Sarah Palin made a grand entrance at the Rolling Thunder biker rally on Sunday, wearing a black Harley-Davidson helmet and visibly enjoying herself as a crush of reporters and bikers swarmed her motorcycle.

Ms. Palin, the former governor of Alaska, was joined by her husband, Todd, who was wearing a matching helmet, and her daughters, Bristol and Piper. Their arrival at the Pentagon North parking lot turned the lazy Sunday morning into a celebrity affair.

Nationals Senate Leader Barnaby Joyce has criticised the appearance of actress Cate Blanchett in an advertising campaign urging Australians to "Say Yes" to a tax on carbon.

The advertisement, which also features actor Michael Caton and begins on television tonight, is funded by a coalition of unions and green groups.

Senator Joyce says highly paid actors like Blanchett need to understand many people will be hit hard by the carbon tax.

The Turanor PlanetSolar, the world's largest solar boat, will berth at Brisbane's Riverside Centre pontoon near Eagle Street tomorrow.

The 31-metre Turanor PlanetSolar.

It will be the first Australian stop on its quest to become the first entirely solar-powered vessel to circumnavigate the world.

The $16.7 million yacht, which has been compared to Star Trek's Starship Enterprise, relies on the force of the sun and its extremely powerful batteries.

The multi-hull catamaran, which measures 31 metres by 15 metres, is fitted with 38,000 high-efficiency solar cells.

Page 21 of the Daily Telegraph, Sydney — a Murdoch paper... 21 may 2011

TONY ABBOTT has clashed with his senior colleague Nick Minchin over the Coalition's decision to oppose an excise increase on alternative fuels, saying he will always put pragmatic politics ahead of ''policy purity''.

The pair locked horns in an exchange during which Senator Minchin suggested the Coalition was guilty of not supporting good policy and of being financially irresponsible for opposing a $518 million measure without suggesting alternative savings.

 


We wanted to pass on this message from Mark, a GetUp member and local farmer on the Murray Darling.

Dear Members of GetUp,

My name is Mark Etheridge and along with my partner Mog and our daughters Clancy and Lily, we run a 50,000 hectare certified organic farm near Wilcannia in the Murray Darling Basin.

Over time, we have seen a steady decline in the quality of the water. In the past 15 years we have experienced 13 algal blooms, high salinity and many cease to flow events. These events are getting more and more frequent threatening our farm, and the farms of many others.

picture by Gus

We have the choice of burning all the oil left and hacking down all the remaining rainforests - or saving humanity

The Greek tragedy that is now befalling Strauss-Kahn is the latest in a series of similar cases of sex-related scandal that over the past few years have also involved former World Bank boss Paul Wolfowitz and former Malaysian finance minister (and close friend of Wolfowitz) Anwar Ibrahim.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is enjoying a big jump in popularity after last week's federal budget and the Government's asylum seeker deal with Malaysia.

A Herald/Nielsen poll has Mr Abbott's approval rating above Prime Minister Julia Gillard for the first time.

He rose three points to 45 per cent, while Ms Gillard slipped two points to 43 per cent.

Ms Gillard, however, has maintained her lead as preferred prime minister, 47 to 42 per cent.

About six in 10 voters polled are against the asylum seeker-swapping deal with Malaysia, while about eight in 10 said it would not make any difference to boat arrivals.