rumours

The real-life angst and heartache and general intermarital naughtiness that formed the backdrop to Fleetwood Mac's stunningly successful Rumours album was a mere whisper on the breeze compared to the almighty brou-ha-ha that enveloped the political desperates of this fair country this week following the Lying Little Man's request to his ever-faithful Foreign Minister to 'do the numbers.'

This Alex did - smoking a cigar if reports are to be believed, can you even imagine that? - the Littlest Liar stared 'em down again, the country let out a combined 'wha?' and we all moved on.

The blogosphere went into a massive orgy of reporting on itself, the mainstream media played multiple roles (well, they do get funded for this of course) and everybody else, the sensible ones, let it pass by.

In a parallel world, the flu hit my work team with a vengeance and Chateau VVB has been well below par all week, and still not well.

Which is a fairly longhanded way of saying we won't be adding to the week's frenzy now that it's over, but this rumour in today's Tips and Rumours in Crikey.com.au really struck us as likely to be true. And - he said, having two bob each way - even if not true, it's too delicious a piece of rumour-mongering to be confirmed to Crikey, so Chateau VVB gleefully reproduces it here:

An illustration of the vanity of John Howard and his urge for self glorification
is the fact that, unlike his Labor predecessors, all Cabinet Documents
(Submissions and Decisions) during his reign have been prefixed with a "JH". I
am not aware whether any Government prior to Howard's did this.

Enjoy, mes petits.