If ever there was any doubt as to Mark Skaife's deficiency in business acumen, surely this story confirms those misgivings in the worst possible way.

Especially for you, out there, on the so-called suburban Left. David Hicks is a terrorist and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is his apologist. Things Piers Akerman seems to believe we all need reminding of.

Further to yesterday's little bombshell, it seems the hounds at News Limited were too close to the facts of the matter and Mark Skaife has jumped off the edge of disaster into what? Only he knows.

I recently had the pleasure of a rare outing to the movies. The show? 'Quantum of Solace'

To all you dyed-in-the-wool Holden fans out there who just couldn't accept the argument that owning and managing a race team, and being a supposedly lead driver for that team, just don't gel, I take the greatest of pleasure in claiming points for calling it correctly.

...to smarten up Parliamentary behaviour and do away with the annoying and wasteful 'Dorothy Dixer'?

Is it such a big deal for Senators, or even Members of the House, to cross the floor and vote on conscience or individual belief?

That most prolific of Troppodillian bloggers, Nicholas Gruen, made an 'appearance' on ABC radio this morning in relation to an Open Letter to the PM which he and seven other economists have penned.

The day Jamie Whincup secured the championship.

A day with the requisite dramas for FPR and HRT, and effectively the end of a season where few teams outside of Team Vodafone received any satisfaction from the 2008 season.

Tony Abbott's Op-Ed in today's Oz must have his party leader slowly shaking his head in despair.

Let's be up-front and frank about the whole climate change issue.

Senator Cory Bernardi clearly didn't pay a lot of attention in biology class.

Fairfax News reports this morning of what appears to be an almighty screw-up by the Commonwealth Bank. I have to ask though, is this a case of corporate cocking up, or is this a case of institutional ignorance of marketplace sentiment? Is it a case of arrogance on the part of a leading Australian finance house, in seeking acceptance a major capital raising, all the while knowing about, yet delaying the issuance of advices pertaining to bad debt provisions?

If, as Michael West opines, it is indeed an internal communications foul-up of catastrophic proportions, one really does have to consider the worth of paying Ralph Norris - the bank's CEO and head sherang of all things both glorious and gob-smacking - a bonus of $11 million.

Further to this tale of yesterday, I read with interest this morning, Alan Kohler's take on events. He alludes, not accuses, makes references to possible events, but draws no conclusions. The article does raise considerable concerns over the conduct of business at the institutional level. What did Merrill's know? Did they have concerns which weren't voiced, hence weren't passed on? Was the timing of the issue and draft stock announcement purposely set by the CBA?

The business pages will no doubt light up if Norris is as good as his words.

I heard this piece of news on this afternoons NewsRadio, and frankly, my heart sank.

  Remember NASA's New Horizons space probe?

Roddenberry_dot_com reports this morning that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has died. Those of us who know who she was, will mourn her passing as another part of the Roddenberry dream fading away. I suppose I feel sad because the passing of people like Star Trek's face and voice since the death of it's creator, remind me of my own mortality. We all grow old and die. Nothing alters that inevitability. We can hope for, and make efforts at ensuring along the way that we enjoy the Roddenberry ethos, however. That of the Vulcans. Peace, and Long Life. Rest in Peace, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry

Seeing as how we couldn't afford to go away, even just camping, this year, we've returned to the once traditional Boxing Day movie outing. This year it was the re-make of 'The Day The Earth Stood Still', or as any fan of the original flick will tell you, TDTESS.

Gerard Henderson takes aim yet again at his ideological opposites in his SMH column. His own words - irrationality and gross hyperbole - describe the content perfectly. I wonder if I could get a gig with Fairfax?

NASA has released the final and full report into what the media calls the Columbia Disaster. NASA, in it's inimitable style, refers to the report as the Post-Columbia Crew Survival Study . For enthusiasts and even those with a mild interest in space flight technology, the report makes interesting,if somewhat macabre reading. I won't extract details here, but invite those of you interested enough in the why's and wherefore's of what happened almost six years ago, to click on the link provided and go read for yourself.

You'll doubtless be amazed at some of the revelations, as was I. It is clear from this report that astronauts trained to go into space are at the pinnacle of human technological, psychological and physiological achievement. They are also ultimately in the hands of those on the ground, who as in the Challenger era, failed to truly appreciate the dangers of spaceflight in all of it's phases.