The big tobacco companies are fighting back against the Government's plans to introduce plain cigarette packaging by funding small retailers in a massive advertising campaign timed to coincide with the final weeks of the election campaign.

The Alliance of Australian Retailers (AAR) has taken out full page advertisements in tomorrow's papers criticising the plan, which they argue will hurt small business and lead to job losses.

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that the $5 million campaign has been devised by former Liberal Party strategists and Howard government advisers.

The newly-formed AAR has 19,000 members representing corner stores, petrol stations, and newsagents.

By MICHAEL BARBARO

An influential Jewish organization on Friday announced its opposition to a proposed Islamic center and mosque two blocks north of ground zero in Lower Manhattan, intensifying a fierce national debate about the limits of religious freedom and the meaning of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Crinkle to twinkle ... Digitally different takes of the PM from the Daily Telegraph and Australian Women's Weekly.

Since the Daily Telegraph did a job on Julia, I took the liberty to do one on Tony... Of course I did not do as good a job as the wiz kids at the Terrorgraph, not that I could not, but time is the essence... You may note I used the eyes from his political "dad", John Howard...

Seven of the 91 European banks that underwent stress tests have failed the healthchecks, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has said.

They include five Spanish banks - Diada, Espiga, Banca Civica, Unnim and Cajasur. The other two were Germany's Hypo Real Estate and Greece's ATEbank.

The tests assessed banks' ability to survive future economic shocks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10732597

Buckets (as in Hyacinth Bucket — pronounced bouquet) are the cheap blooms (all stalks and thorns) that Tony is giving to the media while trying hard to be flip-floppingly interesting... But I was amazed this morning at Julia being accused of "flirting with the media" in a letter written to the Sydney Morning Herald (22/07/10) by a female reader... Blimey, if we're going to vote for the best legs in this boring knife-edged election, Tony has done more of his fair share off leg-up can-cans in budgie-smuggling apparatus to distract us from his shifty eyes.

At the edge of Parliament Square, Winston Churchill squints – hunched and impervious and marble – over the gothic heart of British democracy. Usually, his only company is the smoggy traffic and snapping tourists. But, for the past three months, he has been joined by another symbol, and another style of democracy.

A year before the [Iraq] war, the former MI5 chief advised Home Office officials that the direct threat posed by Iraq to the UK was "very limited and containable".

In a newly declassified document, published by the inquiry, Baroness Manningham-Buller told the senior civil servant at the Home Office in March 2002 that there was no evidence that Iraq had any involvement in the 9/11 attacks.

While there were reports of links between the regime of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, there was no intelligence to suggest meaningful co-operation between the two.

From Chris Floyd...

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott must be extremely courageous - or extremely foolish.

If talkback radio and shopping centre walks haven't proved dangerous enough this campaign, he will face the perils of live television tomorrow night with an appearance on Hey Hey It's Saturday alongside Kylie Minogue, Ozzie the Ostrich, Plucka Duck, Darryl Somers and all the gang.

"You can frame that: WorkChoices, dead, buried, cremated, that's my signature," Mr Abbott said.

The stunt recalled Mark Latham's 2004 signature on an oversize cardboard statement promising a Labor government would keep interest rates low.

AAP writes: But Mr Abbott also refused to rule out any future changes to the government’s industrial laws, the Fair Work legislation.

‘Obviously I can’t give an absolute guarantee about every single aspect of workplace relations legislation,’’ Mr Abbott said.

The US Senate has given final approval to the biggest overhaul of American financial regulation in decades.

The reforms are intended to avert a repeat of the 2008 crisis that brought the world economy to the brink of collapse.

The Senate vote is a major victory for President Barack Obama and comes after months of political wrangling.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Obama said the new regulation would give the strongest consumer protection in history.

He said the American people would never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes.

The full exit strategy in Afghanistan will presumably involve a big effort to create a sense that Nato forces have the upper hand.

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The generals know that the Afghan army will not be up to the necessary level in terms of numbers and training until around 2014.

Exit strategy

But that will be well after the next US presidential election, in 2012, and uncomfortably close to the next British election in 2015.

Both President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron will need to see results in good time before their respective deadlines.

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What is the difference between the three pictures?