More than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or no religion, according to a survey of religious affiliation by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. 

Some leading businesswomen have expressed disappointment at the lack of female representation on the steering committee for the Federal Government's 2020 summit. 

Actress Cate Blanchett is the only woman named as part of the Government-appointed 10-member panel that will choose people to attend the summit in April. 

The Rudd Government has commissioned a defence white paper which could see a dramatic change in strategic priorities or at least in the way defence dollars are spent.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon is also reviewing whether to proceed with a $6 billion plus contract for a fleet of new Super Hornet fighter jet aircraft from the United States.  

I have front row seats to the madness of post-9-11 Washington D.C.  

The overtly fascist overdrive of the U.S. government has twisted an already backwards nation into a Homeland of Terror.  

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been caught on camera swearing at a member of the crowd at the annual farming fair in Paris. 

Ralph Nader says he will run again as an independent for the US presidency. The anti-establishment consumer advocate made the announcement in a televised interview on Sunday. 

Mr Nader was accused by many Democrats of handing the presidency to George W Bush in the November 2000 elections. He ran again unsuccessfully in 2004. 

In a stunning turnaround, the former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay said Thursday he would be a defense witness for the driver of Osama bin Laden. 

This is shaping up to be the greatest expression of European unanimity and togetherness since Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.

From Gdansk in the Baltic to the Straits of Cadiz, the citizens of this fractious and culturally disparate continent are at last united.

It is a remarkable achievement, when you think about it.

The Federal Opposition says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is putting the bipartisan approach to Indigenous affairs at risk by making his first visit to an Aboriginal community today without Brendan Nelson. 

Mr Rudd and Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin are looking at Aboriginal housing in Walgett in western New South Wales. 

The Iemma Government was in full blown crisis last night as the Environment Minister, Phil Koperberg, prepared to quit the cabinet and the future of the Ports Minister, Joe Tripodi, was under a giant cloud as a result of the Wollongong sex-for-development scandal. 

The Premier was set to announce Mr Koperberg's retirement from cabinet this morning, senior sources confirmed.

China has defended its sale of weapons to Sudan, amid growing criticism of its alleged failure to help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. 

China's special envoy on Darfur told the BBC that Beijing accounted for just 8% of Sudan's total arms imports. 

The first Friday sitting of Federal Parliament has led to such chaos that the speaker suspended the proceedings for a 15 minute cooling off period. 

The row erupted when Liberal MP Steve Ciobo moved that there should be a Question Time every Friday, despite the Government's rule that there will be no Question Times and no divisions taken on Fridays. 

from Crikey ….. 

Libs won't touch the Howard inner circle 

Christian Kerr writes: 

Bushit’s administration has announced its intention to try six alleged al Qaeda members at Guantánamo under the Military Commissions Act. That Act forbids the admission of evidence extracted by torture, although it permits evidence obtained by cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment if it was secured before December 30, 2005. 

So, logically the administration would be forbidden from relying on evidence obtained by waterboarding, if waterboarding constitutes torture.