Names are de rigueur around Ozblogistan this issue, as sundry people riff on a piece by resident Age bomb-thrower and lefty Andrew Bolt alternative, Catherine Deveny.

Nick Gruen and Legal Eagle got going with two thoughtful pieces apiece, while Darlene Taylor was in wholehearted agreement with Catherine. Nick’s first piece, which sought something akin to a statistical sample from Troppo’s commenters, is particularly enlightening. Legal Eagle’s discussion of the importance of one’s name when circulating socially is especially apt. Nick’s second piece gets stuck into Deveny.

Matters feminist and name-related also produced this very funny piece from Lauredhel Hoyden on bonkers police recruitment ads and fertility propaganda. For my part, I’ve been watching with creeping dread as Kate McCann is transformed into Lindy Chamberlain, and wondering if this sort of press reaction and the ‘bad mother’ label is universal. Adrian the Cabbie, meanwhile, tells of the eternal father-daughter dance.

Today’s graphics come via Colin Campbell; he presumably nabbed them from the Chasers’ site. I do like the obviously fake ‘insecurity’ passes. I like them a lot. That is all.

Today’s Missing Link assembled by a full cru – James Farrell, Peter Black, Amanda Rose, Cam Riley, Legal Eagle, gilmae and Helen ‘skepticlawyer’ Dale. It’s chunky and wholesome, too.

1. News and Politics Stuff

Pommygranate has a helpful “Who’s Who” guide to the APEC protesters. Jim Belshaw has a look at the Chasers’ security breach, and thinks that the powers that be got their priorities wrong. Andrew Leigh sings a song of praise to the ABC, particularly the Chasers. Niall Cook believes the Chaser team are a pure expression of the Australian ethos. Prophet points out that the whole Chaser event is free publicity for the show – they don’t need a marketing budget, they just troll A Current Affair.

Also on APEC-related matters, Jeremy Sear is getting anxious about the violent protesters, who still haven’t manifested, while Apathetic Sarah notes Downer’s petulant response to Rudd’s display of linguistic proficiency. Gary Sauer-Thompson writes that the APEC response is consistent with a surveillance society:

If APEC is a gabfest with dress-ups then the several hundred million dollars in security, which involves a further erosion of our civil liberties, stands for surveillance society. The clampdown on civil liberties is way over the top, the restrictions extend far from the key venues and the squashing of the legitimate expression of dissent is extensive.

Australian Politics also speculates on that possibility.

Simon Jackman continues his excellent series on polling arbitrage.

Andrew Landeryou thinks that Janet Albrechtsen, Andrew Bolt and Paul Kelly are wrong in arguing that Peter Costello is a better bet for the Liberal leadership. Mick at LP too is unpersuaded by Albrechtsen’s argument, while Apathetic Gam supplies the perfect picture for this story, and a swag of links for readers nostalgic for happier times.

George W. Bush was only in Iraq for a few hours, but that was apparently long enough to spawn a crazy new batch of plastic turkey drones. Tim Blair has the details. They’re blogging about Bush at Surfdom too. Eric Martin speculates on why the Administration would want to draw more attention to Genral Patraeus’s report, which will be edited by themselves, than to the report by the ‘professional investigators and auditors at the Government Accountability Office’. Ken Lovell is amused that the President now apparently identifies Chinese citizens’ insistence on saving excessively as the cause of America’s economic problems.

So, apparently there was an international conference happening in Sydney. I know, I know; you didn’t hear about it. It was kept quiet and got a bit overshadowed by the security operation held for some reason or another. Peter Martin discusses the Sydney Declaration, a post-Kyoto agreement on climate change, in which that ‘aspirational’ term seems to have raised its head again. Perhaps that will be Howard’s legacy, the word ‘aspirational’. Niall Cook has a dim view of the agreement.

gilmae is just over the whole bloody APEC whingefest – and that goes for anti-Bush protesters, too.

Legal Eagle and John Surname both find some amusement in the case of the mispronounced name.

Another week, another uranium deal we may come to regret.

Kiwi Blogger Lewis Holden dislikes the Westminster tradition of the executive calling election dates and reckons there should be fixed terms between elections.

2. Life and Other Serious Stuff

John Ray argues a recent study into food additives is scientific nullity:

Sadly, however, despite its scientific nullity, the study would seem to have given the food fanatics the ammunition to get banned many useful additives that make food safer and more attractive. That they published such irresponsible rubbish is however another blot on the escutcheon of Lancet and shows again what a political propaganda outfit they have become. The irrational Greenie nature-worshippers have been facilitated in another one of their Quixotic crusades.

On a similar theme, Melaleuca thinks Jason Soon – and by extension, Spiked – are only looking at half the story in their criticism of a carbon offset program that provides treadle pumps to Indian farmers. On the other hand, that half they do look at is a good example of that road to hell. And again, Meleleuca recounts giving a phone monkey at the Australian Conservation Foundation a piece of his mind regarding clumsy thinking.

A Roll of the Dice has an interesting post about Lord Sedgley’s suggestion that all Britons’ DNA should be kept on a database.

Ken Lovell has a piece (also delving into his own family history) about the retrieval and burial of the remains of two Australian WWI soldiers discovered in Belgium.

Ken Parish starts a series examining Australian federalism with a look at a half-forgotten father of the constitution, Andrew Inglis Clarke. Peter Black adds his 5 cents worth to the constitutional discussion.

Vest wants a drug for advanced breast cancer sufferers to be subsidised by the PBS.

Bruce at Thinker’s Podium is concerned about deliberate dishonesty in academia:

Fortunately the mistakes (and I use this word cautiously) that I have witnessed have been more or less honest. But am I being too fair? Should the standard for honest mistake be less tolerant of academics?

Two posts on inequality and what to do about it: Brian Bahnisch tries to get a handle on trends in income distribution at home and abroad, stimulating some thoughtful contibutions in the comments thread; while according to John Quiggin, international statistics on obesity and malnutrition show it would be easy to eliminate the latter ‘if we had the right social organisation’.

Tim Lambert probes further into the latest attempt, by Klaus-Martin Schulte, to demonstrate that ‘there is no consensus’ on global warmimg.

Robert Merkel reviews Richard Watson’s Future Files. While he admires the ambition, he finds the book hopelessly handicapped by the author’s poor scientific knowledge.

David Bath compares George Pell (who has published an essay on Emperor Constantine I in Quadrant) with David Irving.

Pavlov’s Cat wants services, and a lot of them, rather than trinkets and other goods, for Christmas. Perhaps Jacques can ascertain whether Santa is reading this.

Gianna is struck by the optimism underpinning the Tough on Drugs! pamphlet, which advises ‘talking to your kids’ as the key to a drug-free household.

tigtog is intrigued by ‘special interest groups’ on the internet (such as the cult of the Invisible Pink Unicorn). She is working on a theory to explain why some prosper and others fail.

Pickled Eel discusses the desire for tearing down architectural symbols of tyranny with the need for keeping a contiguous history in Iraq’s Ozymandias.

Nicholas Gruen admires the BBC’s dedication to a disdain for factionalism in political reporting. Nicholas is also seeking feedback on the talking points he wants to cover when he speaks at a manufacturing industry roundtable hosted by Kevin Rudd.

And thereby hangs a tale: Andrew Norton gets completely misinterpreted by a journalist, but still tells an interesting story.

3. The Yartz

Glebe Point Walk from Sydney Daily Photo.

Street photography exhibition in St Kilda. Added bonus: a beautifully composed sunset.

Melbourne today documents the Myers Window.

Richard Watts is very happy with Once – and getting up early on Sunday morning sans hangover.

Andrew Norton catches an arts-luvvie engaging in some serious rent-seeking.

4. T.S.S

(troppo sports stadium)

Niall Cook runs his eyes over the field set to compete in the Just Cars race.

Chris Sheil quivers in anticipation for the opening game of the World Cup, and reveals a hitherto unexpressed dislike of Greg Gowden.

The Football Tragic discusses the penalty decision during the Adelaide vs Melbourne game:

Certainly most referees would have ruled as Peter Green did, and the decision was arguably – yes, arguably – the correct one. Yet it’s strange that such decisions pass without much comment or debate these days, when they do not, in fact, really fit the description of handling under our old friend Law 12.

James Brown documents the Socceroos training in Melbourne.

Earwig: Swans to crush Pies tonight. SMH: Magpies crush Swans. ((pfft Collingwood.~cam))

Scott rues what may be the end of Shoaib Akhtar.

5. Mad, Bad, Sad and Glad

The Orstrahyun alerts us to one of the crazier protests planned for the APEC summit – the 21 bum salute. Speaking of public nudity, arleeshar draws attention to a photo highlighting the need, the dire dire need, for concealed weapon laws.

Slave to Shopping compares Sydney to Vancouver.

Simon Bedak argues for Skyscraper Windmills:

The proposal is to make skyscraper windmills by employing existing architecture of office blocks to generate wind-tunnels at night via the car parks, open elevator shafts, and having wind turbines harness the massive flow of air from the base of a massive building to its elevator motor room at the top.

Mike Bogle makes a stand for photographs of boobies and deletes his Facebook account.

Fashion.org.au argues that Gillian Anderson is still sexy.

Sarah shares her Lasagne recipe.

saint has ten things you thought you knew about ancient Romans, but didn’t. ((How very Rumsfeldian.~gilmae))

Every bad thing you ever heard about television may well be true…