obesity no epidemic

It looks like I was right to be sceptical about the obesity epidemic. To me it always seemed like an ideal vehicle for professional health fanatics and the types who can only find work running government programs.

AUSTRALIA’S childhood obesity epidemic has been “exaggerated” and government-led national prevention efforts may be misdirected, with childhood obesity only increasing in lower-income families.
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Controversial new research into childhood obesity rates has called into question whether the millions of dollars allocated by the Federal Government for obesity prevention programs should be targeted to the highest-risk groups, rather than focused at the general population.

The findings, based on measurements taken from thousands of Australian children in two nationally representative samples in 2000 and 2006, found that the growth in childhood obesity overall has slowed to a crawl, and the only statistically significant increases are now among boys and girls from low-income homes, The Australian reports……

The risk group was identified as low income earners. So if the government does introduce a “junk food tax” it will be a tax on the poor.

Banning food additives

Our innovative teenagers have found a way to beat the girlie drink tax increase – mix your own drinks. Unfortunately the police don’t approve this type of initiative and want to ban the sale of food flavoring additives to under 18’s. Yep, no strawberry syrup for you dear, you’re much too young.

Why do we put up with such crap? If the government had any sense they should immediately tell him off and properly demote him on the grounds of stupidity.

Undersea Colony Interview with Alex Michael Bonnici – European Union Liaison – Atlantica Expeditions

Hello dear readers I would like to take the opportunity to post my recent television interview concerning the Atlantica Expeditions First Undersea Colony Project with TV presenter Clare Agius on the late night talk show “Mhux Ghal Kulhadd (Not for Everybody)” which was recorded on March 24th, 2008 and aired Tuesday April 29th, 2008 on Maltese Television (TVM).

This interview was also posted on Veoh Internet Television. I personally think the video quality on the Veoh website is somewhat better.

I’ll keep my UBD

I intend to purchase a satnav system in the next few weeks (anyone has a recommendation?) but after reading this article I think I’ll still be keeping my UBD directory.

STATE police have urged motorists to use maps instead of GPS devices to avoid being stranded on remote roads.

Police in Bright, Victoria, have reported at least two incidents where tourists have followed GPS directions and found themselves stuck on four-wheel-drive (4WD) tracks.

Most recently, a family with a young child used GPS to navigate the shortest route home via Bright. The satellite navigation unit directed their sedan to a 4WD track in the Tea Tree Range, where they became stranded on a steep, wet slope and had to contact police for assistance…..

Al-Qaeda on brink of defeat?

The CIA seems to think Al-Qaeda is just about beaten. I hope they are right but I’m sceptical. Remember these are the same people who missed 9/11 and assured us that Saddam stil had active WMDs.

AL-QAEDA is essentially beaten in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive elsewhere, including the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the head of the CIA said today.

CIA director Michael Hayden said major gains have been made against Al-Qaeda’s allies in the Middle East, while a campaign to destabilise the network’s core leadership has been increasingly successful.

Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is also losing the battle for hearts and minds in the Islamic world and has largely lost his ability to exploit the Iraq war to recruit new members, he said in an interview with the Washington Post. ……..

I’m ashamed

That we have allowed our infantry to degenerate to this shameful embarrassment is a disgrace. It means they are not receiving the proper training and experience to make them combat ready. If they were need to do the tough stuff to defend Australia they would be almost useless . If we have become so risk averse that we dare not allow our army to engage in combat whats the use of having them?

The exclusion of Australia’s infantry troops from frontline conflicts, including in Iraq, has left many feeling “ashamed of wearing their Australian uniform”, Army Major Jim Hammett has written.

The infantry, which makes up about a third of the army’s combat forces, had not been assigned offensive actions since the Vietnam War and the special forces were seeing all the combat, he wrote.

In a separate article cited by Fairfax newspapers, Captain Greg Colton, second in command of the Sydney-based 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, said infantry morale had deteriorated in the past 10 years as regular infantry units were given only “second-rate operational tasks”….

Lt Gen Leahy said he understood some soldiers wanted “a bit more of a go”, but they had to understand war had changed.

“I know that the infantry have real basic skills, that they can do that traditional role of seek … and kill and destroy.

“But we’re not asking for that at the moment, that’s not the environment we’re in.”

Leahy’s comments are a nonsense, its exactly the same environment American, British etc troops are in.

Nelson scores one

Finally, the federal Liberals are having an impact. Brendan Nelson’s proposal to cut petrol excise by 5 cents a litre seems to have caught the government of guard and has forced them to respond. Unfortunately for Mr Nelson it hasn’t helped him in the polls but it has public support.

Brendan Nelson was dead right to propose the tax cut and to oppose Big Daddy Kevin’s tax on girlie drinks. He has to make it clear that Liberal Party = Lower Tax. Its a basic liberal principal. Without principals, without a philosophy they are worthless.

Oil prices predicted to fall

Thats what Amy Auster of the ANZ and other economist are saying. My gut feeling is they are right. The rapid rise in oil price looks like a bubble waiting to burst to me. Even if the oil price didn’t come down soon market forces should ensure it eventually will. At current prices alternative sources such as shale, coal to oil etc become economic. The high prices is an enormous incentive to get them in production.

I’m old enough to remember the “energy crisis” of the 70’s. The price of oil went sky high causing a world wide economic crisis. But eventually alternatives came on line and the shortage became a glut. I don’t see why this should be any different. Petrol/ alcohol flex-fuel cars, which I’m an advcate of, would hasten that and would permanently end the oil monopoly.

Downer returns

Its a fun time in the federal Liberal Party. Howard government foreign minister and former Liberal leader Alexander Downer has decided he doesn’t want to leave politics after all and wants a job on the front beach. Specifically he want Malcolm Turnbull’s shadow treasurer position.

I don’t think Malcolm is going to be happy. Brendan Nelson will need to find another high level show minister job for Turnbull or he can expect the two to gang up against him.

In the longer term this is really is good news as the highly experienced Downer will only add strength to the oppostion .

Also lets not forget Costello is still in parliament although I hope he has the sense to leave soon. He had his chance and walked away.

Running dog Cate

The Russian Communist Party have just paid Cate Blanchett the ultimate accolade. She is now an official CIA running dog.

LEADERS of Russia’s Communist party have condemned Australia’s Cate Blanchett as a “second-rate actor” and a “running dog of the CIA”, for her role in the new Indiana Jones film.

They say the movie is crude anti-Soviet propaganda that distorts history and have called for it to be banned from Russian screens.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull stars Harrison Ford as an archeologist in 1957 competing with an evil KGB agent, played by Cate Blanchett, to find a skull endowed with mystic powers.

“What galls is how together with America we defeated Hitler, and how we sympathised when Bin Laden hit them. But they go ahead and scare kids with Communists. These people have no shame,” said Viktor Perov, a Communist Party member in Russia’s second city of St Petersburg…..