Carr boils over

THERE'S no mistaking the love for the US that beats in the heart of former NSW premier Bob Carr, so the shootings in Arizona have obviously hit him hard.

Fortunately, that hasn't stopped him taking to his blog to write about it, as well as put the boot into Fox News for good measure. Here's some of what he has to say: "You cannot broadcast dawn to dusk hate and not get a response from the deranged, the humiliated, the defeated, the unhinged . . .You stoke the hatreds, you get the violence. So cut the poison. Lower the decibel reading. Remember that extreme rhetoric has consequences, especially in gun-toting America." Tough words. Incidentally, here's Carr in action last July after he was seriously displeased by an article in The Australian Financial Review: "Just as well Australia has tough gun laws. Without them I would have been in The Australian Financial Review office to take my revenge." We'll simply repeat what we wrote (a little apprehensively) back then: Bob's a top bloke and we won't hear a word against him.

Rough red

IT was with no small degree of excitement that we shared our discovery yesterday that South Australian Liberal senator and former hotelier Cory Bernardi is officially after a liquor licence. After all, what surer signal could there be that 2011 is shaping up to be an annus mirabilis than the promised advent of Bernardi Beverages? (Bernardi Booze would presumably have struck the wrong chord.) Happily, Bernardi has been in touch to add details. "You will be delighted to know that the latest Bernardi plonk will be available soon," he tells Strewth. "This will be the third bottling of The Conservative, a fine South Australian shiraz that has proved to be very popular as a political fundraiser, particularly those signed by Tony Abbott. I regret the family no longer has any retail hospitality interests through which we could legally sell it so I had to apply for a licence myself." So far, so good. However, when the inevitable blow does come, Bernardi has the good grace to soften it. "Now you may be disappointed to know the label doesn't feature me but the father of conservatism Edmund Burke, but who knows what prominent conservatives will appear on future labels." Fingers crossed fellow South Australian Liberal Christopher Pyne will be one of them.

Table turned

NOW it's time to pay a quick visit to the arts end of Strewth with Gotye, aka Wally de Backer, whose album Like Drawing Blood was voted best album of 2006 by Triple J listeners (they do like their male artists over there). Gotye is gearing up for a solo concert at the Sydney Festival later this month and he has promised to preview material from his new album in the show. However, timely requests for an interview for our popular weekend Review section were, after lengthy considerations, denied. Apparently De Backer's triumvirate management voted on whether to allow the interview, and the result was two nays and one aye. Our colleague, arts reporter and Gotye fan, Ian Cuthbertson (now in a temporary state of gobsmackment), had no idea he was competing for access X-Factor-style; still, the novelty has done a little to alleviate the hurt. The verdict was conveyed, pleasantly enough, by Gotye's publicists: Bossy Music.

On the pulse

A FRESH contender for Great Exchanges of the Early 21st century is this moment from Julia Gillard's press conference yesterday. It follows the PM's extensive canvassing of the Queensland floods and a brief segue into the Arizona shootings and whether Australian politicians need more security:

Esteemed member of the fourth estate: "On a much more important matter, are we sending a gift to Princess Mary and the twins?"

Gillard: "I'm sure the nation will want to mark the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of Australians themselves actually bundled up some gifts."

Dead on arrival

NORMALLY we try to close our eyes to corporate violations of the English language, safe in the knowledge that Don Watson is out there waging war against them. But once in a while, it's nice to be reminded there are others doing what they can. For example, Lucy Kellaway in the Financial Times has been acknowledging some of the worst offenders, handing out first prize to Toyota for turning the humble motor car into a "sustainable mobility solution". The Buzz Aldrin of Kellaway's awards is Amazon Kindle vice-president Ian Freed, who apparently views books as "reading containers". There was at least a pleasing touch of gallows humour from a US bank that sacked staff and described the payroll trimming as a series of "bank-initiated departures".

Now ski here

COMPARED to such atrocities, we can only salute the clarity of this advertisement from Coffs Jet Ski Hire in the NSW north coast town of Coffs Harbour: "Many people ask us how difficult it is to ride a jet ski and we believe if you can sit on a chair when you're drunk, then you should be able to ride a jet ski in the ocean when you're sober."