The World Health Organisation is to set up an independent panel to investigate charges that it exaggerated the impact of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic and is unduly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry.

Without public debate and without congressional hearings, a segment of the Pentagon and fellow travellers have embraced a doctrine known as the Long War, which projects an "arc of instability" caused by insurgent groups from Europe to South Asia that will last between 50 and 80 years. According to one of its architects, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are just "small wars in the midst of a big one."

Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time

By JOHN M. BRODER

The newspapers are full of the latest priestly sex abuses. This is an on going story. Within the last year, mass scandals have erupted in Brazil, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria. and the United States. Figures from the John Jay School of Criminal Justice estimate that since 1950, an estimated 280,000 children have been sexually abused by Catholic Clergy and deacons.

From the ABC

Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce says comments he made yesterday poking fun at the Productivity Commission were meant to be ironic.

In his new role as Opposition spokesman for regional development, infrastructure and water, Senator Joyce has been quick to have a crack at the Government.

But already he has had to qualify his comments.

Yesterday he joked that he used Productivity Commission reports when he runs out of toilet paper.

"These people actually did read the Productivity Commission reports," he said. "I use them when I run out of toilet paper, but they actually use them."

Earlier this week, Greenpeace did the rational world a huge favor by compiling a great overview of the denial industry. "Dealing in Doubt: The Climate Denial Industry and Climate Science" is a brief but critical summary of the attacks on climate science, scientists and, most notably, the IPCC.

Rattled Rudd in fear, says Abbott
STEPHANIE PEATLING POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

 

KEVIN RUDD is ''rattled'' by the Coalition's resurgence and ''is in fear of his political life'', Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

Here in the States when someone mentions "UI," most of us think of Unemployment Insurance, but not former UK prime minister, Tony Blair.

Late last week came word of a major scandal from the UK Daily Mail. In the three years since he stepped down as prime minister, Blair pocketed more than $30 million in oil revenues from his secret dealings with a South Korean oil consortium, UI Energy Corporation. Despite all his best efforts to keep his connection to UI secret, word is spreading like wildfire throughout the U.K.

Here is news of the Third World War. The United States has invaded Africa. US troops have entered Somalia, extending their war front from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Yemen and, now, the Horn of Africa. In preparation for an attack on Iran, American missiles have been placed in four Persian Gulf states, and "bunker-buster" bombs are said to be arriving at the US base on the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The Vatican has denied the Catholic Church covered up a case of a priest accused of molesting 200 deaf boys in the US from the 1950s to the 1970s.

It has been alleged the Vatican ordered a church trial of Father Lawrence Murphy be stopped, after the priest wrote a letter to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict.

Arthur Budzinski, 61, says he was repeatedly molested at the St John's School for the Deaf in suburban Milwaukee 40 years ago.

His daughter Gigi says it has had a huge impact on the whole family.

From the ABC

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has denied Barnaby Joyce was forced to stand down from the finance portfolio after being white-anted by some of his own colleagues.

Senator Joyce was sacked from the Opposition finance portfolio yesterday, with Victorian Liberal Andrew Robb getting the job as Mr Abbott reshuffled his frontbench.

This morning Senator Joyce took another swipe at anonymous Coalition figures who he says have mounted an anonymous briefing campaign against him.

"Obviously it's disappointing when you have colleagues who are anonymous," he told ABC2.

Former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has declared the Coalition is back in the political game under Tony Abbott's leadership.

The Opposition Leader has dumped Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce from the finance portfolio, replacing him with Victorian Liberal Andrew Robb.

Labor has attacked the move, saying Mr Abbott lacks economic credibility for not dumping Senator Joyce sooner, while the Coalition says the Government should feel threatened.

Britain took the extraordinary step Tuesday of expelling an Israeli diplomat for the first time in more than 20 years, after concluding there was compelling evidence that Israel was responsible for the use of forged British passports in the plot to slay a senior Hamas operative in Dubai.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said trust between the two countries had been badly dented, demanded formal assurances it never happen again and - in an unusual step - issued travel advice to U.K. citizens warning their identity details may be at risk if they visit Israel.

‘Everything will be shit’ including the BBC if David Cameron becomes PM, says Stephen Moffat

 

By Rachel Helyer Donaldson

The boss of one of the BBC's biggest shows has launched an extraordinary attack on the Conservative party, saying that a win for David Cameron's party would see the "brilliant" BBC turn to "shit".