If you want to see a pretty pack of pollies, you need look no further than James Packer's new political mates.

The billionaire's offices in Sydney's Park Street are now becoming a stronghold for the Labor Party in exile. How strange.

Not content with hiring just one hard man from the NSW Right - former ALP General Secretary, Karl Bitar - James Packer has now hauled his terrible twin, Mark Arbib, on board. 

"Captain Emad", the man alleged to have run a people smuggling operation out of Canberra, left Australia on Tuesday night.

AFP Commissioner Tony Negus told reporters in Canberra today that Captain Emad had not been detained when he left Melbourne, despite an alert going out to authorities.

Mr Negus said there was not enough evidence yet to detain him.

"Yes, it's frustrating," Mr Negus said of the people smuggling case.

But he said the AFP would go ahead with the "full force of the law" in investigating Captain Emad.

The US has terminated funding for a $US20 million project to develop a Pakistani version of Sesame Street.

Poor old Joe.

Forced to flick the default personality switch from ''generally avuncular'' to ''prophet of doom'', Hockey flailed at a loss, sinking deeper the more he spun in his own rhetorical quicksand.

Good economic news was just that. Good.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has described the latest economic growth figures as "stunning" and has declared that they should put an end to the "doomsayers".

The National Accounts figures show the Australian economy grew by 1.3 per cent in the March quarter - significantly higher than what economists were predicting.

In his penetrating study "Ideal Illusions: How the U.S. Government Co-Opted Human Rights," international affairs scholar James Peck observes, "In the history of human rights, the worst atrocities are always committed by somebody else, never us" - whoever "us" is.

Almost any moment in history yields innumerable illustrations. Let's keep to the past few weeks.

Out of about 40 pictures of the sun I took around 10:15 this morning, only this one came out showing Venus... It was shot at 10:18. I used a welding glass in front of the lens of an old Kodak digital camera, the whole lot hand-held in a stiff breeze, with clouds passing over the sun at a hundred miles an hour, with the digital and optical tele at ful bore...

I will try again a bit later on...

The Vatican has sharply criticised a book written by a US nun and theologian on sexual ethics.

Former prime minister John Howard has joined an exclusive group of 24 living people to be honoured by the Queen with the Order of Merit.