From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
		OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS
                ===============================
In the Run-Up to World War III, Reliably Reporting the News Relevant
to Extreme Right-Wing "Democratic" Socialists Everywhere
(validated for RiteThink(tm) by the Office of Our Man in Can-berra).

Visit Our Home Page At:
http://www.whitehouse.org/initiatives/posters/index.asp

----------------------------------------
OK. I've found our place!

Book of Revelation (King Macquarie version), act 2, scene 1:

"And, verily, bulk shit rained down from on high,
covering the LAND,
becoming as one great [abandoned] franchise of the Homestead Hardware,
as foretold for yonks by [even] those of AVERAGE ability [only],
and [even] THEIR men of the counting houses,
yet no OTHER man, nor his neighbours' ass,
had prepared for it,
AND they were known elsewhere as bloody slack.
(314)
		***
And the man of the TWO FACES [at least],
decreed with [back dating] that ONE part,
of the THIRTEEN that had been taken away,
would be restored to THEM,
SO THAT the moving fickle finger of fate might move on,
and fall within the [kill zone] of another painted target,
yea, PERHAPS [even] the [very well appointed living room] of the OTHER,
who had passing resemblance to, in the upper lip area, the STEEL MAN,
AND in their turn known each also as the ULTIMATE SATAN.
(425)
		***
And the HUNGRY man known as Jonno the little,
told the GREAT LEADER,
[she'll be right mate]."
(93)(871)
----------------------------------------

03 Feb 2003.

Houston.  NASA now concedes failure of heat shielding on the left side
of the shuttle may have caused the disaster.  Officials are also
interested in reports from California that one or more objects
separated from Columbia well before it reached Texan airspace.  The
organisation is still desperately seeking all debris from the
break-up, using any means from horses to head-mounted GPS to search a
200 km by 50 km no-fly zone from C & E Texas to W Louisiana.

Honolulu. In the latest of a long line of similar incidents in recent
years, nearly 250 passengers have taken ill on a voyage from L.A. to
the US's best state.  Symptoms include diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting.
OK, maybe Alaska is *slightly* better. The cruise company says the
first cases were reported shortly after sailing on Jan 25.  The ship
will now be sanitised with extreme predigest.

Beijing.  OK. For those of you that INSIST on having a child in the
bad-luck Year of the Goat -- wearing blinding red underwear CAN help
your child dispel the bad luck.  Traditions are said to be making a
comeback after the Party branded them all as feudal superstition.
Books on astrology, feng shui and fortune-telling are flooding in from
Taiwan and HK where the mystic arts are considered a science.
HK-based Raymond Lo said this y is ruled by the water goat, a double
symbol of peace and calm that would repel big international
conflicts. There would be disharmony, but world leaders would prefer
negotiation to fighting, he said.

Rome. 28 Pakistan nationals detained by police after explosives were
discovered in C. Naples have divided into 2 groups.  (a) those denying
any links with selected terrorist groups.  (b) those refusing to
answer any questions.  After an all-day hearing a judge ruled both
groups should be jailed until investigations conclude.  Arrest
warrants were also upheld on charges of "association with the aim of
international terrorism".

Jakarta. A bomb blast at Police HQ damaged a building but caused no
casualties. A police rep said the explosion occurred at a function
hall inside the compound in the S Jakarta suburb of Kebayoran. He said
an officer on night shift had found a suspicious black bag outside the
hall, that can be rented by the public, around 6.30 am local time.
The bag exploded about 1 hr later, after other officers had cordoned
off the area.

Washington.  Pres Bush's State of the Union address has reportedly
reversed the spiralling downward trend in US public support for war
with Iraq.  A WashPost/ABC poll found 66% of Americans favoured taking
action against Iraq, up from 57% 2 wks earlier.  Support came despite
widespread fears the US could be involved in conflict for many months
and produce large numbers of US casualties.  A Gallup poll in 5 EU
countries found the majority was against war in any situation.  The
poll found Spain, which recently backed the US, showed the greatest
opposition with 74% saying they were against a strike on Iraq. In
France & Germany 60/50% were completely against the war. In Russia,
59% were totally against.  In the UK, a close ally of the US, 41% were
against the war in any context. In the US 21% were totally against.

Dusseldorf.  About 10,000 people marked a "day of peace" in protest
against a strike on Iraq.  It was the biggest of several anti-war
demos in several EU countries and the Middle E.  In Jordan, about 10K
demonstrated on Saturday.  In Auerbach police arrested 40 hippies who
entered a US training ground to protest against war.

Washington. Pres Bush's efforts to build a case against Iraq has
created friction within the FBI and CIA.  Some CIA analysis have
complained their work has been "exaggerated" by snr Whitehouse
officials in an attempt to link Iraq with terrorists.  At the FBI,
officials said they were "baffled" by the Admin's directive to find
evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.  After looking
for 1 y "we just don't think it's there", said one official.
Interviews with Admin officials have revealed a division is growing
between, on the one side, the Pentagon and the National Security
Council -- presently acting as a clearinghouse for info to be
presented to the Sec Council by Colin Powell -- and on the other side,
the CIA, the State Dept and the FBI.  In the interviews, Paul
Wolfowitz and Stephen Hadley were cited as being eager to interpret
evidence in a manner that would "show a clearer picture" than might
actually be present.  While Mr Bush in his S.U. address said Saddam
was protecting and aiding Al Qaeda operatives, US intel and law
enforcement is more sceptical, saying the evidence was "fragmentary"
and "inconclusive".

Tehran.  The Iranian Revolution that moved a nation to sacrifice for
so long evaporated long ago.  Ayatollah Khomenini promised a heaven on
earth in which the poor and oppressed would rule and be free. Instead,
the country is plagued by political paralysis, corruption,
unemployment, and uneven repression.  On Saturday, despite an official
call to pray and remember the Revolution 24 years on, only 300 men and
a few dozen women came to the Behesht-e Zahara cemetery.  Welcome to
the C20, fellas!

Washington.  The NY Times says the Pentagon's war plan for Iraq calls
for 3,000 precision bombs and cruise missiles to be launched in the
first 48 hrs of the conflict.  The strategy is intended to stagger and
isolate the Iraqi military and paves the way for a regime-changing
ground invasion.  Military planners say the initial goal would be to
break the Iraqi military's will to fight, driving many green troops to
surrender, and cut the Baghdad leadership off from command in the hope
Saddam's govt would quickly collapse.

Can-berra. Aboriginal Tent Embassy elders have failed in a court bid
to save a "shelter" erected on Invasion Day outside Old Parliament
House.  Wadjularbinna Nulyarimma and Neville Williams had sought an
injection against the National Capital Authority from demolishing the
Goonji shelter.  The NCA had given notice on Jan 27 the timber and
metal A-frame would be removed. Visitors had apparently confused it
with the Swiss Embassy.

Canberra. PM John Howard will go to Washington to talk with Pres
George Bush Jr about Iraq next wk. He said he would take the
opportunity, since he was in the area, to convey the Australian
government's views on Iraq to Mr Bush.  The position of the Australian
PEOPLE was clear from any published opinion poll.  ABC TV reports Mr
Howard will also go to the UN and later visit PM Tony Blair in the
course of 1 wk.  Mr Howard said he hoped his trip "would be a peace
mission".  He wants to lobby the UN for a new resolution authorising
an attack on Iraq if it can't prove it has disarmed.  Mr Howard told
reporters before a cabinet meeting the chances of a peaceful outcome
were "slim" [he was actually looking to the left when he said this].
He defended Australia's forward deployment of troops by saying UN Sec
Kofi Annan had told him weapons inspectors would not have been allowed
into Iraq except for the threat of force posed by our diggers.  The PM
also said he would be able to convince members of the cabinet worried
about a budget blow-out that supporting the US against Iraq had
already been factored in to Treasury calculations.  [Whoops!]  He
dismissed the recently-formed "Liberals Against a War With Iraq",
claiming he was a member.  PM Howard has also scheduled a
Parliamentary debate on a "possible war" against Iraq for tomorrow.

Brisbane.  Australia's drought has spread N, with Qld's summer monsoon
failing to arrive on time.  The B. of Met. says while the NW was
flooded the coast of C. and S. Qld was left dry as El Nino prevented
the trade winds delivering rain.  Gladstone received 0.4mm in Jan
compared with its average 143mm.  Bundaberg got 1mm compared with its
usual 174. Brisbane saw 5mm when it normally gets 160mm.  Much of Qld
received 1/2 its average rainfall for the m.  Australia's wettest
town, Babinda, had a record low of 2157mm; barely 1/2 its normal
4211mm.  In Can-berra, no rain at all has fallen for 4 wks.  What
record?

----------------------------------------
04 Feb 2003.

Dakar. Apparently missed by free-to-air news media jam-a-thons,
Senegal's PM Idrissa Seck told parliament up to 1,900 people are now
believed to have drowned off the coast last Sep when a ferry capsized
in heavy seas. The figure is twice the toll originally publicised. PM
Seck said previous counts had looked at only the 1,143 people listed
on the manifest, but it was now believed 1,863 died. Only 64 people
escaped from the Joola, which was built to carry only 550 passengers.

Washington. After selecting appropriate confirming info from the piles
of contradictory and inconclusive dross the CIA tries to palm off on
the American govt as "intelligence", the Whitehouse says it's ready
for Colin Powell to knock the sox off the UN Sec Council in a
presentation for the case to go to war against Iraq.  However,
down-playing the shock in store for the World when President Bush is
Proved Right All Along, the Administration says the proof-tainment
will consist of "evidence", and the much-awaited "not a smoking gun".
NBC says the thrust will be in showing evidence of past Iraqi attempts
to conceal weapons programs rather than evidence about the weapons
programs themselves.

London.  Peace activist Tony Benn has helped arrange the first
interview of Iraqi Pres Saddam Hussein in 12 y.  In a press conf Benn
claimed it was important for the West to hear the inane propaganda of
Saddam, just as it hears the sterling & thought-provoking words of St
Bush and St Blair over & over.  He said the interview, that will be
shown in its entirety to some audiences, will present information that
"will make war harder". He wouldn't say exactly what that means.
Asked if he cared the illegal Iraqi regime was using him as a
pawn, Mr Benn said keep your eye on the ball.

Lagos.  Rescue workers have pulled 4 more bodies from the wreckage of
a massive explosion that shook Nigeria's biggest city over the
weekend.  The blast was reportedly the result of a failed bank
robbery.  The death toll now stands at 44, but is expected to rise.
Emmanuel Ijewere of the Nigerian Red Cross said many people are still
apparently trapped in the collapsed building, but it's not likely any
are still alive.  More than 60 people are still in hospital following
the explosion. Some were injured when police used machine-gun fire to
discourage looters grabbing cash blowing out of a broken bank vault in
the ruined building.

NY.  The finger-pointing fest is starting, with experts coming out of
the woodwork that had complained recently about everything from budget
cuts to the predicted upper lifetime of shuttle aircraft.  NBC has
shown frame-by-frame footage of the "foam incident" at take-off. There
certainly seems to be something to the idea the chunk of material hit
and bounced heavily off the underside of the left wing of the shuttle.
Although blurred, a cloud of material seems also to have come away
from the wing.  [FINALLY someone has revealed the piece of "foam" in
question weighed around 1 m long and had the DENSITY OF A BRICK! It
reportedly weighed around 1 kg and "fell" from an equivalent altitude
of several 100 m!]  Reports are being combed by reporters with 20/20
hindsight to find phrases warning of impending doom. And they're
finding enough to make things interesting.  One memo written 2 days
before Columbia landing date, said the takeoff could have left a
sizable 7.5 in by 30 in gash in the craft's left wing. Previously
Dittemore had classified the damage publicly as
"inconsequential". Some NASA engineers say they've seen a lot of tile
damage from 100s of flights and don't necessarily disagree with
Dittemore's summary. Others say the loss of one tile in a critical
place could lead to atmospheric heating triggering an avalanche of
other tiles coming away.

Washington. The WashPost says the death of Columbia came amid mounting
concerns over the shuttle program. A variety of reports indicated the
spacecraft suffered everything from cracked door hinges, leaks in fuel
lines, and pitted exteriors, to holes created by woodpeckers.  It says
the explosion over Texas was preceded by a "drumbeat of warnings" from
auditors and engineering experts who voiced concern about oversights
and deferred safety improvements for the 22 y old fleet.  Some
electronics and hardware was made so long ago NASA engineers had to
buy replacements from eBay.  In 1996 the assoc admin for the shuttle
program suddenly resigned, saying the fleet faced safety risks.  "NASA
was told in no uncertain terms... that it must not rely on the
shuttle, that the shuttle was a complicated and fragile
technology. NASA simply did not take that seriously", says Alex
Roland, former Agency historian now at Duke.  Columbia was the first
and heaviest ship of the fleet.  Crunch time came in 1999 when it was
suggested it be mothballed. A complete refit was chosen instead.
Almost a rebuild.  Even after the $US70 mn, 18 m operation ended in
2001 Columbia still lacked docking ability with the ISS.  In his Apr
2002 safety report to Congress Richard Blomberg from the Aerospace
Safety Advisory Panel wrote "I have never been as worried for space
shuttle safety as I am right now".  He continued that NASA's current
approach was "planting the seeds for future danger".  One of the 2001
upgrades included new heat shielding on the wings.  Something now
giving engineers at the Palmdale works sleepless nights.  But the
refit happened after numerous reports from the GAO, NAS, and NASA's
own advisory boards warned that budget cuts and layoffs compromised
the Agency's ability to maintain the shuttle fleet safely.

Jakarta.  Police have arrested a Malaysian national believed to be
connected with the Oct 12 Bali bombing.  Chief Comm Didi Royhayadi
says Noordin Mohammad Top was arrested in E Java early yesterday.  He
said according to key suspect Ali Imron the arrested man was involved
in the financing and planning of the attack.

Melbourne. WATCH OUT! A run-away has collided head-on with another
stationary train, injuring 11 people.  It's understood there were no
fatalities.  The incident occurred at 9.40 pm after an unoccupied
3-carriage commuter slammed into a V-Line train at platform 2 Spencer
St after travelling 15 km. The run-away left Broadmeadows stn minutes
before, reaching speeds of 100 kph.  Police have cordoned off the
crash site and begun a criminal investigation.  Sabotage has not been
ruled out.

Washington.  A US official says photographs of mobile biological
weapons installations and transcripts of conversations among Iraqi
officials are part of the evidence Colin Powell will present to the
UN. The Sec of State will attempt to convince the UN on Wed that
Saddam Hussein is defying Resolutions and hiding WMD.  Mr Powell has
been quoted as saying the US will not shrink from war.  Elsewhere, the
Navy says a 4th carrier will be sent to the Persian Gulf.

NY. Security Council diplomats have indicated they want "credible
proof" and not just a re-hash of statements and 1/2-truths they've
heard before. The diplomats reportedly represent both allies,
opponents and unconvinced members of the Council. With Colin Powell's
speech go the Admin's last good chance to change world and EU opinion
to support a strike against Iraq. But US military officials remain
divided on whether to include some electronic intel in the Good
Package.  Other officials have described the entire portfolio as
"dated" and "circumstantial".  Elsewhere in the Admin, officials
accuse opponents unwilling to wage war no matter what the evidence
shows.  The opponents say hawks will use any evidence as an excuse to
attack Iraq.

L.A. From Number 1 to Murder 1. 62 yo Phil Spector, writer, music
producer and inventor of the Wall of Sound, is the latest celebrity to
fall foul of the law.  He was arrested and charged with murder after
the body of a woman was found at his hilltop mansion.  She had been
shot dead. With bail set at $1 mn, commentators are saying Spector had
always been odd.  "Severe psychological problems", said one observer.
Mr Spector was known for a bad temper and attraction to firearms,
sometimes being known to point same in the general direction of people
he was working with.  While the "oddness" had initially been mistaken
for genius when Spector made his first million by age 21, it was
re-classified as a bad thing after he was recently reported to have
turned his life around after being a virtual recluse for 20 y.

Houston.  Reporters say for the first time NASA has admitted the
design of the main fuel tank may be to blame for the failure of the
Columbia mission.  Elsewhere, program director Dittemore said the
exact cause of the disaster may never be known.  Pres George Bush Jr
is now defending past budget cuts to the program.  Directly linking
the disaster to Saddam Hussein's evil reign, reports say spending on
NASA has declined 40% since 1991.  In an heroic move, Pres Bush Jr has
called for an immediate budget boost of $US1/2 bn (3%) to bring the
Agency's funding to $US15.5 bn. It co-incidentally restores last y's
$US1/2 bn cut from NASA's budget for shuttle safety improvements.  The
Whitehouse says the boost was decided on weeks ago, and had nothing to
do with the Columbia disaster.

Washington.  The $4.4 trillion US budget is being carved up for 2003.
With trillion USD tax cuts and spending increases, the bottom line is
expected to be $600 bn in the red.  Although Iraq and N Korea haven't
been factored in, defence spending is set for a $30 bn boost this y to
$US380 bn, and additional $40 bn increments are scheduled for each of
the next 5 y.  At around 15% of its budget, the US govt spends more on
pre-emptive defence than the next 20 countries combined.

Sydney. The All Ords is trading higher today, following a 76 point
rise on the Dow to close over 8100.  With plenty of earnings numbers
out today, several key companies report revenue increases of up to 8%
over the previous FY.  But on the negative side, it was not a bumper
Xmas.  Figures for retail sales show a decline of 0.9% over December.
While sales were up 6% in Nov, they declined 5% in Jan 2003.

Canberra. ABC TV says the PM will cut into children's programming this
afternoon to explain why Australia needs to assist its best ally to
attack Iraq. Peaceniks were trying to bombard politicians with
propaganda this morning, with a "no war" sign on the way to church
before the opening of parliament. A big blue balloon of hot air
outside parliament house displayed some similar message. There was
even preaching from the pulpit! However, Our Man fought back, quoting
something about loving each other from Romans.  A News Poll is said to
be preying on the PM's mind.  Signalling an "uphill battle to win
public opinion", the poll shows 60% of Australians support a strike
against Iraq with a UN go, but 75% oppose unilateral action.  More
worrying for the PM is a similar pattern across the board.  Even for
Liberal voters, 1/3 are against action without UN backing.

Washington.  US defence officials say bombers, fighter jets and
warships have been alerted for possible deployment to the W Pacific to
"deter any aggression" by N Korea during a strike against Iraq. Don
Rumsfeld has not given the final word to move yet.  Officials say the
additional forces were requested by Hawaii-based Adml Thomas Farfo,
head of US forces in the Pacific and Asia rim.

London.  In another sterling speech to Parliament, PM Tony Blair has
argued why the strike against Iraq must go ahead, with or without UN
backing.  Showing weakness by backing down now would make it
impossible to be believed in the near future, he said.  Mr Blair said
the allies must show strength in this final stage of the 12 y plan
against Iraq. The PM said there was "unmistakable evidence" that
Saddam Hussein is "withholding vital information" from the UN.

Amsterdam.  The US Army is reportedly set to train 3,000 Iraqi exiles
at a military base in Hungary to fight in the war against Iraq.  One
exile said he'd been recruited for the project by the London-based
Iraqi National Congress.  He said the group would be "interpreters"
and "guides" for US forces.

Canberra. Tony Abbott says today's question time has been cancelled so
that PM John Howard and Deputy John Anderson can make statements about
the looming war with Iraq.  The opposition will generously be given a
right of reply.

Jerusalem.  Soldiers have arrested a leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah
group.  They said Ziad Abu Hilben had been involved in financing
attacks against Israelis in Hebron.  Elsewhere, tanks fired shells and
machine guns in the village of Abassan, killing 2 and wounding 4.

Canberra. Iraq's snr diplomat in Australia has warned that Saddam is
"closely watching Australians" and their response to a possible strike
against Iraq.  Dr Saad Al Samarai says Iraq is "saddened" by the
federal govt's deployment of troops to the Gulf because Iraq and
Australia had been friends in the past.  He warned that Aussie troops
would be killed if they go to war.

NY. It's conclusive. Americans consider the most invention ever is the
toothbrush. Number 2 is motor cars, followed by personal computers,
the microwave oven and mobile phone.  The annual MIT innovation poll
showed 42% of adults and 32% of teens went for the toothbrush, that
dates back to the 15th C for Europe.

Caracas.  Banks, shopping malls, universities and schools have opened
as opponents of Pres Chavez eased a 64-day-old strike.  The change
comes a day after 100s of 1000s signed a petition demanding the
President resign immediately.  Stores have begun filling with products
that had become scarce, including fresh milk, juice and bottled water.
Lines disappeared from banks as they resumed normal working hours for
the first time in 2 m.

Townsville. In a bid to reduce yet another introduced pest, Cape York
authorities are planning to export boar meat to EU.  A Cook Shire
Council repot recommends boar meat harvesting will help reduce numbers
of the animals and also provide local jobs. Cape York Weeds and Feral
Animals Project mgr Peter James says the meat is popular in Holland,
Germany, and France where it's part of "traditional diet".  As many as
5 mn wild pigs may live in the Cape York area.

Jakarta. Tourism numbers to Bali doubled in Dec over the prev m. The
stats bureau says Indon's tourism industry, about 5% of GDP, suffered
badly due to the 2002 blast.  Tourism arrivals dropped 2.3% from 2001
to 5.03 mn.  Dec arrivals for Indon as a whole were still about 7%
lower at just under 282,000.

Jerusalem.  Israeli intel is said to be "deeply divided" after the
dismissal of a young Lt for refusing to obey an order on moral
grounds.  According to Ma'ariv an intel officer had been cashiered
after he deliberately refused to pass on information that could lead
to the deaths of innocent civilians.  Defenders of the Lt say the
events raise questions about the legality of other operations in the
occupied territories.  The paper reports the officer's actions are
widely supported in his own unit. One supporter said soldiers were
taught from boot camp to protest illegal orders, and that's what the
Lt had done.  Other reports said after the deaths of 23 Israelis in a
suicide bombing orders had been received from "the political
leadership" to identify potential targets for reprisal attacks in the
W Bank and Gaza.  The Lt objected when he was asked to determine when
people were to be in a particular building, rather than when certain
suspects were likely to be there.  Supporters say he thought the
operation would result in the loss of innocent civilian lives.  After
telling his superiors he believed the operation was illegal, he
refused to provide the requested information.  The defence force has
declined to comment beyond a statement they had taken appropriate
action.

Melbourne. With temps in the mid 30s today, Vic's bushfires have
clocked up 1 mn ha. Dept of Sustainability & Environment rep Michael
Leonard says the forecast for tomorrow and Thu may shape up like last
wk. At that time ferocious blazes jumped containment lines destroying
houses, property and livestock.  Mr Leonard says predicted
thunderstorms are a worrying sign as more fires could be ignited.

Canberra. PM John Howard spent most of his speech to Parliament,
outlining his govt's position to a strike against Iraq, defending the
policies of the USA. The PM said it was "outrageous" that anyone would
imagine the USA is motivated by economic interests and a grab for
Iraq's oil. If the US wanted cheap oil, it would have negotiated a
solution with Iraq years ago. Like in the good old days when it
secured 5 billion bbl of subsidised product from Iraq.  Mr Howard said
Australia would rely increasingly on the US in a borderless world.  He
also maintained [looking to the right as he said so] that no final
decision had been made to support the US in a war against Iraq.  All
opposition parties made predictable "supporting some war for someone
else in another country are not in our interests -- bring our troops
home to protect us against that terrorism stuff" talks.  Crean said
the only way for the PM to prove his claim Australia was not secretly
committed to war, would be to go to the US and tell the Admin Aussie
troops would only be used in the case of a UN go.

Canberra. Mr Howard had to "update" protesting religious officials
outside Parliament this morning they didn't have a monopoly on
the hatred of war. That's what the lip-reading experts said. But a
leaked document from Alex Downer's office has contradicted the govt's
position Aussie troops are not necessarily committed to war. The paper
said that if the UN process breaks down it would be difficult for
Australia to withdraw from the Gulf. It continued that such a position
could not be made public. Mr Downer said the leak was a "complete
misrepresentation" because it had been based on something he said 3
month ago.  He later told ABC TV everyone should be a "reasonable
approach" to the truth.  Opp'n leader Crean said it was just more
evidence the PM was treating the Aussie people as the mugs they were.

Baghdad. Appearing in a jocular mood on TV, Iraqi Evil Man Saddam
Hussein made more empty threats against any world's only superpower
and attending lapdogs that attack Iraq. Elsewhere, exiled Iraqi
generals have tried to warn the Pentagon that Saddam's elite troops
have already "gone underground" to prepare for any invasion
force. They say the forces will be "extremely hard to find". Time to
field-test those nuclear bunker busters! Luckily someone was thinking
and had them legally re-classified as conventional weapons!

Sydney. Milder conditions have helped firefighters get the upper hand
on bushfires that continue to burn across NSW. Rural Fire Service rep
Meeka Bailey says 30 fires are still burning across the state, but
most aren't causing concern. She said there's till a big 'un in the
Kosciuszko Nat'l Park but no property is under direct threat at
present. There's likely to be no change until "severe weather"
arrives.

Adelaide. 6 escaped prisoners from the Woomera foreigner's prison are
still on the loose. They've eluded police for a 2nd day after escaping
early yesterday. The prisoners were assisted by 5 masked hippies with
tyre irons [!?] during what is described as an "orchestrated
escape". Guards at the desert prison camp say someone will be killed
in future breakouts.  Reports say 2 guards were injured in yesterday's
escape.

Melbourne.  Don Mercer has resigned as Chancellor of RMIT University.
The former ANZ bank chair said he'd tried to give the Uni his advice
but they'd ignored it.  The resignation comes as a row over losses at
the uni continue. A $16 mn surplus had unexpectedly come in as a loss
between 3 and 5 mn last FY. An enquiry into the money troubles is
proceeding. Tittle-tattle for the past y concerns the installation of
uni-wide mega timetabling and other integrated software supplied by a
well-known multinational at great expense that completely failed to
work as advertised. Even when the system was turned over to a local
company for more bucks, the carcass could not be re-animated.

----------------------------------------
05 Feb 2003.

Belgrade. As a possible model of how to successfully wage a bloody
centuries-long campaign to no obvious effect except major parts of
various populations scared into a state of psychotic shock, piles of
bodies buried in secret graves around a huge region of countryside,
and ages-old architecture bombed to oblivion, the Yugoslav parliament
has endorsed a loose union [OH NO!] of Serbia and Montenegro. In a
session that officials buried the bloody federation after a decade
(not counting any previous centuries) of Balkan wars.  The upper
Chamber of Republics voted for a W-brokered accord for the new union,
to be known as "Serbia and Montenegro" [couldn't get the billing
changed, hey?], with 26 votes for and 7 against. It means Yugoslavia,
whose painful break-up spawned Europe's bloodiest conflict since WWII,
ceases to exit except under the new name.

Jerusalem.  Just checking. In a joint US/Israeli exercise, Patriot
missiles have been fired to see if they still work.  6 armed missiles
were fired into the S Negev to see if they had any chance whatever of
hitting incoming Scuds.  With Iraq stepping up preparations for a US
attack, Israeli Def Min Shaul Mofaz said Israeli preparations for war
were also on schedule.

Houston. The inquiry into the shuttle disaster has moved from Texas to
California, with suggestions the spacecraft had started breaking up
1,600 km before it rained down over the Lone Star State. Program
director Ron Dittemore said it would be "significant" if there was
anything to all the reports Columbia was shedding parts as early as
Californian airspace.  Meanwhile, The Leader has joined friends and
relatives of the Columbia crew in a memorial ceremony at Johnson Space
Center.

Korolyov. Kazakhstan calling! The "Progress" re-supply ship has docked
at the ISS, bringing fuel, food and water for the crew of 3.  The
robot craft faultlessly docked 2 days after lift-off from Russia's
main space-port in Kazakhstan.  The 16-nation International Space
Station depends on the US shuttle program to deliver building
materials and equipment, the bulk of its supplies. The Russian
missions are now the only link between Earth and the ISS.

London.  Several Greenpeace hippies have been removed after they
chained themselves to tanks bound for a desert war.  They will now
have to pay full-fare to get to the action.  There will be an inquiry
into how they managed to read a map and find their way onto the base.

NY. BORE-ING! Paul Crake has beaten a bunch of Yank fatties and some
damn foreigners up the stairs of a local eyesore known as the Empire
State Building.  It's the 5th time straight for Crake. And, yes, he
beat his own record again, too. Somehow this pasty Can-berran took the
1,500 steps in 9m 33s, killing all 115 other competitors.  I suspect
they were all suffering low self-esteem!  Some unknown 34 yo Austrian
was beaten into submission, managing only to come in 90s behind the
Aussie. The only other competitor to come close was an 90 yo Italian
who took 90m.

NY.  A comp. to rebuild the World Trade Centre has narrowed the
possibilities down to 2.  Both plans see replacement towers taller
than the originals.

Seoul. Copyright infringment! North Korea has complained the US is
pursuing a "policy of evil" after US warships and bombers were put on
alert for possible deployment near the Korean peninsula.  The official
NK newspaper has dismissed out-of-hand as a "hoax" generous US offers
to help rid the country of competing nuclear weapons technology. US
defence officials say they're moving to beef up the US military
presence in the area to deter any illegal NK aggression during the war
against Iraq.  There's also a suggestion the plan is just simple
forward deployment, given NK is Target Number 2 even though it doesn't
have oil.

Srinagar. Police say they've shot dead 5 people under the heading of
"Muslim rebels". The group tried to sneak into Indian Kashmir from
Pakistan, they said.  Elsewhere, India and Pakistan exchanged
non-nuclear artillery fire along the ceasefire line dividing the
Himalayan region between the 2 countries overnight.  So far there's no
suggestion these countries are targets 3 and 4.  No oil.

Le Touquet. Just proving that it's the PEACENIKS have their minds made
up and won't listen to reason, Brit PM Tony Blair has not been able to
make French Pres Jack Chirac see sense and join the war against Iraq.
Despite loads of good arguments from Mr Blair, the Frog President said
he remained bloody-mindedly against to war without giving the pissweak
UN process some God-forsaken amount of time to search for the WMD we
already know full-well the evil Iraqi regime has.  In a typical act of
bastardry, France also directed an aircraft carrier closer to the
Gulf.  They claimed it was looking for a lost nuclear bomb.

Sydney. 4 of 6 escapees from the Woomera prison camp have been
arrested after they were discovered hiding in the SA town of Burra, N
of Adelaide.  After a chase, one car was stopped at gunpoint.  A 24 yo
Qld hippie was taken out and hung.  Elsewhere, one criminal used a
megaphone to call on his gang to come out of the scrub and give
themselves up to police.  2 other criminals remain at large but will
be relentlessly tracked down by armed police and the US Army.

Adelaide. A house in Burra has been raided and 2 people taken into
custody. They are to be charged with helping foreigners.

Can-berra. War? What war? PM John Howard has told govt Ministers to
put any spending plans on hold now we're not necessarily committed to
an expensive war against Iraq. But despite the aim of bringing in a
record deficit, Mr Howard magnanimously held out the chance of a
Bush-style trillion dollar tax cut.  In an interview published in The
Bulletin, the PM said the May Budget would be "tight". He said
spending had to be put on ice because we obviously needed to spend
more on defence and homeland security.

Can-berra. The govt has stepped up its terrorism campaign, adding
full-colour TV ads to its mail-out of fridge magnets. The commercials,
which tell people to be alert for a $15 mn mailout, started airing
overnight.  The TV campaign will be backed up by newspaper propaganda
that will appear tomorrow. You're sure getting your money's worth
here! The terrorism kit reportedly contains the PM's telephone number
in case you see anything suspicious. It also suggests you assemble a
terrorist kit consisting of battery-powered radio, playing cards,
needle and thread, and rubber gloves. As a security measure, govt
agencies have refused to say what the rubber gloves are for.

Townsville. The weather office has issued an APB for a
suspicious-looking cyclone seen hanging around off the N Qld coast
without visible means of support. Identified as "Cyclone Beni", the
office says the cyclone is "unpredictable" and could still hit the
coast. Residents are warned not to approach. A warning for C. Qld
between Mackay and Gladstone was downgraded after it was decided Beni
was not even close. At midnight the warning was moved to coastal and
inland communities between Ayr and Sarina.  Have your rubber gloves
handy!

Melbourne. With a couple of days in the mid 40s, bushfires in
E. Gippsland are expected to escalate today. Thunderstorms are also
predicted in the area.  Firefighters say lightning strikes will
"add to the inferno".  They've spent the night protecting towns N of
the Snowy River Natl Park, which came under attack when winds whipped
up flames overnight. Hot conditions and thunderstorms are expected
to continue until at least Fri.

Melbourne. In an act of bloody-minded jealousy, the ACTU wants to slug
innocent companies that give their over-worked executives $1 mn golden
handshakes and salaries. In a sign the Tall Poppy Syndrome (that
experts say is based on low self-esteem and Communist sympathies left
over from the Vietnam era) is still alive and well among pinkos and
fellow-travellers, the ACTU made a submission to the Senate Economics
Committee calling for the removal of the company tax deductibility of
renumeration over the arbitrary $1 mn mark.  Sec Greg Combet [now,
THAT sounds like a foreign name; possibly FRENCH!] says the changes
were "needed" to stop the perfectly necessary subsidies that taxpayers
voluntarily provide to corporate salaries, and to provided ALLEGED
incentives to companies to rein in their numerous but
rapidly-inadequate 6-figure salary packages.

London. In a vile plan to pre-empt Colin Powell's talk to the UN,
Iraqi bad-man Saddam the Evil has done a Nixon to deny any links with
the Al Qaeda terrorist organisation.  In his first TV interview since
the Iraqi crisis began 12 years ago, Saddam claimed if he had a
relationship with Al-Qaeda he wouldn't be ashamed to say so.  He said
he was complying with UN Resolutions.  Saddam went on to say the
current US Admin was trying to control the world by moving to control
world oil supplies.  Iraq stands accused of refusing to comply with US
demands to relinquish plans to develop nuclear weapons.  But Saddam
denied Iraq is hiding WMD.  But adopting tactics beloved of Aussie
politicians, he left the door open for anything the size of a pill or
smaller, indicating that micro-miniaturised installations would be
invisible to US spy satellites.

Baghdad. Peaceniks have tried to make some kind of case the US is
trying to control the country's oil.  They claim the US is still the
biggest purchaser of Iraqi oil, despite the on-going conflict over the
past 12 y.  Claiming petrol in Iraq is cheaper than water, some hippie
was shown on TV filling up an SUV with 150 L (40 gal) and paying $US2 for
it. Big deal.

Washington. The Admin is trying to pad the C.V. ahead of Security
Council meetings tomorrow at which Sec of State Colin Powell will
present evidence that Iraq has obviously been hiding something over
the past 12 y.  A lot is riding on the address.  The Admin hints the
package contains the famed "not a smoking gun".  Don Rumsfeld was
asked if that would be enough to convince the world to attack.  He
said the package contained "a good number of things that already were
evidence". Apparently meaning selected facts were spinning in the
right direction to start with.  He went on to say some might say the
package was powerful or not powerful.  "But it's evidence", he
emphasised.  He also said Abraham Lincoln was a midget.  This is a
little-known fact.

Can-berra. More drought-hit farmers will get welfare payments
today. About 21% of S Qld is set to attach to the public titty.  The
so-called "Exceptional Circumstances" deal will provide interest rate
subsidies for loans up to $100,000 as well as special welfare
payments. Qld authorities are likely to apply for more areas to be
assisted as it's realised the state is bigger than previously thought.
Some farmers claim they are entering the 3rd year of record drought.
What record?

Melbourne. From 3 to 5 investigations into the "ghost train" incident
are underway. They were either ordered or just started on their own
after a suburban train crashed into Spencer St after running downhill
without power along the length of a suburban line. Reports say the
empty 3-carriage train started rolling when its driver got out to
search for the engine.  The driver has been stood down and given a
drawing of where the engines on a 3-carriage train are normally
located. The inquiries will look into why no warning was given to
passengers on the targetted Bacchus Marsh-bound V-Line train. 15
people were injured when the runaway hit the stationary train.

Can-berra. Will these people NEVER learn? ACOSS has released a $10 bn
Budget wish list. AND ITS JUST STAGE 1!  Trying to get on some kind of
band-wagon, the list of unreasonable demands includes a $3.3 bn attack
plan on unemployment. Wrong target, buddy!  ACOSS says the saving from
the scrapping of health insurance company subsidies and crackdowns on
perfectly legitimate savings vehicles for executives would pay for all
this.  Pres Andrew McCallum said he estimates that more than 1.3 mn
under- or unemployed Aussies don't show up on official figures.

Canberra.  The govt will face a "barrage of questions" this wk over
Australia's secret commitment to the war on Iraq.  Question Time was
cancelled yesterday so both sides could issue opening shots.  Last m
the govt was free of public scrutiny when it deployed troops to the
Gulf to support US forces already in the region.  The opp'n believes
PM Howard has been "less than open with the Aussie people".  In the
Senate today, the govt will face a no-confidence motion from Bob Green
about the PM's commission of troops without UN backing.  Sen. Green said Mr
Howard had a ring through his nose, and that wasn't appropriate dress.
Due to the unfair number of opp'n members in the Senate,
the no-confidence motion is likelty to pass.
Questions will be fired throughout the wk about a leaked transcript of
a conversation between Mr Downer and the NZ high commissioner. The
opp'n says it's "proof" the govt is hiding something, but they don't
know what.  Mr Crean said "breach of trust" a couple of times.  St
Alex the Downer said his conversation was taken out of context and had
nothing to do with the long-planned Iraq war. It was about enforcing
UN resolutions against Iraq.  That wasn't made clear in the transcript
because the context was obvious. The opp'n tried to look into the
document this morning, but the first question was crushed by the
govt-owned Speaker and Mr Downer didn't have to appear.

Brisbane.  Long live Leader Springborg!  The Nationals Deputy was also
replaced in the coup.

Sydney.  The brakes are well-and-truly on for the Aussie economy.
Aussie growth is 1% off because of drought.  But tell the AUD, which
is 59.15 US cents and on its way to 60 within months.  Gold is up 20%
over the past 2 m.  1/2 of that is a result of a 10% fall in the USD.
It soared to 15 y highs overnight.  Economists say the Reserve will
make no change to int rates.  In the medium-term there may be a cut.
O/S, the US had stalled with the Dow down 100 pts overnight.  It
closed just above 8000. There is still much uncertainty about the Iraq
war.

========================================

(*) Who is responcible for W.A.R.S?  A small group of dedicated
sangrabbers, bannana-lickers and 5th columnists on the run from
support payments and sundry legalese in their home countries. Mention
us at any Uncle Harry's Gun Bunker and Chapel and get a free trigger
lock!  OK. I'll come clean. We can't even GIVE the things away!

All speling macroizated for correctitood by Mcrosotf Speelchek.

*** Please stand by for further orders from The Leader ***