Australian for Ballbreaker, Mate

In a move that threatens to put the final nail in the coffin between America's love affair with Australia (the death of which began with The Facts of Life girls going Downunder and the release of Crocodile Dundee II), Australia's Labor Party now has a leader who once referred to Liberal Prime Minister John Howard as an "arselicker."

Beyond a Mad Max-style of speaking, Mark Latham is famous for breaking thee arm of a taxi driver during an argument over a fare. He's also outspoken, if a little less anatomically observant, of President Bush, calling the Texan "the most incompetent and dangerous president in living memory" and "flaky, incompetent, and dangerous."

It's unclear what chance Latham (who has said, "I hope my little boy hates a Liberal prime minister who sells out our national interest") has to become prime minister himself, or what influence he'll exert over Aussie-US relations.