Rising tide

IT seems perversely appropriate that when a Spanish girl, La Nina, arrives uninvited to warm up our northern waters - thereby setting off a chain of events that leads to death and destruction in southeast Queensland - it's a woman who seizes the hour.

IT seems perversely appropriate that when a Spanish girl, La Nina, arrives uninvited to warm up our northern waters - thereby setting off a chain of events that leads to death and destruction in southeast Queensland - it's a woman who seizes the hour.

Premier Anna Bligh has been clear, articulate, firm, in control - despite her watery-red eyes - and inspirational in the face of the frightening images from the flood zones. And Brisbane lord mayor Campbell Newman should be appreciated for his refreshingly direct manner. There hasn't been a spin doctor in sight. It may be too early to suggest this extraordinary emergency might help put Bligh back in Queensland voters' good books, but let's say it anyway. It's a fair bet that her approval ratings will show an upward blip in the next Newspoll. And now that the floods are worsening in northern NSW, Premier Kristina Keneally could be in a position to seize her own moment. Not that Strewth would be so cynical as to suggest that might be part of the Labor Party's pre-election planning strategy. Perhaps Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell should dig out his wellington boots.

Camera obscura

ONE of Strewth's finest contributors often scratches around former NSW premier Bob Carr's blog in the faint hope he may find a good story. Alas, he usually finds an infuriating and-or engaging mix of ego, erudition and entertainment. Carr also decorates his blog with an eclectic mix of photos. On Tuesday, he had a picture of Benjamin Disraeli, a British pollie of the 19th century. Perhaps realising how has-been is Disraeli, yesterday's blog had a photo of a dishabille (that's French for scantily clad) Milla Jovovich, a most fetching female actor.

Tea dregs

LEST Carr arc up about his blog being treated in a flippant manner, his foray into the political mess happening in the US makes interesting reading. He is not happy with the Tea Party, a mob prone to hypocrisy and extremism. "They talk about taking the country back to God. By implication their opponents are leading it away from God," Carr writes. "They talk of putting their opponents in the cross hairs . . . They believe a one-world cabal is intent on taking over America and the planet." Then Carr steps up a notch and spies a conspiracy, an American specialty. There is a Fox [News]-Tea Party axis and open talk of murder, Carr says. "They have become the one force, with [Sarah] Palin on the [network's] payroll." The extremism "has no precedent in any other mainstream media in America in the post-Civil War era".

Diving in

WESTERN Australia's Acting Premier Kim Hames can be a touch more colloquial than his boss Colin Barnett, often engaging in the patois of the street during press conferences with phrases such as "stuff up". As Health Minister, Hames's candour occasionally caused angst for his minder Peta Rule, but many were moved by it last September when, during a radio discussion on euthanasia, the former GP revealed he had hastened the death of a patient in great pain. "I recall the patient as though it was yesterday . . . I warned the family that the dose of painkiller I was about to administer is a respiratory suppressant and can stop that patient breathing. Did they want me to do that, did the patient want me to?" Yesterday, Hames switched to somewhat lighter subject: men's swimwear. He intends to market WA's many attractions in his new portfolio of tourism but says he won't be donning the style of swimmers favoured by Tony Abbott and Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu. Hames's chosen togs are boardies. Rule has no plans for him to be photographed wearing them, which is either a shame or a blessing. But if he's fair dinkum about promoting his state, he would strip for the cameras and become a regular in Strewth. And what's to dislike about that?

Fumee et feu

IT is sometimes thought the French see themselves as a cut above the rest of us. Now we have a petit peu of evidence. Franck Lebrun was on his way from Nice in the south of France to New York when he decide to have a smoko in the toilet. When confronted by cabin crew, Lebrun began cussing in English and ranting in French. He shoved a hostie and yelled: "I'm French, f . . k you!". Air marshals promptly put him in handcuffs and detained him. Now he will have to explain himelf to a New York court that wants to know why he intimidated and assaulted the air crew and endangered the aircraft. Another good reason not to smoke, monsieur.

Jack the knife

THE success of smarmy British pop personality Simon Cowell is a mystery to many, including Cream bassist Jack Bruce, who believes that if Cowell had been around in the mid-1960s, the band wouldn't have survived. Cowell has built his television career on brutal assessments of talent show hopefuls. "He should be exterminated," Bruce told Uncut magazine. He would have said: "Bob Dylan, sing in tune and stop whining, you big-nosed bastard. No, he's a human fire blanket. A vile individual." At least Cowell knows where to go for his next character reference.