As for Celebrity Survivor, it sounds fascinating. I'm particularly keen to see how self-styled white witch Fiona Horne uses her magic in extreme conditions. If she's starving, surely she can just conjure up a three-course dinner?

She's accused the host Dicko of being sexist, which has – suuuurely coincidentally – gotten the show lots of handy publicity. What are the odds of Dicko having problems with his attitude towards women? Pretty high if you ask Paulini.

Imogen Bailey, the FHM modelette, rushed to Dicko's defence. (Oddly enough, as a swimsuit model, she isn't so sensitive about issues such as objectificatio.) Apparently she fought with Horne throughout the series, and may well have narrowly avoided been transformed into a toad. (That is, of course, unless the white witch thing is rubbish. What are the chances?!) It'll be fascinating to see Bailey in an environment where she's not surrounded by hyperventilating adolescents. Expect lots of glistening swimsuit shots and not a great deal else.

So – Celebrity Survivor looks quite compelling. I just don't think David Oldfield should be on it. He's not a celebrity, he's either a fascist or a cynical opportunist, or most likely a mix of both. Only an incredibly small, and fairly misguided, proportion of NSW ever even voted for him. The bar for celebrities in reality TV is usually set incredibly low, but Oldfield is well below even that. I can only hope he doesn't outwit, outplay or outlast. My wish is that, as he will be after our next state election, he's just plain out.



Dominic Knight

Call that a stoush? Not by Keating's standards

So, the Coalition's toughest enforcer, Wilson "Ironbar" Tuckey, has taken on Kim "Bomber" Beazley! They were inches away from each other's faces this morning, and quite possibly on the verge of fisticuffs. I watched the clip, eager for a good old-style blue – and all we got was the exchanging of some of the lamest insults ever to disgrace the Australian Parliament. "Weak sop" indeed.

First Beazley tells Tuckey to "take his pills". What a dull, cliched putdown! The man has the biggest vocabulary in the Australian Parliament, a mental word Rolodex so big that it's an electoral liability, and that's the best he can do? What a woeful performance.

It made me nostalgic for Mark Latham, whose "conga line of suckholes" was a more effective attack on a toadying government than anything Beazley's said in his three hundred-odd years as Opposition Leader.

Then Beazley tried to get his talking points out, saying ""Why don't you take your weak, worthless self in there with the weak, worthless piece of legislation."

What kind of attack on the border protection legislation is that? We're talking about legislation that even many Liberals feel is too harsh. Petro Georgiou called it "the most profoundly disturbing piece of legislation I have encountered". It's a bill that will place women and children in detention again. It's a cruel piece of legislation, and Beazley calls it weak? Although it may well be worthless.

Then Tuckey called him a "fat so-and-so". Yes, Beazley's rotund, and it's probably a touch tacky to comment on that – although Tuckey isn't exactly svelte. But "so-and-so"? The man's frothing at the mouth with anger and the best he can come up with is "so-and-so"? I reckon some of Beazley's closest friends would acknowledge he's a "so-and-so".

I've commented on how drab our current crop of politicians is, and this insipid exchange – probably the day's top news story – only confirms it. What a depressingly bland political landscape we have when even the firebrand who once flogged a customer (whom Wikipedia claims was Aboriginal) in his pub with a piece of electrical cable can't muster an insult better than "so-and-so".

It didn't used to be this way. You want to see some good insults? Here's what the maestro, Paul Keating said to Wilson Tuckey:

"...You stupid foul-mouthed grub."

"Shut up! Sit down and shut up, you pig!"

"You boxhead you wouldn't know. You are flat out counting past ten."

There are plenty more where that came from. Here are some of Keating's finest, which I've taken from his online insult archive, originally started by some UWS students. Enjoy:

On former Liberal and Opposition Leader (now Prime Minister), John Howard (right):



"What we have got is a dead carcass, swinging in the breeze, but nobody will cut it down to replace him." (Wasn't that wrong in hindsight?)



"He's wound up like a thousand day clock..."

"...the brain-damaged Leader of the Opposition..."

(Of his 1986 leadership) "From this day onwards, Howard will wear his leadership like a crown of thorns, and in the parliament I'll do everything to crucify him."

"He is the greatest job and investment destroyer since the bubonic plague."

"But I will never get to the stage of wanting to lead the nation standing in front of the mirror each morning clipping the eyebrows here and clipping the eyebrows there with Janette and the kids: It's like 'Spot the eyebrows'."

"I am not like the Leader of the Opposition. I did not slither out of the Cabinet room like a mangy maggot..."

"He has more hide than a team of elephants."

"I do not want to hear any mealymouthed talk from the Member for Benellong."

"The principle saboteur, the man with the cheap fistful of dollars."

"Come in sucker."

During Great Debate '96: "You're so rude!"

On Former Leader of the Opposition, John Hewson:



(His performance) is like being flogged with a warm lettuce.

He always turns around when I drop one on him. He can't psychologically handle it.

I was implying that the Honorable Member for Wentworth was like a lizard on a rock - alive, but looking dead.

Yesterday, on a personal matter against me, we had old dozy over there, the Honourable Member for Wentworth.

I have a psychological hold over Hewson...He's like a stone statue in the cemetery.

I'm not going to be fairy flossed away as my opposite number, John Hewson, is prepared to be fairy flossed away by some spaced out, vacous ad agency.

I'd put him in the same class as the rest of them: mediocrity.

This is the sort of little-boy, stamp your foot stuff which comes from a financial yuppie when you shoe him into parliament.

Hewson's only made the grade on paid advertisements. He's put me under no pressure at all. The only one who's put us under pressure on any issue is Peacock. He's an old cynic and he goes for the issues. Hewson's on television a lot but he hasn't put me under any pressure.

On former Liberal Party Leader and Shadow Treasurer, Andrew Peacock:



"...what we have here is an intellectual rust bucket."

"He, as Foreign Minister, was swanning around the United States of America with Shirley MacLaine or trying to crash one of Ted Kennedy's parties...and he was trying to play statesman...while he swanned around, and then he made a cowardly attack upon the former Prime Minister before slinking back into his cabinet."

"...if this gutless spiv, and I refer to him as a gutless spiv..."

"...the Leader of the Opposition's inane stupidities."

"He could not rise above his own opportunism or his incapacity to lead."

"I suppose that the Honourable Gentleman's hair, like his intellect, will recede into the darkness."

"He represents nothing and nobody."

"You've been in the dye pot again, Andrew."

"The Leader of the Opposition is more to be pitied than despised, the poor old thing." "The Liberal Party ought to put him down like a faithful dog because he is of no use to it and of no use to the nation."

"We're not interested in the views of painted, perfumed gigolos."

"It is the first time the Honourable Gentleman has got out from under the sunlamp."

"Bib and Bub. The Leader of the Opposition and his Deputy."

"...a fop such as the present Leader of the Opposition."

On Former Shadow Treasurer, Jim Carlton:



Jim Carlton: "Madame Speaker I ask that the offensive term used by the Treasurer be withdrawn."

Keating: "I withdraw it. I wouldn't hurt his feelings for quids. The fact is that the farmer..."

Allen Rocher: "On a point of order Madame Speaker; Can you please inform the house whether the Treasurer withdrew his comment?"

Keating: "Of course I did. I wouldn't offend Old Rosie over there."

"I was nearly chloroformed by the performance of the Honorable Member for Mackellar. It nearly put me right out for the afternoon."

On Former Labor Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam:



"In terms of the Labor agenda this government has left every other Labor government bare arsed. No other government even gets within cooee of it. We have a cabinet which has a degree of economic sophistication which puts the Whitlam government into the cavemen class in economic terms."

In conversation with Whitlam:

Whitlam: "That was a good speech. You should go back comrade, and get yourself an honours degree."

Keating: "What for ? Then I'd be like you."

On Former National Party Leader, Ian Sinclair:



"...this piece of vermin, the leader of the National Party."

"What we have as a leader of the National Party is a political carcass with a coat and tie on."

On Liberal, Ken Aldred:



"... the brain-damaged Honorable Member for Bruce made his first parliamentary contribution since being elected, by calling a quorum to silence me for three minutes."

Paul John Keating. Now there was a politician who knew his way around an insult.



Dominic Knight



Image: Sky News

TV's getting dodgy

Poor Yasmin. First she can't find a guy to marry her, then her TV network dumps her. The network has agreed to pay for Yasmin's wedding (once she finds someone), so she's probably done OK out of the whole debacle. The odds of a made-for reality- TV wedding enduring are probably even slimmer than those on of Shane Warne's next marriage.

The show's problem was there was no competition. If they'd had a dozen brides fighting over a prospective groom, viewers might have been interested. But when the only conflict was within Yasmin's tedious psyche, it's not surprising they switched off.
So one appalling TV program departs, only to be replaced with a far greater evil: late-night quizzes.
The first of these was Big Brother Up-Late, in which Mike Goldman mixed obvious call-in word puzzles with scintillating footage of housemates sleeping. It's amazing Adults Only attracted so much controversy when by any quality standard, Up-Late was far more offensive.

This execrable effort spawned the Up-Late Game Show, which saved housemate Hotdogs from the total obscurity he deserved, instead giving him near-total obscurity as the frontman for 90 minutes of tedious guessing games. Its success – financial, not critical – has inspired Nine and Seven to follow suit with the near-identical Quizmania and Midnight Zoo respectively.

Viewers once had some quality options, such as David Letterman's The Late Show, before it got cut back. Now all three commercial networks broadcast late-night inanity.
These shows' success relies on low production values and their low-rent hosts' ability to pad. The secret? Constantly exhorting viewers to call and then stretching each puzzle over several ad breaks so they don't have to give too much money away.

We've long had local content rules, but it's high time we enforced quality content rules on free-to-air TV. Television licences are precious and anyone devoting their schedules to con viewers into making expensive phone calls should have them revoked.
Public television isn't much of an alternative. SBS has an assortment
of foreign-language news and late-night soft-porn and the ABC broadcasts the one late-night show that's even duller than the quizzes, Order in the House.

The only people to benefit from the quizification of late night TV are the networks, who are cashing in, and insomniacs. Going to sleep never looked so good. I'd even rather watch Yasmin.

Read more of Dominic Knight on the Radar blog at radar.smh.com.au

Meet The Other Iraq!

Marketing is a truly difficult art. And changing consumer perceptions is perhaps its trickiest aspect. When there's a negative association with your product in the minds of the public, it can be extremely hard to dispel. Pity, then, the people trying to attract Western tourists to Iraq.

I saw in the Mess-o-potamia (and no, that pun never gets old) segment on last night Daily Show that the Kurds have set up an ingenious marketing plan to attract visitors and investors to Kurdistan, which has been a peaceful, autonomous region since 1992. It was the only meaningful progress made in the first Gulf War – well, except the decommissioning of Saddam's WMDs, which we all now know was completely successful.

The only tiny marketing issue is that even though it's another country in practice, Kurdistan is technically still part of Iraq. Which is not exactly the world's favorite place for a relaxing break. So how do you convince people to come? Why, set up TheOtherIraq.com.

Or, as they put it:

It's spectacular.

It's peaceful.

Welcome to Iraqi Kurdistan.
Where democracy has been practiced for over a decade. It's not a dream.
It's the other Iraq.

That's right, folks – the deights of the civilised, peaceful bit of the unremitting hellhole that is Iraq are beautifully showcased for the world's English speakers at this site. Did you know that:

• There are less than 200 Coalition troops in Kurdistan? (i was wondering how this was reassuring, exactly – and then twigged that of course they're the ones whose presence leads to unrest because insurgents want to blow them up.)
• It's a democracy. I don't mean like how regular Iraq is, I mean it's a place where people actually vote for their leaders without the threat of being made to explode.
• No Westerners have been kidnapped or murdered in their territory for, oh, ages. They decline to explain whether that's because virtually none have gone there.

I particularly enjoyed the video clips, especially the one where a little girl welcomes you to her homeland with an arty white-light-flooding effect that led TDS' Jon Stewart to suggest that she must be the one who had those pesky WMDs all along.

There's also lots of information on the unfortunate Kurds. Compared to being mustard-gassed by Saddam, having to attract tourists to their now-stable region is a cinch.

The establishment of a de facto independent Kurdistan is also a bitter reminder of how much more successfully the first Gulf War achieved its more modest aims, and sensibly limited Saddam's ability to harm his neighbours, than the current campaign, which just assumed a kind of Insta-Democracy would result.

So, if you're looking for a nice country to visit or do business, and can ignore its extreme proximity to the world's most dangerous non-Lebanese territory, do consider The Other Iraq!

Yeah, that slogan really doesn't work, does it. What about NotReallyIraq.com? Or TechnicallyIraqButSafe.com? Or my favourite - for the American market – ICantBelieveItsIraq.com?



Dominic Knight

Hey, Alleged Enemy Combatant's Dad!

Terry Hicks has controversially been nominated as Father of the Year by ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope. It's made headlines around the world. It's quite a sweet gesture, really – he's certainly been tireless in sticking up for his kid. And someone has to, because the Australian Government has disgraced itself by comparison with the Brits, who have already gotten all their people out of there.
But completely trivialising that serious issue, who are the other contenders who've distinguished themselves over the last 12 months?

• Tony Abbott – 4/1 (pending further DNA testing)
• Brad Pitt – 8/1 ('Most Overexposed' subcategory)
• Russell Crowe – 5000/1 (huge negative points for calling new baby Tennyson)
• Michael from BB06 – 5/1 (in 'Imaginary' subcategory for Reuben)
• Kevin Federline – 5/1 (on basis of quantity, not quality)
• Shane Warne – 3/1 (on basis of an even bigger quantity, potentially over 1000)

And our tip for winner:

• Hutton Gibson – 3/2 (still clearly his son Mel's biggest influence)

Photo: David Mariuz

Decommissioning the Thorpedo

Imagine you're Ian Thorpe. Imagine you've won more gold medals than any other Australian, ever. Imagine that swimming the 400m was so easy for you that you didn't even bother, choosing instead to compete in the tougher sprint disciplines where you didn't automatically win. Personally, I find this a bit difficult to imagine. But I'm willing to try.

Then imagine you were a millionaire, famous around much of the world, and had lots of other business and entertainment opportunities. And imagine you'd just moved to Hollywood, and were hanging out with lots of other famous mates like Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams. Could you be arsed getting up at the crack of dawn to go swimming? I know I couldn't.

The guy's got nothing left to prove in the sport, and he's still only 23. He spent most of his youth obsessively ploughing up and down a pool, so is there any wonder he wants to have a bit of fun now? It'd be one thing if it was a sport that's incredibly fun, like soccer or tennis, but competitive swimming is a lonely, repetitive boring sport. I imagine, it's not like I ever had the skill or inclination to try it.

What motivation is there? To be the best? To be the best of the best, even? Been there, done that. And all he got out of it was Undercover Angels.

He's even got a brand spanking new aquatic centre named after him. Already. What's he shooting for if he swims on, another one? He still holds three world records, and I can't imagine meeting the Prime Minister yet again is all that much of an incentive either.

And please, don't talk about doing it for your country. His country isn't the one that has to get up at the crack of dawn and do lap after lap. And it's pretty clear that we aren't doing that, given our general obesity problem.

Personally, I'd be living it up too. Maybe not in precisely the same way. Maybe not by developing my own range of pearl necklaces or modelling for Armani. But each to their own.

So Thorpey, put your ridiculously oversized flippers up and relax on that sofa. If you can be bothered turning up in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics, great. But that's two years away, and we know you've won gold after a relatively brief training period before. Up to you. We'll be here on our sofas if you ever want to get up off yours.

And everyone else, lay off the guy. He didn't ask to have the perfect body for swimming 400m races. Especially the media – there's been enough hype about him to last several lifetimes. We should give him a year off as well. Hearing about him has gotten more dull than the first 1450m of a 1500m race.

There's just one thing we ask of you, Thorpey, if we're to leave you in peace. Don't make another series of Undercover Angels.



Dominic Knight

Men who like women who like plasmas

I've never been able to understand the appeal of diamonds. Sure, they're beautiful, but for the price? Compared to, say, a holiday? But had steeled myself for the idea that someday, I will have to shell out a ridiculous amount of money on jewellery. So I can't tell you how happy I was to hear that three out of four US women say they'd prefer a new plasma TV to a diamond necklace. You go, girls.

Those of you who might like to cynically pick apart surveys that achieve a result that's consistent with whatever the companies that commissioned them would want will note that it was released by Oxygen, a women's cable network in the US. I'm sure they were just delighted with the result, but wouldn't have manipulated the survey in any way to get it. Like only interviewing heavy-use subscribers, for instance,

Actually, I don't know that they would have had to manipulate the data all that much. Because the biggest source of bias to the survey, in fact, is how awesome Oxygen is. Who'd want a boring diamond necklace when they can watch a show where Fabio recruiting his beefcake successor for the cover of Harlequin romance novels? Especially when it's created by Gene Simmons!

Then there's a show where Shannen Doherty (an avowed expert in the area) helpfully breaks up with your partner for you, and a call-in show where "sex grandma" Sue Johanson answers your questions about "sex, love and everything in between". So really, this cable channel is far more essential than oxygen.

And before you think that my admiration of the world's leading women's TV channel makes me some kind of girly-man, check out Fight Girls, a reality show where 7 women compete for the World Thai Boxing Championship under the watchful eye of Muay Thai Master Toddy – check out the video clip, it looks awesome. Guys would find it unmissable.

Anyway – the broader point in the survey is that women are getting more into technology. This is great news, because it makes me feel like less of a freak for being obsessed with gadgets. I find it hard to believe that 86% of women would prefer a digital video camera to a new pair of shoes – feel free to correct me here, though – but it can only be good news for nerdy gentlemen. If women love gadgets too, then the traditional male justification for blowing money on technology ("but it's for us to share!") actually works. The time we spend mucking around with gadgets we find fun (my latest favourite: Foxtel IQ – The Daily Show every night!) suddenly becomes "us time".

So, who said geekboys were antisocial and couldn't relate to women? Now when a woman asks "Is that an iPod in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?", it's okay to pick the first option.



Dominic Knight

The anti-Semite doesn't fall far from the tree...

A contrite Mel Gibson has asked the Jewish community to help him heal both his hate-filled mind and his massive PR problem. He said "I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display". But I'm not sure the Anti-Defamation League necessarily needs to put a lot of time into helping him figure out the source. I've got a few thoughts, as a matter of fact. And so does Mel's Dad, Hutton Gibson. Here are some of them.

An overview excerpted from his Dad's Wikipedia entry:

Many of Hutton Gibson's beliefs and actions, including his promulgation of Holocaust revisionist theories, his association with known Holocaust revisionists and his contention that malevolent Jewish conspiracies exist within the Catholic Church and around the world, are consistent with traditional anti-Semitism. When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (prior to becoming Pope) stated that, although Judaism did not accept Jesus, it was nevertheless the "elder brother" of Christianity, Gibson observed that Abel also had an elder brother. [5]

Echoing the claims of numerous other Holocaust deniers, he questions aspects of the Jewish Holocaust, especially the commonly accepted statistic that between five million to seven million Jews were killed, arguing that it would have been impossible for the Nazis to have disposed of so many bodies.[6] He further claims that most of the Holocaust was "fiction," [6] that the thousands of Jews who disappeared from Poland during World War II "got up and left",[6] and that census statistics prove there were more Jews in Europe after World War II than before (a claim that is disputed by mainstream historians).[7] In support of his father, Mel Gibson claims that his father's beliefs do not amount to Holocaust denial. (Mel Gibson also says that he will not speak out publicly against his father.)

Hutton Gibson publishes a quarterly newsletter called The War is Now! in which he details many of his views.

From a story from The Age in 2004:

A week before the United States release of Mel Gibson's controversial movie, The Passion of the Christ, the filmmaker's father has repeated claims the Holocaust was exaggerated.

Hutton Gibson's comments, made in a telephone interview with New York radio talk show host Steve Feuerstein, come at an awkward time for the actor-director who has been trying to deflect criticism from Jewish groups that his film might inflame anti-Semitic sentiment.

In his interview on WSNR radio's Speak Your Piece, to be broadcast on Monday, Hutton Gibson, argued that many European Jews counted as death camp victims of the Nazi regime had in fact fled to countries like Australia and the United States.

"It's all -- maybe not all fiction -- but most of it is," he said, adding that the gas chambers and crematoria at camps like Auschwitz would not have been capable of exterminating so many people.

"Do you know what it takes to get rid of a dead body? To cremate it?" he said. "It takes a litre of petrol and 20 minutes. Now, six million of them? They (the Germans) did not have the gas to do it. That's why they lost the war."

And here are a few more juicy quotes from Hutton Gibson in the interview with Feuerstein:



Regarding the gas chamber, the gas was going the wrong way. You see it was going down instead of up….

I don't know what their (the Jews) agenda is except that it's all about control. They're after one world religion and one world government. That's why they've attacked the Catholic Church so strongly, to ultimately take control over it by their doctrine and make one world religion and one world government.

They are the people with an eye for eye and tooth for a tooth. They must have revenge. You know they (the Jews) caused the Roman persecutions too. They called attention to the fact that the Christians were refusing to offer incense to the emperors when the emperors became gods. The Jews were notable for getting the wood to burn the Christians…a labor of love you could say.

They cannot admit that they were wrong. They have been at it for all of history. Is the Jew still actively anti-Christian - He is, for by being a Jew, he is anti everyone else.

The foreign bankers who run the international reserve like the Rothchilds and their allies in this country like the Rockerfellers who were Jews and others who own the money.

There are too many survivors. It's just a gimmick to collect money. They have to go where there is money... They have so much influence in the banks for instance They all look out for one another you got to give them that. They are at the same time willing to sacrifice a few of theirs if it helps… Why all the reparations? It's an irresistible chance to make money. All those Holocaust museums put up at our expense with our tax payer dollars.

This final quote from the BBC isn't about Jews, but it's so out there that it's worth including anyway:

Hutton Gibson is a Holocaust denier and has also made the claim that the 11 September tragedy was not the work of Al Qaeda and the planes "were crashed by remote control"

...

So, where does Mel's issue with Jews come from? I really hope he manages to somehow figure that out.



Dominic Knight



Photo: Kylie Melinda Smith

Mel's gone Hussein

Mel Gibson's careful efforts to play down the alleged anti-Semitism of his film The Passion of the Christ look a little futile now, don't they? The actor's reported racist tirade on Friday at Los Angeles police officers who arrested him for drink-driving will be extremely difficult to live down.

Alcohol lowers inhibitions, and no amount of PR spin will remove the impression that the police saw Mel Gibson as he really is. Perhaps, as his father once did with the Holocaust, he'd be better off pretending the whole thing didn't happen.
Reportedly among his paranoid accusations was that Jews were "responsible for all the wars in the world". Pretty hard to justify if you've ever heard of World War II. But such extreme prejudices are highly resistant to logic, not to mention tequila.
It's ironic that a group so victimised throughout human history has so often been accused of secretly running the world. Israel hasn't even been able to carve out a peaceful niche for itself in its rightful homeland, let alone sinisterly manipulate the course of global events.
Only the most feverish conspiracy theorists believe the world is run by Jews. However, no one can deny that Hollywood contains a significant proportion of Jewish studio heads, and this could make Gibson's career difficult.
At the very least, Gibson's actions will discredit a telemovie he's producing about Dutch Holocaust survivor Flory van Beek. Perhaps it will be axed in favour of another harrowing drama, where a Jewish person has to survive an encounter with a drunken Mel Gibson.
Bizarrely, he's also meant to be producing a movie about the Maccabees, an early Jewish group that led a Braveheart-style revolution. It's almost as if the guy lives in the past or something.
Gibson clearly has a major problem with both his drinking and his lunar-right-wing views.
He's also made bigoted comments about homosexuality, while Tom Cruise and John Travolta have been victimised because of their association with Scientology; Cruise because of his public endorsement, and Travolta because of Battlefield Earth.
And while hardly in the same league, the constant moralising of actors such as Sean Penn is also fairly annoying. Hollywood stars really should be seen and not heard.
Gibson's comments come at a time when many of us who aren't a few drinks away from a racist tirade are questioning our own feelings about Israel in light of its Lebanon campaign.
But they're probably also a welcome reminder that Jews are still so often the victims of hatred even in the so-called tolerant West. Gibson will pay a heavy penalty for his actions, and it seems appropriate that he pay an even heavier one for his words.

Read more of Dominic Knight on the Radar blog at www.radar.smh.com.au.
Two Photos: by AP/David Hernandez; AFP/Pool/Bob Strong

In politics, blandness is forever

So, John Howard's staying. I'm a little surprised, I thought he'd want to hand over the difficult task of winning a fifth election to the obvious fall guy that Peter Costello is, take a victory lap, and leave the party floundering. And it raises a truly terrifying prospect for those of us who wouldn't mind at least some variety after a decade of the Howard Government. What if Howard's formula of remaining leader "for as long as the party want me to" in fact amounts to forever?

As someone who makes a living by taking the complex, serious issues of politics and reducing them to a series of trivial jokes, the prospect of yet another Howard v Beazley contest fills me with dread. Not only have all the jokes been made before, but this pair must surely be the most bland politicians of their generation. Yes, including Philip Ruddock and Kevin Rudd. (Actually – how good would a Rudd v Ruddock campaign be? Imagine the massive voter confusion.) The thought of spending yet another year combing the minutiae of what these drab men do in the vain hope of finding anything amusing to say about it is a truly horrifying proposition.

It speaks volumes about our political apathy that Howard and Beazley have proven so enduring. Is it because they never surprise us? Is it because they tend not to infiltrate our consciousness much on any individual occasion, their featureless speeches blending into one dull morass? Or is it that our contempt for politicians is so great that the more the media's attention focusses on any one of them, the less we like them? By contrast, one-time media darlings Mark Latham and Natasha Stott-Despoja flared brightly but only lasted one campaign. Latham's burnout is still the last genuinely interesting thing to have happened in politics.

Kim Beazley has been around for decades, and led the party for most of one, and he still can't make a speech without sounding desperate, as if he is trying to assert the appearance of decisiveness and leadership and hoping no-one calls his bluff. When he tries to assert himself, to show ticker, he just sounds shrill and unconvincing. And really, how he can not have learned the art of concise sound bites in all this time is remarkable.

Whereas Howard has used his three decades in Parliament to become the grand master of relentlessly leaching controversy from every statement he makes. He's like an old-fashioned opener blocking every ball into the turf, never taking a run except on a fielding mistake by his opponents. In times of trouble, he is enormously reassuring because he is always exactly the same. But in terms of inspiring his party and nation, of getting the nation to buy into some overarching vision, he is always found wanting. (This may be because many of his visions are about tax and unpalatable IR reforms.) Howard is the leader for an age of terror, not an age of nation-building.

The same problem is endemic in State politics. Peter Beattie, Steve Bracks and Bob Carr have all won multiple elections with a dull but reliable approach, stifling every controversy and refusing to alienate the mainstream. It's hardly surprising more young people are interested in reading NW.

The one interesting aspect everyone's focussing on in all this, of course, is Peter Costello. He has far more flair than Howard, but also far more flaws. After his last round of petulance, he has adopted his leader's straight bat, knowing that he has to do that to have any chance of succeeding him now. He did the decent – well, only viable – thing and quickly followed Howard's announcement with his own commitment to hang around until a shock election loss or sheer inevitability makes him leader.

Perhaps they have finally concluded that long-overdue Kirribilli Agreement now? Costello has denied it, but it would have been a brilliant way to silence him. But the Deputy Leader would probably have agreed to anything just to keep the gig. He kicked the tyres on a challenge, and found he wouldn't get anywhere. The backbench must be looking almost as unattractive as being in the Democrats right now.

Who knows how long John Howard has in him? 5 years? 10? You'd be crazy to bet against him. So the only prospect of change – other than in the ALP, when Beazley finally retires after probably losing election #3 – is a rumour in Crikey today that Alexander Downer might be stepping aside if the Deputy Leader's position doesn't become vacant soon. Which means we may soon be deprived the one pollie who can still be relied on for an entertaining gaffe. Who'd have thought there was a way Australian politics could become even duller?

Let's completely legally trade our copyrighted KaZaA stories

I've just learned the most shocking thing. Apparently people have been using Kazaa – sorry, that's KaZaA – for downloading illegal music. And I really feel for parent company Sharman Networks on this one. They were just trying to make the world a better place. All they did was set up a perfectly innocent system that let people trade legal files by the enormous number of worthwhile recording artists who are happy to receive no payment for their work. And pirates went out and took advantage of their generosity. So now they have to pay US $100 million to the fatcat recording companies. Honestly, where's the justice?

It's almost as unfair as nasty 'privacy' experts naming the helpful software they bundle with it as spyware.

And sure, you might cynically allege that Sharman's software is so dodgy they can't even distribute it in its home market of Australia due to a court order (try to download it and you'll see). You might argue that they saw a niche after Napster was shut down and cynically exploited it to earn millions by hiding dodgy software on their users' computers. But that would be nasty of you. Not as nasty as profiteering from a massive international network trading in stolen music, of course. Hypothetically.

I'm just glad my friends at Sharman happened to have $100 million lying around that they could use to settle with the record companies. Wow, there's a lot of money in facilitating completely legal file sharing, wouldn't you say?

Like Napster, they will now become a legal download service. So everyone will be happy – except the pirates who will suffer the minor inconvenience of having to use a slightly different filesharing system.

There aren't many bonzer Aussie software companies, so I reckon we should look after the ones we've got. You know, Advance Australia Filesharing and all that. So I want to help clear KaZaA's name, and reverse this unfair perception that it was all a front for piracy. Post-Napster, it was the net's biggest file-sharing service for some time, so there must be some readers who used the software before it was blocked. So tell us – what stuff did you download? How successfully did you resist the temptation to download free music from the world's best known performers when there was legal music by artists you'd never heard of on offer?

I have every confidence that our anonymous stories of KaZaA usage will be overwhelmingly honest, and prove once and for all that no-one used this system in any dodgy way whatsoever. Let justice be served.



Dominic Knight

PS I've copied the KaZaA logo here without their permission. I hope they aren't too annoyed. After all, as the page says, "Sharman Networks Ltd does not condone activities and actions that breach the rights of copyright owners".

Quizmania: Hotdogs never looked so good

Last year, I was fortunate enough to be watching the first night that Hotdogs exploded onto our airwaves with his Up Late Game Show. (He has been trying to 'rebrand' himself as Simon Deering since coming off Big Brother. I say we should never, ever let him.) This week, I've had the rare privilege of watching the debut an extremely similar, yet immeasurably worse programme. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Nine's Quizmania.

Nine's actually bothered to license this format from an English show, which seems unbelievable – it's so like Hotdogs' effort that surely they could just have ripped it off. Unlike Marathon Man Hotdogs, there are three hosts, one for the three ludicrous hours this remains on air. Like Hotdogs, though, two of them – Amy Parks and Brodie Young – are from Big Brother – a group of individuals so desperate they will do pretty much anything to stay in the public eye.

The reason the game's far worse even than Hotdogs' atrocity is the game format. Its signature 'tower' puzzle is basically the hosts playing 'Guess what's in my head'. "Nothing" is pretty clearly the correct answer, judging by the inaneness of their patter, so it's probably more accurately termed 'Guess what's in the producer's head'. In other words, the game is so pointlessly arbitrary that it can be strung out for literally hours. And so it was – over two and a half of the show's agonisingly bad introductory effort on Monday night.

The first-ever challenge on Monday was "Guess a male singer". They had a board with 8 singers on it, and if you flukily name one of the ones listed, you get a certain amount of money. So there's no challenge whatsoever, and it's just a question of luck. Monday's easier efforts were George Michael, Slim Dusty, Guy Sebastian, Justin Timberlake, Elton John and Sting. All pretty well-known. But there were still, of course, an abundance of wrong answers throughout the night.

To get $500, though, you had to guess Roland Gift. I happen to know that he's the singer of the Fine Young Cannibals, but that's only because I was in Year 7 when they were big, and bought their album. And even I, Giftmaniac that I was, would never have guessed him. No-one else did either. Which is why they eventually had to reduce his name to R_L_ND G_FT, after which it was guessed immediately.

But get this. To win the maximum prize of $1000, the random male singer you named had to be Clark Datchler. That's right. After over 150 minutes of television, they would only give away a grand if you came up with CLARK FRIGGING DATCHLER.

Who is he, you might ask? Why, the lead singer of Johnny Hates Jazz. Who isn't even in Wikipedia (well, except in the band's entry.) He may well be the most obscure person they could possibly have thought of. Meaning that they had to just awkwardly abandon the final step and give the money away for something else. By which time, let me tell you, Dommy Hated Quizmania.

A fellow-insomniac friend cleverly pointed out that this probably meant that they had just nicked the questions from the UK version. As Datchler lives there, presumably he at least might have guessed himself.

The most outrageous aspect of the show, though, is not the insanely hard and random nature of the quiz. Or the way that they end up having to make the questions stupidly easy. It's that they almost never take calls. The show is on such a painfully tight budget that they spend the entire time telling you to call, and almost never actually talk to anyone lest whey win. There were entire 15-minute periods of padding, including one highly awkward bit of banter between perky host Nikki Osborne (to be fair, the least worst thing about the show, probably because she's not from BB) and a cameraman. She established that this grey-haired gentleman likes going out for "a bit of a boogie" on Oxford St. Hilarious.

Even during the "Speed round", they spent far more time telling us they were going to take heaps of calls than actually doing so. At the 150 minute mark, they only had six correct answers, leading them to give a bit more away with easy questions towards the end.

The patter's particularly awful. Nikki Osbourne (to be fair, the least awful thing about the show, since she's not from BB) likes to tell lame jokes. Such as "One cow said to the other "Are you worried about mad cow disease?" She said "No I'm not, I'm a helicopter"." I guess it's to make you wish they were playing the stupid competitions instead. But Nikki's miles better than Amy Parks, who spent an entire hour on variations of two sentences: "Give us a call, we're going to take heaps of calls", and "Wouldn't it be awesome if you won? How awesome would that be? $50! Awesome! What could you do with that". All of which are broken up by what must be television's worst sound effects. The "B-b-b-bonus" sound in particular is still haunting my nightmares like ghostly quiz-host fingernails on a crappy television-effect blackboard.

The truly worrying thing, though, is that judging by the UK experience, this is the future of television. Not only is this show on ITV for up to five hours every weekend, but they have an entire channel full of this rubbish – ITV Play. (You can watch UK Quizmania on the website, and marvel at how slightly less excruciating it is with slick hosts.) The reason why it's spread like a malignant tumour, of course, is that it makes lots of money – apparently, Quizmania netted over £1.2million during its first two weeks on ITV1. And the proliferation of these shows has led to a raft of complaints in the UK.

The Dogs is apparently returning next week after BB ends, and it's surely only a matter of time before Seven launches its own version – presumably it'll wait until Nine sacks some of these guys, sign them and then outrate Nine. And the new potentially-commercial ABC might not be far away either.

So what can we do? It may be tempting to prank call them, like the guy who apparently rang Hotdogs and told him he was God, calling from the future to answer a question, and made him stare blankly at the screen for a full minute. But the joke is ultimately on us, at 55c a time (higher from mobiles.)

Like pokies, Quizmania and shows like it would not exist if we, the public, weren't stupid enough to waste money on them. (And they both distract us with flashing lights when we've had a bit to drink.) We must all pull together to boycott them and force them off our screens. Then late-night television can return to the high-quality viewing options for which it has become justly renowned. Like infomercials.



Dominic Knight

Saint Bob's short on converts

Sometimes a truly hilarious story gets posted to the SMH site on the weekend, and those who use their computers purely at work miss out. And I'd hate to think of anyone missing out on this one. "Saint Bob" Geldof recently had one of the most humiliating experiences I've ever heard of. What if you gave a concert at a 12,000 seat venue and only 45 turned up? That number again... 45.

Here's the AFP story: Live 8 hero Bob Geldof has been forced to cancel two concerts in Italy because of lack of public interest, after only 45 people turned up to see him perform in Milan, Italy's La Stampa newspaper reported.

Geldof walked out of Milan's 12,000-capacity Arena Civica without playing, given the paltry attendance.

His manager explained that a concert for less than 400 people would not be viable, the newspaper said.

The 54-year-old Irish rocker, who said he had flown in from South Africa for the gig, sought to placate angry fans afterwards by promising to give a free concert in September.

A scheduled performance in Rome, for which 300 tickets had been sold, was also cancelled, La Stampa said.

Live 8 indeed. I love the manager's comment – they've booked a 12,000 seat arena and they think that fewer than 400 would be viable?

And how many complaints could there have been, exactly if he only sold 345 tickets? He could pretty much give that free concert in his lounge room.

Geldof's relief efforts have been admirable, with the significant exception of him giving Bono yet another platform to tiresomely preach on about the state of the world. (He really need to change his name from the Latin for "Good voice" to the Latin for "whiny, self-righteous voice") But I can't imagine wanting to see him perform. The only song of his I can think of is the Boomtown Rats' I Don't Like Mondays, which is about a gun massacre. Not exactly a pleasant night out.

Looks like Geldof's better off with live gigs where he doesn't play.



Dominic Knight

Jessica's laughing all the way to the nursery

Since I don't have a cynical or mean-spirited bone in my body, I wouldn't dream of suggesting that career issues have impacted on Jessica Rowe's pregnancy. Even though she got maximum impact out of it by announcing it on air this morning. And did a live chat with her husband about it. No, it was just one of those completely spontaneous moments that have endeared Today so much to Australian viewers.

But in an alternate universe where people were that calculating, there could be no better way to preserve her career – and perhaps even her show. I reckon the only way this could have played better is if the father was Todd or Brant.

Not only does the news give her lots of good publicity, but now that Peter Overton has, there's no way Eddie McGuire will be able to 'bone' her. It would look terrible if Nine sacked her, and also potentially be illegal under what remains of our unfair dismissal laws. Mothers are about the only group the Liberals protect these days.

And then of course at the end of this year, she will leave. As she probably would have anyway, given the year she's had. The timing's perfect – she's three months in, so Christmas is perfect. Expect an announcement that she won't be returning next year because the hours are terrible for a new mum, and that she's "exploring less physically demanding opportunities" with the network. In particular, ones where she reads the news. And doesn't laugh.

In the meantime, it will give Today great 'relatable' content that's the stuff (and, of course, the source of the banality) of successful breakfast shows. Viewers will be able to experience Rowe's pregnancy along with her. I fully expect exciting ultrasound footage and a hugely-hyped announcement of its sex. Viewers may even be able to vote for its name on an SMS poll. Or perhaps one of Nine's corporate partners could supply its moniker?

Although if she suffers from morning sickness, it could make for some uncomfortable viewing. Judging by the ratings, though, Today has made people feel off-colour all year, so it'll be a great source of empathy.

It's also excellent news for those who have worried about Rowe's weight. Since she's pregnant, she'll now have to eat for at least one.

The interesting thing is how Sunrise will react. I can't help but think that this puts major pressure on Kochie and Mel. To stay ahead of their rivals, they may need to go one step further and conceive a child together.



So, finally some good news for Today. There could well be more on the way as well. Anyone tip Karl Stefanovic to be the next celebrity to wind up with a horrific ice injury?

Dominic Knight

The Sabrina scam – exposed!

Regular visitors to this site will know that my recent post about Miss World Australia Sabrina Houssami – and beauty pageants in general – has sparked a massive number of replies in her defence. Well, I discovered almost all of them were posted from the same computer. This amounts to a bizarrely massive effort to dupe the readers of this blog into thinking that there was a groundswell of support in her favour. And I'm so flattered that I really feel we should do this enormous effort justice. So I've compiled a huge list of every single bogus post. Glance through and marvel at the ingenuity and sheer misguidedness of whoever bothered to do this.

For those who aren't geeks – all these posts have come from the one IP address. An IP address is assigned to every internet connection. So these posts have all come from either the same physical computer, or the same wireless network or something. The writer also made one post about her to the Chaser website (look under "Patricia Watson").

I wouldn't normally have bothered with this, but the sheer scale of it is remarkable. Someone has devoted literally hours – and an astonishing 3500 words – to trying to manipulate public opinion on this site. I know we're all an awesome bunch of people here, but let's face it – this site isn't exactly hugely influential.

Looking over them as a literary body of work, if you will, I realise I should have twigged earlier. There are certain common features:

• occasional errors in spelling and grammar
• quaint tone of voice – eg "that stunning angel face lady"
• constant use of "Miss Houssami", which is unusually formal
• way, way too much information about Sabrina

This last point is what really makes me wonder.

Let's not necessarily assume these messages come from Sabrina herself, though. For one thing, she probably doesn't have this much time on her hands what with being a student, Miss World Australia, a member of Mensa and all that.

Now, without any further ado, please marvel at the enormous effort put in by a staunch defender of the reigning Miss World Australia. It was so nearly a successful scam. Well, except in terms of changing anyone's mind. But I certainly thought an army of rabid Sabrinaites had hijacked the page – not just one incredibly hardcore one.

Oh, and just for the record, I'm not in the least bit annoyed by this – I think it's brilliant! But I will be more vigilant about IP addresses in future.

Dominic Knight





Alisha

If you had the right info, you would know that the internet IQ test she took was last year & sat for the MENSA test about 6 weeks.

Do your homework before you presume.

Alisha again



Mr. Knight,

I am amazed at your pointing fingers at a young woman who is nothing but class. It seems you have too much time but nothing worthwhile to utilise it.

Well, let me give you a few ideas that might get you busy...

1) Big Brother... a prime time TV show that only spreads immorality & sleeze.

2) Smart people can have fun too...

3) Beauty & Brain... God gave all of us both these attributes, but unfortunately, there are only very few who can use both.

4) Australia's multicultural society & its contribution in shaping of this great nation.

Hope thes will help you realise your true potential & flair for writing something worthwhile.

Have a great day.

Brent Luke Maguire



Although I understand what Mr. Knight was trying to say I must point to him that this New beauty queen is changing the concept of beauty pageants.

When we see an astonishing pretty young woman showing that a woman doesn't have to be a stereotype limbo to win a pageant and that she can be in fact be an ultra intelligent talent AND a very active Charity worker (sabrina has raised more than $60 000)in her work to help the sick and needy children.

More importantly, Sabrina is setting an example for young women that being blessed with external beauty isn't an achievement, it's a GOD's gift, and that it should be followed by hard work and study and helping the society.

This marvelous young lady is really impressing me with her role as a new icon for young Australians.

She has won MENSA membership, is an accomplished Red Cross ambassador,a champion debator, a speech motivator at NSW public schools and a uniting young leader in a society that needs many like her to form its evolutions among the world's nations... and yet, she has just sompleted her 19 years of life.

I truly feel that responsible journalism, and Mr. Knight is admitably a leading member of it, must play the needed supportive role to stand behind upcoming young leaders like Sabrina.

She needs to read different words from you and us Mr. Knight !!

Sarah – this is a cracker – how contrived is it?! "I now remember her name..."



Mr. Knight,

I read your article just hours after I came back from a charity function to help a critically ill child who needed financial support to have a major operation.

happily, the charity was able to raise the money needed on the night.

I now remember that stunning angel face lady who came to my table asking for my support.

I have obliged and did what I could and was left stunned with her grace and angelic smile.

I now remember her name: Miss world Australia Sabrina Houssami...

Should I say anymore mr. Knight ??

Amanda – plays the race card, if not the spelling card



Sad to see some racial remarks slipping into this forum in an attempt to undermine Sabrina's Success.

Jealousy can blind some sower loosers and all I can say while Sabrina is continuing her impressive campaign and charity work here we see some bitter losers coming to srop few lines of hatred.

Go Sabrina.... Don't look behind.

Go Australia.

Proud Aussie



She is a great ambassador to Australia.

I have no doubt that she will do very well for our great country.

what an amazing new style beauty queen.

Leena



Brain and beauty ... and a BIG heart.

This young lass has them all.

I understand why some youngsters envy her; but this should not turn into bitterness.

sabrina is going to Poland to represent ALL OF US and we must show our true values by voting for her and supporting her strongly.

after all .... she is MISS WORLD AUSTRALIA and that's how the world look at her now.

wondering amy



So this Girl's fault is that, despite being intelligent and beautiful, she entered the Miss australia beauty pageant !!!

What is wrong with that ????

If she found that this is a way to achieve her aims in doing charity work and winning the title and becoming a famous person, What on hell is wrong with this???

We should be encouraging our youngsters to become active like this instead of dishing them like they are doing something wrong !!

AdvanceOz



By far the best Aussie beauty queen ever.

I hope she will bring home the world's crown.

I want to see what more stories they will make up here then -)))))



George

Very Impressive Young Lass.

Turning a beauty contest into a more interesting event.

My Vote is surely for her.



Deborah

Miss Houssami is doing a wonderful job and is a great ambassador to our nation.

We should all give her our support instead of just saying "she is intellingent, she is beautiful, so why she entered the beauty competetion!!!".

What a logic.

well done Miss world Australia organisation for this more than perfect choice.



MWAadmirer

New Fundraising Records achieved by Sabrina Houssami !!!

this is the latest news coming from MWA organisation circles who are thrilled with this superb Charity worker.

As if Miss Houssami needed more scores to add to her outstanding achievements !!

Well done Sabrina .... you are the pride of our nation +++++

Anne



When brains, beauty collide

SABRINA Houssami is a beauty queen with a difference. Australia's Miss World entrant has just been accepted by Mensa, which claims to be for those in the top 1 per cent for intelligence.

The university student, 19, says she is more interested in helping charity than trading on her looks.

Ms Houssami says she is keen to break down stereotypes about beauty pageants, in particular Miss World.

"Every contestant is not an airhead," she says. "We are very strong-willed, smart women; more ambassadors than typical beauty pageant queens."

Smily Anne



Emmmmm ..... Never before an Australian beauty queen has won so much media coverage and publicity. I wonder why this time only Things have changed !!

Is it because Sabrina is "different" in a way from the others ?? and I don't want to elaborate on what "different" here really means, or is it because of her success and unusual active style specially in Charity??

I agree with someone on this forum that it is Like that moment in the zombie movie where the couple are kissing in the car, and suddenly you're aware that dozens of the Undead are converging from out of the bushes ... but surely these are her few critics and not her supporters.

Brandon



Dodgy thinking is more dangerous ...

Menzies



The Sydney's Observer is out today with a lovely giant photo of Miss Houssami on its front cover plus 3 more pages inside under the heading (This is Australia).

The article is full of praise and support for the charming new face of Australia.

two more northern beaches magazines have published front cover photos and coverage for Miss Houssami with wonderful editorials and support.

It is really lovely to see the northern region coming strongly to pledge their support for Miss Houssami.

This is really true blue Australian.



Renae

Hey , Flatbag ... since you are telling us that your boss is "more competent than any male" and we believe you -))) It is about time that he should reward you with a promotion in return, isn't ??

You don't need IQ or intelligence or anything like that. Your thoughts and class show you can be talented in other fields -)))

Say hello to your boss (wink).

Alisha



In reply to your comments...

1)The girl from Manly - pulled out of the contest last year at a state level cos she did not win Miss NSW, even though she was offered a place in the national final. Now she is back claiming she should have been considered this time around!! She forfeited her chance. Now that's illogical!

2)Get your facts right about Mensa - it is not an internet test. It is an international society that tests potential members via an in-person, supervised test session that can only be sat for once in a lifetime. You can visit their website at au.mensa.org for more information.

3)I've read in numerous interviews that Sabrina is studying Liberal STUDIES, which is a 4 year course that is a precursor to overseas medicine and law degrees. Sounds smart to me.

4)If you look up the Miss World Australia website, the 2007 contest is currently taking place at the fundamental regional level. Anyone interested in raising funds or entering can do so, right now. No missed opportunities for anyone, then!



Lost freedom

DOM, the moderator of this forum, has now showed his true colors by allowing this last dirty message or he wrote it himself.

Freedom of expression is lost here and DOM is a party to this debate.

We shall remember this forever...Thanks



Freddy

What is this garbage now ??

Where is the Mr. Dominic knight who is screening this board !!!

William



this catfight here clearly reflects the style of a girl or two who are still finding it hard to accept losing in a sportmanship way, instead they took their bitterness to the media and again they lost and Miss Houssami was endorsed by Miss World Headquarter.

Now they have nothing to do except going to various internet forums and bitching around.

They are not interested in charity or anything of this nature. It is a story of "me or no-one else".

This is sad and un-Australian.

Get over it girls. Enough rubbish.



AussiePride

While Sabrina continues her rise to fame and is all over the front covers of Australian and world magazines and is working like a busy bee in fundraising and charity functions we see the losing girl spending all her time on the internet spreading rumours and saying the wrong thing.

Using different names in her postings to give the impression of public uproar -))) doesn't work and "true blue Aussie" is the last handle she should be using.

Get off the PC girl and find a job or something !!!



Danny

Seems that this argument has no end.

Life has to carry on with or without these girls on the forum here.

A lot of spiteful girls for and against.

sounds more like loosers taking their dissapointment to the web.

Melissa



I cracked up when I read this last posting pretending to be a married man and from Adelaide, special the "very very unprofessional' side of it.

secondly Sabrina never called anyone bitch and bimbo, actually everyone who knows her talk of her extreme politeness.

I don't know why you are fabricating these lies, specially the poll side of it.

The whole world is praising this new Miss Australia and one bored loser (or two) are spending their time on the internet trying to dish her !! This is lame.



John

I saw Sabrina at a charity function last week and I thought she was graceful in her speech and class.

reading what some are writing here I can now understand why the Miss world Organisation selected her outright.



Noelene

Looks like the wonderful Melanie Freeman who is from Manly has lost her nerves completely.

Regret to read her language and see her frustration.

signs of the end of the trip.

Hope she will give up now and stop her drama and croc tears.



Paula

Miss Houssami is undoubtly of different quality to these bloggers. She's in the press on daily basis and you can tell her class.

Dominic has raised some points in his article and they should have discussed here, instead some very upset girl or girls are turning this board into a personal hatred issues.



Louis

I think they should let these sour kids run in some sort of competetion again.

At least hey will get off this forum and do something useful.

Erghhhhhh ....... Snake bites alright.



Observer

From a cheerleader to a gangleader; How sad!!



Mathew



Sabrina is different quality to all these here, everybody knows that, even her critis, therefore it is no surprise to read some of the insults here.

Did anyone say Bimbos ?



Sebastian

Mr. Dom,

only one question in my mind: what is wrong if an intelligent female enters a beauty pageant if she feels that she can achieve things this way ??

you were criticising skin shallows and I agree, but you are still unhappy if a brainy girl participates ??

Are you suggesting that no one should be part of beauty pageants ???

I believe that young Australians should be encouraged to compete and be involved in Charity and humanitarian work .... and yes catwalk , what is wrong with that ??

I think Miss World Australia did a great job this year and they have chosen a queen with different image to project to our youngsters ... not like the other competetion's nude example.



Wally

It is so ugly that the hatred and bitterness of some came to a stage where they want us to vote for Miss equador instead of Miss Australia !!

I was against sending our troops to Iraq, but once they were there I am standing behind them to the end.

No matter what happened here, my vote will go to Miss Australia and no one else.



Natalie

I think Sabrina Houssami is an inspiration young woman. The work she does for charity is absolutely phenominal.

ask the cancer kids of NSW, they will give you better opinion than few jealous girls here.

Patriotic



I see, so now because she did not win, True blue Aussie or Michael or whatever handle she keeps on changing, wants us to vote for Miss Equador instead of miss Australia !!!

True blue Aussie you said ?

unreal



Here we have an intellectual representing Australia on world stage, a beauty queen qualified as the top 1% on this planet's intelligent ...

On the other hand we have a school leaver and a cheerleader who want to do her job.

Where do we go ?????????

Samantha



Oh well..... that's it.

It's all over now.

They want us to vote Equador against Australia !!

Really the debate is over for me now.

Anthony



Oh my God, what a bunch of losers.

Go and get a life girls.



Alan

I highly respect your editorial DOM and agree with almost all of it.

I only like to add that the best way for our nation to avoid seeing ugly tragic scenes in its street is not to take side in a very unfair conflict in the middle east.

If we can not help or fix the problems then at least stay out of it and keep our image clean and not follow George Bush blindly in his crazy policy.

Nancy



Sabrina Houssami is known to be top writer in english and this is her major smarty.

It is people like you and the other kids who are having a war here and making this whole issue look so ugly.

DOM should close this subject and throw you all out.

Winston



I saw Miss Houssami before she won Miss world Australia at the young Australian of the year award night as she was nominated by Bankstown council.

I knew then that I was looking at an outstanding kid.

Today,I feel I was right and I really expect big things from her.

Well done young lady.

Nicole



She is out there earning fame and success and few bitter girls sitting here all days and nights trying to dish her.

her only fault is that she is toooooo good for them and the organisers saw that too.

I want to see what will happen to them if she wins Miss world or if she does well in Poland?

Few heart attacks maybe (wink).



Amanda

Listen to this Mel fellow (or lass):

"Miss World Australia organisers handed the title to Sabrina on a platter, she should suffer the consequences."

now that is logic, isn't ???

well done Mel.

AussieAussieAussie



The countdown has started for Miss world final, check this:

http://www.tftj.com/Miss/World/a_delegates.htm

Go Australia.



Jonathan

This is a wonderful shot for the stunning Miss world Australia:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5724/887/400/sabrina_1.jpg

I am sure she will do very well in Europe for us.

TheBigKahuna



I read about the Australian girl named Sabrina Houssami who represents her country in this year's Miss World. Damn gorgeous she is. And she's a member of MENSA, a group of people whose IQ is exceptional (and only 2% of the world's population are MENSA members, mind you). So, beauty with brains, huh? Phew, a tough combination. Usually we hear:

pretty + hot body + sexy = DUMB

ugly + fat + geeky = INTELLIGENT

but this one is like, pretty + hot body + sexy + not geeky = EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT.

which reminds me of Natalie Portman and Queen Rania of Jordan. Both very beautiful people, and both very bright. Natalie Portman went to Harvard. Queen Rania worked at Apple Computer.

Where can I find my dream woman who's quite like all these people? I'm not asking her to be a MENSA member, because that makes her become out of my league. And being more stupid than your girlfriend sucks.

This is Sabrina Houssami. Please, after looking at her photos, take some tissues and wipe that saliva on your keyboard. No use drooling over her, she's out of your league.

Abigail



yes DOM, why???

admirer



What a stunner:

http://www.missworldaustralia.com.au/uploaded_images/hm9-715112.jpg



SadRenae

Dominic,

This huge interest in thic topis is obviously because of that manly's girl insistance on creating negative media for Miss world Australia organisation after her dismayal loss last year.

She tried last year and did not make the grade as everyone knows, so why is she coming back now and spending her life on the internet chasing any forum where she can release her frustration and spread her lies and poisonous comments ?

Bill

not only snake bites and croc tears but also lies and lies and lies.

Sabrina is a full member of Mensa and you can look up her Mensa certificate displayed on Miss world Australia site:

www.missworldaustralia.com.au

The internet test the bitter loser is referring to here is a much earlier test taken by Sabrina when she was much younger.

This shows you once again how bitter, missleading and defeated these false claimers (or single claimer I really should say) are.



Alanx

Last year, Miss Houssami won the titles of Miss Bankstown, Miss NSW and then was first runner up to Miss Australia when many thought that she should have won that title as well.

Showing a rare dedication to her belief, and instead of complaining and crying over that loss, Miss Houssami continued her charity work and kept on working hard improving her already impressive tally of achievements until she was selected as the New Miss Australia.

On the otherside, her newly born critics, some who have pulled out of the competetion last year because they did not win (examine closely this attitude) have vanished completely and lost interest in charity and social work ..... and then suddenly, after Miss Houssami was selected, started their smear campaign trying to get to the new queen.

They went to the press shedding crocodile tears and even made up lies on few internet forums to support their story.

It doesn't take an Einshtein to see the difference in class and attitude between Miss Houssami and her born again critics.

Dom has raised some worthy points in his article and I agree with most of his view and the discussions here should have focused on this, but unfortunately the losing pack took advantage of the freedom of expression on this board to launch yet another ugly campaign full of lies and made-up stories.



At this point I finally bothered to look at the IP addresses, and commented on it – and they stopped. For now.

He writes the songs...

Someone at Rockdale Council is a genius. An evil genius. They’ve been blasting out Barry Manilow recordings to stop hoons congregating in Cook Park and it’s been a brilliant success. It’s no surprise – the saccharine strains of Copacabana would kill the mood of anyone outside a nursing home. Still, hasn’t public order in Rockdale come at a terrible price!

Residents say the non-stop Manilow marathon is driving them bananas; surely the council should at least mix up the assault so they get some variety? You can’t tell me Richard Clayderman or Vanessa-Mae would be any less effective.
In fact, rather than replicating WS-FM’s playlist, why not just pump the classic hits station directly into the park? Far more variety for the residents and the same hoon-repelling effect.
The only danger is that the park might become a mecca for dags instead. The revving that irritates the residents might be replaced by raucous all-night Scrabble marathons. Better to stick with Manilow and guarantee the park stays empty.
If drivers of garish muscle cars really can’t stand Manilow, having his Greatest Hits at the ready in your CD stacker could well prove a motoring essential. A quick burst of Can’t Smile Without You at the traffic lights could give a hoon more discomfort than their irritating bass-thumping gives the rest of us. Barry could also prove useful to stave off an attempted carjacking.
Which makes one think – if only they’d had him down at Cronulla beach last year. His dulcet tones would’ve convinced Sydney’s racists to stay home, or better yet, unite in a common cause: trashing his music.
The NSW Riot Police should purchase some compilation CDs and giant speakers immediately. Music can have powerful emotional effects.
Recently, a five-year-old girl came out of a coma after James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful whimpered out of the hospital radio. (Presumably the agonising pressure to her ears snapped her out of it.) Perhaps Philip Nitschke could look into using Manilow as the gentlest euthanasia method yet? I’m sure my subconscious would gladly pack it in after a couple of rounds of Mandy.
“I write the songs,” croons Manilow in one of his corniest hits of all. For the first time ever, the rest of us can be grateful.

Read more of Dominic Knight on the Radar blog, www.radar.smh.com.au.

Torvill and Deane's Horrific Injuries On Ice

Well, Dancing On Ice finally seems to have hit on a winning formula. The inclusion of Torvill and Deane – which just made it feel 1980s-ish – and the concept of celebrities ice-skating certainly didn't pack in the punters. But watching B-grade celebrities like Michael Slater and Giaan Rooney get horrific injuries? I'm there.

And what was Rooney doing injuring herself in training, anyway? I hope the cameras were rolling. Because who wouldn't tune in to scenes like this, as described by Slater?

"It was a gaping hole [...] it was the biggest flesh wound I've seen on my body and it was sort of in a V shape on my left index finger.

"Plenty of blood. I was spurting blood all over the ice which was impressive.

"But then I thought: 'I'm going to lose too much blood here. I could be brown bread'."

Of course, I feel really sorry for Giaan Rooney – broken legs are horrible. And not as telegenic as huge gashes like Slats'. But what did they expect? Ice-skating is really hard, and quite dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. You've got amateur celebs wearing razor-sharp knives on your feet. It's not just a bit of harmless fun, like an episode of Dancing With The Stars that doesn't include Pauline Hanson.

Maybe the publicity-gathering injuries were all part of the plan? In which case we may soon see even more celebrity injury events. Celebrity Skirmish, for instance. Perhaps with live rounds? Here are a few ideas for new shows. Please note that any networks who wish to use them must pay me royalties.

• Celebrity Sumo – Merv Hughes enters the ring with yokozuna Iain 'Huey' Hewitson

• Celebrity Duel – the centuries-old tradition turned into nailbiting entertainment. After ten paces, former Test speedster Craig 'Billy' McDermott shoots former ring-in Scott Muller dead. Can't bowl, can't throw, can't shoot.
• Celebrity Archery – Soap stars such as Tammin Sursok are taught how to use a bow. As an added twist, the now-obscure celebs whose jobs they took are used as live targets. Finally, new gigs for Bruce Samazan and Rebekah Elmaloglou!
• Celebrity Jousting – the members of 1927 take turns trying to knock members of the Daddo family off a horse. The show would be dedicated to the memory of Christopher Reeve.
• Celebrity Commandoes – Everyone loves those shows where a pro is partnered with a celebrity amateur, like Dancing With The Stars or On Ice. We pair highly trained members of the special forces with celebrities. Watch as former pop sensation Collette accompanies her partner on a black-ops raid in Iraq, where she's regrettably killed by insurgents.

Is all this implausible? Not judging by my favourite celebrity humiliation-fest – Celebrity Boxing, from the redoubtable Fox network in the US. Who wouldn't want to watch Danny Partridge taking on Greg Brady? Even better was Willis from Diff'rent Strokes beating the crap out of Vanilla Ice. Capped off with Bill Clinton's "friend" Paula Jones getting hammered by Tonya Harding – who's clearly extremely violent, given her plot to injure Nancy Kerrigan.

Celebrity Boxing 2 didn't have quite the same lame-celebrity-gets-pummelled appeal. It only had one interesting celebrity – but it was a doozy. Screech from Saved By The Bell. No, you can't live it down with a cool goatee, Dustin. We know where you've been.

Why on earth doesn't Ten put on something like this here? My ultimate matchup would have to be Nudge from Hey Dad vs the little fat kid. Who I now read is a Mormon missionary – all the more reason for him to be punched repeatedly for our entertainment.

Sorry, I keep getting distracted by still-more hilarious obscure celebrity trivia. I read that Foxtel has just bought the Hey Dad...! rerun rights. WHY? And did you know that Nudge provided the voice for one of those allegedly racist Trade Federation guys in Star Wars Episode II? Darn Wikipedia.

Anyway, in summary: Hilariously obscure celebrities. Getting injured in some way. Outstanding entertainment. Please add your own ideas below. I'll be sure to give you 25% when I pitch them to a network.

The many headbutts of Zinedine Zidane

Okay, here's something somewhat more amusing fun for a Friday arvo, from an email I was just forwarded. Since my last post was so dour and all. And while we're on Zinedine Zidane, here's my favourite article on what Materazzi said to Zidane... five different lipreads from five different newspapers.

Here's how the Germans saw the headbutt:

Here's how the French saw it:

Here's how the Italians saw it:

Here's how the Americans saw it:

And here's how the press reported it.

Some people have far too much time on their hands. And too much access to high-powered animation programmes.

The best comment of all on the whole incident, though, came from Mme Zidane, his allegedly insulted mother. What a violent family.



Dominic Knight

The war without end?

Another awful week in the war on terror. The anniversary of the London bombings was quickly followed by another terrible attack on random commuters in Mumbai, and then Israel yet again made the somewhat mistaken assumption that a massive overreaction in Lebanon would somehow reduce its risk of terrorism. As ever, Australia seems a long way away from it, but as ever, we can't help but reflect on whether Mumbai/London/Madrid could happen here.

Of course it could. And probably will. The sting in the tail of that SMH article is that yet another expert has agreed that John Howard's policies have made us more susceptible to terrorism. Like "Iraq is a complete disaster with no end in sight," It's a point so obvious that it would be hardly worth repeating if our government hadn't refused to acknowledge it.

Israel is now effectively at war with Lebanon, having bombed the airport and imposed a blockade. Do they really think that bombing Hezbollah is going to prevent, rather than increase, terrorist attacks against Israeli troops? And of course, the flow-on effects will be that more young Muslims hate Israel, and its Western allies, so our own streets become unsafe as well. Like the bombing of Baghdad, these kinds of victories are inevitably Pyrrhic.

The bottom line is that if someone is willing to blow themselves up, there's not much you can do about it. And while we can certainly try to make our train system as safe as possible, with pop-out roofs and windows that lessen the impact of a blast, there's only so much you can do. It's kind of like arguing over what size baseball mitt you need to catch a meteorite.

Put it this way – if the Israelis, with all their vast experience, can't stop terrorist bombings, then Sydney hasn't got much of a chance. The only way of genuinely preventing train bombings is to scan every single person entering the network, which is what London's been experimenting with. But how on earth would that work in Sydney, with its network stretching far out into the suburbs, with many stations unstaffed; or at best staffed by one person?

So what can we do? Stop catching the train? Hardly. And removing rubbish bins in stations is only going to do so much – both the London and Mumbai bombers used backpacks. The only truly effective counter-measures that can prevent terrorism in Sydney lie in effective surveillance and intelligence-gathering efforts, like the raid at the end of last year. Or hoping that we're so far down Al Qaeda's list that Osama bin Laden can't be bothered with us.

The real challenge is to minimise extremism. We need to make sure that clerics preaching hate can't recruit followers in Sydney. And that's not just about deporting inflammatory preachers, but it's about winning the battle for the minds of young people who, under other circumstances, would be willing to die for the cause. That's much harder than redesigning our train network.

Sorry for this somewhat depressing Friday post – it's supposed to be lighter-side-of day, right? – but it's hard to feel upbeat in light of what's been in the news this week. I don't think even tomorrow's Paris Hilton interview (so helpfully plugged in this "story") will cheer me up.

Ah, yeah it will. At least until the next bombing. Did you read she's given up sex for a year? I'm predicting three weeks. But why wouldn't you be fascinated by trashy celebrities when the other news is like this?

Dominic Knight



Photo: Reuters

Your blogging stories here...

Hey y'all. Sorry to distract you from the terribly important Sabrina Houssami debate, but I need your help. I'm writing an article for the print edition of Radar about people who spend their work days online blogging and commenting. Click on if you can help me. Or wish to jeer, of course; or defend the honour of a Lebanese-Indian-Australian beauty queen.

Firstly, this is completely anonymous – we don't anyone to get justifiably sacked for buggering around on the internet all day. Please either post a public comment in response, or email radar -at- chaser dotcom dotau and I'll fish your email out from the deluge of spam.

Some of the questions you might like to answer are:

1) How much time do you spend mucking around on the internet at work? Do you do so every day?

2) What sites do you visit regularly?

3) Do you have your own blog? What's its address?

4) Do your workmates know that you do this? Does your boss? Have you ever been busted?

5) Has your workplace tried to restrict internet use?

6) Do you know anyone else who's a hardcore addict, and have you got any good stories about them?

7) When you're on holidays, do you still visit the same sites?

8) What makes a site addictive?

9) Why do you do it?

10) Why does Sian do it? (Special bonus question)

But don't be restricted to these questions: any interesting facts or anecdotes would be much appreciated, especially if you're a regular here.

thanks

Dom