=== Todays Toon ===
Sir George Gipps (1791 – 28 February 1847) was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales for much of this period. Settlers at the time were not happy with his move towards responsible government, although contemporaries at the Colonial Office found him to be an able administrator.=== Bible Quote ===
“The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.”- Proverbs 23:24=== Headlines ===
Ailing Colorado contractor on a solo mission to kill Usama bin Laden was going for his 'last hurrah' after flying to Pakistan to hunt the master terrorist, but was stopped by police.Fire Halts Oil Capture
A bolt of lightning strikes the ship capturing oil in Gulf of Mexico igniting a fire and creating yet another setback for BP
Biggest World Threat?
Sen. Barbara Boxer says climate change will stand as the 'leading cause of conflict' over the next two decades, but her opponent describes the prediction as a big stretch
N. Korea Rattles Saber
U.N. is warned that North Korea's military will respond if Security Council condemns country over sinking of a South Korean ship
NSW Government's special staff payouts
SEVERANCE payments made to two NSW government staffers were against the guidelines and cost taxpayers $180,000, the auditor-general has found. The "special deals" should not have been made, Peter Achterstraat said in his report detailing the severance packages made to special temporary employees (STEs) who worked for the premier, ministers and leader of the opposition. "The rules are clear on severance pay," Mr Achterstraat said in his report, released today. "The Department of Premier and Cabinet needs to follow them. There should be no special deals." The report found $5.9 million was paid in severance packages to 147 staffers in a three-and-a-half year period between July 1, 2006 and December 31, 2009. STEs are entitled to severance payments when their employment is terminated for any reason other than misconduct or poor performance. - I was a full time employee and I was not treated so generously. Instead, my work place minister (then Della Bosca) worked with my local member to deny me basic entitlements and natural justice. - ed.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse . . . the All Whites manage something we couldn't - a goal and a drawWhere's the justice, Jakarta?
ONLY 13 of the 70 terrorists convicted over the Bali bombings and embassy attack are in jail.
Kevin Rudd has a big problem with women
WOMEN more likely to believe the mining industry than the Prime Minister about the super profits tax.
A mercy mission that ended in a fireball
CRASH pilot Andrew Wilson hailed a hero for dying while saving the lives of dozens of school children.
The first good news on interest rates
STRESSED home-owners could be the winners of a daring attempt to take on the major banks.
Oh sh*t, swearers face instant $100 fines
ANYONE caught using bad language will pay dearly for the offence under new police powers.
Cancer patient found 'writhing in pain'
NURSE describes her “state of shock” upon seeing the distressing condition of woman who tried to use homeopathy to fight cancer.
Penrith thinks they're all twits
THE battle of the west will head into cyberspace today with Kristina Keneally to debate Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell on Twitter
Teacher at exclusive Knox Grammar jailed for student sex abuse
A FORMER teacher at an exclusive Sydney boys school has been jailed for at least two years for sexually abusing young students more than 20 years ago.
British PM apologises for Bloody Sunday
DAVID Cameron called the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings "unjustified and unjustifiable" as long-awaited report is made public.Imaginary services anger residents
THEY have no roads, no sewerage system, no streetlights, no drains and no rubbish collection. But the residents of Little Wobby Beach on the Hawkesbury River are being forced to pay hundreds of dollars for services they're not getting. The 80 permanent residents of the isolated village can only reach their homes by boat, but Gosford City Council is charging them the same as their land-locked counterparts.Two children left in hot car at Rochdale scrawl 'help' message
TWO children scrawled a "help" message to passers-by when they were trapped in a hot car for up to an hour. Their grown-up brother left the children locked inside after parking the vehicle in Rochdale, northwest England, Sky News reports. Council chiefs say the driver expected to only be away from the car and children for 10 minutes but was held up for longer than expected. The trapped children - understood to be a three-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl - were unable to get out of the locked car. In stifling conditions they used condensation inside the windows to spell out their appeal. Their plea was eventually noticed and emergency services were called to the scene.
Man locked up for daring to ask police officer his name
EMBATTLED Surfers Paradise police are embroiled in a fresh misconduct probe after a retired businessman was allegedly brutalised and thrown in a cell. Lindsay Walters, 61, says he was subjected to shocking treatment at Surfers Paradise police station last month when he went in to pay a fine for his son. He claims he was sworn at, handcuffed and threatened that his arms would be broken. The wealthy Paradise Waters businessman has made a formal complaint to the Crime and Misconduct Commission alleging unlawful arrest, deprivation of liberty and serious assault. The CMC says the case could amount to official misconduct and has referred the allegations to the police Ethical Standards Command. It is the latest scandal for Surfers police, who are at the centre of a major CMC probe into allegations of involvement in the Glitter Strip's nightclub drug trade.Peter Dupas murder trial to go ahead
THE murder trial against Peter Dupas will go ahead as the High Court today gave its reasons why it had dismissed his appeal. Dupas has been charged with the 1997 murder of Mersina Halvagis at Melbourne's Fawkner Cemetery.
Nine-year-old boy threatens girl with knife at Penrith's Kingswood Park primary school
A NINE-year-old boy has allegedly threatened a girl, nine, with a knife at a Sydney primary school. The girl's mother has vowed to pull her two children out of the primary school at Penrith after the incident yesterday. Police are now investigating reports from Kingswood Park Primary School that the nine-year-old boy intimidated his class mate in the quadrangle of the school during recess. - there are suggestions of serious failings by the department of education, but one is sure the failures in charge will urge voters to support Kennealy at the by election. - ed.
=== Journalists Corner ===
You're invited!
Saturday June 19th
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Birthday
1-3 pm Rally in the NE corner outside the Capitol Building
(First Street and Constitution Avenue)
4-7pm Cultural Performances at National City Christian Church
(5 Thomas Circle, NW)
This Saturday, June 19th, show your support for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's 65th birthday. We will gather in solidarity to denounce Burma's military regime, the upcoming sham elections and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's unjust detention. We want the U.S. government to support a UN-led Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma.The Burmese Community has organized this demonstration to send a strong message to Congress and the Obama Administration that we must work to end the repressive rule and the system of impunity in Burma now.
After the rally, there will be an event at National City Christian Church which will feature traditional Burman, Karen, and Chin dances- a display of unity by Burma's diverse ethnic groups. There are already confirmed supporters driving in from North Carolina, New York, Boston, and West Virginia. Help us give the gift of solidarity and support for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as she continues her fight for human rights and freedom in Burma.The rally will be held at the NE corner outside the Capitol Building, (First Street and Constitution Ave, NE, location number 9 on the map!) 1pm-3pm.
The performance will be held at National City Christian Church, (5 Thomas Circle, NW), 4-7pm.
Please RSVP to me at mike@uscampaignforburma.org if you plan to attend or need more information.
Hope to see you there!
The President Addresses the NationObama speaks on the efforts to contain the oil spill, the impact and the recovery ahead! Watch on Fox News Channel and join the discussion on Fox News Insider!
===
The O'Reilly Factor
Breaking down the president's plan to combat the oil spill ... Sarah Palin has reaction to Obama's address! Watch 'The Factor' at a special time!
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Beck on His New Book, "The Overton Window"
Glenn sat down with 'Fox and Friends' to explain the concept behind his new book, "The Overton Window" and proves he can work without chalk!
=== Comments ===
Desperate Obama blames President BushBy Bill O'Reilly
The oil disaster is getting crazier and crazier. The broken pipeline is still sending thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico every day, and the Obama administration is trying to stem the tide of negative public opinion. So it's not only an ecological disaster, it's a political disaster.
On Sunday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STENY HOYER, HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: The psychology of neglect in terms of regulatory oversight that was pursued in the Bush administration, which led to the banking failure, insurance prices going way up, and oil companies thinking they could do whatever they wanted because the "drill, baby, drill" crowd all they wanted them to do was to drill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
That's not entirely true. President Bush banned drilling off Florida's west coast, and there was not much difference in the Bush oil policy than the Clinton oil policy. Both presidents allowed deepwater drilling in some areas, as did President Obama, and Congress went along with it.
So there is plenty of blame to go around, and for the Democrats to continue to lay it all on Bush is flat-out dishonest. Even the liberal media is catching on to this ruse:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: You hear this critique, why do Democrats keep blaming the Bush administration?
NANCY PELOSI, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I haven't heard that. I haven't heard that.
(LAUGHTER)
TODD: So you think that's a favorite, but when does that run out? When do you feel like it runs out with the public?
PELOSI: Well, it runs out when the problems go away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
The Speaker hasn't heard Democrats blaming Bush? Are you kidding me? Is she in 24/7 lockdown?
"Talking Points" is just about fed up with the politics of the oil spill, so let's be very clear: No politician is responsible for BP's faulty equipment, and modern day presidents understand the country is ultra-dependent on oil.
In fact, everybody knows that. Yes, it's harmful to this country. We are funding terrorism with money we spend overseas on oil. ANWR in the Arctic should have been opened a long time ago. Nuclear power plants should have been built a long time ago, and other alternative fuels should be fast-tracked. Everybody knows this.
This oil disaster is a wake-up call, but it is nobody's fault, with one possible exception: If the British Petroleum corporation was derelict in safety procedures, then they must be held responsible in a criminal case.
As far as response time to the spill and the cleanup, obviously the Obama administration wasn't quick off the mark and they don't really know how to clean it up, do they?
So the Democrats should basically button it, and come up with some solutions.
===
What the Heck Is Happening In Kyrgyzstan?
By Martin Sieff
How to explain the mess in Kyrgyzstan to an American audience? As an Irishman, it's only too easy to understand.
Almost 20 years ago, when I was sent out by the Washington Times to try and discover who and what was behind the bloody riots in Baku and other Azerbaijani cities between Muslim Azeris and Christian Armenians that had already cost hundreds of lives, I asked my friend, Paul Goble, for advice.
Paul was -- and remains -- the great expert on Soviet nationalities who was then giving his genuine genius to a first Bush administration that never appreciated it. (That's what happens when you're a principled conservative.) His advice was succinct and to the point: "Marty -- Imagine you're still back in Belfast and it will all become clear to you." So I did -- and he was right.
I don't have any formal degrees in what they call these days "crisis management." Such things are always useless anyway. I have something far better -- experience.
Nearly 20 years ago I was on the ground in Azerbaijan. And more than 40 years ago, as a teenager on the streets of my native Belfast in Northern Ireland, I saw my, until then, exceptionally safe and peaceful home city collapse in bloody sectarian conflict. The bloodshed didn't end for another 25 years. No wonder the bloodbaths in Jalalabad and Osh seem like deja vu all over again. Thank you, Yogi Berra. (more at the link)
===
FBI kept files on John F Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe 'orgies'
By Andy Soltis
THE FBI was tipped off that the three Kennedy brothers, Marilyn Monroe and members of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack held sex parties in President John F. Kennedy's suite at New York City's The Carlyle hotel.
An FBI report on the alleged orgies at the hotel was prompted by a July 1965 disclosure from a "reliable" mafia informant that the mob wanted to use women supplied by "associates of Frank Sinatra" to embarrass the Kennedys in New York.
Women were to "be placed in compromising situations" with Robert and Ted Kennedy and their brother-in-law, actor Peter Lawford, the confidential memo said.According to the New York Post the mob wanted to smear Robert Kennedy because of his war on organised crime as US attorney general from 1961 to 1964, according to the informant. The FBI did not investigate the claims, the bureau said.
The documents were among 2352 pages of FBI files unveiled yesterday on Ted Kennedy, who died last August after a battle with cancer.
The file on the mob plot began with the informant's disclosures to the FBI's Milwaukee office. The FBI added an unsigned statement that said a multimillionaire Manhattan divorcee knew about the orgies."It was reported that Mrs Jacqueline Hammond, age 40, has considerable information concerning sex parties," the statement said.
Among those who took part were John, Robert and Ted Kennedy, Monroe, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Lawford and his wife, Patricia Kennedy, the statement added.It also indicated that Hammond, who was divorced from a US ambassador, was credible.
However, an FBI summary of the documents released yesterday said the bureau did not consider the Milwaukee and Hammond information "solid."
===
PARIS ADJUSTS
Tim Blair
Four years ago, then-UN chief Kofi Annan offered this view of events:
The offensive caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were first published in a European country which has recently acquired a significant Muslim population, and is not yet sure how to adjust to it.An adjustment is now underway:
A giant “sausage and wine” party planned later this week in a Paris neighbourhood with many Muslim residents risks sparking disturbances and will therefore be banned, police in the French capital announced on Tuesday.Of all French traditions, I’d expected their fondness for food and wine to hold out a little longer. Not so.
The event, announced on the social networking site Facebook late last month, had drawn growing criticism from politicians and civic groups in recent days as its page containing barely disguised anti-Muslim slogans attracted over 7,000 members.It’s only a short step from there to the torching of property and the incineration of buildings, presumably.
The event, called an “apero geant” (giant cocktail party), was due on Friday, a date seen as highly provocative because that will be the day of the weekly Muslim prayer and the World Cup soccer match between England and majority Muslim Algeria.No parties on prayer days or days when Algeria plays a soccer game. This is less an adjustment than a surrender.
It is also the 70th anniversary of General Charles de Gaulle’s famous 1940 “Appeal of June 18” from London calling on the French to resist the German occupation of their country.One or two lines come to mind at this point.
“This open-air event creates serious risks of disturbances to public order,” the police said in a statement, noting the symbolism of the time and place chosen for the flash mob-style party. It also said counter-demonstrations were planned.How does one “counter” a cocktail party?
The main organiser, Sylvie Francois, wrote that she wanted the event to be “a joyous protest” against the closing down of roads in the Goutte d’Or neighbourhood every Friday by Muslims praying in the street outside the overcrowded mosque there.Adjust, woman!
The Facebook page also appeared to signal the party’s thrust with appeals to “native Parisians” and complaints about “the resolute foes of our local wines and pork products.”Who now include French police.
In a statement before the ban was announced, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said the party was “clearly inspired by extreme right-wing movements” and seemed to be “designed to degenerate, possibly into violence.”There are no words.
(Via Habib)
UPDATE. YouTube doesn’t want any trouble.
UPDATE II. A “sense of community” is disrupted in California.
UPDATE III. With regard to Reuters’ discovery of “barely disguised anti-Muslim slogans”, a new political concept is born: frog whistling.
===
No trickle up his leg this time
Andrew Bolt
When Obama’s address to the nation on the oil spill disappoints even MSNBC....
===
Butterfly broken
Andrew Bolt
The Age was very excited in March by the latest research of climate alarmist David Karoly:
Researchers have found that because of a rise in temperature, caused by an increase in greenhouse gas emissions by humans, the common brown butterfly now emerges from its cocoon 10 days earlier than it did 65 years ago.Professor Karoly seized on the study as proof of man-made global warming:
This new work has tied the earlier emergence of butterflies directly to a regional temperature increase, and has tied the temperature increase very strongly to increases in greenhouse gas concentrations caused by humans...I was immediately suspicious, noting the glaring evidence of an urban heat island effect at Laverton that could have explained plenty.
In fact, the study that so pleased The Age was so dodgy that some PhD student, Marc Hendrix, now comes along and blows it to pieces with a quick letter that the Royal Society considers so convincing that it’s obliged to publish. The main charge is cherry picking. Some extracts:
I have obtained the same data used in this study as Kearney et al. and am unable to confirm the results for the historical observation data. I count 239 observations made in Oct-Dec from 1942 to 2009. The annual data show a wide range of earliest observation dates (Figure 1), and at face value the use of 5 year or 10 year averages appears to be a convenient statistical method that hides the very wide spread of observation dates. Applying a linear regression to a graph of the earliest observation date for each year indicates a trend of -0.7 days per decade. However, with an R2 of 0.0091 the trend has no statistical significance....But, of course, the correction will receive none of media publicity that Karoly’s original scare did.
Indeed the caption for Figure 1a is incorrect and misleading. The graph is in fact a measure of earliest “observance” times, not emergence… The historical trends identified simply reflect variation in the time collectors have ventured out to observe and collect butterflies. The databases in question do not record a single observation of natural emergence of H.Merope. Indeed no work has been published that records natural emergence times for the butterfly concerned…
There is also a considerable bias in observation locations, with the vast majority collected in Melbourne’s east and none in the vicinity of Laverton, the weather station that was used to characterise temperature change over the whole of the study area (Figure 2).
The other issue relates to the use of this Laverton weather station to characterise temperature over the very large and geographically diverse study area, amounting to approximately 12,000km2 (37.60-38.54 S, 144.17-145.48 E). The paper does not mention well documented Urban Heat Island effects over Melbourne that encompasses Laverton that have clearly affected temperature at this station over the period of study (see Morri and Simmonds, 2000 and Torok et al., 2001)… It seems the authors have chosen one station that favours their theory without adequately explaining why others should be rejected…
Trends for other stations (eg Durdidwarrah) fall well within the limits of natural temperature change indicted by Kearney’s Figure 1d and provide an indication that observed temperature trends over parts of the study area can be adequately explained by natural factors without recourse to warming through increased green house gases.
Based on these points, I believe that the authors’ conclusions remain unsupported by the data presented.
(Thanks to reader Charles. UPDATE: A clearer version of Hendrix’s letter, this one showing the figures, is here.)
===
Importing the war
Andrew Bolt
Bungled immigration policies have made Britain a home for warring tribes:
A group of extremist Muslims prompted violent clashes at a homecoming parade for British troops today after they heckled soldiers and called them ‘murderers.’Pictures at the link.
Members of the Muslim Against the Crusade group clashed with far right protesters as they shouted ‘murderers, murderers, murderers’ and ‘British troops go to hell’ as members of the 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment paraded down the streets of Barking, Essex.
The chants were drowned out by a large mob on the opposite side of the street who retaliated with jeers of ‘Traitors’ to the Muslim protesters.
(Thanks to reader Annie.)
UPDATE
More telling video here.
UPDATE 2
A sausage and wine festival in Paris is cancelled for fear of giving offence to people who really, really take it.
===
Alarmists all at sea
Andrew Bolt
Matt Ridley has his book The Rational Optimist fact-checked by five warmist scientists, including our own alarmist, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. Conclusion:
After reading their critiques, I stand even more firmly behind my conclusion that the threats to coral reefs from both man-made warming and ocean acidification are unlikely to be severe, rapid or urgent.He explains why. And then starts fact-checking Hoegh-Guldberg instead…
(Thanks to reader Brady.)
UPDATE
Reader Brendan reports from the lecture tour of Watts Up With That’s Anthony Watts (dates and cities here):
Your mate Ove Hoegh-Guldberg turned up with an acolyte/personal photographer at Anthony Watts’ talk in Brisbane tonight. He didn’t actually ask Anthony any questions and seemed only interested in hijacking the Q&A at the end to snipe at Bob Carter. This included calling Prof. Carter “crazy” at one point for questioning the IPCC consensus and also refusing to return the microphone to one of the helpers.Reader BcuBed adds:
While Prof Carter maintained a disciplined, academic tone it seemed David Archibald had other ideas. When answering a question about who was making money from climate change Archibald alluded to certain members of the audience getting millions of dollars to conduct “stupid” research on the reef. However, the high ground yielded by Archibald with this comment was quickly regained when Ove then dramatically sprung to his feet and shouted to the audience how he was the butt of the slight.
Andrew,
The ... professor tried to commandeer the WUWT Seminar in Brisbane last night. I think he even mentioned you. My wife summed him up pretty well - “Who is that arrogant a/hole”.
Despite Bob Carter giving him three minutes of stage time he still continued to push his way into the thread of the meeting, much to the disgust of one of the audience who chimed in with “I did not travel for three hours to hear you, so sit down”.
These holier than thou academic types never seem to get it and then they wonder why they are losing public confidence. The “Trust me I’m a doctor (or professor)” mentality and “I know better than you” just does not wash with the average person.
The presentations by Anthony Watts and David Archibald were well-received by the audience and Bob Carter did a great job chairing and summing up the evening. Well worth the effort of going along and helped to confirm my view of what a d… the reefman is.I
For my debate with Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, click on the second item on the Index at this ABC site.===
Save the planet! Feed whales laxatives
Andrew Bolt
Great timing. Just days before the International Whaling Commission discusses an end to the moratorium on commercial whaling, we’re told more whales could help save us from global warming:Australian and German researchers studying the defecation habits of the 12,000 sperm whales remaining in the Southern Ocean have found they act as an unusual way of removing carbon from the atmosphere.(Thanks to reader Denis.)
In a paper published by the Royal Society, the researchers - headed by Trish lavery of Flinders University - estimate the whales effectively remove about 240,000 tonnes more carbon than they produce, due to defecating about 50 tonnes of iron into the zone where photosynthesis occurs.
That stimulates phytoplankton to grow and trap carbon in the deep ocean.
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Wouldn’t work here, but
Andrew Bolt
They’ve sure got their own style of political advertising in the US. Effective, though.
This media management wouldn’t work here at all:
(Thanks to readers Rick and The Evil Right.)
===
Weirdness unbound: Marr’s taxing ego, and Singer’s sexy dogs
Andrew Bolt
Someone really does take themselves a little too seriously. From this week’s Q&A:
TONY JONES: How do you define courage and cowardice in the political context? If shelving the ETS is an act of cowardice, can we say fighting for the mining super profits tax is courageous? Let’s hear from David Marr…And partly not.
DAVID MARR: ... Rudd is a great admirer of Whitlam, and, I suspect, in a way that we don’t sufficiently acknowledge, also an admirer of Whitlam’s crash through or crash technique. I agree with your question, as I write in the essay, I think his failures on the ETS scheme show a great lack of courage… Then comes the time with the miners. It seems that, perhaps emboldened by his discussions with me, he decided that he was going to take them on absolutely in a way which, if he had taken them on over the ETS, would have riveted the nation. Now he is taking on the miners in this absolute way. It’s courage certainly, and I hope he succeeds, but what’s at stake now is not just the tax.
TONY JONES: David, you are taking credit for the mining super profits tax?
DAVID MARR: No, I’m not. But the courage he has to show now is that what’s at stake is not whether or not we have a mining tax but whether his government survives, because the miners aren’t wanting to get rid of the tax, they are wanting to get rid of him.
TONY JONES: Let’s hear from the rest of the panel on this. Jayashri Kulkarni.
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: I find it hard to believe that all of this is because of the conversation with David Marr.
DAVID MARR: I was partly joking about that.
UPDATE
It seems Kulkarni was the only adult on the panel, daring to call out a crank:
TONY JONES: We will move on. We have a web question from Deirdre Baker in NSW. QUOTES: “Peter Singer, in your 2001 article ‘Heavy Petting’ you state that mutually satisfying sexual activity between humans and animals can develop. Please explain.”(Thanks to reader Michael.)
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: I wondered if that would come up. Firstly, it was a book review, not an article, I was reviewing a book that discussed this issue. It is a fact that there is sexual contact between some humans and animals. I was raising the question why we have such a taboo on this. Sometimes it involves cruelty and the infliction of power and dominance on an animal, and clearly I oppose that. There can be occasions, I don’t know how much vivid description you want.
TONY JONES: Go ahead.
PETER GARRETT MP: Speak for yourself! This is really interesting.
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: I’m clearly not on American television tonight, because no American host would have said that. An example is a woman has oral sex performed by her dog.
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: Brings new meaning to doggy style!
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: Women have said this is something that pleases them, the dog is free to do it or walk away, there’s no dominance over the dog, that seems harmless.
SENATOR HELEN COONAN: This is a trained dog, obviously?
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: It’s her dog who enjoys doing it and the dog gives pleasure to the companion. I don’t see why we have a taboo.
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: Sorry, Peter, this is just weird. It’s just weird!
PROFESSOR PETER SINGER: It’s not common, but is it wrong, is the question? ...
PROFESSOR JAYATHRI KULKARNI: I’m thinking, Freud did say that human beings are polymorphously perverse, which is another way of saying that there are lots of different views. Sometimes you have to draw the line and go, “That’s weird.”
UPDATE
Reader Stephen cuts Marr some slack:
Most of what Marr said was, I think, wrong. But his crack about how he may have ‘emboldened’ Rudd to take on the miners was clearly just that: a self-deprecating crack. As was his ‘partly joking’ remark a moment later. Both drew appreciative laughs from the audience, and I have to say that I myself smiled. The transcript doesn’t convey this at all well.
===
Why no tears now for dead asylum seekers?
Andrew Bolt
WHERE are they now, those hypocrites who once noisily wept over John Howard’s “cruelty” to boat people?
Why aren’t they shedding tears over the 170 boat people since believed killed under these more “compassionate” policies they voted for?
Hello?
Twelve more suspected deaths at sea last week. Another 100 feared dead last October. Families drowning in the months before that. Five men blown up at Ashmore Reef.
So many bodies in the sea. So many people recklessly lured to their deaths.
So why this cowardly, guilty, avert-the-gaze silence from those once so quick to cry over boat people when the Liberals were in charge?
I’m talking about the kind of activists who erected hundreds of decorated poles in a Canberra park to mourn the 353 SIEV X passengers who in 2001 drowned in Indonesian waters - but under Howard’s watch.
I’m talking about activists such as former ambassador Tony Kevin, who falsely suggested the SIEV X was “almost certainly sabotaged” by agents of this evil Howard regime.
I’m talking about Senator John Faulkner, now a Rudd Government minister, who insinuated that Howard was murdering boat people, warning security agencies ASIS and ASIO that their “protocols (to disrupt people smuggling) were not meant as a direct or indirect licence to kill”.
I mean the Sydney Theatre Company, which in 2005 commissioned a play from Hannie Rayson portraying Howard as a prime minister so evil as to knowingly let boat people drown.
I mean Rayson herself, who in her Two Brothers caricatured then treasurer Peter Costello as literally a murderer, with a fool for a wife and drug addict for a son.
I mean also activists such as writers’ festival darling Julian Burnside, QC, who accused the Howard government of “crimes against humanity” for in 2001 introducing its “Pacific Solution”, the offshore detention that finally stopped this lethal trade, slashing boat arrivals to just 18 over the next six years.
So where are these people now with their prime-time tears? Heaven knows they are needed, because once more boat people are dying at sea.
===
Whining at the Cup
Andrew Bolt
DO not adjust your TV set. That mad buzzing is the sound of morons and con men ruining the World Cup.Is there a more brainless noise than that mad monotone of soccer fans blaring thousands of plastic trumpets?
No rhythm, no tune, no dynamics - just one sustained B flat from those damned vuvuzelas that blots out all that’s musical or even human.
There have been complaints, of course. Almost every broadcaster has had furious viewers protesting that the Cup sounds like it’s staged in a beehive.
French captain Patrice Evra says the players can’t hear each other, while Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo says he can’t concentrate.
But worse is that the sheer volume of hordes of fools blowing their lungs into these metre-long, 127-decibel trumpets blots out every other audible sign of culture in the crowd.
Every match has the same soundtrack. Close your eyes, and you cannot tell from the crowd which teams are playing.
The vuvuzelas drown out any singing from the English, any samba from the Brazilians, any chanting from the Dutch. You hear only the industrial whine of plastic Globo-trash.
And here’s the final insult.
===
World Cup madness
Andrew Bolt
FIFA allows:
FIFA arrests:
A group of 36 young Dutch fans in orange miniskirts were detained for several hours at Soccer City stadium for wearing outfits designed by a Dutch beer company.(Thanks to reader Bill Bob Hall.)
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Another Ruddish “success” on boat people
Andrew Bolt
It’s worked so well that Labor sets a record:
THE federal government’s freeze on the processing of Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers has slowed the influx of boat people, evidence suggests, with arrivals down by almost a quarter since the decision was made.(Thanks to reader Steve.)
But Australia is still on track for the highest number of boat people in its history this year.
As the number of irregular migrants rose sharply earlier this year, the Rudd government decided on April 9 to stop processing refugee claims of Afghans and Sri Lankans to deter them from coming to Australia.
In the 67 days since, 1217 boat people have reached Australia, down 23 per cent from the 1574 people in the corresponding period beforehand… But, even if the slower rate of arrivals by boat is maintained, Australia will receive more than 6000 boat people this year.
And next: that three-month freeze of Sri Lankan applications will be up in a few weeks. And then? Another buckle?
UPDATE
Meanwhile…
AN Australian navy patrol boat has intercepted a boat carrying suspected asylum seekers off Australia’s northwest… Mr O’Connor said initial indications suggested there were 33 passengers and three crew on board.
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Criticising Rudd “distasteful”
Andrew Bolt
Former Labor speechwriter Dennis Glover suddenly gets sensitive about criticism of a Prime Minister:
Rudd-bashing is the fashion. It’s becoming rather easy. And also, perhaps, a little cruel and distasteful.Distasteful?
Yet Howard-bashing, on the other hand, was not only tasteful but just what the doctor ordered:
John Howard is not an old-fashioned conservative. He is a radical neoconservative who is determined to destroy the great social-democratic experiment that Australia represents. And of course he’s aided and protected by a well-drilled panzer army of right-wing commentators, who are determined to keep Howard in, keep Labor out and remake Australia as something more akin to America… If Howard stays in power Medicare will go, universities will revert to the playground of the rich, and public education will be further undermined. Time is running out.
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