Beware the echizen kurage, my son

Giant jellies attack Japan

They are 6ft wide and weigh 450lb (200kg), with countless poisonous tentacles, they have drifted across the void to terrorise the people of Japan. Vast armadas of the slimy horrors have cut off the country's food supply. As soon as one is killed more appear to take its place.

Finally, the quarrelsome governments of the region are banding together to unite against the enemy.

I'm just waiting for the shots of masses of people running across bridges while sirens sound in the background.

Buffy fans invade Kuiper Belt

'Buffy' challenges solar system theories

Buffy is the temporary name given by the team for the object, whose official designation by the Paris-based International Astronomical Union (IAU) is 2004 XR 190.

Its orbit is in a relatively narrow range of between 52 and and 62 astronomical units (AU) from the sun.

An AU is a standard measurement, being that of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, of approximately 150 million kilometres.

By comparison, another 'extended scattered disk' member called Sedna swings out to as far as 900 AU before coming as close to the sun as 76 AU.

I've seen from fairly explosive exchanges between Buffy fans and Xena fans. Is it responsible to give these tribes rival territorial claims in the outer solar system?

Cronulla

I hated seeing the Australian flag being waved by a violent mob.

Sadly enough, this week's Background Briefing (no transcript yet, although they do have audio) carries any number of thoughtful voices from Muslim youth in Australia. Sunday's riot is obviously indefensible as is the conduct which allegedly provoked it. That should not mean it's open season in the blogosphere for anyone of 'Southern Beaches' or 'Middle Eastern' appearance.

Flashmobs are not all that rational, and if you wait until the mob has formed (and got itself drunk on a hot day) you've already lost the plot. A week of inflammatory nonsense from talk-back should have rung alarm bells. There really was not all that much work left for the usual white supremacist trash. Carlyle said nothing was as unexpected or as predictable as the French Revolution.

Now we're seeing revenge attacks across the southern beaches and rumours are getting texted across the city faster than they can be answered. People were hurt tonight and there's an unconfirmed rumour of a fatal shooting. There are some signs of hope, like the meeting between Keyser Trad and Koby Abberton. Hopefully, next Sunday the pubs will be shut and perhaps Cronulla's mobile phone transmitters should be shut down for the day.

I was amazed by the Man of Steel's statement, that this is not a racist event, was absurd. The straight line being drawn by people on radio between terrorism and the Lebanese community says the government has a way to go in making its terror campaigning more responsible. The Man of Steel might like to look at the mote in his own eye before he does too much more preaching.