I thought I could just work my way through this but it backfired badly. I was rewarded for my effort in ignoring the flu and working anyway.. with a blow up of the disease.

So now I'm stuck in bed It's Saturday AM and Kay went to get papers. I am a news junky, always have been. Like any junky, I crave that which is bad for me. She asked which papers…"All of them" is my answer… as I careen toward terminal overdose and intent on taking you with me.

So.. here goes with an unrehearsed and uncut rave as Bob the editor goes through the stack of papers and remember… I'm not fucking happy to start.

First off is yesterdays (Friday aug 10th) "Courier Mail" a rotten gossip rag out of Brisbane that Murdock would present as reporting… well, it does have it's lucky days when facts are not at odds with the Murdock agenda. HEADLINE! "FLU STRIKES" Yeah and water is wet. The meat of the story does have a real fact, this flu is starting to kill people, even healthy, strong men in prime of life. "He was a healthy, strapping miner and former soldier, but not even the strong are safe…" Besides the sensational scare mongering typical of the CM there is news buried inside of another Beattie Government minister dumped for physical bullying and assault. Beattie couldn't afford to have any straight officials within sight of what those boys do in Brisbane behind the closed doors. Like a perversion of the Bob Dylan line.. "In Jersey (Brisbane) anything's legal as long as you don't get caught."

Queensland police, a band of thugs. Pg 16, small article bottom of page.. seems on her first day of duty a recruit was approached by a cop to lie for him to cover up beating up an alleged female shoplifter. Being new, she didn't go for it and the corrupt piece of shit was charged and pleaded guilty. The problem was that at the trial the room was filled with cops in uniform and plainclothes there to show support!!!! The bastard lied in court and to the CMC and beat up an innocent woman. What are the values these people have… if any?? And to top it off, "an internal police audit ordered by Queenslands top cop has so far failed to identify officers who attended court to support a disgraced colleague jailed for bashing a female suspect." So much for the cops self policing.

"Fraser Coast Chronicle" Not a bad local paper. The lead story is about a crooked real estate agent who was busted for screwing a client out of $30,000. His defence? He did it because.. wait for it…. He "thought he could get away with it." Bad Luck asshole.

The Traviston Dam is claimed to be dead and the governments denial lacks conviction… we'll see.

"Sunshine Coast Daily" Another good independent (read, not News LTD) daily. HEADLINE! "APEC SHAME: COPS RUN AMOK AT COOLUM CONFRENCE" Seems the cops are accused of engaging in drunken and destructive party whilst on duty providing "security" for the conference. The resort put a gag order on employees and I'm sure the TOP Cop will launch an investigation that will dither off into nothing when it falls off the news radar. An old friend of mine was a rooky cop when assigned to guard the door of a jewellery store that was broken into. The detective finally showed up to strip the place of any merchandise left behind by the first round of thieves, only leaving behind a stern warning to the astounded rooky to keep his fucking mouth shut!

I've got a story on the table by a boaty who alleges his boat was rammed and sunk by a drunken bunch of cops frolicking around in a new cop jet ski.. I was going to kill that part of the story.. but after this weekends news… maybe not.

Page 15 "Driver blew in Face of Police Officer" HUH? According to the victim he "huffed in frustration at the cops attitude" and then the cop tore his shirt and threw him on the car bonnet to arrest him. The kid was driving his girlfriend to her 19th birthday party when stopped. Obviously a felon on the make for trouble?? The cops are trying for a law change to make it automatic jail for an "offence" like this. The kid didn't fight it so fined $200. I don't blame him. A recent case where this old pensioner guy fought the cops in court on a speeding charge got a shock wen he figured out the new strategy they use. The cops flew in a barrister from Melbourne and piled up "expert" witness's at great expense and overwhelmed the court with bullshit. The old boy lost and had to pay these crazy expenses. This is a corrupt system. The government gambles nothing. They use your money to buy the court or "enhance" their case. They can't loose…. But an innocent victim with no knowledge of how the system works is fucked right up.

The cops are shedding the thin veneer they may have once had about any interest in "Justice." Queensland Cops ARE the bad guys.

Page 25 "Report Backs IR Reforms" and.. "Rudd Blasts Author" and well he should. A thing I've learned whilst researching government "research" is that it is routinely bought and paid for. I talked to a professional researcher.. yes, there are such occupations. She confirmed, if you want work you come to the 'desired' conclusion. When it comes to government or big business, research documents mean nothing except a desperation indicator. Basically the report suggest the world as we know it will come to an end if big business can't dictate employment arrangements. Big business must feel they have a lot at stake to spend this much money trying to convince people they are not enriching themselves at the workers expense.

Page 26 "Doubts Raised on Land Link to Abuse" Seems some people are having trouble coming to grips with how the federal governments seizing of aboriginal land has anything to do with preventing child abuse…..

Page 26 "PM plans to Clean up the net with $189m" John Howard hates sex in any form. Using child porno as an excuse, the lot is set to be "filtered" from access for all Australians. This obvious attempt to secure the churchies vote fits like a glove into the PM's desire to control and oppress. I got a press release from customs a week ago. You wouldn't know it yet but the laws on porno have changed and it is very restrictive and absolutely unclear. The law uses vague description of what is legal and what isn't. Virtually leaving it to the discretion of the officer involved. Words like "offensive" are the terms used…. Offensive to whom? I know some repressed mental midgets that are seriously threatened by the bump of a hard nipple under a sweater for chris sake.. We've taken a step back to the forties.

Page 38 "Investors hung out to dry by fiscal regulator" Seems ASIC (Australian securities and exchange commission) operates for the benefit of the corporations and fuck the investors… buyer beware! Another big investment firm goes down and makes millions in mum and dad retirement funds disappear in the process. How could an investment firm be run so badly as to go under with the share market in steady double digit gains? You would think they have determined there is more profit in bankrupcy than work and ASIC does what exactly??

Page 42.. "Breaking Point for the thin Blue Line" and… "Queensland police will hold a march in Brisbane after a tough eight months on the frontline" I'll bet! The fucking hangovers must be killing them. And trying to hide all the corrupt moneys and stolen goods… people just don't realise the stress these poor bastards suffer from every day!

"THE COURIER MAIL" has got to be the biggest steaming pile of bullshit in print with the possible exception of "THE AUSTRALIAN"

HEADLINE, FRONT PAGE: "TOXIC RIVERS", "BANNED PESTICIDES FOUND IN MUD CRABS" Nothing but sensational red herrings. YES, the reef is suffering. I know because I reported this story 3 years ago, that's how I can spot the bullshit from across the room in this ridiculous piece of propaganda. They focus on the non-event of the old organochlorins like DDT that will be in the food chain in measurable amounts for generations whilst ignoring what does have an effect on the reef. Expert job miss-direction like an old pro magician. The evils that are killing our reef are not mentioned, the sacred cows of mining and agriculture. Herbicides, nutrients and sediments flushed out of the few remaining flowing rivers from the cane fields are half of it. The other half is the fact very little fresh water from the coastal river systems reaches the coast anymore. These estuaries were once the breeding ground of the reefs wildlife and acutely important to the reef in uncountable ways. Now the only time they flow is in flood and then they flush horrors out of the cane fields in concentrations strong enough to kill off mangroves at the river mouths. Mangroves are not that delicate a tree. The water has been seized by the mines and cane farmers. It takes over 200 litres of fresh water to process every ton of coal and little cane would survive in Queensland without intensive irrigation. Almost none of that is mentioned in the article though, except a quote from a cane industry stooge saying how the industry was doing all it could to minimise pollution… utter bullshit! I drive through the cane fields all the time and you can still pick out the use of "Diuron" and other herbicides readily. Nothing has changed and won't as long as these dickheads refuse to even acknowledge the seriousness of the issue. They'll continue to look for scapegoats like yachts to blame their abuse on. Absolute scum!

Dianne Butler cracks me up… she is really good!

Page 22… "Laws of a Police State".. well duh! The government wants to give opposition law makers all of 24 fucking hours to review legislation that will give breathtaking powers to the federal government concerning aboriginal and I believe all citizens but with little time to investigate and with information filtered through the governments propaganda machine… it's hard to assess for sure. This is typical of this government. Brng up a subject everyone agrees with and then come up with legislation that whacks our civil liberties in the name of the subject at hand… aboriginal child abuse in this case. This is monstrous arrogance and abuse of power. If it were white guys abusing kids the PM would appoint them governor General. The devil will be in the detail on this but expect all our rights to be diminished by it. Racism is the cover game, one John Howard has relied on for years. He is a disgusting pig of a man.

John Howards world is a dark and ugley place. Pandering to the worst in everyone. He would make us all less than what we are… more like him. He hates good people because he could never be anything but what he is and I think he disgusts himself. He should have been born in that period we now know to call "the dark ages". He would have been a bishop selling absolution to those that could afford it.