When deciding where to travel it's often to difficult to work out whether the place you want to visit is dangerous. The Australian government's guide Smart Traveller is pointless because every tiny little threat is over blown to such proportions that if you heeded every warning you'd never leave your home. Take the guide for the UK, the first line says:

"We advise you to exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect your safety in the United Kingdom because of the risk of terrorist attack"

Probably more appropriate for Afghanistan.

However there is a fail-safe system to judge risk which is based on the size of guns of the police or security guards. In the fairly dodgy countries of Mexico, Cambodia and Laos the police and security guards at jewellery stores all carry submachine guns, shotguns and even AK47s. In the safer Australia it's sidearms and in the safer still London the Met famously doesn't carry guns.

So the next time you travel, find out what sort of weapons law enforcement carries and plan accordingly. . . read more

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

The world of travel is a strange one, everyday challenges like catching a taxi, ordering food or avoiding danger become the main event. National catastrophes, political intrigue and the daily grind become irrelevant until you return home and find out you have another Prime-Minister.

You can understand the appeal.

Attaining basics in a country you don't know, where they speak a different language makes you feel successful, busy and distracted from the real world. 

Yet the real world waits for your return, reminding you of what you've missed in the strange bubble you've been living in.  . . read more

It is not one of those cool operations to have done such as your appendix or your tonsils for the following reasons: Getting all four out at once increases your healing time significantly and thus is the more favourable option, bloating up your face in the first few days to the size of a grotesque balloon.

Then the stitches that have been oh so delicately woven into your gums holding your mouth together are extremely annoying giving your voice a tinny Ricky Gervais timbre as well as being incredibly painful I personally have had my tongue stitched together and yes your mouth does heal a lot faster than other parts of your body, however the trauma caused by the surgeon during the wisdom teeth jaw massacre totally cancels out any healing properties the mouth once had.

A week has passed since my truly horrid experience and while the swelling has reduced to retarded squirrel size, I am still suffering from headaches and a massive panadine forte hangover that has left me in a hazed coma.

It made me incapable of participating in my university studies and even the most basic household activities, the wise decision is, if you got enough space, just leave the little bastards in there. . . read more

Dear Diary,

I’ve thought a lot about being an astronaut, a movie star, a fighter pilot…maybe even President! But today I know what I want to be when I grow up – a world leader in the climate change debate. You see diary, as such an ambassador I get to live a life of hypocrisy while people think I’m trying to save the world – like Copenhagen.

Then, I’ll get to travel to even more exotic destinations like Cancun, enjoying my taxpayers’ money in my high-moral profession while knowing full well that nothing’s going to be done. Then I can wait for the next wasteful summit - maybe it’ll be in the Arctic? I’ve never seen the ice (and it won’t be around for long)

Diary, you know I’ll never do anything constructive. But people will still love me for who I am. Don’t you think it’s the perfect life? . . read more

Prostitution is legal and allowed in Denmark. It's free if you're a delegate to the upcoming Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen from December 7-18, AFP reports.

To counter attack the city government's measure of campaigning to the delegates of the much anticipated world environmental summit that they do not resort to buying sex, the prostitutes of a Danish sex workers union has offered their services for free.

The city government, led by Lord Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard has sent postcards and letters to the managers of the 160 hotels in the city. The postcards indicate: "be sustainable - don't buy sex" and "Dear hotel owner, we would like to urge you not to arrange contacts between hotel guests and prostitutes."

Susan Moeller, spokesperson for the group said that the campaign was discriminating as they are only doing their jobs, which by Danish law are legal.

For those who are interested in taking the offer, which is only available during the duration of the summit, she said, "All delegates who come to Copenhagen for the world climate summit will be able to use the postcards for payment after making a request on our website."

The Iraqi who tested George Bush's reflex skills(which were pretty sharp I must say) is due to be release to a huge welcome home party including women, sports cars, and a buffet of career possibilitie- TPM  . . read more

The Vatican publication, L'Osservatore Romano declared in an article this week that Homer J. Simpson is a character that conforms to Catholic values, and praised "The Simpsons" for covering issues of faith, family and religion.

The article stated, and I translate, "few people know it, and he does everything to hide it, but it is true, Homer J. Simpson is a Catholic".

Like the vast majority of my generation, I've grown up watching the Simpsons and laughing at the satirical representation of the middle American male that is Homer. I just wonder that in approving Mr. Simpson does the Catholic church also condone the abuse of children, alcoholism, bigamy, extramarital affairs, blasphemy and the failure to love thy neighbour?

Or are these negative traits overlooked?

Perhaps this is the Catholic church's underhanded way to demonstrate that they are not a pack of cultural philistines. I just feel they should think a little more carefully about the pop icons they select as representatives - I always knew those at the helm of the church were largely aloof and dim-witted, but I thought it would be decades before they admitted to turning a blind eye to child abuse.  . . read more