Since the days of Alexander the Great, binge drinking has been a very popular past time - leading to him apparently killing a friend and burning down Persepolis while drunk.

Those are some Great shoes to fill.

Yet, governments, schools and the media have repeatedly tried to teach us of binge drinking's dangers. 

Dartmouth University has taken the lead, instigating a new nationwide policy to curb heavy drinking by their students.

Pour me another glass.

Binge drinking is defined as "the consumption of five or more drinks in a row by men — or four or more drinks in a row by women — at least once in the previous 2 weeks. Heavy binge drinking includes three or more such episodes in 2 weeks."

Seems I don't know anyone who isn't a heavy binge drinker.

Do you think this definition should be changed or should we change people's attitudes? Or should you follow HPD's no fools guide to drinking a lot but not dying?  . . read more

Apologising is a uniquely human action, it involves taking responsibility for a mistake and admitting you erred. In someways it also involves asking for forgiveness.

Kevin Rudd, Australia's former PM who was sacked by his own party last year, apologised last night for "killing" his Emissions Trading Scheme which he says brought about his downfall.

Whether this is true or not, his apology echoes another one he made in his first week in government. That "sorry" was to the aboriginal people of Australia who since British colonisation were oppressed, marginalied and literally stolen from their families. 

His apology in that instance was personal and was seen almost universally as a positive step towards reconciliation and healing. It didn't lead to a better livelihood for indigenous Australians and has to be seen now as a symbolic act without much substance behind it.

Hopefully this second apology for failing on climate change can lead to asking for real forgiveness by making some real progress.    . . read more

Poor Julia has had quite some issues of late. All that trouble with the Indian killings had given poor Julia a great headache. After all, her diplomatic skills are as pathetic as if Kevin Rudd were trying to grow a moustache.

All those denials, all that effort to avoid the situation, had really taken her out of her comfort zone.

But now, Julia felt right at home.

Yes! Now is my time to shine. Now is my time to show Australia that I can be a true leader!

"It's a scandal!” mouthed Julia "I think we want to see a lot of the Boxing Kangaroo, particularly now that we've had this ridiculous ruling. So, yes, boxing kangaroos everywhere.

" Phew, Julia thought to herself, and smiled happily. I’ve done it – saved a flag with a boxing kangaroo on it from persecution by the Olympic committee, for the honour and glory of my country.

For this is what an Australian leader does!

Pout for Australia!

Our country doesn’t elect ministers and cabinets to further Australia’s place in the world, to handle tense diplomatic negotiations with an overarching developing superpower, to strive to achieve the best for Australia and its inhabitants.

No sir! All Australian voters really want is a mascot with a large mike.

“And I’ll give it to them”, thought Julia “this is what I got into politics for”.

For what on Earth do people expect?

It’s as if they want her to answer the tough questions all the time. Come on everyone!

She’s just Julia!

Who do you think she is?

The Deputy Prime Minister?  . . read more

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It's a strange fact of life that when a person from a certain group is up for election that group is much more likely to vote for the person. Think African Americans and Barack Obama, gay people and Harvey Milk, women and Julia Gillard

The thought must be that if the person they elect knows their troubles then the elected official should be much more likely to create solutions that will actually work.

Trouble is that so often in politics this prescription proves incorrect.

So as women race to the polling stations pen in hand to vote for Gillard think to yourselves, and really think to yourselves, has she given you any reason to think that she'll do anything to better the situation for women in Australia?

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The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, came out last week and made two gaffes at the Vietnam War Remembrance Day. The first was when she said that General Giap, Vietnam's iconic war hero, was dead. The second was when she said that the Vietnam War "is just a page in the history books".

Some of the actors might have passed on (not Giap, who turned 100 yesterday) but the history isn't dead. 

For the Vietnamese it hangs over everything, appearing in literallly every single state owned newspaper every day as if it happened yesterday. For veterans on either side it also seems inconsiderate to consign it to dead history, it is very much a living memory and it will live on, long after they've gone.

Maybe it would have been better to remember them by not saying it was time to forget.  . . read more

Most Australians love to see their politicians with egg on their face; with Julia Gillard earlier this month it was a delight that we almost saw literally dripping down her face. Yesterday, the egg was a metaphor as a young student stood up, yelled and gave Australia 'security scares' with how close he got to our new PM.

Finally it seems young Australians are waking up, becoming angry and showing our elite that the issues that matter, might splatter in their faces if they aren't careful.  . . read more

With the Gaddafi regime on the verge of collapse, the world is waiting for the money shot - an image of a shackled or dead dictator paraded through the streets as a lowly criminal.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants to see more, she wants to see the man brought before an international criminal court; a nice thought but looking through the history of fallen dictators, let's just say "justice" is pretty unlikely to happen.

Dead, deposed or distant is all you really have to hope for, so let's hope too much blood isn't spilled in getting one of these results.

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A stroke of diabolical genius. It could work. Howard might convince enough swinging voters that he is answering the call of his heart to heal Australia. Further, that he is the only person in the land who could pull it off. Thus anyone who cast a vote against him, would also be casting a vote against a reconciled, re-born Oz. On last night's TV news, an aboriginal elder offered this comment: "Howard's got a new skin, but he's the same old snake". Exactly. This initiative is driven by desperation, even fear. Something else is going on in Howard's mind, apart from the ignominy of losing office. I think I know what it is — but let it wait until tomorrow's 100 Words. . . read more

by David Michael 

It takes a very brave politician to stand up and oppose a tax on mining super profits and say it's ''the issue on which the election now turns''. A very brave or stupid politician.

For one, mining magnates such as Clive Palmer are hardly endearing characters, and when they whinge and moan while raking in billions from our minerals, that strained endearment ends.

The second reason is that every time a politician stands up and talks about threats to miner's jobs most people around the country must yawn; only 129,000 people (or 1.3%) of the population are hired by mining and most of them are far away from the cities. 

And finally, when Abbott said that this tax "would be robbing Peter to pay Paul" I'm sure most Australians were thinking, yeah, but Peter has a fortune - a lot of which is disappearing out of the country- and Paul only wants decent hospitals, decent schools and a decent pile to live on when he retires.