Sunday, August 02, 2009

Headlines Sunday 2nd August 2009

China blasts Australia over Kadeer visit
China has summoned Australia's ambassador to the foreign ministry in China to protest the visit of exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer to Australia, state press reported.

ACCC may target Coles, Woolies on leases
Coles and Woolworths could be taken to court over new anti-competitive claims, this time involving shopping centre leases.

Teen's life of crime but no jail time
A BURGLAR, 15, who broke into dozens of homes has escaped with a slap on the wrist.

Drunk teen charged with stealing taxi
A TEENAGER has been charged with stealing a taxi and taking it on a drive through Sydney's eastern suburbs while drunk, police say.

Climate change protesters take to floor
Protesters have taken to the floor at Labor's national state conference during the debate on climate change, angry at the government's response to the issue.

Gay and lesbians tie the knot
It was an emotional scene at Brisbane's Queen's Park on Saturday as hundreds of gay and lesbian supporters rallied for same-sex marriage to be recognised legally.

No IVF for gay couples, says AMA chief
IVF is "not a lifestyle choice" and goes against the "natural order" if used by same-sex couples.

'Teenage Women In Their Thirties' the new social phenomenon

WE'VE had WAGS, yuppies and metrosexuals; now meet our newest social phenomenon, TWITs. The TWITs are "Teenage Women In Their Thirties".

Blind woman denied accommodation in NZ
A blind New Zealand woman kicked out of an accommodation unit because she had a guide dog has been......

Kyle may be cut from Idol judging role
KYLE Sandilands' TV career remains uncertain, with Idol producers reviewing his role.
=== Comments ===
Where corruption is a growth industry
Piers Akerman
Former crime buster Tony Fitzgerald injected a long overdue note of reality when he marked the 20th anniversary of his report on Queensland corruption with a warning that the State was at risk of ``sliding back’’ into its dark past. - I for one am very grateful for Piers holding this candle alight. Few others in the media seem to wish to. I was put in touch with a senior editor of a daily and told, later, after I told the gist of my story, that they had lost my email.
The corruption allegations for Queensland have much verisimilitude for me, although I don't have any special knowledge of the facts there.
Because I have brought my information to the correct bodies, and have experienced the same ridiculous excuses for the anti corruption bodies to investigate, I am allowed to write of my experience. Because of the partisan nature of the press, they can hide behind the bad excuse of the 'public's need to know' for not publishing. However, my story will be told, in full, eventually.
I am accusing elements of the NSW state government of deliberately bungling a pedophile investigation in the Campbelltown area in schools in the mid 90's. The resultant cover up led to the death of a school child which I believe has also been covered up. Because the Coroner was denied full information regarding the death of the school boy, it was ruled as being an accident with an open finding. Because the coroner has ruled, there is said to be no need to investigate my claims further.
I have been unfairly dismissed as a result of the corruption, and I have been threatened by two government ministers, including my local member for responsibly reporting on these matters. I have been illegally and unofficially blacklisted from work so that my only employment, although full time, is beneath the minimum wage and without conditions of sick leave or holiday pay. - ed.

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Art - the last refuge of the scoundrel
Andrew Bolt

The sniggering sin:

A PHOTOGRAPHER who used a 13th century village church in England for an erotic photoshoot has caused uproar in the local diocese, which has decided to sue him, he says. Andy Craddock snapped photos of semi-naked models inside St Michael Penkivel Church in Cornwall, western England, before publishing them on his website...

The sniveling excuse:
“All I know is I’m being threatened with legal action,” Mr Craddock said. “I don’t understand it and I don’t see the photographs as offensive, it’s art.”

Why is art not allowed to be seen as offensive, precisely when it’s intended to be just that? The last word on this “don’t judge me, I’m an artist” abrogation of moral responsibility was said by George Orwell, of course.
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Vote or we die
Andrew Bolt
This astonishing claim, reported as fact, appears in today’s Sunday Age:

THE Federal Government has warned that Australian icons such as the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park, the Tasmanian wilderness, Carlton Gardens and the Sydney Opera House could be damaged irreparably if the Coalition fails to support Labor’s emissions trading scheme.

Can anyone at all, even Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, claim hand on heart that this is literally true - that if the Coalition votes against Kevin Rudd’s scheme that the reef will die and the Sydney Opera House will fall into ruin?

This kind of utter nonsense is now what governments argue and newspapers print about global warming.

Enough with these lies.
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Give the crook a 66th chance
Andrew Bolt
That sure taught this 15-year-old a lesson, but not one he needed:

A TEENAGE burglar who terrorised Melbourne for more than a year, breaking into dozens of homes, has escaped with no jail time, no fine and no conviction…

He admitted to a staggering 65 offences in a 13-month crime spree - committed while he was on probation.

During his rampage he stole about $100,000 worth of property from homes and businesses, including cars, televisions, computers, jewellery and motorbikes… The youth’s rap sheet included two counts of aggravated burglary, 24 counts of burglary, 24 counts of theft and three counts of intentionally damaging property. He also pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon, causing criminal damage, going equipped to steal, and cultivating and using drugs.
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Another green plan that costs more for less
Andrew Bolt
It;’s a perfect metaphor for Barack Obama’s green plans. A Democrat plan to save the world from warming by paying owners to scrap the gassiest cars instantly runs out of cash, and is already going to cost three times more than was budgeted for.

Next the question must be asked: how was the planet helped by encouraging so many people to buy a new car, with everything that went into gassily making them?
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Hawke gets a case of the Rudds
Andrew Bolt
Bob Hawke informs Labor’s national conference he really still does believe the world revolves around him:

He nominated as one of his greatest achievements helping end the apartheid regime in South Africa by leading an international investment boycott.

He said nothing could beat the day Nelson Mandela walked into his office, took his hand and said: ‘‘Bob, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.’’

Incidentally, I wonder if Aung San Suu Kyi will ever say the same to Hawke, who’s said this of the Burmese junta that’s jailed her and tyrannised her people - but at least done business with him:

SLORC was genuinely committed to improving the economic well being of the people and was responsible for many ``good things,’’ Hawke told a national parliamentary inquiry.

``We have been uniformly impressed by the competence and knowledge and commitment of these ministers and their associates to the economic development of Myanmar as a basis for national and political advancement of the people of their country,’’ Hawke said.

Never mind. Labor yesterday still gaves the old freedom fighter a lifetime membership in honor of his great popularity with punters:

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See? Rude and callous
Andrew Bolt

Remember how the guy on the right called the guy on the left “stupid”, suggesting he was racist in the way he treated the guy in the middle?
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No sooner damned than won
Andrew Bolt
Coalition forces have never had so few deaths in Iraq in a month since they first invaded (just seven in July) but never so many in Afghanistan (75).

Iraqi civilian and military deaths are also down to near-record lows.

And to think Kevin Rudd just two years ago called the Iraq war, and not the war in Afghanistan that he supports, the ”greatest . . . national security policy disaster that our country has seen since Vietnam”.

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