Germany: Maybe it is not surprising but in all the furor over the Cartoons depicting the Prophet, Der Spiegel carries an apposite comment from Ibn Warraq, (an English translation was carried in The Australian). It is amazing how spineless the UK, US and Australian media have been on this issue. One would have thought they would have been the first to have leapt to the defense of the right to free expression.

In our cynical mindset one wonders how cartoons originally published in September 2005 can become such a boiling issue in February 2006 without someone stoking the fires.

Sydney: The Sydney Morning Herald did manage to deal with issues of disclosure and transparency with Annabell Crabb's article on Scarlett Johansson. In a discussion with Ms Johansson we are left with the remarkably candid admission that her breasts are "ahem" the star of the show. In an article that is as shameless a piece of self promotion that we have seen since Tiara Lestari's blog there is precious little focus on anything else. Nevertheless to keep our readers suitably informed we are happy to carry the photo.

The somewhat sobering thought is that out there somewhere there may be people who are just as offended by these types of pictures as they are of cartoons of the Prophet.

Los Angeles: The Nude News Sports Desk reports that New York Euphoria triumphed over the Los Angeles Temptation in the third annual Lingerie Bowl.

We can only suggest that they extend there franchise to cover the Football World Cup in Germany this year.

The Nude News Weather Desk: has a heat wave approaching Prague. Temperatures of 4 degrees Celsius are expected in Prague tomorrow. We would advise Prague dwellers to drink beer but this would be superfluous. Conditions remain excellent for Nudists in Sydney and Singapore.