=== Todays Toon ===
The Collapse of the Earl of Chatham in the House of Lords, 7 July 1778
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC (15 November 1708 – 11 May 1778) was a British Whig statesman who achieved his greatest fame leading Britain during the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in North America). He again led the country (holding the official title of Lord Privy Seal) between 1766-68.=== Bible Quote ===
“Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”- Luke 9:23-24=== Headlines ===
Our new taxpayer calculator shows YOUR share of the new government programs.Dow Closes Above 11,000
Dow marks first close above psychologically important 11,000 level since Sept. 2008
Obama's Hands Tied Ahead of Summit
President to host nations hoping to find ways to secure nuke stockpiles, but critics fear what's not on the agenda
Big Ben Escapes Charges in Sex Case
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will not be charged after college student accused him of sexual assault
Details Emerge in Al Qaeda Plot on NYC Subway System
A fourth suspect in the alleged plot to blow up New York City subways has reportedly revealed shocking details about the plan involving terror suspect Najibullah Zazi, MyFoxNY.com reported.'Missing Link' Skeleton May Hold Ancient, Shrunken Brain
A shrunken brain may potentially lie inside the fossil skull of a newfound candidate for the immediate ancestor to the human lineage, researchers now reveal.Roman-Era Mummy Found in Egyptian Oasis
Egypt has discovered the mummy of a woman dating back to the Roman era in a newly uncovered complex of tombs in a desert oasis.
Not Juliet but @juliet15, a bored teen who's never kissed a boy and is addicted to her mobile, as Royal Shakespeare Company give Twitter treatment to love storyRapist teacher hid girl in boot
A STUDENT, 13, visited a man's house for sex after she confided in him previous sexual abuse.
Big business escapes hefty power bill
WOOLWORTHS and Coles among the firms spared a 64 per cent rise that families have to pay.
Court date may end Corey's US party
PARTY boy Corey Worthington may miss his US film debut after smashing a car with a bed post.
Underbelly just keeps on growing
AUSTRALIA'S love of violence convinces TV bosses to make two more series of hit show.
Population boom 'bad for our health'
MORE people could increase rates of obesity, asthma and depression, study warns. - ridiculous - ed.
PM goes private to clear surgery backlog
PATIENTS who have waited too long for operations will get treated in a private hospital at taxpayer expense, Kevin Rudd promises.
Assault on truth in crime statistics
POLICE had failed to investigate many potential crimes across NSW, documents have revealed. Experts question whether crime statistics are being kept artificially low.
=== Journalists Corner ===
I wanted to let you know about this great event in New York!On April 16th, activists from across the region will gather to demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the 2,200 other political prisoners currently detained in Burma, thrown in jail simply for speaking out against brutality and injustice. As the military regime cracks down ahead of the 2010 elections, there is no better time to stand up for human rights. Come out and demand that the United Nations take action against the junta and their heinous human rights abuses.
Amnesty International is launching its third annual "Get On The Bus Tour", demanding the United Nations listen to the voice of thousands of activists speaking out against injustices suffered by political activists in Burma, Sri Lanka, and Tibet.
Join us for a speakers' panel featuring courageous Burmese monks who played a crucial role in the 2007 Saffron Revolution. After the panel, let your voice be heard as we rally for human rights across Manhattan.
Schedule of Events - April 16th, 201010:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Registration
Location: The Great Hall at the The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
7 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Speakers Panel
Event Co-sponsored by Cooper Union Office of Continuing Education & Public Programs
Location: The Great Hall at the The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
7 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003
Rally #1 - Sri Lanka Action
Location: Permanent Mission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations
630 3rd Avenue
Rally #2 - Burma Action 2:55 - 3:40 p.m.
Location: 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, across from the United Nations
1st Avenue and E 46th Street
Rally #3 - Tibet Action 4:15 - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations
350 E 35th Street
The government's on a spending spree! So, what's the real price YOU'RE paying to balance America's budget?Get all the facts and figures on a special series starting Monday!
Gore Loses His 'Cool'Why did the former vice president get so heated when he saw our cameras?
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America in Danger!
Dick Morris on his explosive new book that exposes the Obama policies that have left us at the breaking point!
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Guest: Newt Gingrich
What's next for Newt? His plans and predictions ... in his own words!
=== Comments ===
Obama vs. Palin Over Nuclear PolicyThis is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," April 9, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET!
LAURA INGRAHAM, GUEST HOST: In the "Personal Story" segment tonight: the war of words over the White House's new controversial nuclear policy. Here's what Sarah Palin said on Fox News the other night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN: You know, that's kind of like getting out there on the playground, a bunch of kids ready to fight and one of the kids saying, go ahead, punch me in the face and I'm not going to retaliate. Go ahead and do what you want to with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: President Obama shot back when ABC News asked him about Palin's criticism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I really have no response to that. Last I checked, Sarah Palin's not much of an expert on nuclear issues. If the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are comfortable with it, I'm probably going to take my advice from them and not from Sarah Palin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Ouch. And the governor kept it going today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: Now the president, with all the vast nuclear experience that he acquired as a community organizer and as a part-time senator and as a full-time candidate, all that experience, still no accomplishment to date with North Korea and Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Joining us now from New York is Sally Quinn. She's a columnist for The Washington Post. Now Sally, I'm watching this, thinking if I'm Sarah Palin, I am loving this. The president of the United States took the bait and responded to what she said the other day on Fox. Why would he do that?
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Holocaust Deniers, Enablers and President Obama
By Jon Kraushar
One of the lasting lessons of the Holocaust is how important it is for us to distinguish between those who are good, those who are evil, those who must be stopped rather than appeased, and those who can—or cannot—be trusted.
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, recollecting the slaughter of six million Jews in World War II.
The Associated Press reported that in Israel, “The mournful wail of air raid sirens pierced the air…and the country came to a standstill…” and “Looming over Israel's annual memorial for the Holocaust dead was the country's fear that the world would wake up too late to eliminate the threat of Iran's nuclear program, just as it woke up too late to eliminate the threat of Adolf Hitler.”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has frequently denied that the Holocaust happened and he has often called for Israel’s destruction. Some government-funded newspapers in Saudi Arabia deny or downplay the Holocaust and the same is true for Hamas terrorists. According to the Associated Press, "Ignorance and even denial of the Holocaust is widespread in Palestinian society,” and "Holocaust denial is still common in the Palestinian territories.” Wherever Israel and Jews have enemies, Holocaust denial appears—not just in the Middle East, but also worldwide, among some anti-Semites.
There are Holocaust-deniers and there are Holocaust-enablers. Those who fail to prevent or stop a Holocaust are enablers.
George Santayana famously said that, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
In addition to remembering the past, it is critical to focus on the present in order to influence the future. And the present situation in Iran specifically and regarding Israel generally demands that we neither deny nor enable.
Today and tomorrow, President Obama is holding a meeting in Washington with the leaders of 46 nations to discuss how to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not attending. Fox News reported that last week that Netanyahu decided against joining the meeting out of concern that “some nations planned to use the conference to target Israel over its barely concealed nuclear weapons program.”
Part of the lesson of Holocaust-occurrence, Holocaust-denial and Holocaust-enabling is to distinguish between those who are good, those who are evil, those who must be stopped rather than appeased, and those who can—or cannot—be trusted.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, I pray for President Obama to remember that lesson—today, tomorrow and sooner, rather than too late.
Communications consultant Jon Kraushar is at www.jonkraushar.net.
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Obama's Secret Power Grabs
By Phil Kerpen
President Obama seems to believe that most of his sweeping agenda to transform the country can be accomplished without even a vote of Congress.While Congress considers sweeping new legislation to permanently institutionalize the bailouts and federal control of our financial system (right on the heels of their health care takeover, of course) several other sweeping power grabs are going on outside the spotlight of legislative debate. Indeed President Obama seems to believe that most of his sweeping agenda to transform the country can be accomplished without even a vote of Congress. The chart seen above and found here shows what the administration is up to.
As I’ve previously noted here in the Fox Forum, the the EPA is pursuing an aggressive global warming power grab under the direction of White House Climate czar Carol Browner (who was not subject to Senate confirmation), and the FCC is pursuing a regulatory takeover of the Internet.
Both of those efforts are now escalating. The EPA has now finalized its vehicle emissions rule, for the first time regulating global warming under the 1970 Clean Air Act. While EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is trying to calm a political backlash by promising the delay the onslaught of regulations (the overall blueprint is over 18,000 pages and regulates almost everything that moves and lots of things that stay put) she remains committed to them. The Senate will have a key vote on S.J. Res. 26, which would stop the EPA, some time in May.
The FCC was smacked down in court last week in Comcast v. FCC, which held that the Commission has no jurisdiction to regulate the Internet. Yet FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, a close friend of Obama’s, is now considering Internet regulations of an even more extreme nature and by an even more dubious mechanism—reclassifying the Internet as a phone system to regulate it like an old-fashioned public utility.
Obama has a pattern of sidestepping Congress that will only get worse in the aftermath of the health care fight and the pending financial “reform” legislation. For a full explanation of all of these threats as well as action items on how to stop them, please check out the interactive version of the chart on www.ObamaChart.com.
Phil Kerpen is vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity. He can be reached on Twitter, Facebook, and through www.philkerpen.com.
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SHOES OF SENSITIVITY
Tim Blair
The London Times reports:
Scotland Yard has bowed to Islamic sensitivities and accepted that Muslims are entitled to throw shoes in ritual protest …In that spirit, local authorities should bow to Collingwood sensitivities and allow us similar ritual protest rights. Come on, people. We’ve always been like this. It’s a cultural thing. Again in the UK:
Muslim doctors and nurses are to be allowed to opt out of strict hygiene rules introduced by the NHS to restrict the spread of hospital superbugs.As long as they’re only throwing surgical shoes, no problem.
Female staff who follow the Islamic faith will be allowed to cover their arms to preserve their modesty despite earlier guidance that all staff should be “bare below the elbow”.
(Via CL)
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TRAILER SALE
Tim Blair
Attention, local V8 Supercar teams. A couple of nice ex-F1 trailers are for sale on eBay. Going cheap (well, they were a few hours ago; the price has spiked a little since). Still, room for ten engineers …
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SNACK OF THE YEAR
Tim Blair
KFC brings it on:
The fried chicken franchise is rolling out a new “sandwich” with no bread – and extra meat.Still sounds too ... salady. Needs steak.
The “Double Down” is two fried filets that cradle two pieces of bacon, two slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and a squish of Colonel’s Sauce.
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JONES MOANS
Tim Blair
Spiegel Online reports on the misery of Phil Jones:
Life has become “awful” for Phil Jones. Just a few months ago, he was a man with an enviable reputation: the head of the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, an expert in his field and the father of an alarming global temperature curve that apparently showed how the Earth was heating up as a result of anthropogenic global warming.Those days – the days when the earth was heating up alarmingly as a result of anthropogenic global warming – were never here in the first place.
Those days are now gone.
Nowadays, Jones, who is at the center of the “Climategate” affair involving hacked CRU emails, needs medication to fall sleep. He feels a constant tightness in his chest. He takes beta-blockers to help him get through the day. He is gaunt and his skin is pallid. He is 57, but he looks much older. He was at the center of a research scandal that hit him as unexpectedly as a rear-end collision on the highway.Those Germans have got to work on their similes. Something climate-related might have worked. As unexpectedly as revived poley bear populations? As unexpectedly as George Monbiot making sense? As unexpectedly as a funding cut?
His days are now shaped by investigative commissions at the university and in the British Parliament. He sits on his chair at the hearings, looking miserable, sometimes even trembling. The Internet is full of derisive remarks about him, as well as insults and death threats. “We know where you live,” his detractors taunt.Oh no! He’s being stalked by Greenpeace!
(Via Paco)
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ANOTHER DIMENSION
Tim Blair
Sounds great:
The first 3D-capable televisions from Samsung will begin to hit Australian stores from 19 April, the Korean manufacturer said today, giving it a head start over rivals in bringing the new technology Down Under.However:
The company plans to introduce a range of televisions with 3D capability, ranging from its LED Series 7, 8 and 9, which also include edge lighting using LED technology, to its series 7 LCD screens and Plasma Series 7. Recommended retail prices will range from $2,499 to $4,799, with an additional Blu-ray player going for $599.
if you’re planning on watching it with a beer, think again.Whoa!
Viewers under the influence of alcohol are among the list of people warned not to watch 3D TV by Samsung’s safety guidelines.Bad luck for old Mrs Twitchy McOvenbun, the alcoholic insomniac. No 3D for her.
Others include pregnant woman, the elderly, those who suffer from epilepsy and those who are sleep deprived.
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Buying bureaucrats, not better hospitals
Andrew Bolt
Ken Baxter, former secretary of the Victorian and NSW premiers’ departments, says Kevin Rudd’s health “reforms” threaten to be a bureaucratic disaster:
The Prime Minister’s National Health and Hospitals Networks proposals are conceptually attractive. They ignore state borders and would result in clusters of health service centres that would meet a wide range of demands…(more at the link)
However, the underlying assumption in the scheme is that all the states are similar. They are not. The differences are starkest between NSW and Victoria as the merger of the Albury and Wodonga hospitals has illustrated.
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Seven questions the media didn’t ask before smearing the Pope
Andrew Bolt
AP whips up the hysterical campaign to delegitimise the Catholic church by making the Pope seem a protecter of pedophiles:
The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including “the good of the universal church,” according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature.Among the resulting headlines:
The correspondence, obtained by The Associated Press, is the strongest challenge yet to the Vatican’s insistence that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church’s doctrinal watchdog office…
Irwin Zalkin, an attorney representing some of the victims, said he was familiar with the correspondence ...
“Cardinal Ratzinger was more concerned about the avoidance of scandal than he was about protecting children,” Zalkin said in a phone interview.
Pope Benedict accused of delaying unfrocking of sex abuse priestIn fact, the Pope is innocent:
Catholic Church must change in reaction to scandals
Pope resisted pleas to defrock priest with record of molesting children
Letter: Future Pope Refused Plea To Defrock Priest
Pope Benedict hit by new Church child abuse allegations
More Sexual Abuse Charges Leveled Against Catholic Church
Signature on letter implicates Pope in abuse cover-up
Pope hit by fresh allegations of paedophile priests cover-up
Child abuse is a crime; cover-up is a disgrace
This was not a case in which a bishop wanted to discipline his priest and the Vatican official demurred. This was not a case in which a priest remained active in ministry, and the Vatican did nothing to protect the children under his pastoral care. This was not a case in which the Vatican covered up evidence of a priest’s misconduct. This was a case in which a priest asked to be released from his vows, and the Vatican-- which had been flooded by such requests throughout the 1970s—wanted to consider all such cases carefully. In short, if you’re looking for evidence of a sex-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, this case is irrelevant.Phil Lawler identifies the seven questions editors failed to ask before passing on the smear:
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How over-hyped was the financial crisis?
Andrew Bolt
Did the IMF exaggerate the 2008 crisis to get more power and cash? Yes, says the Czech National Bank.
(Via Instapundit.)
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Thanks for this great honour my studio paid for
Andrew Bolt
A great honour for Russell Crowe:RUSSELL Crowe’s star shone bright despite dark rain clouds threatening his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony. The New Zealand-born, Australian-raised actor was honoured with the 2404th star on Hollywood Boulevard…In fact, it’s an honour he says he’s turned down until now, when it “came up” again:
“Thanks for the privilege. I’ll always be grateful for it,” Crowe told the crowd of more than 500...
Australian actor Russell Crowe has revealed that he now truly feels he deserves to have his own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.But it turns out that this “honour” depends on someone - usually the star, their agents or the backers of their upcoming movie - handing over US$25,000:
“It’s not the first time they’ve asked… I’ve turned it down a number of times before ‘cos I didn’t think I’d done enough. But now, when it came up, I looked at it, and you know what?” he stated.
There is a process to get a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Each year anyone (including fans) can fill out a nomination form. Here are the steps to nominate:Indeed:
Download a nomination form (or request one by mail) from: http://www.hollywoodchamber.net
Pick a nominee that fits into one of the following categories: Motion Pictures, Television, Radio, Recording or Live Theatre/Performance.
Along with the nomination form, include: a) A photo of the nominee. b) A brief bio of the nominee. c) The nominee’s qualifications. d) A list of how the nominee has been involved in the community and civic duty. e) A letter of agreement from the nominee’s management team. The nominee and their team must also confirm they are aware that the cost of a star is $25,000, and it is their duty to pay it to the Hollywood Historic Trust (charitable fund).
Once the Walk of Fame Nomination Committee has received all of the nominations, each June they pick 12 - 20 names that will receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
CATE Blanchett and Russell Crowe will provide the opening-night glamour at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Their new period blockbuster directed by Ridley Scott, Robin Hood, will premiere at the 63rd Festival de Cannes on the French Riviera on May 12.
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Boot in mouth: marvellous multiculturalism and injured police
Andrew Bolt
An idiotic and discriminatory concession - denied to non-Muslims - which will just licence violence and inflame cultural division:SCOTLAND YARD has bowed to Islamic sensitivities and accepted that Muslims are entitled to throw shoes in ritual protest — which could have the unintended consequence of politicians or the police being hit.(Thanks to many readers.)
News of the concession by the Metropolitan police has come to light amid a series of trials of more than 70 mostly Muslim demonstrators who were charged with violent disorder after last year’s Gaza protests outside the Israeli embassy in London…
The concession has already been taken up enthusiastically by Muslim demonstrators, who pelted Downing Street with shoes in protest at the Israeli bombing of Gaza last year.
Dozens of ski-boots and clogs were also hurled at the US consulate in Edinburgh in a related protest, in which three policemen sustained minor injuries.
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Ripping off reckless Rudd
Andrew Bolt
The waste of your taxes is astonishing:
NSW government building cost estimates—which have been removed from its website—suggest the price of school buildings under the [$16.2 billion] stimulus package should be as little as a quarter of the amount claimed by managing contractors.And in Victoria:
According to the document, titled Education Revolution School Costings, the most expensive covered outdoor learning area listed—a “21 core COLA”—is valued at $123,000, with associated fees boosting the cost to an estimated $250,000.
NSW government records show there are more than 40 COLAs being built in the state with $800,000-plus price tags…
According to the estimates, the base price of a standard “two home base” classroom—a single building separated into two classrooms—is $352,000. Similar structures have typically been costed by managing contractors at about $800,000.
The principal of Donald Primary School, in western Victoria’s Mallee region, is furious about the treatment his historic, but “falling down”, school has received under the federal government’s $16.2 billion stimulus package.UPDATE
Instead of getting four new permanent classrooms and an open learning area at a cost of $650,000 as proposed by the school, it has been told it is only receiving three small portables not big enough to accommodate a teacher’s desk or schoolbags at a cost of $850,000, and the open learning area.
An even worse example:
Fiona Suthern is hot under the collar as she stands in front of the Berridale Public School’s new library. The building is little more than an empty demountable, but it cost taxpayers almost $1 million and Ms Suthern tells Opposition Leader Tony Abbott it’s unusable.UPDATE 2
Ms Suthern and her fellow members of the Berridale school council were, she says, ecstatic when they learnt they were to get a grant of $850,000 under the Rudd government’s economic stimulus plan for the school in their rural village.
They consulted the NSW Department of Education’s website and learnt that a library suitable for their school was estimated to cost $285,000. The rest of the money, the delighted school council figured, could be used to turn the old library into a computer laboratory, fix fire-safety concerns in the infants department and generally spruce up the school.
That’s not how it turned out…
‘’The building turned up prefabricated on the back of three trucks and was assembled in an afternoon,’’ Ms Suthern said.
Then came the shock. The job had come in at $908,000. Worse, the so-called library had no fire door, no shelves for books and instead of the expected double glazing to cope with freezing high plains winters, there were louvres, despite stamped plans to the contrary. The only heating was by unflued gas heaters, which meant the louvres had to be open when they were operating.
Given what a farcical rort this program has become, Gillard might care to accept these prudent revisions to her official BER guide to recognition ceremonies for these school buidlings she’s splashed our billions on:
Some things to remember when planning your Recognition Ceremony:Personally, though, I’d like every plaque to record just how much money the Rudd Government spent to build so little.
Put together a running order which outlines the format of your event. Make provision in the official proceedings for the Deputy Prime Minister or her representative to speak. An outline of a standard event running order is provided below to assist you with the timing of your event.
An event should only be a maximum of 45 minutes. This allows for the official proceedings to take place including a tour of the school, without to much disruption to the school day.
Where possible, and where time permits, arrange for representatives of your student body or the school community to speak as part of the ceremony.
Make sure arrival times are sufficient to allow guests to be welcomed and seated.
Ensure sufficient parking is allocated for all guests.
Ensure members of staff or the student body are present to greet and accompany your official guests on the day.
A plaque will be provided by the Australian Government for recognition of the assistance provided under the BER. This should be fixed to the new or refurbished buildings as appropriate and as set out in the BER Guidelines available on the BER website.
Acknowledge the Australian Government’s assistance in all speeches and publicity issued by the school such as newsletters, websites or local media articles.
Record the day through photographs or video footage and make them available on your website.
(Thanks to reader Cyril.)
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UN feeds the hungry jihadists
Andrew Bolt
Yet another United Nations corruption scandal, this time involving its World Food Program:
It’s been a month since the leaking of a scathing evaluation of WFP’s Somalian relief program written by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia. The body, created by the UN Security Council, alleges that three Somali businessmen who held about $160 million in WFP transport contracts were involved in arms trading while diverting the agency’s food aid away from the hungry. A New York Times report also claimed food was being siphoned off by radical Islamic militants and local UN workers...
Somalia is not the WFP’s only controversy, only its most recent and most public. Its operation in Ethiopia, which is one of the largest recipients of food aid in the word, is reportedly in disarray, with the transport companies controlled by the country’s authoritarian government at the center of the controversy. According to the U.S. State Department, in 2008 only 12 percent of food aid (most of it overseen by the WFP) made it to its intended recipients in the poverty-stricken eastern region.
The trucking situation is little better in Afghanistan, where reports suggest that WFP is paying two to three times more than commercial rates, taking large chunks out of the $1.2 billion, three-year relief effort. The WFP has admitted that it inflated its shipping costs in North Korea by funneling business through dictator Kim Jong Il’s government.
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Lying about boats again
Andrew Bolt
Just one more lie from a government that’s lied again and again about their boat people policy and its costs:
RUDD government ministers have wrongly claimed “a number of countries” have suspended visa applications from Sri Lankan refugees to justify Australia’s unilateral decision to halt processing of Tamil and Afghan asylum-seekers....And in Pakistan, the sound of scoffing:
Last week, [Immigration Minister Chris] Evans said: “A number of countries have already suspended processing of claims from Sri Lanka...”
[Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen] Smith said: “...So far as Sri Lanka is concerned, my advice is that a number of countries have over the last recent period effected a suspension, a small number, and I’m very happy to have provided to you those particular countries."…
Mr Smith and Senator Evans were unable to name any other countries that had suspended processing Sri Lankan refugees. But Sri Lankan government sources said they were unaware of any other suspensions, and Tamil refugee advocate Selva Selvanathan said there were no other countries suspending Sri Lankan applications.
THE Rudd government’s claim that Afghanistan’s Hazara population is no longer at risk has been rejected in Pakistan.
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South Africa tears apart
Andrew Bolt
Scenes of the new South Africa, with the old racists replaced by the new - and murders up to nearly 20,000 a year. Here’s the leader of the 6 million-strong youth wing of the ruling ANC:
And here is the head of the white fascist AWB, which has some fringe support among Boer farmers:
The few white racists may still disgust, but at least their leaders preach against violence. The black ones, however, are many and some are now in power, singing of murder and threatening South Africa with disaster.
But in all this focus on race, there’s a danger in forgetting that most of the killings are of blacks by blacks in a country in which crime, not racism, is the greatest danger:
A BBC interview with a murderer on the streets:
(Thanks to reader Big Ted.)
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The green bureaucracy: all control and no outcome
Andrew Bolt
Queenslanders are belatedly revolting against a particularly useless form of green nagging - a compulsory environmental audit of any home being offered for sale or rent:
Sustainability declarations, it suggested, “would assist Queenslanders to make their homes more sustainable” but wasn’t specific on how the filling out of a form would actually make this happen…And all of this is just filling out forms and giving government more control over lives. It’s not doing a single thing to “save” the planet.
And then there was the [discussion paper’s] proposed form itself, 36 questions ranging from whether your eastern and western windows were shaded from the summer sun (by verandas or at least 600mm eaves or window awnings) to whether or not there was “safe egress in an emergency”.
Presumably, would-be buyers could have asked about such things if they were interested. Now they would have to be told, under pain of a fine.
The discussion paper went out for three months of public consultation and by late 2008, the Government had its feedback – 284 individuals and organisations replied, including “detailed written submissions from 51 industry and key stakeholders groups, such as building, planning designed manufacturing and conservation groups”. And what did they think?
“Almost all the proposed measures received a high level of community support of 59-95 per cent, except a voluntary sustainability document.”
Right, so now the Government has floated the concept of a sustainability document and no one seems to much like it, so what does it do? It presses on with the idea and turns the declaration form into a 56-point questionnaire, which it voted into law in November last year....
And by February complaints about the new paperwork had reached such a level the Government was forced to review their form and cut out 22 questions in an effort at simplification. Among them was the one to estimate the number of kilowatt hours the house was generating through windpower.
And now, just to complicate things, the Federal Government says it wants to introduce its own version of a sustainability declaration, something called an “environmental performance disclosure”.
(Thanks to reader skeptical69.)
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Lying isn’t lying, says Malthouse
Andrew Bolt
I don’t think that word means what Malthouse thinks it means:
COLLINGWOOD coach Mick Malthouse said he ‘strenuously objects to being branded a liar’, after being fined $7500 for his spray at Saint Stephen Milne.Great examples are being set.
Addressing supporters of the club in a statement, Malthouse justified telling a post-match press conference that he had not spoken to any St Kilda players at quarter-time.
He said those comments were made “basically under the old code of what happens on the field stays on the field”.,,,
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