The Last Respectable Prejudice?

A broad anti-Americanism seems on the rise among Australians, possibly due to the resentment many feel about US power and the policies of the Bush administration. Brendon O'Connor discusses anti-Americanism in Australia.Australia Council, La Trobe University, National Library of Australia, Holding Redlich, Arts Victori

Australia, the US, and the Vietnam and Iraq Wars : 'Hound Dog, not Lapdog'

The authors refute the portrayal of Australia as America's pliant ally in the Vietnam and Iraq Wars, instead arguing that Australian leaders saw such involvement as strategic opportunities to strengthen the Australian-American alliance. In the case of the Vietnam War particularly, the Australian government also saw these conflicts as a way to draw America into greater military engagement in their region. The authors' interpretation follows earlier revisionist scholarship on the Vietnam War, but is strengthened by new archival evidence. In the case of the 2003 Iraq War, their position is inevitably more provisional due to the lack of archival material. However, after interviewing senior government officials to better understand the Howard government's motivations for military involvement in Iraq, they discern a similar pattern of strategic motivation. The article concludes with a discussion of the costs and benefits of using wars to strengthen the Australian-American alliance.15 page(s

Mediterranean diet and knee osteoarthritis outcomes: A longitudinal cohort study

Objectives: Mediterranean diet has several beneficial effects on health, but data regarding the association between Mediterranean diet and knee osteoarthritis (OA) are limited mainly to cross-sectional studies. We investigated whether higher Mediterranean diet adherence is prospectively associated with lower risk of radiographic OA (ROA), radiographic symptomatic knee OA (SxOA) and pain worsening in North American people at high risk or having knee OA. Methods: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated using a validated Mediterranean diet score (aMED), categorized in five categories. Knee OA outcomes included incident (1) ROA, (2) SxOA, as the new onset of a combination of a painful knee and ROA, (3) knee pain worsening, i.e. a Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index difference between baseline and each annual exam of ≥14%. Results: 4,330 subjects (mean age: 61.1 years; 58.0% females) were included. Based on a multivariable Poisson regression analysis, during a mean follow-up period of 4 years, participants who were more highly adherent to a Mediterranean diet (Q5) reported lower risk of pain worsening (relative risk, RR=0.96; 95%CI: 0.91-0.999) compared to those in Q1. In 2,994 people free from SxOA at baseline, higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower risk for SxOA during follow-up by 9% (Q5 vs. Q1; RR=0.91; 95%CI: 0.82-0.998). No significant associations emerged between aMED and incident ROA. Conclusion: Higher adherence to Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of pain worsening and symptomatic forms of knee OA