Things are hardly certain for the incumbent Labor party this time around. As a diehard lefty, and someone who lived to tell of life under Joh, it galls me to think of the Coalition in power in this state again, but, jeez.... anyone in power for too long is a bad thing, and our Pete is showing us why.Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has called a general election, and voters will head to the polls on September 9.
Mr Beattie was forced to choose between an early election and a by-election, after the Member for Bundaberg, Nita Cunningham, announced her resignation due to ill health.
He visited the Governor this morning to notify her of his intention to hold an election.
"I would much have preferred to have gone through to February for a general election," he said.
"What was clearly in the best interests of Queensland was to have a general election so we could deliver the water grid."
The ABC's election analyst, Antony Green, predicts the pendulum will swing back to the middle in this election.
"I think the real interesting thing is to see if there's a bit of a swing back towards normality - the last two elections have been landslides," he said.
Mr Beattie will be seeking a fourth term, while it is Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg's second election as leader.
Health will be a major election issue, with Mr Springborg seizing on the latest medical scandal, the employment of a convicted rapist in the public hospital system.
"I think it goes to show that things are getting worse in Queensland not better under this Labor Government," he said.
From New Scientist, the magazine of geniuses.Call it yellow ginger, haldi, turmeric or E100, the yellow root of Curcuma longa, a staple ingredient in curry, is turning out to be gratifyingly healthy. Now Tze-Pin Ng and colleagues at the National University of Singapore have discovered that curry eating seems to boost brain power in elderly people.
Curcumin, a constituent of turmeric, is an antioxidant, and reports have suggested that it inhibits the build-up of amyloid plaques in people with Alzheimer's. Ng's team looked at the curry-eating habits of 1010 Asian people unaffected by Alzheimer's and aged between 60 and 93, and compared their performance in a standard test of cognitive function, the Mini Mental State Examination. Those people who consumed curry "occasionally" (once or more in 6 months but less than once a month) and "often" (more than once a month) had better MMSE results than those who only ate curry "never or rarely" (American Journal of Epidemiology, DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwj267).
"What is remarkable is that apparently one needs only to consume curry once in a while for the better cognitive performance to be evidenced," says Ng, who says he wants to confirm the results, possibly in a controlled clinical trial comparing curcumin and a placebo.
One of the ABC's first foreign correspondents and well-known TV presenter, John Hinde, has died.Mr Hinde began his career at the ABC in the news department and was a correspondent in the Pacific during World War II.
He later furthered his passion in film, presenting a weekly review on Radio National and presenting films on TV.
Mr Hinde died at a nursing home in Sydney aged 92.
Tributes are being paid to veteran Mr Hinde.
Margaret Pomeranz of ABC TV's At the Movies program says he was a legend who inspired her passion for film.
"It's really upset me, I've only just found out about it now," she said.
"For us growing up his radio program on ABC at 7.15pm on Monday night was like a religious quarter-of-an-hour because it was about the only film commentary we had.
"It was like meeting a legend when I finally did go to screenings where John was and it was such a pleasure meeting him."
David Stratton, also of At the Movies, says Mr Hinde was a lovely man who was a pleasure to talk to.
He says he had a roguish look on TV and always presented with wit, perception and style.
"It was something to do with his innate good humour and wit I think, and he would always focus on very often on small details, on whimsical little things that appealed to him, and convey them so beautifully to the listener or the viewer in his television introductions," he said.
Oddly enough, I was wondering just recently if fabulous old John was still kicking; at uni most mornings I walk past the John Hines building, so I'm sure you can see what prompted the thought.
This news article doesn't do him nearly enough justice. It's been some years since he graced our screens with his lilting voice and wicked humour, but he was always a firm favorite of mine. I was saddened to hear of his death, but then again, at 92 I guess you've got to expect these things.
