Headlines Saturday 13th March 2010

=== Todays Toon ===

Harrison and the Billion-Dollar Congress are portrayed as wasting the surplus in this cartoon from Puck.

Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd President of the United States, serving one term from 1889 to 1893. Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at the age of 21, where he became a prominent state politician. During the American Civil War Harrison served as a Brigadier General in the XX Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. After the war he unsuccessfully ran for the governorship of Indiana, but was later appointed to the U.S. Senate from that state.

=== Bible Quote ===

“Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”- 2 Peter 1:4

=== Headlines ====

Col. Kim Jong Ryul says he spent two decades traveling on shopping sprees for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and his father — all while their people starved.

DOJ: Holder Info Incomplete
Day after concerns raised over AG not disclosing work on terror-related case, Justice Dept. says more files missing

Dem Abortion Feud Deepens
Rep. Stupak says party leader told him, 'We want to pay for abortions,' as Dems try to get health bill over finish line

First Round to Conservatives
Conservatives on Texas Board of Ed. pass new draft of social studies standards in textbook battle


After a week of high drama and intense speculation about their high-profile relationship, Lara Bingle and Michael Clarke call off the wedding

Parents could choose baby's sex
AUSTRALIAN couples could soon be able to choose if they prefer a boy or girl for their family.

Greens vow to fight for activist's release

BOB Brown backs a global campaign to free NZ anti-whaler Peter Bethune held in Japan. - but no word from Brown on an innocent man held in mauritius - ed.

Roo killer loses appeal against jail term
A MAN who shot four kangaroos with a bow, leaving two in agony, will serve four months in jail.

Brand name groceries twice the price
SHOPPERS pay double for branded groceries over as no names.

Private eyes sniff out missing pets
DESPERATE pet owners are turning to detectives to help them find their lost doggies, kitties and more exotic pets.

Motorbike rider dies on fundraising trip
A MAN, 32, has been killed in Argentina while raising money for prostate cancer on a motorcycle trip around the world with a mate.

Pope meets over paedophilia scandal
POPE Benedict XVI met today with the head of the German Catholic Church as paedophile priest scandals swept Germany.

Margaret Thatcher backs mental health push
FORMER British premier Margaret Thatcher today threw her weight behind a campaign to help ex-servicemen suffering from mental health problems. The servicemen are the ones returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Thatcher recalled that she had sent British troops into action - in the Falklands in 1982 and the first Gulf War - and knew about the mental scars they can suffer. "Our duty is to match the skills shown on the battlefield with the quality of care we provide for the casualties of war once they return home,'' the Conservative former prime minister wrote in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Kristina Keneally celebrates 100 days as press ignores failures
KRISTINA Keneally has continued with her presidential-style election campaign by releasing a 12-page brochure commemorating her first 100 days as NSW premier. And just like her recent television advertisement, there is no mention of the Labor Party. Ms Keneally was installed as premier on December 4 last year and reaches the 100-day milestone on Saturday. The American-born Catholic feminist seized the top job from her predecessor Nathan Reese who was rolled by Labor hours after he predicted his downfall. He said whoever would succeed him would be a "puppet'' of factional powerbrokers Eddie Obeid and Joe Tripodi.

=== Journalists Corner ===

Last year, Hannity exposed the worst examples of government waste! Now, he's back for round 2!
More spending sprees, more earmarks, and more pork barrel projects!

The 9-12 Project
After Beck revealed the 9 principles and 12 values that united many, one year later we go inside the progress that has been made.
===
Passing the Bill
Dana Perino breaks down the inside strategy behind the Dems' latest health care tactics!
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Guest: Ric O'Barry
He's an activist fighting to save the dolphins! Now, Ric speaks out on his Academy Award winning film "The Cove"!

=== Comments ===

Turning our backs on an Aussie in trouble
Piers Akerman
JAILED drug runner Schapelle Corby might gain some satisfaction in knowing that two artists have entered her portrait in this year’s Archibald art prize.
It is unlikely, however, to be of much comfort to Corby’s supporters, who believe she was wrongfully convicted. - Poor nations are subject to corruption. They cannot afford to pay their bureaucracy enough. They cannot afford to police themselves. One may understand how this problems has arisen in that nation. One cannot understand why Rudd and the ALP have willfully sold the man down the river. They have been splashing cash around with abandon. There is a greater possibility that Rudd would have shown greater care had the man been arrested in the US .. but the US is not poor and would not treat any one else so cavalierly. One can understand how Mauritius doesn’t have the resources to deal with the problem appropriately. One cannot understand how Rudd can be so cold, so dismissive of a single man’s life. - ed.

“One cannot understand how Rudd can be so cold, so dismissive of a single man’s life.”

Rudd is as he is because of what he has given his heart to.

JJ.
In response to queries about assistance for Peter Gray, an account has been opened by his brother Tony. Here are the details:
Bring Peter Gray Home
NAB Busselton Branch,Western Australia
BSB: 086565
Account : 170389100

Piers Akerman

Reading up on Mauritius I had to laugh at the article which included the lines

According to the 2009 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which measures governance using a number of different variables, Mauritius’ government earned the highest rank among African nations for “participation and human rights” and “sustainable economic opportunity”, as well as earning the highest score in the index overall. Mauritius came second in “rule of law”, and fourth in terms of “human development”

It is well placed as an African nation, although it doesn’t have the GDP of Libya. Small in population terms, it doesn’t so much rely on agriculture these days but tourism. Tourism is code for the UN with economic minnows. It means they rely on exploiting their populace for the pleasure of foreigners with their leisure issues. Drugs are endemic among western youth, and the timid Rudd won’t want to oppose the drug youth lobby. Now will the timid Rudd want to tell Mauritius that it will offer appropriate resources to expedite the problem. Rudd doesn’t seem to care about aid for poor nations. - ed.

RDK replied
The Mauritius Govt consists largely of descendants of Indians from the subcontinent who arrived as workers and settlers under British rule. Their religion - mainly Hindu and some Muslims and Christians.

Mauritius was ruled by the Dutch Govt, followed by the French and then British.

While the country was ruled as a British territory, it was agreed by the French and British Govts that Mauritius continue to use French as the official language and the Mauritius law is French-not British.

Since Mauritius is a Member of the Commonwealth of Nations (CHOGM), if the Rudd Labor Govt really wanted to do something about an Australian languishing in Mauritius then it has a number of avenues to assist Mr Gray.

The fact is Rudd Labor has no intention of dealing with this. Remember the large number of DFAT officials attending the Copenhagen meeting (114 Australians) on Climate Change?

At the moment Pink Batts and Foil Insulation is top of the agenda with at least 4 deaths and thousands of homes across the country at risk of being burned to the ground or occupants being electrocuted. Rudd’s solution? Throw more millins$ of taxpayer money to get the foils out of the roofs.

This is the result of an L-Plate Rudd Labor Govt with no idea about Governing except being re-elected and raiding taxpayer funds.

- RDK, I agree, but I also think it is worse than that. Rudd has a laser focus but the attention of a gnat. Rudd believed Timor was a feather in his cap until he became PM, then there was an apparently bungled black ops which got one Timorise killed and nearly took out their top two in government. It looked like Rudd failed at something he wanted to reveal to the world. Subsequently he has distanced himself from Timor.
If this was a person of substance to the ALP they would have been freed already. He isn’t and so Rudd’s attention isn’t drawn that way. - ed
===
Patrick Kennedy Is Angry
By Bill O'Reilly
Congressman Kennedy from Rhode Island, the son of the late Edward Kennedy, does not like the news coverage of Afghanistan. In fact, he's hysterical over it:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PATRICK KENNEDY, D-R.I.: There's one, two press people in this gallery. We're talking about Eric Massa 24/7 on the TV. We're talking about war and peace. $3 billion. 1,000 lives. And no press? No press?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The congressman is right about Eric Massa. We'll get to that in a moment.

But he's wrong about press coverage on Afghanistan. It's been extensive. The American people know what's going on.

Apparently Mr. Kennedy, who will not debate the issue with me, has some problems with the way the war is being waged. What those problems are remain a mystery.

Is Kennedy fine with allowing the Taliban to create chaos in Afghanistan, because that's what would happen if the USA pulls out?

So I ask you, Congressman, do you not understand that Al Qaeda would move back into Afghanistan and re-establish their worldwide terror network with Taliban support? Do you not get that? What exactly is bothering you?

As a member of the press, I'd like to know. And if you are so passionate about the issue, Congressman, you should be right here, right now, discussing it in front of millions of people worldwide. But you're not, so spare me the histrionics.

As far as Congressman Massa is concerned, the story is over. He's out, and this is just another example of a public servant being irresponsible.

Stuff like this has been going on since Aaron Burr and will continue because politicians are human beings, and human beings do foolish things.

The press obsession with Eric Massa is simply voyeurism. The "Tickle Me Elmo" guy is so appalling, it's a train wreck. That's why it's getting so much coverage.

"The Factor" has tamped down the Massa stuff, although we did let Dennis Miller loose on him on Wednesday.

Again, it's not an important story, but Afghanistan is important.
===
Kevin Rude
Andrew Bolt
What happened to all that ”cooperative federalism”?

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd took his health war against NSW a step too far yesterday in what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to publicly embarrass Premier Kristina Keneally.

The PM left Ms Keneally and her advisers stunned when he snapped “let’s get on with some health reform”, after she delivered a glowing welcome to the PM before a closed door meeting to break the impasse over NSW’s reluctance to sign up to Mr Rudd’s plans.

It follows an incident last week at an International Women’s Day function in Sydney where Mr Rudd allegedly verballed Ms Keneally, in front of guests, after blaming the NSW Government for running a fear campaign against the reforms.

Guests at the function said people had overheard the PM “getting up her” at the function.... “She complained that he was rude and dismissive,” a friend and colleague of Ms Keneally said.

You may think that anyone attacking NSW Labor has right on their side, but…

Dr Paul Stalley, the country’s leading orthopaedic surgeon and clinical director for Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Canterbury and Concorde Hospitals said that a trial program being used in NSW, on which the federal reforms would be based, was so flawed that patients would be hurt if it was introduced.

At the heart of the reforms is a plan to scrap block funding of all hospitals and use an activity-based or casemix model in which hospitals would be funded for every procedure they perform, based on a set price.

However, the current data on which the casemix model was based had grossly under-estimated the cost of some procedures.

“The casemix model requires data. The data we have is tremendously wrong,” Dr Stalley said.

“I get a sneaking suspicion that it is more about being seen to be doing something, rather than a well thought through policy,” he said.

(Thanks to reader Mark.)

UPDATE

Rudd’s rudeness is sure in-your-face. See for yourself on Channel Nine’s news report here (click onto the second page of “latest videos” on the bottom right.)

UPDATE 2

A direct link to the Rudd footage here.

UPDATE 3

Imre Salusinszky:
IT was a moment which, in the annals of political incivility, will rank alongside Mark Latham’s power handshake on John Howard in 2004. During a picture opportunity ahead of talks with Kristina Keneally at her Sydney office yesterday, Kevin Rudd pointedly refused to look at the NSW Premier as she offered him a warm welcome.As Keneally spoke, Rudd stared down at his folder. He then looked up and, without meeting her gaze, said curtly: “Let’s get on with some health reform.”

“Right,” said Keneally, clearly abashed.

Snubbing Keneally - one of the most decent people you would ever meet - takes some hide. Nor is this the first time: Keneally was reportedly distraught after Rudd was rude to her at a function in Sydney last Friday.
===
Lara’s theme: there will be tweets to sting
Andrew Bolt

Miranda Devine on the cruel destruction - and self-destruction - of the 22-year-old who made the private public:

But Lara Bingle is younger still, from the generation that has no secrets from each other. She and (Michael) Clarke, 28, lived their lives as an open book in the fishbowl of Bondi. They even tweeted their private conversations for the world to share.

‘’On the couch watching the football … I don’t do this enough … What’s my girl reading?’’ tweeted Clarke on February 13. ‘’Reading British Vogue in my room baby!! Yep we are tweeting each other from diff rooms in the same house…’’ replied Bingle.

Clarke used Twitter to woo his fiancee. ‘’@LaraBingle if only we could be in two places at once,’’ he wrote to her on the evening of January 28, from Perth, while he was playing cricket and she was moping around Sydney.

The next day he tweeted: ‘’@LaraBingle you are just perfect for me.’’ Her last tweet on Monday, was, ‘’Wish you were here.’’ The problem with this kind of self-invasion of privacy is that the audience can be hateful. And the internet has made it possible for people to express that hate before their better instincts kick in, before the instant rush of blood to the head dissipates and is forgotten. Their primal viciousness is captured and congealed in digital form.

UPDATE

Modern Manners #34: Only one of the following three things is forever: girlfriend, marriage, tattoo. Hence a gentleman should never alter the order and order the tattoo before the altar:

Now Australian cricket vice-captain Michael Clarke has had the initials of bride-to-be Lara Bingle permanently etched into his bicep.

The huge tattoo depicts a guardian angel sitting on a cross with the initials L.B. emblazoned at the top, near Clarke’s shoulder.
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Now the rest of us must repent with her
Andrew Bolt
Precisely why it’s the hungry young who tend to be given such jobs, when they’re both ignorant and utterly sure of themselves:

A DECADE ago, Mia Freedman was one of the country’s most powerful and provocative magazine editors. As editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, Cleo and Dolly, she chased circulation gains with sexually explicit “sealed sections”.
Today, at 38, Freedman is deeply concerned about the harmful effects on children of what feminists have dubbed “hypersexual” or “raunch” culture…

Freedman, a mother of three who now runs the website Mamamia added: “I sense an enormous frustration and anger on my website . . . Women are angry because we feel like our kids are being bombarded with (sexual) things and you can’t watch them 24 hours a day...”
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Weak excuse to femininse the firies
Andrew Bolt

Their job is to fight fires, not change society:

But the launch controversy is part of an increasingly hostile climate at the MFB, one of Melbourne’s most important institutions, which is attempting to change its overwhelmingly white male workforce.

Only 56, or 3.2 per cent, of its operational workforce are women. The MFB recently applied for an exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act to give preference in pre-training to indigenous people and ethnic minorities, while the gender plan was trying to boost the number of women firefighters.

The MFB says it wants to better reflect the community it serves ...

Can anyone be remotely surprised that most firefighters are male? Or, indeed, that most nurses are women? And can anyone honestly deny that firefighting often demands physical strength?

Only in Victoria.

UPDATE

Reader BG puts it better:

It’s not their job to ‘reflect the community’. It’s their job to haul heavy hoses around, bash their way through walls with sledgehammers and carry unconscious people out of buildings. If you are a big fit strong female who can meet the same requirements as men to do that, then that’s awesome. But if you can’t meet the same entry requirements then you are a danger to same ‘community’ you are trying to ‘reflect’.
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You pay so they may be pure
Andrew Bolt
Hypocrisy is cheaper:

The federal government’s Department of Climate Change ... has told a parliamentary committee that its Canberra headquarters achieved only a 2½-star rating on the five-star National Australian Built Environment Rating System and did not comply with the government’s policy on energy efficiency in its own operations.

As a result, it is seeking approval to spend $20.5 million fitting out a new building which will have ‘’state of the art’’ green features ...

Once that’s done, they can bully everyone else into five-star ratings. That is, every one else who doesn’t have taxpayers to cough up the millions needed.
===
And Rudd once said he’d “turn ‘em back”
Andrew Bolt
Almost daily this month:

The 23rd asylum-seekers’ boat to arrive in Australian waters this year has been intercepted by the Australian Navy.., Mr O’Connor says the group of eight asylum seekers and two crew are now being taken to Christmas Island for processing

(Thanks to reader Pira.)

UPDATE

Chris Kenny on the Government’s spin:

(E)very few days or so we are alerted to another boat load of asylum-seekers being intercepted by Australian customs or navy patrols.

This is a most misleading use of the English language. The skippers of these people-smuggling boats know exactly where they are going and what they want. They head for Australian waters, usually near Ashmore Reef or Christmas Island, and their aim is to be met by an Australian vessel and taken for processing…

So these boats and their passengers are not intercepted by Australian vessels, they seek them out. To say they are intercepted is to say I was intercepted at the Martin Place station in Sydney yesterday by the train to Central. Lucky I had a ticket ready.