Final two MIA diggers found in Vietnam

In thick jungle near the Laotian border, a 39-year search for the remains of the last Australian servicemen missing from the Vietnam War has ended – with the help of the enemies they had been trying to bomb.

The remains of Michael Herbert, a pilot from Queensland, and Robert Carver, a navigator from South Australia, have been found on a rugged, remote hillside in Quang Nam province, Vietnam, where they have remained since their plane went missing after a bombing raid on the night of November 3, 1970. Both were 24 years old.

More here.

Australian of the Year - Update III

I think it should be cancelled.

The one before the last one was a dud.*

This one is a professional whinger*. He's done bugger all except pose and complain. On the outer with the Howard Government he's now back in favour with the posing, preening ALP Federal Government. He humbly said:

While proud to receive the award he was also slightly embarrassed because "there's a couple of million Australians out there who probably deserved this ahead of me".

I'd add that he's perhaps never spoken a truer word.

Standby for the start up of the New Improved Reconciliatory Compensation Plans. There'll be more money thrown at this lot for little improvement.

*Coined in this case by Saint.

Update:
More about Dodson and links at Andrew Bolt's.

Update II:
Corrected the dud comment.

Update III
Janet Albrechtsen at the Australian speaks about the ungracious winner....

Unamid failing

Australia has a deployment on this mission. How can they help when they are thwarted by arrangments made between the UN and the President.

Added to the chronic lack of resources is the UN's curiously conciliatory attitude towards the Sudanese government. In many ways Unamid was damned from its inception, undermined by the UN's willingness to appease President Bashir, making cordial relations with Khartoum its priority.

Before a single soldier set foot in Darfur, the UN had conceded to Bashir's demand that his government would dictate the terms of deployment. Unsurprisingly, the conditions set by Sudan have been so unrealistic as to render Unamid ineffective. After removing Unamid's teeth, Bashir then delayed its arrival by refusing to provide land for bases, stopping equipment leaving ports, delaying visas by six months or more, and randomly imposing restrictions on movement. Why did the UN ever agree to ask the permission of the architect of a genocide to use UN planes to investigate reports of that genocide?

More here.

Unamid: UN/African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur

Update: I've been corrected on the meaning of UNAMID - and given the following piece of information:

"That's also another massive hamstring for this mission. The African Union is a fairly pointless organisation that has been here since 2003, achieving bugger all. The UN realised that and proposed a joint effort, which saw UNAMID formed out of the old AMIS (African Union Mission in Sudan) on 31 Dec 07. The force structure is still very heavily constrained by the requirement to maintain a majority AU manning. The agreement between the UN and GoS (Governement of Sudan) means that no more thqan 10% of the entire force can be from "white" countries. This may be why the "European" contribution is mostly staff officers working at the Force HQ trying to untangle the mess that is growing as UNAMID gets closer to reaching the target manning levels."

Privately owned beaches in Italy, costs are soaring

From the "I can't believe this" file.

Almost all beaches in Italy are privately owned. I am just shocked!

I live in Australia. Anyone can go to the beach in Australia. It doesn't cost beachgoers - well, it does in some holiday areas, there are additional tarriffs paid by tourists, but they are collected in motels and so on and are quite small. Maintenance and cleanliness of the beach is maintained by the local council.

Australian beaches are for the most part public places. You can put your towel down pretty much anywhere on a beach for free. The only problem you might have is that if it is a patrolled beach (by lifesavers, who are volunteers), you must swim between the flags as this is the safe area with no rips* or other dangers to swimmers. If it's an unpatrolled beach you may drown, but that's another story.

So, as an Aussie with beaches free for all comers (just please swim safe and keep the beach clean!), I found this piece on ABC PM last night unbelievable.

MARK COLVIN: In Australia, even when times are tough, people can still enjoy a day at the beach, it's one of the few places left that provides free entertainment for the family.

Not so in Italy where in some regions there's no such thing as a free beach.Beaches were privatised in the 50s and putting a towel down on the sand can now cost up to $250 a day.

This summer, the economic downturn has savaged the European tourist market, nowhere more than Italy where visitor numbers are down by one million.

A nationwide advertising campaign is calling on local councils to reclaim their beaches.

Europe correspondent Emma Alberici.

Read more.

*rip 2
n.
1. A stretch of water in a river, estuary, or tidal channel made rough by waves meeting an opposing current.
2. A rip current.