Be Thou My Vision

Many thanks to Ed Nicholls for his beautiful accompanying music.
Also known as "An Irish Hymn"

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me save that thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word
I ever with thee, thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I thy true Son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battleshield, sword for the fight
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower
Raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, after victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

Homecoming, a Bruce Dawe Poem

I might not agree with Mr Dawe's politics, but he gets sympathy points for being a brilliant artist.

Tarisai Vushe Lynched From Idol

Tarisai Vushe
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

The most talented voice in some years was voted out (5th) of Australia's Idol. She had been ambushed in a campaign against her by judges. The judges did not target her for her skin color, size or gender. They targetted her for her religion.

Tarisai only ever answered questions gracefully. Not prone to hissy fits, some judges viewed this as stage management incommensurate with Idol qualities. But her voice and musical choices were superior to the self absorbed lot. Carl might be interesting as a winner, but I've stopped caring.

U.S. Military: Iranian-Made Rockets Hit Base Near Baghdad

hizballah rocket, originally uploaded by ddbsweasel.

From Fox News
Rockets fired at a U.S. base southeast of Baghdad were manufactured in Iran, showing again that country’s continued logistical support for insurgents inside Iraq, U.S. military officials said on Saturday.

Nobody was injured in the October 23rd attack on Combat Outpost Cashe, but one U.S. vehicle was damaged, officials said.

According to the military, the 107mm rocket was made in Iran sometime in March. Troops investigating the launch site seized six rocket rails – used to aim and launch the rockets, an unfired rocket and a timing device.

The seized rocket is the 40th Iranian manufactured rocket that soldiers have captured in the last four months, the military said.

Who Will Pull the Strings if ALP Wins?

What a Georgia Youth and Iraq Have in Common

Never Give Up, originally uploaded by ddbsweasel.

A Georgia youth, jailed for haveing had oral sex with another teen, has been released today. He says he 'Never gave up hope.' Lord knows, his state needs him. Did Clinton or Monica come from Georgia? Why weren't they jailed, too?
===
Meanwhile, in Iraq, where the Democrats gave up long ago, all the major signs are that Mr Bush's policies have worked. as Bartle Bull writes
"The question is whether the war is winnable and whether we can help the winning of it. The answer is made much easier by the fact that three and a half years after the start of the insurgency, most of the big questions in Iraq have been resolved. Moreover, they have been resolved in ways that are mostly towards the positive end of the range of outcomes imagined at the start of the project. The country is whole. It has embraced the ballot box. It has created a fair and popular constitution. It has avoided all-out civil war. It has not been taken over by Iran. It has put an end to Kurdish and marsh Arab genocide, and anti-Shia apartheid. It has rejected mass revenge against the Sunnis. As shown in the great national votes of 2005 and the noisy celebrations of the Iraq football team’s success in July, Iraq survived the Saddam Hussein era with a sense of national unity; even the Kurds—whose reluctant commitment to autonomy rather than full independence is in no danger of changing—celebrated. Iraq’s condition has not caused a sectarian apocalypse across the region. The country has ceased to be a threat to the world or its region. The only neighbours threatened by its status today are the leaders in Damascus, Riyadh and Tehran."

Mr Bolt adds
"Professor John Wixted agrees with most of the analysis, and has more.

From the media coverage in Australia, you would find it hard to believe that any of this was really happening. Ditto from Kevin Rudd’s apocalyptic pronouncements.

Iraq is being won, however painfully, and most of your media never saw this coming. Nor, I suspect, did they want to. And perhaps the main reason it has been won is that George Bush was in the White House, and stayed there just long enough to see this through. Bartle’s analysis, which appears in the superb Left-wing magazine Prospect, makes that much clear, even if it avoids mentioning Bush’s name."

ALP Always Caves in to Labour Unions

MILITANT Perth unionist Joe McDonald has been expelled from the Labor Party.

Opposition leader Kevin Rudd said he recommended that the national executive expel McDonald after he warned Prime Minister John Howard he would be back after winning the first of six trespassing charges against him in court yesterday.

Mr Rudd said he told the National Executive the remarks by Mr McDonald were inappropriate, incendiary and unacceptable and he recommended he be expelled.

The moves follows yesterday's launch by the Howard government of a fresh advertising blitz attacking Mr Rudd's failure to expel McDonald from the ALP.
===
Rudd must have researched this aplenty before getting off the hands he was sitting on .. his own.

Department of Defence pays tribute to fallen Sergeant

Australian SAS, originally uploaded by ddbsweasel.

THE Australian Government Department of Defence released the following tribute to Sergeant Matthew Locke who was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

It is with great sadness that the Department of Defence announces the death of Sergeant Matthew Locke, serving with Special Air Service Regiment in Oruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, 25 October 2007.

Sergeant Locke was on a patrol when fatally wounded by small arms fire from Taliban extremists.

Sergeant Locke was involved in Operation SPIN GHAR, which directly supported an ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces operation to target and clear Taliban extremists from the area around Tarin Kowt, in Oruzgan province.

Defence extends its sympathies to Sergeant Locke’s family and continues to provide support to them during this difficult time.

(more in comments)

Hatchet Falls

Joe Tripodi Letter, originally uploaded by ddbsweasel.

This is the letter that confirms the talentless state government of NSW is incapable of administering any issue.

The issues referred to include
* Harassment of a public servant, so that they felt compelled to resign after 16 years.
* Death of a year 8 boy in which details were apparently withheld from investigators.
* Bungling of a paedophile investigation, in which allegations were inflated to prevent a proper examination of events.

The letter has been modified to protect the identity of some involved.

Dr. Worm v PM MC & K. Rudd

Ray Martin, the worm is not about free speech, but the ability of a few journalists to impose their world view.

Prime Minister John Howard's leadership message

ALP's Policy Machine Breaks Down

Not a break dance, 'though

For Balance. A Kevin 07 Advert

You better not pout, you better not shout .. Kevin Rudd is coming to town ..

The Problem With Not Having An Opinion

From News.com.au
LABOR leader Kevin Rudd is sustaining discrimination by refusing to support homosexual marriage, Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says.

Mr Rudd today while campaigning in the federal election that he would not change his mind on restricting marriage to heterosexuals even if any of his children were gay and wanted to marry a same-sex partner.

"Kevin, you're wrong. Gay and lesbian people should be treated the same as heterosexual people under the law,'' Senator Brown said in Canberra.

"When people form a relationship, they love each other, they get together, they share their lives, then the law should not be an impediment and they shouldn't discriminate,'' he said.

"That means removing the discrimination that Labor and the Coalition have on marriage laws against this section of the community who happen to have same-sex relationships.''

Speaking on the Austereo network today, Mr Rudd remained committed to his party line that marriage is between a man and woman, but admitted it was not a popular view in some circles.

Debate Favours Howard, Journalists Favour Rudd

Socks, Clinton Kitty, originally uploaded by ddbsweasel.

Last night Mr Howard won the substantive issues of the debate. He had been repeatedly warned about speaking over time, as he hammered home specifics regarding the issues. Rudd only needed a little time to parrot out his slogans.

Meanwhile, Socks is looking for that worm. The worm clearly favoured Rudd. When Rudd hesitated, and spluttered "Well, I think .." the worm registered a peak. Says it all, really.
===
Rudd promised a scare campaign, and he delivered with his quips about Nuclear Power and Workchoices.

Nuclear Power is essential to Australia if the faux target of 60% emmissions is to be met by 2050, as Rudd claims. Nuclear power is the only viable Carbon friendly option, although it does produce steam, which is another greenhouse gas, but not carbon ..

Workchoices is touted by the ALP as being so weak it allows workers to have jobs whereby they are not paid. I had such a job under old IR laws where I delievered chicken for a major retailer. I was one of several drivers. Often hours would pass without delivery, yet we were only paid for any delivery. The truth is, Workchoices is superior to old IR laws in every respect.

Rudd was caught misquoting an OECD report. He justified the misquote, shamefully.

Speaking on the war in Iraq, Rudd spoke of security issues in .. South East Asia?

Towards the end of the debate, Rudd claimed Howard had said Australians had 'never had it so good' economically. While the statement is true, it was not made by Howard, although it is an accurate summation. Keating said Australians never had it so good in reference to Keating's achievements. Keating was wrong.

He Was Loved

Dean Shillingsworth, originally uploaded by ddbsweasel.

Found in a suitcase bobbing in a duckpond. For days, the world had not noticed this cherubic child's deathbed.

When the last election in NSW was running, the ALP slogan had been to improve on their past mistakes. I don't think they can do better than this. A boy caught in a tug of love. Authorities warned.

Outing A Fictional Character, Dumbledore

Dumbledore
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

JK Rowling has invented a world which children play in. It is a fantasy world which occasionally resembles reality. Dumbledore, the Hogwarts School Principal is gay. So have been many eminent people. Does it matter?

The character of Dumbledore is wise and giveing. He is flawed, yet praiseworthy. Dumbledore being gay does not change, nor enhance that. But Dumbledore being gay is important to the storyline because it will satisfy those people who need to see Gay people as leading worthy lives.

The truth about Gays is that they tend to live with the fear that life can pass them by because they don't fit in. That is a truth which all must deal with, but for gays it becomes an issue because they often don't fit in, and their world is invisible.

In recent years, the well intended but misleading attempts to portray many, either fictional or real, as Gay has grown strident .. and ebbed.

Maybe Bilbo Baggins, or his nephew Frodo were not gay. But if they were, the story does not change, nor the beauty of the story. And for some, the world may seem less lonely.

Personally, I struggle calling Hermione a Witch .. but that is one of my issues :p

Wednesday Morning 3 am

I thought the song funny. I've cut up and sampled images from the brilliant production company Rumble Pictures. Rumble had made it for the gorgeous piece Homebound Carriage by the Closet Romantics. Check out their professional quality vid ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta29LWRbT0A
===
http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=46920#
Wednesday Morning 3am Simon & Garfunkle
(If only it had been a soft liquor store)
(Is it legal to gaze at that?)
(What can one do in a few hours?)
(A scene badly written In which I must play??!!)

Our Economy Allows Our Growth

It isn't only about spending money. Mr Howard might have chosen to have blown everything he has gained, and more, and there would not have been an appreciable lift in service performance. In fact, it is the NSW experience that profligate spending leads to poorer service.

One need only list the services to see how bad NSW has been.
Trains. Roads. Hospitals. Schools. Police. Ambulance. Add to which we have an irresponsive administration.

Yet in Federal services, we maintain a high immigration rate because people want to come here. The dollar is strong because of good management. Spending on service exceeds inflation. We pay people to own homes. We pay people to have babies. We allow unhealthy people to get better.

How Do Union Officials Govern?

The ALP have an awful history of shady backyard deals. Unlike the open and transparent operations of conservative government, the ALP have had ministers involved with corruption, paedophilia, drugs and deaths.

The old ambit claiming that absolute power corrupts absolutely has truth to it. Conservative governments tend to be bound by due process. ALP governments seem to act beyond such process.

Australian PM's Goals For The Future

Not the same as Queensland's Anna Bligh's Goals ..
(From Andrew Bolt)
Al Gore sure isn’t the only global warming spruiker to benefit from the alarm they preach:

THE husband of Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has been appointed to head a new government office that she created…

He has since been appointed the head of the new Office of Climate Change, created within the state’s Environmental Protection Agency.

Under ALP Who Runs The Economy?

From Andrew Bolt "Rudd Rushes Out Most Of Costello's Tax Plan, Then Adds A Candle" except that candle can bankrupt the unwary ..

Kevin Rudd does about as well on tax as he could hope:

"FEDERAL Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has announced what he calls Labor’s long-term plan for tax, deferring tax cuts proposed by the Government and using the money to pay for education tax breaks…

Parents of primary school students would be able to claim up to $750 of their outlay on education when they filed a tax return and parents of secondary school students would be able to claim up to $1500.

“The eligibility for this would extend to all those kids in Australia whose parents currently receive family tax benefit A and that’s more than two million Australian kids,” he said…

Mr Rudd said a Labor government would embark on a six-year plan to reform the income tax system, reducing the number of tax thresholds from four to three by 2013.

“Our goal would be that we would have three rates - 40, 30 and 15 (cents in the dollar),” he said…

Mr Rudd said Labor’s tax cuts would be worth $31 billion, less than the Government’s $34bn package…

Labor would save $2.9 billion by not implementing the Government’s proposed tax cuts for people earning more than $180,000 and would spend $2.3 billion on education tax refunds, leaving $600 million."

The education tax deductions are on balance good, I feel. At least politically.

But, hmm. Total cost of yesterday’s announcement is almost bang on the $34 billion the Government promised on tax cuts on Monday. Curious coincidence - picked up straight away by Peter Costello.


“It is now clear Labor never had a tax plan,” Mr Costello said in Melbourne.

“Mr Rudd and Mr Swan do not understand the Australian economy. This is entirely clear from the fact they have spent four days copying 91.5 per cent of our tax plan.’’

The bit not copied, he says, is the tax cuts for high income earners which were switched to the education tax refunds.

But Rudd looks at his best when he seizes a laptop computer during his press conference and says these are the “toolbox of the 21st century”. Parents on family tax benefit A will be able to claim deductions for them under his plan.

I’m not convinced that laptops for primary students are essential, but it’s excellent symbolism for Rudd, fitting in beautifully to his image of freshness and the new century, with his Mandarin speaking and his broadband plan. The foolish will add his greenhouse policies to that.

Much more of this is necessary. Let’s hear more from him on scholarships, high tech, universities, trade and the like. But also on measures to bring along those at risk of being left behind. Freshness and movement must be his watchwords.

UPDATE

Reader Alan RM Jones isn’t so sure the education deductions are sound economics:

"How the heck is the ATO going to monitor that? Are these things for the family, the parents and kids? Will they have to have a pro-rata system like home office deductibility? ... Sounds like another compliance nightmare and more bureaucracy – the ALP’s specialty."

ALP label responsible scrutiny as scare

From Andrew Bolt, "Rudd is a Fraud"
Business strategist and Labor voter Paul Kerin picks Kevin Rudd for a fraud:

"Rudd says he’s a social conservative and economic liberal, but he’s neither. He’s really a moderate social progressive and an economic recidivist…

Rudd depicts the “real battle of ideas in Australian politics” as the “battle between free market fundamentalism and the social-democratic belief that individual reward can be balanced with social responsibility”. This depiction - replete with false mutual exclusivities (free market v social responsibility) and put-down labels (free market fundamentalism) - implies that anyone who supports free markets must be a selfish bastard who doesn’t care about social goals. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Rudd confuses three crucial concepts: values, goals and means. The values and individual preferences of any community’s citizens should drive the goals that its government seeks to achieve; government should choose the best means to achieve these goals. Rudd puts the cart before the horse. His attack on free marketeers is entirely values-based, a tirade against what he sees - incorrectly and, quite frankly, offensively - as their values.

This reflects Rudd’s misunderstanding of what economics is all about. It’s about means; specifically, the best means to achieve whatever goals a community’s citizens, collectively and individually, want to achieve. Markets and governments are merely two means that may help (or hinder) us in meeting these ends."

So why did I say Rudd was a fraud, and not just confused? Because Kerin is rightly astonished by Rudd’s attacks on Adam Smith and FA Hayek:

"Ironically, (Rudd) claims (free market) fundamentalists “distort Smith, adopting his Wealth of Nations while ignoring ... his The Theory of Moral Sentiments”. I can’t believe that an intelligent, reflective man such as Rudd has read either book. If he had, he would not have drawn this conclusion. It is a gross distortion…

Rudd clearly hasn’t read Hayek either. His only evidence on Hayek’s values are quotes from former communist and non-economist David McKnight… Rudd hardly deserves criticism just because he hasn’t read the great books of economics. Few economists have either. But he does deserve criticism for dumping on them - and, more important, for rejecting valuable means of achieving his goals - simply because he has swallowed populist ideological drivel about these books as if it were gospel."

* Professor Neil Warren notes some problems with Kevin Rudd’s generally well-received tax policy - and especially with the tax breaks for “students” computers.

A Few Well Chosen Words, Mr Howard Calls The Election

John Howard
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

It isn't about new leaders and it isn't about old leaders. It is about the right leader. Mr Howard is the right leader for Australia

Within a day of the election being called, Mr Rudd has claimed there would be 'the mother of all smear campaigns" and Mr Rudd has delivered. "health workers and emergency services staff could be forced to sign Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) if John Howard is re-elected as Prime Minister" Mr Rudd claimed.

Turns out that a much ballyhoo-ed report claiming to be an independant study into AWA's from Sydney University involved union funding and a committed socialist researcher who wanted to condemn Federal Government IR legislation. Another of the report’s authors, Michelle Jakubauskas, now reveals what was excluded on the grounds that “there was nothing of particular interest” in the stats:

For your interest, I found that overall employees on collective agreements are the most likely to have negative attitudes towards with more than a quarter (27 per cent) feeling that they are not consulted by managers, while 28 per cent state that they do not trust management. In comparison 23 per cent of those on AWA’s disagree that managers consult them and 22 per cent disagree that they trust management.

The report finds that union members are more likely to feel negatively about management than non-union members. So, the higher levels of distrust and lack of consultation among employees on collective agreements is likely to be due to the high rate of union membership among these employees.

In other words, AWA workers like and respect their bosses better. A few well chosen words make all the difference for the independant report.

Atheist Writers Don't Understand Religion

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has correctly described the issue detracting from entertaining and lively atheist writers. Such writers do not understand religion, worship or faith. The stuff they write does not match what the faithful feel or observe.

What the media failed to report

General Ricardo Sanchez
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

OVER THE COURSE OF THIS WAR TACTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS HAVE BECOME STRATEGIC DEFEATS FOR AMERICA BECAUSE OF THE TREMENDOUS POWER AND IMPACT OF THE MEDIA AND BY EXTENSION YOU THE JOURNALIST. IN MANY CASES THE MEDIA HAS UNJUSTLY DESTROYED THE INDIVIDUAL REPUTATIONS AND CAREERS OF THOSE INVOLVED....

THE DEATH KNELL OF YOUR ETHICS HAS BEEN ENABLED BY YOUR PARENT ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE CHOSEN TO ALIGN THEMSELVES WITH POLITICAL AGENDAS. WHAT IS CLEAR TO ME IS THAT YOU ARE PERPETUATING THE CORROSIVE PARTISAN POLITICS THAT IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY AND KILLING OUR SERVICEMEMBERS WHO ARE AT WAR.

MY ASSESSMENT IS THAT YOUR PROFESSION, TO SOME EXTENT, HAS STRAYED FROM THESE ETHICAL STANDARDS AND ALLOWED EXTERNAL AGENDAS TO MANIPULATE WHAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SEES ON TV, WHAT THEY READ IN OUR NEWSPAPERS AND WHAT THEY SEE ON THE WEB. FOR SOME OF YOU, JUST LIKE SOME OF OUR POLITICIANS, THE TRUTH IS OF LITTLE TO NO VALUE IF IT DOES NOT FIT YOUR OWN PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS, BIASES AND AGENDAS.

IT IS ASTOUNDING TO ME WHEN I HEAR THE VEHEMENT DISAGREEMENT WITH THE MILITARY’S FORAYS INTO INFORMATION OPERATIONS THAT SEEK TO DISSEMINATE THE TRUTH AND INFORM THE IRAQI PEOPLE IN ORDER TO COUNTER OUR ENEMY’S BLATANT PROPAGANDA. AS I ASSESS VARIOUS MEDIA ENTITIES, SOME ARE UNQUESTIONABLY ENGAGED IN POLITICAL PROPAGANDA THAT IS UNCONTROLLED.
====
Excuse the shouting, the transcript was copied in that format. The media reported that Sanchez blamed the US President for failure in Iraq. I have it on good authroity that Iraq has not, and might never, fail. If Iraq fails, it will be because of the political opponents of the US President. I gather Dan Rather felt it was Bush week.

What the enemy say

Afghan Leader Vows to Escalate Violence, Punish Karzai

Peshawar, 21 October: A Taleban spokesman, Dr Mohammad Hanif, emailed today a message from the leader of the Taleban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, to Afghan Islamic Press on the occasion of the arrival of the Id al-Fitr.

The text of the message, which has been sent from an unknown location, is hereby published in its original form:

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan The Press Committee Date: 21/10/2006

A message of congratulation from His Honour Amir al-Mu'minin [the commander of the faithful] to the Muslim nation and the Islamic ummah [the Muslim nation] on the occasion of the arrival of Id al-Fitr.

I offer congratulations on the occasion of the arrival of Id al-Fitr

Nobel Prize Rules Ignored For Gore

Alfred Nobel wrote in his will that the peace prize was to be given “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

Gore has done no such thing. Instead, he has widely distributed lies related to the global warming industry. The global warming industry threatens to bankrupt wealthy nations in chasing futile gestures. The resultant poverty will do much to increase world suffering. The sort of thing you expect the Nobel Prize to be awarded for, these days.

Rumble Pictures WestExpress Doco

From the my space site for Rumble
http://www.myspace.com/Rumble_Pictures
Due the success of the first 'WestXpress 07' youth event held in early April, young filmmakers Rumble Pictures with Fairfield’s Powerhouse Youth Theatre (PYT) will be preparing for WestXpress 2 which will be held at the PYT School of Arts on Saturday the 8th September, 2007.

For a taste of whats yet to come at 'WestXpress 2'. Here's the documentary for 'WestXpress 07'!

Media Frenzy Blames Minister

Kilts, but no bagpipes
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

A recent media frenzy was created when the Immigration Minister, Mr Kevin Andrews, made the administrative policy decision to freeze the intake of Sudanese refugees. Australia has taken a substantial number of such refugees in recent times, and the pause will allow Australian authorities time to improve the settlement process. Australia is still taking a substantial number of refugees.
The anecdotal evidence regarding settlement problems with Sudanese have been widely reported. In Sudan, the family structure is weak, and children are not in the habit of going to school.
The reporting of the issue has been lampooned by ABC's Mediawatch, which gave the spin that the issue was not particular to the Sudanese community.
Now the media are making wild claims, of the type that blame Mr Andrews for what would otherwise be dismissed as mere robbery and battery.

Mr Howard Announces Pacific Highway Update

Just as well he posted it on youtube, or no one would hear of it.

Forty Years After Che's Execution

Cult of Che
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

Born into a leftwing, aristocratic family, Che was to become one of the most celebrated of brutal killers.

It is not that he participated in revolution. It is how he prosecuted the revolution. The jsutice that Che meted out to his victims might be understood by those victims of Pol Pot, Mao Tse Tung, Stalin or Hitler. Innocent people whose sole crime was to look wrong, or be born at the wrong time to the wrong people.

Today, the press tend to glorify left wing killers. Unbalanced reporting leads to the lucky, ignorant, victims who survived such persecution to say "But he was a strong leader." Or "He looks ok to me."

Good riddance.

Taliban Claim Kill, Aus 41 yo Father of Two

Afghanistan
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

from news.com.au
THE Digger killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan yesterday was 41-year-old Brisbane father-of-two David Pearce.

The former Army Reservist who joined the regular army in 2006 leaves behind his wife of 18 years and two daughters aged 11 and six.

In a statement released by the Defence department, Trooper Pearce's family has said his wife and daughters were "centre of his life".

"He was a patriotic Australian and loved his work with the army, particularly the comradeship he developed with his mates," his family said.

Defence chief Angus Houston said today Trooper Pearce's body would be returned home under constant escort.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said the soldiers had been protecting engineers undertaking reconstruction work in the province when the bomb hit their vehicle, which Trooper Pearce was driving. Another soldier was seriously injured.
===
It has been said that Iran is supplying much of the most dangerous weaponry in Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.
===
ALP have campaigned to leave Iraq, but step up in Afghanistan, which as policy goes is dumb. Conservatives are at work in both places.

When Terrorists Are In Charge

This is from The Road to Jenin, including testimony of Australian Christian aid worker, Dalry Jones. She says it is 'like virgin sacrifice.' I know enough about terrorists to know that statement is spot on, even though I am tempted to correct her, and say it is virgin sacrifice, I know her statement has more verisimilitude.

Gillard Has No Life Experience

Still hasn't addressed my issue. What does she expect of me? Is administration such a difficult thing for her? Such a small matter, easy to address ..

Ugly Angels: 70,000 hours of doing it right

Marine Copter Pilot
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

23 Sept 07
By Cpl. Zachary Dyer
2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (FWD)

AL ASAD, Iraq -- History is a big part of the Marine Corps, every Marine is taught to honor the legacy of the first Leathernecks in 1775. Tradition has permeated so far into the Marines that it is not just the history of the Corps that Devil Dogs honor, but the feats of individual units as well.

Chad, it is felicity

Deathbed Marriage
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

These lyrics are not based on an individual, although I know someone who might feel they are. They work on different levels.
On one level, the lyric decribes the adult myopia which leads to self destructive behaviour, recalling the ideal of youth.
The lyric was constructed using a former friend as a motif. Anyone who knows Chad might not mistake Chad for the lyric, but for those he tells. Anyone who doesn't know Chad will view the lyric as it is intended.
===
You remember when we met?
The games you used to play.
The love you mourned you lost.
The dream we wanted to share
But yours were yours
And mine was mine
Chad, this is felicity.

You remember taking my heart?
The games you used to play.
The others were merely friends.
My dream you promised to be a part.
But yours were yours
And mine was mine
Chad, this is felicity.

You remember our union?
The boat, the promise, the game.
The children for which you yearned.
A dream of love we shared
But yours were yours
And mine was mine
Chad, this is felicity.

You remember our dream?
The games we used to play.
Children, friends, mourned as lost.
Those dreams of love we had.
But yours were yours
And mine was mine
Chad, this is felicity.

Stop drinking Chad.
This is felicity.
Stop dreaming Chad.
This is felicity.
Stop yearning for that dream.
Chad, this is felicity.

What is in a face?

Face Transplant
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

This woman had a face transplant. She had lost her own when, suicidal, she had overdosed and lay unconscious and unaware that her pet dog had eaten it. She was given a transplant from a woman that may have committed suicide.
Now, a celebrated writer has written her story of her feelings regarding the transplant. The story does not have a pretty face, but it is predictable.
===
Meanwhile, Akerman is hauling ALP Golden Haired Child Lindsay Tanner over the coals for Tanners pathetic spray which slurred many eminent Australians, without apology, and, as it turns out, without any truth either. Lindsay had accused an education fund, which had been bipartisan, with being a shell used to send money to the conservative parties. The fund, instead, was doing as it was supposed to, educating Australians about the Constitution.

The accusation and investigation cost Australian taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not a pretty face for Tanner.
===
Meanwhile, Gillard and Rudd have been raccously crying that they are being smeared. No one seems to have been able to establish how. Perhaps if they had a policy, one might examine it for smears. One understands that Rudd and Gillard are waiting for the end of the election campaign .. not a pretty face for either.

Outrageous Slurs Have An Effect

Mr Howard and President Bush
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

Two of the world's most effective national leaders of our time are well behind in opinion polls.

A recent survey into the opinion of Australians regarding their US neighbours has made some discoveries. Firstly, Australians like US peoples, with 92% supporting the ongoing alliance. Secondly, because of the Iraq war, and the perception of President Bush's performance, 48% said Australia should take a more independant stance.

What is remarkable about the survey is how little recognition is evident of the effectiveness of these two leaders.

Mr Howard has taken an Australia whose economy was trashed over thirteen years of ALP federal government and brought on propserity unheard of since Gortyn was dumped as PM by Macmahon. Employment is above 95%, real wages are at their highest ever, public debt is gone, mainland security is so effective that at one stage, no illegal boat peoples arrived over an 18 month period. Industrial relations have an effective, fair policy. Wharves run with world's best practise. People are paid to own houses and have babies. The worst parts of Australia involve state issues, and all the states are ALP run.

President Bush has similarly been a great leader in the US. His Whitehouse has overseen the toppling of regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan with few casualties. Education changes have been beneficial and profound. Homeland security had been unheard of by Bush's predecessors. Economy has at times run so well that interest rates were at 1%.

But you wouldn't know about their success. Comedians and pop stars and politicians have nibbled at the truth for so long, that polls are showing that many believe the lies.
===
Some lies are listed here. I'll address each of them in line.

For Howard:
Australian Wheat Board Scandal
Children Overboard and Sieve X
Timor, Fiji, Solomans, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Iraq
Health, Public Transport, Water, Power, Drought
Telstra
Industrial Relations failure
Interest Rates

For Bush:
Public speaking failure, intelligence
Economy
Iraq, Afghanistan, 911
Katrina
Democrat popularity
1999 Gore 'election'

A Tale of Two Koreas, elsewhere Russians Panic

Kim and Roh
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

As Roh Moo-hyun meets with Kim Jong-il, Russian nuclear scientists scatter from their Iranian operation.

The two Korean leaders are discussing ?? Peace? Human Rights? Surrender? It is hard to know with the anti US brigade what their leaders are hoping to achieve when they meet terrorist leaders. Jong-il has never covered himself in glory, his regime haveing been involved with atrocities related to both war and peace. An old style communist leader. Moo-hyun is a new style socialist who came to power on a wave of anti US sentiment and politically motivated allegations of corruption against his conservative opponents.

Will the US bomb Iranian nuclear sites? Maybe, if the exiting Russian scientists is a guide ..

Witness Burma Atrocities While Filming Rambo

Stallone Truths
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

Stallone and his crew were witness to events in Burma while filming Rambo's sequel.

"I witnessed the aftermath - survivors with legs cut off and all kinds of land mine injuries, maggot-infested wounds and ears cut off. We saw many elephants with blown off legs. We hear about Vietnam and Cambodia and this was more horrific.''

Why Amnesty International Australia Is Wrong To Represent Bombers

Bali Bomb
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

The Bali Bombings were not isolated. There were more killed than the 202 killed in one blast, with 209 injured and maimed. The bombers were part of an organisation that bombed others, and would continue to kill for the purpose of terror.

Amnesty International's charter is supposed to limit it's executive to protecting 'prisoners of conscience.' Those people without voice who are imprisoned for there peaceful beliefs of politics. There are organisations enough that represent the will of terrorists. It is inappropriate for Amnesty to spend its money and resources supporting these creatures.

So Upset With Detention, He Wants To Return

Mohamed Haneef
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel

Mohamed Haneef was so upset with being detained for questioning over a relative's terrorist attack in Britain, he is begging to come back.

A fully trained doctor, he is unemployed in India, where the health care needs of the local population are clearly met by others.

What a sweet, giveing guy. Let us hope he stays in India, and gets arrested if it is found he participated with the terrorist hit.