I don't get it.

Apologies, I've been away doing some teaching out of town.

After a brief moment's puzzlement at the goings on of the Liberal party, and a detached despairing thought about the Mumbai bombing, I was brought back to reality by the goings on in the middle east.

My late grandfather was there almost fifty years ago in a concerted attempt to sort this whole thing out. Obviously it was a fruitless task. I would love to hear his thoughts on the situation, he always had such an interesting perspective.

And I'm asked why I don't bother reading the papers every day.

It's not that I don't care, seriously. It's that I do, and I feel quite impotent already, thanks very much.