Hands up if you've read David Hicks' book (just say yes or it could turn nasty)

JON Faine's First Wednesday Book Club takes on a rather menacing tone yesterday.

A literary discussion on ABC 774 Melbourne:

David Hicks: I don't think you've read my book, that's correct?

Jon Faine: No, I've not read your book.

Hicks: Are you aware that I've even written a book?

Faine: I'm aware that you've written a book called Guantanamo: My Journey. When it arrived at the radio station we asked if you were available. We were told you were not, so I didn't read it.

Hicks: What do you mean by that?

Faine: Well, this was last year I think it came out, didn't it?

Hicks: It came out in the middle of October.

Faine: Yeah, so at the stage the book arrived you were not available so I didn't read a book for someone I wasn't going to interview.

Hicks: Oh, fair enough. I'd have thought you had an interest in this area and obviously you knew you'd be speaking to me, you would read about it.

Faine: I was told I'd be speaking to you about an hour ago, so I haven't been able to read your book in an hour, so keep going, though. If you renounce terrorism, what's led to your change of heart?

Hicks: Nothing's led to my change of heart. It's a bit difficult to discuss this with someone who's not read my book. There's tens of thousands of Australians out there who have read my book and even before then were informed enough to know differently.

Faine: Well, I plead guilty that I haven't read your book. You plead guilty to terrorism. I think your offence is the greater. Can we discuss it, please?

The Australian's splash yesterday:

Greens' gay marriage victory.

Bob Brown makes his pitch for a subeditor's job on ABC 666 local radio Canberra yesterday:

We are a 21st-century party, and when it comes to democracy I would have thought The Australian would have been right behind it, and maybe they should think again. Well, I think the headline should be reoriented to say 'Greens' democracy victory', though that's a pre-emptive there. But you can see where The Australian is heading and this is Dennis Shanahan, who you might remember in August last year was calling for another election because The Australian didn't accept the vote of the Australian people.

Dennis Shanahan in The Australian, August 26 last year:

It's getting to the stage where Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and the nation would actually be better off if we just went back to the polls. The early promise of stability for a minority government is dissipating as the independents threaten to force a new election, refuse to guarantee a bloc vote for either side and declare diametrically opposed positions on key policies that have split the Coalition and paralysed Labor. Using spurious logic, obscure language and blackmail, three MPs accidentally thrust into the balance of power are claiming a "new paradigm" in politics where none exists as justification for unprecedented treatment and control. More than 90 per cent of Australians voted for Labor, the Coalition or the Greens -- the old-paradigm parties.

Don't get me started! Barnaby Joyce on Sky News yesterday:

Every day just gets weirder and weirder down here, David. A week ago they were talking about banning bullbars because of an international protocol, cooling a planet from a room just below me, they've got you in excess of $181 billion in debt, spent $2.5bn putting fluffy stuff in the ceiling for rats and mice to sleep on, they're building school halls whether you like it or not, they've got a navy that can hardly get to sea, we've got submarines . . .

David Speer: A few things are worrying you by the sounds of it, Barnaby . . .

Joyce: . . . that don't float, and they're going to cool the planet . . .

Cautionary tale. Online tech publication The Register yesterday:

Minister for cut and paste resigns. The German defence minister has been forced to resign after being dubbed "minister for cut and paste" and "Baron zu Googleberg" for plagiarism while completing his PhD thesis.

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