Launching the week on a scrot full of paranoia and heightened pressure, North Korea, currently under the regime of Kim Jong-il, set ablaze the world arms community firing not six, but eight test missiles.
Speculation is rife that the next step in the evolution of the program will include nuclear warheads strapping young deaths to the ends of the short-range missiles. Potential for nuclear war head deployment is still uncertain, though US reports report that Pyongyang is aglow with underground nuclear tests.
Right on the heels of this international stand-off between North Korea and many of the allied nations, the Australian contingents and hopefuls for the Miss World and Miss Universe set sail, airborne across the seas.
The representatives to Australia in the respective crowns are not without the adversity of their own controversies.
Erin McNaught, Australia's nominee for Miss Universe, faced a stripping of her title after previously acknowledge photos of the 24-year-old Gold Coast resident finally made due, published in a magazine.
Similarly, Sabrina Houssami's claim to the mantle of Australia's petition for Miss World was under fire. Drawn short of a full competition for this year, the default process left the 20-year-old, last year's runner-up, the only one left standing with standing.
Facing the claws, spite and scrutiny of local rivals and administrators only serves to test their mettle before the international competitions.
McNaught and Houssami's potential ability to protect Australia against missiles from North Korea, or any other sovereign nation, remains untested.
Written on Friday, 7 July 2006