=== Todays Toon ===
ALP propose a Great Leap Forward just like China did, and here is a picture of Deng Xiaoping becoming chief of the Chinese communist party in '77. Echoes of Gillard as PM?
=== Bible Quote ===
“I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.”- Psalm 119:30=== Headlines ===
Virginia Man Arrested on Charges He Aided Terror Group
Virginia man who warned that the creators of 'South Park' would be targeted for death over a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad has been charged with trying to aid terror group Al-Shabab, officials sayVilsack Offers to Rehire Ousted Civil Servant
Agriculture secretary says he is offering Shirley Sherrod a new job after forcing her to resign over a video clip that showed her making racial remarks at an NAACP event
Texas Mom: Kids' Autism Drove Me to Kill
Mother accused of strangling her 2 children earlier this week told a 911 operator she did so because they were both autistic and she wanted normal kids
$23 Million for Kenya Constitution Vote?
GOP lawmaker accuses the White House of 'illegal' acts for its role in Kenya's referendum on a new constitution that would legalize abortion in the country
(Breaking News)
Tiger Woods no hit with Aussie gamersTIGER Woods remains the richest athlete in the US but gamers in Australia have turned their backs on the golf star's video game franchise.
Giant dead jellyfish stings 150 beachgoers
A MASSIVE dead jellyfish stung 150 people at a beach, as officials struggled to remove it because it broke apart.
Amish teen led cops on buggy chase
AN Amish youth, 17, allegedly led police on a 1.6km-long "chase" after running a stop sign in his horse and buggy.
'Busybody' leaks secret Foster's targets
BEER and wine maker Foster's Group has blamed a light-fingered interloper for the publication of an internal earnings target.
Schwarzenegger compares Gibson to oil leak
ARNOLD Schwarzenegger says while BP may have contained its well, "no one has figured out how to contain Mel Gibson".
Cops nab flower-holding bank robber
POLICE today said they have arrested a suspect who robbed banks brandishing nothing more threatening than a bunch of flowers.
Small town farewells fallen Digger
A COUNTRY town is farewelling fallen digger Nathan Bewes, the 17th Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan.
Shares affected by fragile US economy
THE share market opened lower today after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said that the US economy had weakened.
Mosquito chokes TV presenter
A TV news presenter was taken to hospital after a mosquito flew into her mouth, choking her during a live show.
Flooding impacting Santos operations
ENERGY company Santos says operations at Cooper Basin will continue to be impacted by the flooding in Central Australia.
NSW (The state which used to be the Premier State, and then the ALP came in for 16 years)
Keneally's rail land grabTHE State Government is resuming land from ordinary families to rezone and sell to developers at a premium. Read more here.
Little Harry's sad birthday
THE gifts his mother bought him for his birthday will be there when little Harry wakes up this morning, but his precious mum will not.
Worker pinned by boulder
A MAN was crushed and trapped by a 25kg boulder for two hours while working in a trench yesterday.
Husband beaten with a hammer
THE widow of a man beaten with a hammer and left face down in a bath yesterday told of her "indescribable pain".
Residents evacuated during blaze
A MAN and a woman suffered severe burns and two girls were treated for smoke inhalation after a house fire in the state's south.
Woody's story of a toy-nap
HE'S meant to keep law and order but Toy Story's Sheriff Woody found himself in the need of rescuing from cops right here in Australia.
Racing cracks $175m winner
RANDWICK racecourse's capacity will be increased by 30,000 and "five-star facilities" in a new deal.
Queensland (Only last year, ALP went to a rush election with conservative promises)
I may hand myself in, posts GrantESCAPEE Justin Grant has raised the prospect of handing himself in to authorities after taunting police online as he flaunts another day of freedom.
Asian tourist robbed at Chermside
A JAPANESE man in his 20s has been mugged at kinifepoint after getting off a bus at a shopping centre at Chermside on Brisbane's northside.
Four appeal over Tara murder
FOUR people will this morning appeal either the convictions or sentences they received for the shooting murder of a Western Darling Downs father.
Woman dead as car hits tree
A 29-year-old woman has been killed in an early morning crash at Moorooka on Brisbane's southside
Generous Clive splurges on staff
CLIVE Palmer has splashed out on staff at Yabulu nickel refinery near Townsville handing out overseas trips, cash rewards and luxury watches.
Fat bandit throws food at worker
A FAT man wearing a tracksuit and armed with a knife pelted food at a convenience store worker who turned the tables on the would-be robber.
One dead, eight injured in crashes
A WOMAN has died after a crash on the Warrego Hwy near Gatton and another female driver is fighting for her life after a freak mishap near Dalby.
Boys from the bush enjoy the beach
THIRTEEN indigenous teens from remote Queensland communities have come to the 'big smoke' for a program aimed at helping them learn life and work skills.
Facebook fugitive taunts police
FACEBOOK bandit Justin Grant is taunting police with status updates made from a mobile phone on his eighth day of freedom since escaping from custody.
We're knee-deep in Pommies
ONE in every 10 Brisbane residents is now a British expat. They're spurning migration to the southern states in favour of a life in the Sunshine State's capital.
Victoria (Bracks stood aside for Brumby without facing voters over broken promises)
Myki ready for use on tramsTHE State Government is about to announce that myki is ready to work on the tram and bus systems.
Shot cop was elite guns trainer
UPDATE 9.10am: AN officer who shot himself yesterday was preparing to teach others to use a new semi-automatic pistol.
Fears for missing man
POLICE are concerned for the safety of a man who hasn't been seen since leaving for a bike ride on Tuesday.
Head north and turn right
BY their own admission, the people of the Mallee are a conservative bunch.
Man dies in freak truck accident
UPDATE 9.40am: AN ELDERLY pedestrian has died after a truck rolled as he tried to jump the gap between the truck and its trailer.
Drugs, cash, gun seized in raid
UPDATE 6.38am: A MAN will face court today on magic mushrooms and cannabis trafficking charges after a police raid in Victoria's east.
'I wanted to eat his heart'
A YOUNG armed robber who slit a teenager's throat on a tram later said he'd wanted to eat his victim's heart, police say.
More Down syndrome babies aborted
THE number of Victorian women who terminate pregnancies after discovering their babies have Down syndrome has almost trebled.
AGL axes local jobs
ENERGY company AGL is moving 155 Victorian jobs overseas, saying the cuts will curtail soaring electricity bills.
Prisoner kissed, fondled guard
ALLEGATIONS of an affair between a prison guard and a female prisoner are the subject of a state Ombudsman's investigation.
Northern Territory (Between Queensland and Western Australia)
Dumb tourist swims in front of croc trapVICTORIAN swam in front of crocodile trap at Top End waterhole where large beast caught this year.
South Australia (Home to great wines)
Depraved stepdad jailed for 26 yearsA TREACHEROUS step-father who used psychological torture, death threats and even a teddy bear to sexually abuse two girls has been jailed for 26 years.
Killed over divorce
MELISSA Allen was beaten, accused of cheating and strangled then her killer husband told everyone she had committed suicide.
Strong man Foley a weak link
TREASURER Kevin Foley has gone from Government strong man to its achilles heel with a series of blunders and two clarifying statements in two sitting weeks.
Election all about eastern states
SOUTH Australians risk being overlooked in the election campaign as major parties focus their efforts on marginal seats in the eastern states.
Solo police at risk
SA POLICE will continue solo patrols despite a gunman's threats to a female officer early yesterday.
Foley survives another Oval attack
TREASURER Kevin Foley has survived another Opposition attempt to have an inquiry into his misleading of Parliament over the Adelaide Oval redevelopment.
Elderly man escapes aged care fire
AN elderly aged care village resident was woken by his neighbour to discover his home burning in a fierce fire this morning.
Cult leader told to reveal hoard
RUNAWAY Agape Ministries leader Rocco Leo has been ordered to disclose the extent of his fortune to the District Court within 21 days.
Drink-driving charges follow horse death
A DRIVER recorded a blood-alcohol reading five times the limit after a racehorse was struck and killed by a car early this morning.
Brave cop may have foiled robbery
A LONE female police officer may have disturbed a planned robbery when a man pointed a large gun at her .
Western Australia (Home to a lone conservative government in Australia)
'Chaotic' shop hours hit tourismTHE Australia Indonesia Business Council says WA tourism is suffering as a result of WA's "chaotic'' shopping laws.
Man shot in car park brawl
A MAN is expected to undergo surgery today after being shot during a brawl in Perth's northern suburbs last night.
Shotgun tasers in police sights
WA Police are considering the use of shotgun tasers that produce shocks lasting 20 seconds.
Pilbara prisoners to work at Rio Tinto
ABORIGINAL prisoners in the Pilbara will be given the chance to work at a Rio Tinto mining facility in an attempt to reduce crime.
High radiation levels at WA site
RADIATION levels more than 100 times normal background readings have been recorded at an old uranium site, despite the area being "cleaned" a decade ago.
Premier regrets power, gas hikes
PREMIER Colin Barnett says it is regrettable pensioners and low-income earners are feeling the pain of the sharp increases in water and power bills.
Uranium protesters rally in Fremantle
ANTI-nuclear protesters broke through a tight security cordon at a uranium conference in Fremantle today before being evicted from the Esplanade Hotel.
First 'election' asylum boat arrives
AUTHORITIES have intercepted the first asylum seeker boat to arrive during the election campaign, just north of Christmas Island.
'Tougher jobs than being an MP'
STATE Labor MP Mark McGowan says politicians would do well to remember that many people work harder than them, and for a lot less pay.
PMH staff open hearts to Rwanda
A DOCUMENTARY detailing WA medical staff performing heart surgery in Rwanda will be aired at Princess Margaret Hospital on Friday night to raise money for charity.
Tasmania (Nothing new ever happens here)
No breaking news today=== Journalists Corner ===
Keep calling your Senators to help end crimes against humanity in Burma!We have received a time extension for the letter, which means that we have one more week (until July 28th) to get our Senators to sign on.
Please continue to call Senators Lautenberg and Menendez and ask them to sign on to the Dear Colleague letter calling for a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma.
Support for an investigation into the regime's crimes against humanity is the first step towards ending sexual violence, forced labor, and the killing of innocent civilians. If we don't shed light on the regime's crimes they will continue with impunity.
This is why Senators Feinstein (D-CA) and Gregg (R-NH) have sent a letter to their fellow Senators asking them to join them in sending a letter to Secretary Clinton to support UN action to investigate the Burmese regime's crimes against humanity.
Democratic governments such as the United Kingdom, Australia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia already support the call for a UN-led Commission of Inquiry on Burma. Now, we need the United States government to get on board and be a strong voice supporting the establishment of an investigation into crimes against humanity in Burma.
Without the backing of the United States, the Special Rapporteur's call will go ignored! Tell your Senator that the U.S. must support a UN Commission of Inquiry into the regime's war crimes and crimes against humanity. Do not let this opportunity pass by!
With your help, this would be an important step in holding Burma's generals accountable for their crimes against humanity.
Please call Senators Lautenberg and Menendez to ask them to sign this important letter. (More instructions below).
The Senators only have until July 28th to sign the letter so please call now!
Burma's regime is attacking, killing, raping, and destroying the homes of ethnic minorities. Although these crimes have persisted for decades, the situation has received almost no international attention because the military regime keeps media and international observers away from the areas of attack. These crimes perpetuated by the military have gone on for too long. (Read more about crimes in Burma here.)
DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Call your Senators using the information we have provided you in the box on the top right.
2) WHAT TO DO WHEN THE RECEPTIONIST ANSWERS
When a receptionist answers the phone, ask to speak to the foreign policy staffer by name.
• "Hi my name is [your name] from [name of your state], may I speak to [name of the foreign policy staffer]?"
Tell the receptionist that you live in the Senator's state and that you want to speak to the staffer about the letter regarding crimes against humanity in the country of Burma that is being circulated by Senators Feinstein and Gregg. Be sure to be polite, and say something like:
• "I'm calling because I would like to ask [staff person's name] if Senator [Senator's name] will sign onto a dear colleague letter about crimes against humanity in the country of Burma that is being circulated by Senators Feinstein and Gregg."
3) WHAT THE RECEPTIONIST WILL SAY
At this point the receptionist will either:
A) Transfer you to the telephone of the staff member. If this happens see section "A" below. or
B) Transfer you to the voicemail of the staff member. If this happens see section "B" below. or
C) Say that the staff member is busy, and ask to take a message. If this happens see section "C" below.
4. WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU ARE TRANSFERRED / LEAVE A MESSAGE
A) IF YOU SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE STAFFER
Thank them for speaking with you and tell them why YOU think they should sign the letter.
Tell them why you called. Here is a suggestion of what to say:
* "Hi my name is _______ I am from [your State]. I am very concerned about the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity that Burma's military dictatorship continues to commit against innocent civilians in Burma. I am calling because I would like to urge Senator __________ to sign the dear colleague letter regarding crimes against humanity in the country of Burma that is being circulated by Senators Feinstein and Gregg. The crimes against humanity in Burma should not continue with impunity."
* Give them some facts about Burma. "Burma's regime has destroyed over 3,500 villages in their campaign against ethnic minorities, their use of rape as a weapon of war has been well documented and so is their use of child soldiers."
*Your senator represents YOU and they want to know why YOU care. If you have traveled to refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border, know Burmese people, grew up in Burma, or care about human rights, be sure to let the staff member know.
* You may also want to tell them that the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Thomas Quintana, the leading expert, urged the United Nations and its member countries to set up an investigation into crimes against humanity in Burma, known as a Commission of Inquiry. So far the United Kingdom, Australia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia have all pedged their public support for establishing this investigation, but the US Government has yet to support the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma.
Offer to email them the letter; there is a good chance that the staffer may not have seen the letter yet. To do this, cut and paste the letter from this website: http://uscampaignforburma.org/coi-letter-clinton-2010-senate
Finally: Ask if your senator will sign the dear colleague letter.
It is likely that they will not give you an immediate answer because they need to ask your Senator. If that is the case, ask them politely when you will know about the final decision and how you can be informed.
To Sign on to the Letter:
Ask them to contact the following staffer, based on their party affiliation:
Democrats: Richard Harper in Senator Feinstein's (D-CA) office
Republicans: Brian Miller in Senator Gregg's (R-NH) office
Ask them when you can call back to follow-up.
B) IF YOU LEAVE A VOICEMAIL
Hi, my name is______, I am a constituent of Senator --------. I am very concerned about the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity that Burma's military regime commits against innocent civilians . I would like ask the Senator to sign on to a dear colleague letter calling for a UN investigation into crimes against humanity in Burma that is being circulated by Senators Feinstein and Gregg. As you may know, Burma's military regime has destroyed over 3,500 villages in their campaign against ethnic minorities, their use of rape as a weapon of war has been well documented and so is their use of child soldiers. I hope you take this action to help.
Be sure to leave your phone number so they can follow-up.
C) IF YOU LEAVE A MESSAGE WITH THE RECEPTIONIST
Follow the instructions for the voice mail. Call back the next day to follow-up.
After you call, please send us a quick email at mikejen@uscampaignforburma.org and let us know how your call went!
All the instructions you need are right here. It often only takes a few persistent calls to bring this issue to your Senators' attention.
Thank you for taking action on Burma. We truly appreciate your commitment.
=== Comments ===
Another Obama Official Forced Out and the Network News Ignores ItBY BILL O'REILLY
As we told you Monday night, Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod admitted that years ago she held back some government assistance from a white farmer because of his skin color.
Click here to watch "Talking Points"!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE OFFICIAL: I was struggling with the fact that so many black people have lost their farmland, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land. So I didn't give him the full force of what I could do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
So after hearing that, I said this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Well, that is simply unacceptable and Ms. Sherrod must resign immediately. The federal government cannot have skin color deciding any assistance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And that's what happened. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack fired Ms. Sherrod, but if you were watching the network news Monday night, you would know nothing about the story.
Once again, an embarrassing moment for the Obama administration was not covered, so let's run it down.
BLACK PANTHERS-JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CONTROVERSY: not covered by the network news.
ACORN UNDERCOVER VIDEO SHOWING EMPLOYEES HELPING CRIMINALS: not covered.
Obama green czar Van Jones forced to quit because of statements like "9/11 might have been an inside job": no coverage.
Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner comparing the Arizona illegal alien law to Chinese human rights abuses: not covered.
Dr. Donald Berwick, the new head of Medicare and Medicaid, saying that health care should be used to redistribute wealth: no coverage by the network news.
Stunning. Journalism in America is in dire trouble.
As for Ms. Sherrod, she is not going quietly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERROD: They asked me to resign. And, in fact, they harassed me as I was driving back to the state office from West Point, Georgia, yesterday. I had at least three calls telling me the White House wanted me to resign.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Are you willing to name names?
SHERROD: Oh, I can tell you that was -- that was Cheryl Cook, the deputy undersecretary. She said, "Well, Shirley they want you to pull over to the side of the road and do it because you are going to be on 'Glenn Beck' tonight."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
So Ms. Sherrod quit. This afternoon she was supposed to talk with Megyn Kelly, but canceled. She also refused to talk with me Tuesday night.
In the big picture scheme, this is a small story. Every administration in history has had employees do dumb things. Ms. Sherrod made a mistake and is paying for it.
But what about the American media? Why the news blackout when things become unpleasant for the Obama administration?
The simple answer is bias. The establishment press tilts left and is reluctant to do damage to a very liberal president. I think that is absolutely true. There is no other reason to spike stories that bring millions of viewers to the Fox News Channel.
You'd think the other TV news operations would want to attract that large audience as well. Apparently, they don't
===
HISTORY ALTERED
Tim Blair
A contentious video leads to the firing of an Obama official. Fox News is blamed:
On Wednesday’s Today show, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry and Savannah Guthrie left the impression that Fox News’s criticism of Shirley Sherrod was the reason she lost her job at the Agriculture Department, with Lauer, in his interview with Sherrod, charging: “I don’t know who to blame here, Miss Sherrod. I mean the, the, the activist who put forward this garbage in the first place has an agenda. We shouldn’t be surprised by that. The cable news network that, that played this garbage on and on and talked about it, has an agenda. We shouldn’t be surprised by that.”But there’s just one small problem:
Curry [claimed] that: “After the video was used to vilify her on Fox television, she lost her job,” and Guthrie advanc[ed] the NAACP’s notion, in her piece, that they had been “snookered" by Fox News.
Fox News never mentioned the story until after Sherrod had quit.Most people, unless consumed with paranoia, understand that it’s difficult to influence events after they’ve taken place. Which brings us to Charles Johnson, a big fan of MSNBC leftist Rachel Maddow:
Rachel Maddow took a close look at the role of Fox News in the right wing lynching of Shirley Sherrod.Let’s take a close look ourselves:
The three Fox News clips Maddow presents as evidence of Fox’s role – from 4:10 – carry these on-screen graphics:
• USDA official resigns over racially-charged remarksSo she’d quit before Fox had any role to play. Yet Maddow shrieks:
• Moments ago Sec. Vilsack accepted Sherrod’s resignation
• USDA official resigns over controversial remarks
How’s that for efficient! How’s that for action! Fox News and a conservative website uncover what they say is an admitted racist in the Obama administration and she is forced to resign immediately.Fox had nothing to do with it – unless they’re more efficient than even Maddow believes, what with the network’s apparent time-travel ability and all.
===
RELEASE THE CHAKRAS
Tim Blair
Further inconvenience for Mr Global Warming:
Former Vice President Al Gore has been hit by new allegations of sexual assault. This time, it’s two more massage therapists bringing the charges.Now it’s a trend. How will Al take care of this?
===
KEV NI-MOON
Tim Blair
A dream job for Kevni:
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd is being considered by the United Nations for a top-level job that would force him to leave Australia.TAKE IT!
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is considering creating a role for Mr Rudd as a top-level adviser on climate change, according to a diplomatic source with knowledge of the plan.This source … was it little Gracie?
“With his [Rudd’s] background, he’d want something more political than administrative, so they are leaning that way,” a senior source said yesterday. “He could be made a special envoy or ambassador reporting directly to the secretary-general.”Banksy Moon‘s personal weatherman. You’ve come a long way from Nambour, Kev.
===
YOU GOTTA HAVE SOIL
Tim Blair
Julia Gillard has been talking a lot lately about water and soil:
• “I support a population that our environment, our water, our soil, our roads and freeways, our busses, our trains and our services can sustain.”But sometimes – maybe it’s the accent – Gillard’s message is misreported, and things take a metaphysical twist:
• “There are environmental issues about water and about soil. But there are also sustainability issues about planning, about services.”
• Yesterday, she said the idea was about water, soil, city planning, infrastructure, services, access to a doctor, the environment and getting migrants to where there are jobs.
“I don’t think this is an immigration debate. I think it’s bringing into play issues about water, about soul, about city planning, about infrastructure and services, about getting skilled people where we need them,’’ she said.UPDATE. Gillard appears in Werribee:
The visit lasted just nine minutes before she was whisked into a car on Bridge Street.Come on, Julia. It isn’t that bad. Then again, the old home town has changed a little …
The nephew of Ms Gillard’s predecessor, Van Thanh Rudd, will contest the seat for the Revolutionary Socialist Party, which wants Australia to open its borders.UPDATE II. Formerly supported by Gillard, Mark Latham isn’t returning the favour:
Former Labor leader Mark Latham last night told Sky News that Ms Gillard was running a phoney population campaign.Peter Hartcher, among others, is alert to Gillard’s scam:
“If it’s not an immigration debate, it’s no debate,” Mr Latham said. “And I’ll tell you what it is, it’s a fraud. It’s an attempt to con people in western Sydney that she’s going to do something about congestion.”
So if it’s not about birthrates, and it’s not about immigration, perhaps Gillard knows of some other, secret source of population in the fifth dimension.
Because in the known universe, there are only two, and she has now ruled out debating either. So what on earth is she talking about?
===
MIDTERM ZOMBIES
Tim Blair
Republican ads are fun, and well-produced besides. Now take a look at this, from a bunch of Soros-funded progressives:
Is it the worst campaign video ever? No. That honour is retained by this Ned Lamont/Daily Kos ad of 2006:
Lamont fans were surprised when their man was wiped out. If only the ad had been re-scripted …
UPDATE. Lamont is nowadays refusing to appear in televised debates. Smart move.
===
ON CHEAPER AIRLINES, YOU BRING YOUR OWN POLICE
Tim Blair
Noun trouble in Texas:
Over at JoeSugarman.com, Joe writes that on his way home from a seminar in Austin, he settled into his first class seat – he’s what United Airlines calls a 1K traveler because he flies over 100,000 miles with them every year – and asked the flight attendant, “Are you serving any meals during our flight?” A few minutes later, he writes, “two armed Austin police officers boarded the plane, looked at me and said, ‘Sugarman, follow us.’”The attendant doesn’t even have the excuse of puzzlement at an Australian accent. I once asked for the bill at an Austin restaurant, and the bewildered waitress brought me a can of Budweiser.
Okay, in the flight attendant’s defense, she says she thought Joe asked her if there were police on the flight. But not in her defense: WTF, seriously flight attendant? You couldn’t even say, “I beg your pardon” or “Would you repeat the question” to confirm that you had an evil ‘sploding terrorist on board?
It was 10am.
(Via Brat)
===
MIRTH IN PERTH
Tim Blair
It wasn’t exactly a thriller in Manila:
Further from AAP.
UPDATE. Alex McClintock:
I wouldn’t blame any Aussie boxing fan for never watching another domestic fight again. Between Danny Green’s first round wonders and Anthony Mundine’s twelve round bumfights, there’s not much on offer.
===
WIKITEDIUM
Tim Blair
Richard Cooke on Wikipedia obsessives:
For the first time in history, history is being written by the losers.
===
How could Gillard have permitted Rudd’s disdain for our security?
Andrew Bolt
Kevin Rudd at times entrusted his most profound duty of defending our national security to his unelected, inexperienced, inexpert 31-year-old advisor. Chris Uhlmann reports
Questions are being asked about the chance of former PM Kevin Rudd being given a ministerial position if Labor is re-elected, after revelations about the way he administered national security…Absolutely astonishing. And two questions in particular must be asked:
The National Security Committee of Cabinet is where the gravest decisions of government are made, from the conduct of war to the protection of the borders.
The prime minister chairs the gathering of ministers and senior officials. The inner circle includes the chief of the defence force, the secretary of foreign affairs and the Australian Federal Police commissioner.
The heads of Australian intelligence agencies are also there.
Senior government officials say John Howard was scrupulous in attending the meetings.
But Commonwealth officials and cabinet sources have told the ABC that, as prime minister, Mr Rudd showed a casual disregard for the national security committee, at a time when Australia was engaged in a war and wrestling with its border security policy.
The ABC has learned that several times the then prime minister allowed his 31-year-old chief of staff Alistair Jordan to deputise for him on the committee, when Mr Rudd was late or did not attend at all.
On those occasions the meetings often started because Mr Rudd had kept the departmental heads waiting for more than an hour.
Commonwealth officials were appalled and some complained because they believe it compromised the work of the committee.
Other government sources have told the ABC that Mr Jordan, or another senior staffer, sometimes stood in for Mr Rudd on the Strategic Priorities and Budget Committee of Cabinet: the so-called gang of four that made many of the major decisions in this Government.
First, why the hell did Rudd’s most senior ministers - Gillard in particular as his Deputy Prime Minister - allow this dereliction of duty to occur? Did none protest?
Second, how can Rudd be possibly be considered for any role, such as Foreign Affairs Minister, requiring close attention to national security?
This does, though, help us to understand the utter chaos of the Rudd administration.
===
Labor takes the credit for what it most opposed
Andrew Bolt
Next you’d swear Julia Gillard was breaking the strike instead of cheering it:
FORMER Howard government minister Peter Reith has demanded Labor withdraw an ad in which he says the party tries to take credit for reforms stemming from the bitter 1998 waterfront dispute.(Thanks to readers John and Diane.)
Mr Reith, who left politics in 2001, said there was no doubt at all the ad showed waterfront cranes belonging to the company Patrick, the firm at the centre of the 1998 row.The ad features a slide of the waterfront and voiceover by Prime Minister Julia Gillard talking about the nation’s strong economy.
Mr Reith took umbrage and said the advertisement should be taken down immediately…
“It is clearly misleading in the inference that the Labor Party had anything to do with the fantastic reform outcomes which we got on the waterfront.”
In the 1998 dispute, Patrick sacked its unionised workforce in a bid to force improvements in productivity. The action was backed by the Coalition government of John Howard but strongly opposed by the Labor Party and unions.
Mr Reith said Labor and Ms Gillard had totally opposed the proposed reforms.
===
So Britain would have been safer if it had not been invaded first
Andrew Bolt
It’s not exactly the invasion of Iraq that raised Britain’s terrorism threat, but the invasion of Britain, surely:
THE invasion of Iraq “substantially” increased the terror threat to Britain and turned British Muslims against their own country, says the former head of the MI5 spy agency.Hmm. Define “their own country”.
Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller, controller of the domestic intelligence agency between 2002 and 2007, said yesterday that her agency “didn’t anticipate the degree to which British citizens would become involved” in al-Qa’ida-linked terror plots and that the Iraq war provided a “highly significant” source of motivation for British-born terrorists.What Manningham-Buller is suggesting is that any time Britain acts on a threat to international security by standing against one of the many Islamist terror groups or Muslim dicatatorships, her country faces punishment from an enemy within.
Giving evidence at the Chilcott inquiry, she said MI5 was “pretty well swamped” with intelligence suggesting a radicalisation of young Muslims in Britain after the 2003 invasion.
“The focus was not foreigners, the rising and increasing threat was a threat from British citizens and that was a very different scenario to, as it were, stopping people coming (into Britain). It was what has now become called homegrown,” she said.
Asked whether the Iraq war increased the overall terrorist threat in Britain, Lady Manningham-Buller replied: “Substantially.”
Yes, it’s brutal when put like that. But this is precisely the calculation Britain’s leaders - and not just Brtiain’s - will make in assessing any future military engagements.
===
Gillard’s mining deal is off
Andrew Bolt
After the election, the Greens will use their balance of power in the Senate - built in part on their preference deal with Labor - to block Julia Gillard’s tax deal with the miners:
THE Greens say they will use their expected balance of power in the Senate to demand higher taxes from the mining industry.I think the miners are stuffed. Labor must still get its tax through the Senate. The Coalition opposes it, so Gillard will need the Greens’ support to get the billions from the miners that she desperately needs.
Greens leader Senator Bob Brown said he planned to ignore the Federal Government’s backdown on a resource super-profits tax (RSPT) and try to garner higher taxes from mining corporations which he says should be investing in skills for workers.
“I am going to the election saying we want a better return from the big miners and I expect more than a million people will vote for that, so I’ll have a mandate from where I sit in the Senate,” he said.
The only way she can get her hands on that cash is to agree to hit the miners for even more, or to give the Greens other huge concessions.
So is her deal dead? Or what she give the Greens to keep it alive? Gillard must say, and the miners must crank up their ads again.
(Thanks to reader Michael.)
UPDATE
Indeed:
SMALL miners have raised alarm bells over the Greens? views on mining and are assessing whether to restart the anti-mine tax ad campaign.(Thanks to reader Michael.)
The prospect of the Greens taking control of the Senate in the August 21 elections has created fresh uncertainty for mining companies in relation to the government’s proposed mining tax, executives and lobbyists said today.
But the miners refused to say whether they would restart advertising against the tax, a move that was seen as escalating the debate over a previous version of the tax in May which ultimately precipitated the overthrow of former prime minister Kevin Rudd.
“We’re still assessing the future of the campaign,” said Simon Bennison, chief executive of the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC). “We’re certainly not ruling it out.”
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Women vote for the skirt, and not the bumbling politician in it
Andrew Bolt
This election will be decided by women voting for a woman, regardless of how good she’ll actually be:
THE Coalition’s worst fears about Tony Abbott’s appeal to women voters are being realised, as new figures show a clear drift in female support away from the Opposition Leader to Julia Gillard.In the US, the presidential election was decided by people voting for the country’s first African American President, regardless of how good he’d actually be. Well, that worked well, didn’t it?
Previously unpublished Newspoll data from last weekend reveals a gap of nine percentage points in the support for Mr Abbott between male and female Coalition voters.
This compares with only a four-point gender gap in Coalition voter support for Mr Abbott in April.
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Labor flushes your billions on desal plants before even checking the options
Andrew Bolt
Only now are we getting the cost-benefit analysis - after green-maddened Labor, refusing to build dams, has already invested billions on one of the most expensive and power-hungry alternatives:
HOUSEHOLDS are paying at least 10 times more for energy-guzzling desalinated water than for traditional dam water…Just the construction costs alone guarantee that we will pay three times more for that plant than we would for a new dam that would actually also give us three times the water.
The Productivity Commission will investigate the financial and environmental impact of Australia’s desalination plants, which will supply nearly a third of capital city water supplies within two years.
The PC inquiry’s chairwoman, Wendy Craik, yesterday said the costs of desalination plants, including electricity, would be analysed. “We’ll be looking at the costs and benefits of desalination and the impact on prices,” she said.
State governments are spending $9 billion to build desalination plants in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and on the Gold Coast. But the energy-guzzling “water factories” are feeding steep increases in water prices, with household bills rising as much as 22 per cent last month.
Inquiries by The Australian reveal that electricity charges make up half the cost of running Sydney’s new $1.8bn desalination plant at Kurnell, which is powered by a wind farm. Water from the Kurnell plant is costing $2.24 per thousand litres, including the capital cost, debt payments and operating costs.
Dam water, however, can cost as little as 15 cents per thousand litres, depending on the age of the dam, the filtration methods and the length of pipeline…
Queensland’s trouble-plagued Gold Coast desalination plant, which has been closed for repairs, will cost 73 cents per thousand litres, although the cost excludes the $1.2b construction price tag…
In Melbourne, desalinated water is predicted to cost $1.37 per thousand litres, including the construction and operating costs of the $3.5bn plant to open next year.
But to return to the first question: why are we getting a cost-benefit analysis on desalination plants only after Labor has spent the money?
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Rudd hopes to do to the world what he nearly did to us
Andrew Bolt
Rudd can’t keep his mouth shut, can he? And he seems to be angling for a job where he could do a lot of damage:
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd is reportedly being considered by the United Nations for a top-level job as an adviser on climate change…
UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon is now considering creating a role for him as a top-level adviser on climate change, according to a “diplomatic source with knowledge of the plan,” the Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday.
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The campaign’s second boat: so what’s Gillard’s plan B?
Andrew Bolt
Yet another boat arrives, the second of a campaign not one week old:
The navy has stopped a boat carrying asylum seekers near Christmas Island. The Federal Government says 43 passengers and two crew members are on board.There is not the slightest sign that Gillard’s farcical offer to one day build a detention centre in East Timor, should the unwilling East Timorese ever change their minds, is deterring a single boat person today. So what’s her plan B?
On the other hand, there is every sign that the boats coming in are a direct result of this Government foolishly weakening our border laws. My red dot on this Immigration Department graph indicates the date Labor announced a big softening of boat people laws, following a blueprint Gillard says she herself drew up, dismantling much of what was successfully introduced in late 2001, after the turning back of the Tampa in August 2001:
(Thanks to reader eddie27.)UPDATE
Former Howard Government immigration minister Phillip Ruddock says Gillard’s latest spin is a fraud:
JULIA Gillard has taken political spin to a new level by suggesting the Coalition’s border protection policy has moved closer to hers. Nothing could be further from the truth, as Foreign Minister Stephen Smith acknowledged yesterday, in contradiction of the PM.UPDATE 2
Unlike the government, the Coalition recognises the only way to stop the influx of boats to Australian shores is through a comprehensive and interlocking suite of measures…
When Labor unwound these measures by abolishing temporary protection visas, closing the off-shore processing centre on Nauru, winding back mandatory detention and once again giving asylum-seekers automatic access to Australian permanent residency on a 90-day timetable, Labor gave people smugglers a product to sell.
The result is clear: 148 boats and more than 7000 asylum-seekers have arrived since August 2008. This compares with just 18 boats in the last six years of the Coalition government.
The costs of detention have blown out by $1.1 billion in this year’s budget alone. There are more than 4000 asylum-seekers in detention, including 561 children, in tents, motel rooms, detention centres and mining camps across Australia.
In its panic to get the issue out of the way before an election, the Labor government has proposed an ill-conceived and undeliverable East Timor solution.
Resorting to megaphone diplomacy, Labor bungled and seriously damaged regional relationships, guaranteeing that no such regional processing centre will be built in East Timor, or anywhere else.
Refugee activists suggest the boats will stop if you vote for Tony Abbott:
ASYLUM-SEEKERS in Indonesia are scrambling to get to Australia before the federal election, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says… Pamela Curr, of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, predicted the number of boats arriving would increase in coming weeks because asylum-seekers were panicked by the prospect of being towed back to Indonesia if Tony Abbott were to become prime minister.But wait a minute. Weren’t we told that pull factors didn’t count, because boat people had no idea what was going on in Australia?
UPDATE 3
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith nails another bit of deceitful spin from Gillard:
FOREIGN Minister Stephen Smith has rejected suggestions Labor’s border protection policies resemble the Coalition’s. His statement contradicted Julia Gillard’s claim of “emerging points of agreement” between the parties…This sure contradicts Gillard’s false claims that she’s now like Abbott on boat people:
In an attempt to neutralise the issue, which has left Labor vulnerable in key outer metropolitan marginal seats, Ms Gillard portrayed an emerging consensus on asylum policy, citing Coalition support for the principle of offshore refugee processing.
But asked yesterday why Labor’s policy was similar to that of the Coalition, Mr Smith replied: “It’s not”.
He went on to cite Tony Abbott’s pledge to turn boats back, as well as his preference for Nauru as a site for an offshore processing centre—as opposed to East Timor, a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees—as key points of difference.
I do think that the discussion that has followed my speech on this matter last week is a discussion which is actually enabling us to see some emerging points of agreement. I think Mr Abbott agrees with me about a regional framework. I believe he agrees with me about a regional processing centre. I believe he agrees with me that that should be in a Refugee Convention signatory country and I believe he agrees with me that asylum seekers, particularly women and children, should be treated decently. I think that those emerging points of agreement are a step forward
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Rudd leaks: Gillard broke a deal on his next job
Andrew Bolt
Can you really trust Julia Gillard - and can she ever trust Kevin Rudd:
JULIA Gillard faces claims she reneged on a deal to put Kevin Rudd in cabinet before the election and that she has left him without prospects of holding a ministry.Now how would The Australian’s Dennis Shanahan know what Rudd “understood” unless Rudd blabbed to get even?
But Mr Rudd faces counter charges that he, too, broke conditions of the original deal on the dramatic night of June 23 when Ms Gillard confronted him over a leadership transition.
The new claims are that Ms Gillard offered a cabinet position to Mr Rudd, which he accepted but she later withdrew; and that Mr Rudd broke a deal that he would resign immediately on June 23 for Ms Gillard to take over as prime minister and would be given a cabinet post in return.
On June 24, when Ms Gillard took over from Mr Rudd, it is claimed her chief of staff, Amanda Lampe, rang Mr Rudd’s chief of staff, Alister Jordan, and asked if the outgoing prime minister “would serve in the cabinet”.
The response was that Mr Rudd would serve in cabinet and the expectation was that he would be given the foreign affairs portfolio in the cabinet shuffle forced by his removal as prime minister and Ms Gillard’s elevation.
Mr Rudd understood from the call that he would be in cabinet before the election and the portfolio he would be given would have a bearing on what he would have after the election, assuming the government were re-elected.
Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard discussed the cabinet position in a telephone call the following Sunday, which has been variously described as “turning nasty” and “perfectly civil”. On the Monday, The Australian reported there would not be room for Mr Rudd in Ms Gillard’s new cabinet.I think we’ll be hearing more, not least because Rudd isn’t the only one to be leaking to get out one side of this grubby story:
In a confidential diplomatic cable from the New Zealand high commission in Canberra to the New Zealand government, a briefing based on “those close to the conversation which occurred between the Prime Minister and Kevin Rudd MP on Sunday (June 27)” claims Mr Rudd “has apparently conveniently forgotten that the ‘deal’ struck in advance of the leadership spill was that he would stand down immediately”.(Thanks to reader Watty.)
The cable, a copy of which has been obtained by The Australian, said: “Gillard’s staff had not wanted the PM to offer her predecessor a new role, least of all the role of minister of foreign affairs.” Last night, Labor sources did not deny the diplomatic briefing that Mr Rudd had stood firm on his demand that he was “owed” the foreign affairs role or that “the package” brokered by Senator Faulkner involved Mr Rudd agreeing to “stand down immediately” without Ms Gillard having to face a ballot.
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Gillard’s worst cheat yet: her population dog-whistle
Andrew Bolt
Julia Gillard seems even more spin-driven than Kevin Rudd, telling voters exactly what they want, but without even the slightest intention of delivering it.
Paul Kelly:
LABOR’S Sustainable Population position sank into farce yesterday…Former Labor leader Mark Latham couldn’t agree more:
Having launched a crusade against a “big Australia” and attacked “hurtling” towards a bigger population, the Prime Minister insisted the real issue was not immigration… Confronted at her Sydney doorstop with the direct question whether she was prepared to slow the population, Ms Gillard said: “I don’t believe that this is an immigration debate in that sense.”
On the other hand, she kept up the recent message, saying: “I don’t believe we should just keep hurtling along without stopping, taking a breath and getting the policies right.”
Ms Gillard has not explained how she rejects a big Australia yet eliminates immigration levels from her project… The point is obvious: Ms Gillard’s sustainable strategy is an election-driven political position without policy content or even rudimentary ideas.
If it’s not an immigration debate, it’s no debate. And I’ll tell you what it is, it’s a fraud. It’s an attempt to con people in western Sydney that she’s going to do something about congestion. And I think some smartie in the Labor Party worked out that sending out signals on population would be a proxy for the asylum-seeker and climate change debates. It’s clever politics. But it’s a fraud . . . of the worst order.Ditto the pro-growth Australian:
Yesterday, Ms Gillard claimed this was not a debate about immigration. But until she presents her policies to reduce the birthrate, increase the death rate or persuade Australians to flee their homeland, it is hard to see Labor’s little Australia as anything other than an exercise in dog-whistling, which carries grave dangers for the economy.You are, in effect, being lied to.
UPDATE
Even Peter Hartcher:
So if it’s not about birthrates, and it’s not about immigration, perhaps Gillard knows of some other, secret source of population in the fifth dimension.(Thanks to reader Mark.)
Because in the known universe, there are only two, and she has now ruled out debating either.So what on earth is she talking about?
She’s happy to pose questions, to sound deeply concerned, as she did in a major speech on Tuesday: ‘’Can we really ask western Sydney to keep absorbing hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people without regard for the key issue of quality of life?’’
But her answers are hollow, as she went on to demonstrate: ‘’I am determined to answer this question in a constructive way, in a real way. I choose my words very carefully when I say this: let’s slow down, let’s take a breath and let’s get this right.’’ And that’s it.
So this is not a policy, and it’s not even a debate about possible policy. It’s just a placebo, a sugar pill for the electorate to suck during an election campaign, to keep it happy and quiet. And when the placebo dissolves, nothing is solved.
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