=== Todays Toon ===
Gillard needs a body with teeth to tackle climate changeby Alex Kazaglis
The debate during the first weeks of the election campaign has been dominated by the controversy surrounding Gillards proposed “Citizens Assembly”.
=== Bible Quote ===
“This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”- Jeremiah 33:2-3=== Headlines ===
Federal Judge Overturns California's Gay Marriage Ban
After years of legal wrangling, a federal judge rules in a landmark case that California's Proposition 8 — which bans gay marriage in the state— is unconstitutional.Schumer Takes Aim at WikiLeaks
Adding to political fire directed at WikiLeaks after website divulged Afghan war secrets, Sen. Schumer says he will add new language to a media shield bill to explicitly prohibit the group from federal protections
Is WH Rewriting World War II History?
The son of Paul Tibbets, the pilot who dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan, says Obama is trying to 'rewrite history' and apologize by sending envoys to Hiroshima to mark the 65th anniversary of the bombing
Gov't Workers Caught Double-Dipping
Hundreds of federal employees may have improperly reaped millions in Social Security disability benefits, according to government watchdog that caught employees on camera working while receiving benefits
Hidden Tunnels May Hide Tombs Under Ancient Ruins
TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico -- A long-sealed tunnel has been found under the ruins of Teotihuacan -- and chambers that seem to branch off it may hold the tombs of some of the ancient city's early rulers, archaeologists said Tuesday. Experts say a tomb discovery would be significant because the social structure of Teotihuacan remains a mystery after nearly 100 years of archaeological exploration at the site, which is best known for the towering Pyramids of the Moon and the Sun. No depiction of a ruler, or the tomb of a monarch, has ever been found, setting the metropolis apart from other pre-Hispanic cultures that deified their rulers.Breaking News
Train disruptions likely as workers strikeHUNDREDS of Sydney rail workers will attend a mass rally today, as a three-day campaign of strikes over pay and conditions gets under way.
News Corporation posts $2.73bn net profit
NEWS Corporation reports a net profit of $2.74 billion for 2009/10, saying it's well positioned for growth.
Woman knocks man out with vacuum cleaner
THE Clark County sheriff's office in Vancouver, Washington, says a woman beat her boyfriend unconscious with a vacuum cleaner.
Push comes to brawl at kindy graduation
TWO women have been charged over fight that led to a brawl during a Southern California kindergarten graduation ceremony.
Tabcorp profit falls 10pc in weak market
TABCORP Holdings has reported a drop in full year net profit due to weak gaming market conditions in Victoria and Queensland.
Passengers evacuated after landing gear fire
PASSENGERS on a United Airlines plane were evacuated today after a small fire in the landing gear.
Coalition plays health trump card
THE Coalition is attempting to trump one of Labor's strongest policy cards by announcing a $3.1 billion plan for 2800 new hospital beds.
Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes PNG
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea this morning, the US Geological Survey said.
BP partner 'will not pay' $1.3bn spill bill
BP PARTNER Anadarko has been billed $1.3 billion to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but will refuse to pay.
Wyclef Jean says presidency run is on
HAITIAN-born musician Wyclef Jean says he will run for president of his earthquake-ravaged homeland
NSW/ACT
Delay for body holds up funeralTHE funeral for an Australian bushwalker killed in Slovenia has been delayed because officials won't release her remains.
Councils addicted to fines revenue
MOTORISTS in NSW were slugged almost $150 million in parking fines in the past year.
A little school's large windfall
ONE of the state's largest developers has helped a primary school accommodate a surge in numbers with a $200,000 donation.
Shooting victim's drug past
A MAN fatally shot while playing touch football in a Sydney park was a major drug-dealer released from prison only eight months ago.
Psychiatric patient sent home
THE trial of a man accused of murdering his carer will become a test case for the state's mental health system, his lawyer said.
Deadly brothel war exploded
THE chief radiographer of a hospital was shot dead after setting up an escort service down the road from his former business partner.
'Soprano' drug dealer's guilty plea
HE was dubbed the Tony Soprano of Australia's cocaine trade. Alen Moradian's home was decorated with loads of flashy bling.
A shark rescue with real bite
IT takes a brave soul to rescue a stranded great white shark. There are those teeth for one thing ...
Gran busted smuggling pot to teen in lock-up
CCTV caught a grandmother secretly passing cannabis to her 17-year-old grandson - a detainee at Acmena Juvenile Justice Centre.
Bike lane stops buses in their tracks
FORGET the usual commuter buses - it seems it's bikes that rule the road in Sydney's inner city.
Queensland
Teen dies in car rolloverA TEENAGER has been killed when his car rolled over at Apple Tree Creek, west of Bundaberg in the Wide Bay-Burnett area.
Hairdresser attack over botched 'do
ANGRY husband attacks hairdresser with EFTPOS machine because he 'botched' his wife's hair.
Teen hurled from car as it flips
A TEENAGE learner driver, hurled from a car after a failed overtaking attempt ended up with the vehicle hitting a drain and flipping, is lucky to be alive.
Genes warn of heart disease
RESEARCHERS have discovered new genes that could warn people at risk of heart disease.
Kevin: I'll campaign for Julia
KEVIN Rudd has strongly denied being the anonymous source of leaks targeting Julia Gillard and vowed to ''absolutely'' campaign for Labor's re-election.
Ekka Week, for the 133rd time
ORGANISED chaos will turn into all the fun of the fair this morning when Brisbane's 133rd Ekka begins. There were parades everywhere yesterday.
The roads that get drivers going
A NUMBER of intersections, bad roads and dangerous level crossings crop up constantly on the RACQ's Red Spot list.
Bob boils at petty regulations
MAVERICK MP Bob Katter, who could hold the balance of power after August 21, says voters are on the verge of revolution over petty regulations.
AFP aid for Rush appeal in Bali
THE AFP may have got Bali Nine drug courier Scott Rush into his dire death row fix but they may be the ones that eventually gets him out of it.
'Sorry I hurt you, Queensland'
JULIA Gillard has reached out to Queenslanders angry about the way Kevin Rudd was dumped and offered sympathy to her vanquished Labor colleague.
Victoria
Man accused of jaywalker rageA MAN has been accused of deliberately running down a teen after he dawdled while crossing a road.
Crash chaos on Westgate Fwy
TWO inbound lanes of the Westgate Freeway are blocked this morning after a two-car crash caused traffic to bank up.
Man electrocuted under house
POLICE are investigating whether a man was electrocuted as he tried to take copper wire from under a house in Melbourne's south today.
Cop shocked at footy dad's assault
A VETERAN police sergeant held back tears as he told a jury how his son cried while watching a dad repeatedly punch another father.
Off-duty SES man revives baby
A MAN who was inspired to join the SES in the wake of the death and destruction of Black Saturday is now the saviour of a baby girl.
Mid-East poaches ambos
AT least six top paramedics are leaving Melbourne to work in Qatar, raising fears the system will be unable to cover mass resignations.
Heat on false solar claims
THE heat has been turned up on solar panel companies falsely claiming to wipe out electricity bills with green energy.
Tributes flow for legal reformer
FORMER state deputy premier and attorney-general Jim Kennan, SC, died on Wednesday after a long battle with skin cancer.
How top judges go soft on worst crims
HALF of all defendants who challenged convictions or sentences in the Court of Appeal last year succeeded, leaving crime victims betrayed.
Mark Kasper
DALE Albert's behaviour on a hot February night in 2007 could not have been more culpable.
Northern Territory
Fortune teller blamed for teen 'torture'A MEAT cleaver, samurai sword and a Lady Gaga CD reportedly used in torture of an alleged teen thief.
South Australia
Come on down, BarnabyIt's Barnaby Joyce or no one. That's the message from Water Minister Penny Wong, in response to a Coalition move to short-circuit a head-to-head debate on the River Murray.
State export income plummets
STATE export income has plummeted $1.3 billion in the past year, raising serious doubts over the strength of the economy and the Government's financial strategy.
Council shrinks 'wasteful' plan
MT BARKER Council believes it can save two-thirds of the agricultural land proposed for urban rezoning while meeting the government's 30-year population plan.
Burnside's record of failings
THE warring Burnside Council has failed to "adequately maintain its record management systems" for at least eight years, a State Government inquiry has found.
Time to fix our shoddy bridges
THE Auditor-General and a parliamentary committee have been asked to review the Government's repair and maintenance of road and rail bridges across the state.
Girl indecently assaulted on bus
POLICE are asking for the public's help to identify a man who indecently assaulted a teenage girl on a bus.
Accused cop shooter named
THE identity of a Paralowie man accused of shooting at two police officers - injuring them with shrapnel - can now be revealed.
Woman driver four times over
A SEATON woman has lost her license for 12 months for driving more than four times over the blood alcohol limit.
Cannabis crop inside factory
POLICE have uncovered a large cannabis crop inside a western suburbs business.
Rain, hail as winter holds it grip
ADELAIDE woke up to a bleak wet morning, with hail expected later today as winter continues to hold its icy grip.
Western Australia
Barnett cuts payroll tax by $100mCOLIN Barnett has delivered on a promise to help small- to medium-sized businesses get over the global financial crisis.
Rally to save historic pub
GUILDFORD residents will hold a rally on Saturday, August 14 to urge action be taken to save the fire-gutted Guildford Hotel.
Tourism WA 'letting the state down'
THE Australian Hotels Association has launched a stinging attack on Tourism WA and its chairperson Kate Lamont.
Public appeal to find missing woman
POLICE are concerned about a 39-year-old woman who has not been in touch with her family since Monday.
Stolen sports car used in thefts
POLICE hunting for bandits who allegedly stole a high-powered Skyline and used it in several robberies.
Truck yard death an accident
NO charges will be laid over the death of a man at a Bibra Lake trucking yard yesterday.
Man charged over throat slash attack
POLICE have charged a 29-year-old man after a woman was slashed across the throat at a Rockingham shopping centre yesterday.
Slice of Dirk Hartog history for sale
A HISTORICAL slab of WA is up for sale, with 11ha of pristine Dirk Hartog Island expected to fetch up to $10 million.
Tasmania
Nothing New=== Journalists Corner ===
Guest: Sarah Palin"Jan Brewer has the cojones that our president does not have." After Palin sounded off, she talks tough on the controversy surrounding Arizona's immigration law. It's a must-see interview on 'Hannity'!
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Guest: Senator Byron Dorgan
Some in his party say keeping Bush's tax cuts will keep the economy on track. So, why does this Dem disagree? Neil gets answers from Senator Byron Dorgan!
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It's Miller Time!
Gaga graces the cover of Vanity Fair ... with only her "Poker Face" on! Dennis Miller responds to the racy layout on 'The O'Reilly Factor'!
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On Fox News Insider
Intense Reactions Continue on Ground Zero MosqueDaryl Strawberry Cooks Up One Tasty Burger!
The RNC Wants YOU ... To Send Obama Birthday Greetings
Join us, this Saturday, at 4pm, in front of the Burmese embassy in New York for a demonstration commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the largest popular uprising in Burma's history.22 years ago, an inspiring group of students and workers staged an uprising against Burma's military regime, known as the 8888 Uprising. Thousands of protesters were gunned down in the streets but their struggle for freedom and human rights continues onto today.
Please join us this Saturday to honor the fallen and show your solidarity with those who continue the struggle.Date: Saturday, August 7, 2010
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 pm
Location: Burma's SPDC Mission (10 East 77th Street - btw Madison and 5th Ave, NYC)
=== Comments ===
More Bad News for President Obama in the PollsBY BILL O'REILLY
A new Gallup poll out Tuesday says that just 41 percent of Americans now approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing. Fifty-three percent disapprove. That is the lowest rating from Gallup in the president's tenure.
So why is this happening? And will the president fall below 40 percent and into the 30s, which would signal disaster?
"Talking Points" believes the primary reason Barack Obama is falling in the polls is that independent voters have lost confidence in him. The 47 percent of Americans who voted against Mr. Obama pretty much feel the same way today, but the independents who put him in office are not happy.
And apparently even some Democrats are wavering. That's because the president has no big wins on his resume. The economy remains awful; Afghanistan is in trouble; the oil spill was chaos, and the president is spending a record amount of money while results are few.
No politician can survive in that climate.
The president is doing everything he can to change the negative perception, and that includes continuing to pound the Republican Party:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: They have not come up with a single, solitary new idea to address the challenges of the American people. They don't have a single idea that's different from George Bush's ideas. Not one. Instead, they're betting on amnesia. That's what they're counting on. They're counting on that y'all forgot. They think that they can run the okey-doke on you. Bamboozle you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
So rather than running on his record, the president is saying, "Hey, look, the other guys are worse."
Will that stem the tide for Mr. Obama? Doubtful.
The major achievement of the Obama administration so far has been the passage of national health care, but polls show that most Americans don't really want it, and it will take years to see if Obamacare is a positive for America.
SO AT THIS POINT, THERE IS ONLY ONE THING THAT CAN SAVE THE PRESIDENT: a surge in the economy. And there is no question that Mr. Obama is banking on that, no pun intended.
"Talking Points" believes that if Mr. Obama falls below a 40 percent approval rating, Hillary Clinton may challenge him for the Democratic nomination in 2012. It's risky for Secretary Clinton, but she does want to be president. In order to make a run at it, she has to raise more than $100 million, and that takes time. So Mrs. Clinton would have to make a decision by next spring at the latest.
It all depends on the polls. The president must stay above 40 percent.
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CROCOSAURUS
Tim Blair
End of the road for a cow-eating megacroc:
A monster 6.5m crocodile had to be killed by locals in a remote Northern Territory Aborigine community because it was killing their cattle.The truck is a nice touch, but what really makes that shot work is the little girl calmly studying the beast. Here’s a crocogallery.Jeida Francis, 23, said the croc was caught in Manangoora, an outstation 56km east of Borroloola.
“It was massive. There were three huge ones out there. One of them is still out there at the moment.”
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EVERYBODY LOVES SYDNEY’S NEW BIKE LANES
Tim Blair
Just look at all the happy cyclists:
UPDATE. You can have bikes or you can have buses, but you can’t have both:The STA scrapped a large part of the Route 311 service through Woolloomooloo yesterday thanks to a new City of Sydney Council bikeway that is so wide it has made the road too dangerous for buses…But not by Clover Moore.
The two-lane Bourke St bike path [shown above] is already the subject of residential fury in Surry Hills, with lawyers last week sending a letter to the council demanding it be torn up.
Yesterday STA sources said the bike lane in Bourke St at Woolloomooloo was so wide that two buses could not fit down the street.
Six bus stops will now be missed.
UPDATE II:
The council said the STA could continue the service if it chose to use smaller buses.Ordinary passenger cars are another safe option.
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RUDD SPEAKS
Tim Blair
Phillip Adams interviews Kevin Rudd:
PHILLIP ADAMS: Kevin I understand that it was while you were preparing for what we intended to be a chat last week that you were first conscious of a stabbing pain?So now he knows how the taxpayers who fund Radio National react. Happily recovering, Rudd is asked by Adams – an atheist – how he feels spiritually:
KEVIN RUDD: Well actually, yes, I was sitting down to write a few thoughts down and suddenly I felt a little uncomfortable in the mid-section and then it spread and then it spread and then I was curled up in a ball on the floor so ....
RUDD: The, um, yeah well it’s been a tough old time, there’s no point pretending that it hasn’t been difficult for myself and Therese and the kids. But equally you know, it’s a pretty basic point that what’s done can’t be undone. And there are bigger things at stake, bigger things than K. Rudd’s future, and that’s the country’s future.Put all of it in the Forgettery! Phil’s next question contains a contradiction subsequently glossed over by Rudd:
ADAMS: O.K. I’ll get onto that a bit later. But you haven’t had issues of anger management, you’re not sort of ... you’re not feeling bitter and angry?
RUDD: You know something. Something my mum taught me years and years and years ago, is life’s just too short to carry around a great bucket-load of anger and resentment and bitterness and hatreds and all that sort of stuff.
ADAMS: There are many people who would prefer to see you stay in hospital rather than see you emerge on the campaign trail, and that must be tempting, but on the other hand you are deeply concerned about the prospect of an Abbott Government.The only people wishing Rudd would remain in hospital are Laborites frightened that Rudd will damage the chances of Julia Gillard’s election. All the rest of us want him out there campaigning.
RUDD: Well, the bottom line is I can’t just stand idly by at the prospect of Mr Abbott sliding into office by default.Not when there’s the chance that Rudd might help put him there.
ADAMS: The future of Kevin Rudd. When I was discussing that a few weeks ago with David Marr, and I know he’s not your favourite author these days, but and I said one of the images I will take to my grave was you sitting on the backbench in question time, the day of the event …The event!
ADAMS: OK Let’s look at another question of attendance. Today Paul Keating said he won’t be going to the policy launch, he has fortunately a diary conflict. I would imagine that nothing on earth would persuade Paul.No book launch for Kevin. Blood is thicker than daughter.
RUDD: What’s Paul up to?
ADAMS: Nothing on earth would persuade Paul to sit in the same hall as Bob at the moment, but you will remember at your policy speech you got a full house. You got Gough, you got Paul and you got Bob, all at least feigning mutual enthusiasm for each other, and endorsing you. Now Paul’s not going, Gough can’t go, it must be a very difficult decision for you to decide whether you should attend because surely if you do, the cameras will never leave your face. You might in fact be a huge distraction?
RUDD: I will be there but on the condition that I don’t have a major relapse before then and secondly, that I’m not a distraction from what I think is a pretty serious debate about what sort of future we want for our country and I don’t think it’s a debate which we can allow - with only two and half weeks to go before D Day, that we can’t allow to be trivialised. It’s too important.Give her a chance, mate. She’s only been in power for 40 days.
ADAMS: So without compromise or qualification, you will be campaigning for Gillard?
RUDD: Absolutely, because it’s ah really important for the country’s future. No government’s perfect, no Prime Minister’s perfect, I wasn’t, Keating wasn’t, Hawke wasn’t, Gillard’s not.
RUDD: But you know something? When it comes to the fundamentals of economic policy settings, general policy settings, the country’s heading in the right direction and if anyone doubts that just for one moment, think about what’s going on the moment throughout Europe and North America.Hold on a second – is Kevin Rudd dissing Barack Obama? He’s changed.
RUDD: When I was in hospital contemplating wounds … this lovely lady came in and she was doing the breakfast round, serving breakfast, she kept calling me Kevie, and she just reminded me afresh of how much ordinary families depend on the government of our nation having their interests first and foremost.Rudd was in a private hospital. Ordinary folk who depend on the government generally have to wait a little longer before their interests are addressed. Speaking of interests …
ADAMS: Ok, one question that I have to put to you is where do you think the leaks came from?Nice work, Kev. Keep on giving.
RUDD: That’s a question which should go to journalists. On that can I just say that it’s pretty clear from my own statements the other day when the questions about the Laurie Oakes’ story came up that I said my practice is not to comment on the deliberations and processes of the cabinet. I have not commented on those deliberations and processes. I will not comment on those deliberations and processes. I said that in response to a question concerning the Laurie Oakes story and consistent with that plainly the position I’ve adopted is one you honour the cabinet processes. So the source isn’t from me. I see Mr Tanner had things to say today.
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PRESIDENT CHEERED
Tim Blair
Cracker night in Iran:
Iran denied reports that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s convoy sustained a grenade attack on Wednesday, according to state-run Press TV.He needs more cheering. Higher velocity cheering and greater impact cheering. Very precise long-range cheering, even.
Citing a source within the president’s office, the broadcaster said “no such attack took place.”
“It was a firecracker," an official in the Ahmadinejad’s media office told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
The BBC reported that state-run Arabic-language TV channel Al Alam reported that someone in the crowd set off the firecracker to cheer the president.
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OIL’S WELL
Tim Blair
History’s most terrifying threat to everything is over:
The vast majority of oil from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico is gone, President Barack Obama’s energy adviser said on Wednesday, and the remaining oil reportedly does not pose a serious threat.As Ted Turner might observe: this is God’s way of telling us to keep drilling.
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BAN THE AGE
Tim Blair
Current headline on The Age‘s front page:
Liberals quick to back burqa banIn the story, however, neither Tony Abbott nor Colin Barnett support such a ban:
“I find the burqa a particularly confronting form of attire and I would very much wish that fewer Australians would choose it,” Mr Abbott told reporters ...But no ban. Way to provoke cultural divisions, Age.
Mr Barnett today said he believed Muslim witnesses giving evidence in court should remove their burqa so the “true nature” of their evidence can be seen.
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Rudd on that stabbing pain
Andrew Bolt
Kevin Rudd describes his pain:
PHILLIP ADAMS: Kevin I understand that it was while you were preparing for what we intended to be a chat last week that you were first conscious of a stabbing pain?Adams is a friend of Paul Keating, and asks Rudd about the Labor campaign launch in Brisbane that Keating has announced he’d dodging:
KEVIN RUDD: Well actually, yes, I was sitting down to write a few thoughts down and suddenly I felt a little uncomfortable in the mid-section and then it spread and then it spread and then I was curled up in a ball on the floor so ....
PHILLIP ADAMS : Well so much for your physical state. To use a Bonheoffer word, how are you feeling spiritually?
KEVIN RUDD: ... The, um, yeah well it’s been a tough old time, there’s no point pretending that it hasn’t been difficult for myself and Therese and the kids.
PHILLIP ADAMS: Nothing on earth would persuade Paul to sit in the same hall as Bob (Hawke) at the moment, but you will remember at your policy speech you got a full house. You got Gough, you got Paul and you got Bob, all at least feigning mutual enthusiasm for each other, and endorsing you. Now Paul’s not going, Gough can’t go, it must be a very difficult decision for you to decide whether you should attend because surely if you do, the cameras will never leave your face. You might in fact be a huge distraction?This could be a lot of fun.
KEVIN RUDD; Look I think it’s pretty important that the team comes, ah comes first… But look, what’s my predisposition? I will be there but on the condition that I don’t have a major relapse before then and secondly, that I’m not a distraction from what I think is a pretty serious debate about what sort of future we want for our country and I don’t think it’s a debate which we can allow - with only two and half weeks to go before D Day, that we can’t allow to be trivialised.
UPDATE
Gillard tries to mop up the blood from her night of the long knives:
Coming as close as she has to saying sorry for the events of June 23, the Prime Minister told The Courier-Mail she was ‘’very, very sympathetic to Kevin and to the hurt’’ seen in the hours after he was shown the door by Labor MPs.UPDATE 2
Gosh, the fun we’re having. Kevin Rudd will now show real Julia how a real leader campaigns:
KEVIN Rudd will lead Labor’s marginal seat campaign in Queensland and parts of NSW, vowing to stop Tony Abbott “sliding into office”.
In a spirited media conference in Brisbane this afternoon Mr Rudd said he had spoken with Julia Gillard today and would do all he could to prevent the Coalition taking government.
Mr Rudd, who is recovering from gall bladder surgery, will see his surgeon on Saturday but expects to hit the hustings on Sunday - the day of the Coalition campaign launch in Brisbane.
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Holding the windy greens to account
Andrew Bolt
The Climate Sceptics party says it plans to run this ad on television. The more cash people donate, the more it will run.
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Explosion goes off near Ahmadinejad
Andrew Bolt
Who will be made to pay?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad survived an attack with a homemade explosive device on his motorcade during a visit to the western city of Hamadan on Wednesday, a source in his office said.There’s confusion about whether it was an assassination bid or a celebration:
The source said Ahmadinejad’s convoy was targeted as he was traveling from Hamadan’s airport to give a speech in a local sports arena and the president was unhurt but others had been injured in the blast.
An official in the president’s media office told AFP the explosion was from a “firecracker.”
The ISNA and ILNA news agencies also said the blast was caused by a “firecracker,” while Fars news agency said a “hand-made grenade” had been thrown at the motorcade.
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Rule one: do not embarrass crooks or Labor
Andrew Bolt
Four Corners on Monday reported on people smugglers - one of the key issues being debated by the leaders in this campaign. Its report included footage secretly filmed of corrupt Indonesian officials and people smugglers negotiating over bribes, boats and springing detainees from detention.
Outraged, the Sydney Morning Herald declares two new rules for reporters in a campaign in which Labor is fighting for its life:
The Four Corners expose of people smugglers and their networks in Indonesia received rousing cheers on Sydney’s more robust talkback radio stations…Astonishing. Apparently no news organisation may now report on election issues and crooks should first be asked if they mind being filmed breaking the law.
No one wondered why the ABC had entered the election campaign on such a politically sensitive issue. Nor did any think that a section of the journalists’ code of ethics - “Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast” - was apparently flouted by the use of hidden cameras in the Four Corners report.
I wonder if the same rules apply if the ABC filmed something embarrassing to the Liberals?
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Better even than Peter Best
Andrew Bolt
Reader Simple Simon says if Julia Gillard looses, we will have lost a good woman.
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Gillard sickens voters with her waste
Andrew Bolt
When voters finally start gagging on the free cash being rammed down their throats by this spend-spend government, you may be in deep trouble:
HOUSEHOLDS are being offered $50 payments for green audits even though they have never received the inspector’s results. In some cases, payments have been made for audits that were never performed.UPDATE
The Australian has learned that the Climate Change Department has been mailing households across the country in the past week offering the $50 rebate, which was part of the government’s scrapped $175 million Green Loans scheme…
Brisbane woman Urith Shield said she had never had an assessment carried out on her house but had been offered a $50 payment this week…
”This is just another handout—all this free money, I’m sick of it. How many other people are getting this letter? I haven’t had anything done so why are they sending it to me?”
More green trickery:
A Victorian and a Queensland business accused of pumping up benefits and inflating savings during marketing campaigns have changed advertising after the nation’s consumer watchdog feared customers could be misled…And another of those conflicts of interest which so rarely trouble green spruikers and carpetbaggers:
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel warned the microscope was on businesses making dubious environmental claims or offering phony discounts…
The caution comes after major retailers State Solar Services and Queensland Solar Systems claimed consumers could eliminate household electricity bills by installing a 1.5kw solar panel system.
THE state government taskforce examining electric vehicle issues that could affect a company associated with the husband of the Premier, Kristina Keneally, has been chaired for the past six months by the senior vice president of the ALP.UPDATE 2
Jenny McAllister is set to replace the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, as ALP national president next July. She chairs the state government’s Electric Vehicles Taskforce in her role as the Director of Climate Change, Air and Noise within the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water
Ms McAllister has met representatives of Better Place Australia, the company of which Ms Keneally’s husband, Ben Keneally, is a senior executive and holds 3.2 million management shares, at least three times since March - more than any of its competitors…
Apart from Mr Keneally, who is a former deputy chief-of-staff to the former premier Morris Iemma, Better Place Australia’s chief executive, Evan Thornley, is a former Victorian Labor MP, and its chief commercial officer, Talal Yassine, once stood for preselection for Labor.
On Monday, the Herald revealed that Better Place was exclusively approached to participate in a bid to run an electric vehicle recharging trial by the state-owned EnergyAustralia. The companies have denied the decision was politically influenced.
Then there’s the green totalitarian streak that refuses to let you decide for yourself whether to take the risk and defy their wildest scares:
FEARS Victoria’s coastline will be swamped by rising sea levels have led to an unprecedented ruling that ended a family’s dream beachside development. The ruling, blocking plans for eight townhouses in Lakes Entrance, could undermine coastal development worth millions.Please, isn’t it time we resisted this great tidal wave of alarmists, finger-waggers and snake-oil salesmen?
The VCAT decision is the first time a small-scale development has been blocked. It means all new developments or subdivisions on land less than 80cm above sea level are threatened.
Areas designated as potential hot spots for flooding are Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Portland, Lakes Entrance, the Gippsland Lakes, Patterson Lakes and Werribee…
The VCAT ruling left Gippsland locals Frank and Mary Strini shattered. After a four-year battle for planning permission to build the Lakes Entrance townhouses close to the town centre, they have been left with broken dreams and a major financial headache…
In his ruling, VCAT’s Ian Potts said the Strini case had brought into focus climate change planning issues, and a cautious approach was needed.
(Thanks to readers CA, Nick, Andrew V and Spin Baby, Spin.)
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ABC creed: You’re too close to Abbott if you think he’s no troglodyte
Andrew Bolt
The ABC 702’s Deborah Cameron interviews the sane ABC journalist Alison Carabine:
CARABINE: The furore about [Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s comment] “no doesn’t always mean no” was whipped up elsewhere. I think it was back in the press gallery in Canberra. When I heard it it didn’t occur to me, and I don’t think it would occur to a lot of people, Deborah, that “no doesn’t mean no” could be a loaded comment.
CAMERON: Alison, can I just go a little bit further into that. I wonder about whether or not it’s almost like a Stockholm syndrome. That you’re hostages to the one leader that you’re all following around and the fact that no one spoke up is fascinating to me.
CARABINE: Are you suggesting that I’ve fallen in love with my captor?
CAMERON: No, but it’s a fair question. Is there a certain affability and cosiness?
CARABINE: No, no there’s not.
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Choosing those who’ll belong
Andrew Bolt
John Stone calls for more testing of immigrants for cultural compatibility:
Australia has no need to seek immigrants. The problem is choosing those whom we wish to take…
... having said “We won’t take you all”, we need to choose.
This has many implications, the most important being that we should choose culturally compatible people who will easily fit in with our essentially Judeo-Christian culture.
Julia Gillard’s disingenuous reference to “the right kind of people” implicitly acknowledged this, but that spin will never be reflected in Labor’s actual immigration selection policies. On this, the Coalition is no better.
Today, both sides almost boast of their joint conspiracy against the public in admitting people unlikely ever to fit in.
The most obvious examples come from Islamic cultures, but the same goes for people from such violence-prone places as Somalia, Sudan and many west African states.
For the results, look only to the figures for ethnic crime.
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The best ad so far
Andrew Bolt
... the influence of American political advertising make it a winner. No doubt that Bob’s team saw this:
(Thanks to readers zbcustom, M, Simple Simon and others.)
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The price of their deal: Labor looks at Greens’ gold-plated choo choo
Andrew Bolt
Gary Johns two months ago predicted the price of Labor’s secret preference deal with the Greens:
I AM thinking that the price of Greens preferences at the forthcoming election will be a Very Fast Train. What about a “building the transport revolution”?And what a coincidence:
This combines Labor’s penchant for nation building and the Greens’ penchant for saving the capitalist world from itself with public subsidies…
In April, the Greens Leader Bob Brown announced his desire for a major “concept study” into a high-speed rail link between Sydney and Melbourne. It ticks the right green boxes; substituting for air travel, combating increasing urbanisation, and reducing transport emissions.
THE Gillard government will announce funding to locate a route for a high-speed rail link between Newcastle and Sydney, as a first step towards the much talked about Brisbane-to-Melbourne link.In a speech today, the Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Anthony Albanese, will promise $20 million for a feasibility study that will determine the route, the land corridor needed, how many passengers would have to use the link to make it viable and how much it would cost.This promise to just study whether a fast train makes sense will sound awfully familiar to jaded NSW voters:
A high-speed rail link between Sydney and Newcastle was promised 12 years ago by the former premier Bob Carr in a glossy pre-election pamphlet titled Action For Transport 2010.And Johns, a former federal Labor minister, explains exactly why previous promises never went anywhere:
The railway was to have been delivered “in stages” from 2007 but, like most of the booklet’s promises, it never materialised.
The route from Newcastle to Sydney would run through the key central coast Labor seats of Dobell and Robertson.
The Very Fast Train was seriously considered by the Hawke government in 1991. It was abandoned when the cost and benefit study proved it was not viable.(Thanks to reader Jug.)
In December 2008, the Rudd government took an interest in a Very Fast Train along the Sydney-Melbourne corridor, but the $25 billion of infrastructure spending announced in the federal budget of May 2009 did not include fast rail…
The evidence against the VFT is strong. Alan Davies, the Melbourne economic consultant, argues that a VFT is too risky in competing against air travel when airlines have scope to price out new entrants.
Further, he argues, environmental advantages of a VFT over new generation planes are not clear, as air travel is reasonably fuel-efficient on a passenger-per-kilometre basis.
And, for the practically minded, while rail and plane can both be closed down by station-terminal incidents, the entire VFT rail line can be stopped by blockages from mechanical breakdowns, accidents and hoaxes. In contrast, while one flight might be delayed or cancelled, passengers can take a later flight or use an alternative carrier.
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NSW Labor helps itself to your taxes
Andrew Bolt
Even today, the NSW Labor Government sees nothing wrong with treating taxpayers’ money as just another Labor slush fund:
The NSW opposition has called on the federal electoral commissioner to investigate a state WorkCover campaign promoting the federal government’s building stimulus program, complaining that it breaches election advertising guidelines.(Thanks to reader Spin Baby, Spin.)
Funded by the NSW Labor government, the `Be Aware, Take Care’ safety campaign promotes work being done under the Commonwealth’s Building the Education Revolution school building program.
The campaign began airing in April, but NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell is questioning the broadcasting of the ads during the federal election campaign.
Mr O’Farrell said the ad had been shown at least 35 times in the five days after the August 21 poll was called.
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The great immigration con
Andrew Bolt
Ross Gittins explains well why the public tends to have lost faith with the business lobby’s claims that high immigration is great:
Since self-interest is no crime in conventional economics, the advocates of immigration need to answer the question: what’s in it for us? ...===
The most recent study by the Productivity Commission found an increase in skilled migration led to only a minor increase in income per person, far less than could be gained from measures to increase the productivity of the workforce.
What’s more, it found the gains actually went to the immigrants, leaving the original inhabitants a fraction worse off… To shortcut the explanation, because each extra immigrant family requires more capital investment to put them at the same standard as the rest of us: homes to live in, machines to work with, hospitals and schools, public transport and so forth.
Little of that extra physical capital and infrastructure is paid for by the immigrants themselves. The rest is paid for by businesses and, particularly, governments. When the infrastructure is provided, taxes and public debt levels rise. When it isn’t provided, the result is declining standards, rising house prices, overcrowding and congestion.
I suspect the punters’ heightened resentment of immigration arises from governments’ failure to keep up with the housing, transport and other infrastructure needs of the much higher numbers of immigrants in recent years.
Hawker thinks they’re terrific until they’re no longer his boss
Andrew Bolt
Bruce Hawker is paid to say not what he thinks but what Labor wants you to think Why he’s used as a serious commentator by Sky News amazes me. Can’t it find someone of the Left who will at least give an opinion that’s genuinely held?
The Australian today demonstrates the risks of relying on Hawker’s analysis of a party he’s actually hired to help shape:
On to a winner. ABC TV’s Lateline on August 22, 2008:
JOHN Hewson: I think Rudd’s on a winner on this [the emissions trading scheme], quite frankly.
Bruce Hawker: Particularly among the younger generation.
John Hewson: Absolutely.
Bruce Hawker: I think any government that doesn’t really latch on to that has got a problem.
Bruce Hawker on February 12, 2010:
I THINK the government’s got time and they’ll spend time sitting down and explaining that and also starting to forensically go about breaking down Tony Abbott’s climate change credentials.
Hawker on ABC TV’s The 7.30 Report on March 23:
I THINK it’s a bit of a rope-a-dope strategy going on here. I think Rudd’s gonna let him keep coming and keep coming and I think some of the contradictions in Abbott’s style and his approach and his background is gonna come out. So he’ll take time to do that. He’ll do it—I think he’ll go to the polls closer to October than now.
Hawker on Channel 10’s Meet the Press, June 7:
STEVE Lewis: Do you now concede that there has to be big changes to the mining tax, or should it go altogether?
Hawker: I do not think the Labor Party is going to be under too much pressure to change too much.
Lewis: Do you concede that Mr Rudd is a liability for the Labor Party?
Hawker: Not for one second.
Hawker on Meet the Press, June 27:
OBVIOUSLY Rudd was struggling on a range of fronts.
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