SYDNEY -- To hear some Southeast Asian leaders sound off lately, a casual observer might suspect Australia is about to invade Indonesia or Malaysia or even the Philippines. Such is the folly of listening to "news" as whipped up by audience-boosting television channels fed by headline-grabbing politicians.

Admittedly, this is the silly season when the media grab wildly for "hard news" while their usual sources are relaxing into end-of-year parties. Silly? It doesn't come much sillier when Southeast Asia and Australia start trading insults over pre-emptive military strikes and who is harboring the most terrorists.

That said, Australian Prime Minister John Howard must be feeling an urgent need for a yearend break. Our ever-so-correct leader has put foot in mouth and, worse to his critics, appears to have no intention of withdrawing it.