Sideswipe

Sideswipe's suggestion for Winston Peters' new billboard.

It appears the New Zealand First leader has decided his bum does look big in his campaign billboard after all. The party is felling the creative stance in favour of a straightforward approach for the last two weeks leading up to the election. But why? It could be the problem of vandalism (by an Aucklander with a can of pink spray paint in particular) or lack of effectiveness (A Man For Change? Change of what? His shoes?), but it's hard to ignore the dip in the polls.

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How to tell if someone is lying (not for use on politicians, as they are very skilled):

Physical expression will be limited and stiff.

Liars will avoid making eye contact.

Touching or scratching the nose or behind their ear is a giveaway.

The timing of emotional gestures and emotions are off.

Liars are often unduly defensive.

They repeat your words to answer a question.

A statement without a contraction is more likely to be a lie - I did not do it, instead of the more truthful sounding, I didn't do it.

They add unnecessary details.

They leave out pronouns and speak in a monotonous tone.

They use humour or sarcasm to avoid a subject.

If you believe someone is lying, then change the subject of a conversation quickly. A liar follows along willingly and becomes more relaxed. The guilty person wants the subject changed; an innocent person may be confused by the sudden change in topics and will want to go back to the previous subject.

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A love-struck Pakistani faces up to three years in jail for falsely accusing a brother and a cousin of the woman he hoped to marry of planning a suicide attack on the US consulate in Karachi. Jobless labourer Mohammad Imran sparked a security scare when he made the allegations in a telephone call to the US embassy in Islamabad last month after the relatives ordered him not to see or speak to his would-be bride, police said. Investigating officer Sadaullah Bangash said Imran, 22, had told police he got the idea after news of a spate of arrests of militant suspects in Pakistan after the July 7 London bombings.

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The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree: Barbara Bush, her husband George snr and former President Bill Clinton were chosen by her son George as the faces of fundraising for the Hurricane Katrina recovery. While on a tour of hurricane relief centres in Houston, Barbara Bush remarked: "Almost everyone I've talked to says 'we're going to move to Houston' ... What I'm hearing is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this - this [she chuckles slightly] is working very well for them." Her comments aired on National Public Radio.