Sunday, September 13, 2009

Headlines Sunday 13th September 2009

Key Figure in Blagojevich Corruption Probe Found Dead

A key figure in ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's federal corruption case died Saturday of an apparent "aspirin overdose," a law enforcement source told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Christopher Kelly, 51, was Blagojevich's former chief fundraiser, and was described by the newspaper as "go-to" guy in the ex-governor's administration.

His family found him early Saturday morning and was pronounced dead several hours later at Cook County's Stroger hospital, where he had arrived by ambulance, said spokesman Marcel Bright.

An autopsy was to be performed. - this is really concerning, as the corruption tarnishes a tottering Obama administration and there is no evidence that Obama is not in some way culpable. - ed.
===
Big Kev is watching you: Turnbull
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is employing shameless "Orwellian" tactics to airbrush the Liberal Party's achievements from history, the opposition says.

Michael McGurk 'named killer' in letter days before murder
Just days before he was killed murdered Sydney businessman Michael McGurk wrote a letter allegedly naming his likely killer. - Regardless, we don't know for sure that ALP individuals didn't get a hit on. Because of the corruption involved with that party we may never know. - ed.

Dad used daughter, 6, to sell porn pictures
A FIREFIGHTER who led a double life selling images of his naked six-year-old daughter online has been jailed for 19 years. - recent ALP leaders have been involved in pedophile activity - ed.

Indonesia detains 14 Afghan migrants
Indonesia has detained 14 Afghan migrants on the southern island of Papakan who were attempting to sail to Australia, an official says.

Another boat intercepted off coast
Another boat carrying suspected asylum-seekers has been intercepted off Australia's northwest coast. - Rudd hadn't wanted the Navy to be involved with this activity. - ed.

Disgraced Della is dumped by Neal
DISGRACED NSW MP John Della Bosca and his wife of 20 years, Federal MP Belinda Neal, have split up. - isn't there an honorable way Della Bosca could deal with this? - ed

Bus driver Anita Harper tells how she saved 37 kids

BUS driver Anita Harper had to make a split-second decision that almost certainly saved the lives of the 37 children on board.

Two car crashes less than 2km apart
One person is dead, another is trapped and several people, including two children, are injured after two crashes less than two kilometres apart in Sydney's south.

Muslims criticise new shop opening laws
A leading Muslim spokesman has criticised new laws which enshrine the rights of staff to refuse to work on Christian orientated public holidays.

Bowen mayor critical of Hendra response
Bowen mayor Mike Brunker has criticised the way government departments have reacted to the Hendra virus outbreak in his region. (Rudd's Queensland)

Stars of new show prepared to die on air
MANY of those featured in a new prime-time medical show could be dead when it hits the screen.

Cabbie cheats face sack for refusing fares
TAXI drivers must explain why they should keep their licence after refusing to take people home. - ALP government face re election even thought they leave Cabbies exposed in dangerous positions through poor law and order laws. - ed.

New mums lose limbs to bacterial infection
IT'S meant to be the happiest time of all, but these women starting motherhood face a nightmare.

Phil Koperberg fed up with politics, could force Blue Mountains by election
Former Rural Fire Service chief Phil Koperberg is considering his options after just two years in politics. The Premier is expected to arrange a meeting this week to convince him to stay and avoid a potentially disastrous byelection in the Blue Mountains - Mr Koperberg's seat, held with an 11 per cent margin to Labor. - he owes it to his constituents that he should resign and let them have in parliament someone who represents them, and not merely the ALP. - ed.
=== Comments ===
Rudd rants have no substance
Piers Akerman
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd may have moved to The Lodge but, intellectually, he has not left the confines of the gutter-crawling Queensland ALP and the small-minded inner circles of the document-shredding Goss Labor government. - Rudd and Gillard got away with a lot before the ‘07 election. The risible statement of Gillard on Sunrise motivated me to challenge her. Today Tonight had promised they would work with me on my story should I resign, but reneged as it became apparent that Rudd was going to go to an election. My issue may well have damaged Ms Gillard’s claims, even now, but have never been given the opportunity of wide public exposure.
Nothing since the ‘07 election has convinced me I was wrong, or that significant people were listening. Everything you write, Piers, strikes loudly as the truth of injustice can. Yet I see that Rudd is still popular.
In politics, and as a representative of Australia and her legacy, Rudd is like Woody Allen’s Zelig. He tells the Chinese in China they own Tibet. He tells the Indonesians in Australia they are responsible for Timor. Yet it is Rudd with the Timor ties and apparently with blood on his hands. - ed
Rudd is painting himself into a corner .....his promises are shear insanity. He promises 47 billion for Broadband to the front door then he promises billions for health, billions for education, billion for defence it goes on and on and on ... Even Labor economists like Ross Gittens are staggered by Rudd’s departure from reality. If he attempted to pay for half of his promises Australia would be broke.

The guy is a weapon’s grade nutjob.

Tim of LoonVille
DD Ball replied to Tim
Rudd has painted himself into a corner, but the media keep painting in more rooms. Today, Paul Bongiorno for Meet The Press presaged an interview with the incompetent Foreign Affairs Minister Smith with the lie that Rudd was trying to limit destructive debate on history. He presented a clip of Rudd saying as much. Thing is, Rudd has lied about the past to suit himself, and has been called out on that by Mr Turnbull recently. So, Bongiorno has effectively lied for Rudd and miscast Mr Turnbull as an aggressor in the debate arena. Mr Turnbull has only pointed out what Mr Rudd has done in lying about Australia’s involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Timor, Indonesia, China, Tibet, India, Zimbabwe, US, UK, and with Australian Aboriginals. The audacity of the Meet the Press bias is breathtaking.

===
SWIMULUS
Tim Blair
How many boats containing claimed “asylum seekers” have been intercepted off Australia’s coast since Kevin Rudd’s government went all vegetarian on border protection? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty? Twenty-five?

Try thirty. And that’s in just 13 months. It’s as though the government is running some kind of people-smuggling stimulus operation.

UPDATE. Another day, another boat.
===
APPRECIATE THE HEROISM OF THIS GUY
Tim Blair –
Academic and Huffington Post correspondent William E. Connolly celebrates an attack on a US President:
When Muntadir al-Zaidi threw two shoes at George W. Bush at the beginning of that press conference in Iraq, he acted on behalf of most Iraqis and millions, perhaps billions, of people in the middle east, Asia, Europe, and North America …

It is a pity that more American journalists have not appreciated the heroism of this guy, the way he spoke for us as well as for them …

Today is the day to celebrate a courageous journalist who brought these issues to a boiling point without posing any threat to the life or limb of the President. We need more people like him here.
Wish granted, Bill! Without “posing any threat to the life or limb of the President”, Republican Joe Wilson spoke for many on Wednesday when he told Barack Obama: “You lie.” But this time the Huffington Post isn’t so supportive. In fact, Michael Shaw believes those two words – as opposed to two thrown shoes – were akin to an act of terrorism:
His shocking breach of decorum created not only a disturbing moment, but even a fearful one. And that’s what terrorism is about, isn’t it – instilling chaos and fear at an opportune moment against a high profile target?

You could see Pelosi’s anxiety and worry until the moment clearly passed. I, too, felt a lingering anxiety until the end of the speech, wondering if some other rupture was going to occur.
Just look at all that Pelosian anxiety and worry:

Subtract 60cc of Botox and you might, at best, be able to detect “mild confusion”. As for fears of a rupture, no Iraqi journalist better land a loafer on that taut and lineless WWII-era forehead. KA-BOOM!
===
SAME STUFF, OLD NAME
Tim Blair
Step 1: Open a blogger account.

Step 2: Post links to opinion pieces from the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald.

Step 3: Congratulations! You’ve essentially replicated the newly-launched National Times.

Step 4: Cry yourself to sleep.
===
PRIUS SLAMMED
Tim Blair
James May spots an automotive atrocity:
I’ll tell you what did make me laugh. The other day I saw my first modded Toyota Prius.

It was driven by a slouching youth who sat too far away from the steering wheel, and who had fitted phat alloys, slammed it, swelled it, tinted the windows and fitted a bangin’ stereo powered by the regenerative braking system, probably. Amazingly, it looked really excellent. That was genuinely funny.

But please don’t try it yourself. I’ve heard it.

No comments: