The Nice Try Chutzpah Award of the week goes to The Daily Astonisher, which has a cunning Baldrick-like plan to counter drastic drops in circulation and readership. Easy, let's just start UPPING the advertising ask.

(Chutzpah is a wonderful Jewish expression which means 'shameless audacity'.)

In fact, it’s been an astonishing week all round.

The Bulletin iditor whistled quietly while gazing around the ceiling , taking an ingenuous ‘who, me”? stance on his own pot-stirring  policy backflip

 … and ace reporter John 'Ando' Andersen sets the record straight – and so does The Magpie.

The jostling for Labor pre-selection for the seat of Townsville is throwing up some interesting possibilities. Are the rumours right about a surprise candidate in the wings, waiting to return to the Labor fold? Right or wrong, The ‘Pie will float the rumours for you anyway (so what’s new?).

The Oscar Pistorius joke mill  has just about run its race, and is now getting somewhat prosthetic … err, sorry, that’s pathetic. But the case does highlight an amazing difference between Australia and South Africa when it comes the niceties of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ – The ‘Pie shows an example which is far from funny.

All that and other bits and pieces in this week’s nest at www.townsvillemagpie.com.au

From con job to cock-up – does the federal government realize what it has done? And does it care? It should – trashing Brand Australia internationally is not the role of this or any other government. What the hell were they thinking? And read ‘em and weep – the Townsville Bulletin’s latest readership figures take a spectacular dive.

And on the subject of the Daily Astonisher, what can Townsville learn from Geelong? Plenty, it would seem, although News Ltd hopes not.

Remember comic book hero The Phantom – the Ghost Who Walks - who disguised himself in overcoat, hat and dark glasses to move about the place as plain ol’ Mr Walker? Seems our own councilor Les Messagebank Walker has a new moniker amongst TCC colleagues … The Ghost Who Talks. Messagebank seems determined to talk about anything and everything lately - and pose for pix even if it means missing vital council committee meetings to do so. The Magpie ponders what’s behind the incessant gabfest.

And are we not all in awe of the speed of the world wide web – the jokes across a variety of newsworthy happenings are coming thick and fast – and instantly - and they’re not always tasteful, so they'll fit in very nicely here in this week’s overflowing nest at www.townsvillemagpie.com.au

WHAT A CON JOB! And they’ve all fallen for it!! The best larf of the week goes to – ta da – the federal government for the biggest political leak of the year, and this one goes right to the top.

Just days after the Joolya Gillard had a moan about norty little backbenchers leaking to those devils incarnate otherwise known as the ‘medja’, we get one of the biggest political ‘leaks’ and smear jobs in memory.  And this one you can bet was set up by the Prime Minister herself. 

Also, the unusual spectacle of a person helping out in a disaster aftermath situation copping Nanny State criticism in The Daily Astonisher from the most unlikely person.

On the local government scene, a new start for Mayor Mullet?  – a controversial plan for her personal development is floated in an effort to bring harmony to Walker Street.

All that and lots of other stuff you can skip over here in this week’s nest at www.townsvillemagpie.com.au

Julia Gillard sparks a baby boom, but firing the election starting gun, has she blown off her own foot? And are Mayor Mullet and the Townsville City Council about to do a Campbell Newman and sack 300 staff? It’s a possibility but it seems we’ll never know – until it happens.

It’s been a week to trot out some well known song lines and sayings, to summarise the doings of the past few days.

For the PM, her early poll announcement seems to have been prompted by the age-old saying ’If you’re being run out of town, get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade’. 

And for that old swindle-shanks Wayne The Goose Swan, those ‘Lying Eyes’ are blinking myopically at the cameras, challenging the voters’ 'Suspicious Minds’.

Here is the ’Ville, an old political face follows the dictum ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ and snares a plum council job that has raised a few eyebrows.

And secret council business: our Walker Street warriors are in retreat to the Cowards Castle of an inappropriately closed meeting, so no one will know what our elected representatives think about that report recommending up to 300 council workers be sacked.

All that, plus Bentley, Pickering and more in this week’s nest at www.townsvillemagpie.com.au