=== Todays Toon ===
Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC (6 July 1872 – 2 May 1955) the tenth and longest serving Governor-General of Australia, was born in Windsor, Berkshire, the second son of Walter Hore-Ruthven, 8th Lord Ruthven of Freeland.
=== Bible Quote ===
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,”- Ephesians 2:19=== Headlines ===
As Guard Heads to Border, Deportation Policy Under Fire
As the first of more than 530 National Guard troops deploys to Arizona to help local officers secure the border, those clamoring for more federal assistance say the latest immigration policy change out of Washington shows the White House is still falling short on enforcement.CBO: Iraq War Cost Less Than Stimulus Act
As Obama prepares to tie a bow on U.S. combat operations in Iraq, Congressional Budget Office numbers show 8-year war cost less than the stimulus bill passed by Democratic-led Congress in 2009
Debate Emerges in Death of Teen Racer
Death of 13-year-old motorcycle racer Peter Lenz sparks controversy over how young is too young to be driving vehicles that top 120 mph
Panel Slams U.N.'s Climate Group
Independent audit of U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds flaws in its structure, methods and leadership, recomends 'significant reforms'
Breaking News
Man quizzed after boy drownsPOLICE are talking to a 25-year-old man about the drowning of a teenager in the Yarra River in Melbourne last night.
New Holden runs on bio-ethanol
HOLDEN has unveiled its latest Commodore range, which could eventually be powered by household waste.
Drugs found in dead WWE wrestler's home
INVESTIGATORS probing the death of former WWE wrestler Gertrude "Luna" Vachon reportedly found crushed oxycodone pills in the Florida home where her body was found..
How a drink or two may extend your life
MODERATE drinkers actually live longer than teetotalers, lending more weight to the argument that imbibing does improve health, according to findings published today.
Jews share same gene - German banker
A BOARD member of the German central bank was under fire yesterday after ranting "all Jews share the same gene."
Bus plunges into ravine killing at least 38
A BUS plunged into a ravine in central Ecuador, killing at least 38 people in the Andean nation's worst road accident of the year.
Teenager drowns after river bridge fall
FOUR people are assisting police after a teenager drowned after falling from a bridge into the Yarra River in central Melbourne.
Rottweilers maul young girl on UK street
A WOMAN has been charged after her pet Rottweilers attacked and mauled a 10-year-old girl while she was riding her bike.
Facebook post lands juror in hot water
A JUROR has been removed from a Detroit-area trial after writing on Facebook that the defendant was guilty. The problem? The trial wasn't over.
'Purse was mine, but coke wasn't' - Paris
SOCIALITE Paris Hilton now claims the purse containing cocaine that led to her Friday night arrest in Las Vegas belongs to her, but the cocaine belonged to a friend.
NSW/ACT
Man drove himself home after being shotA MAN who was shot in the head drove himself home after a drive-by incident at Granville last night.
Police search for missing 13-year-old
A SEARCH is underway for a 13-year-old girl who has gone missing from her eastern Sydney home.
We're game to host World Cup
SYDNEY is ready to help host football's World Cup despite claims the city has squandered its legacy from the Olympics.
Thieves deal motoX star's dream
HE'S fearless on a bike, but Crusty Demons star Joel Balchin may not have a chance to show his skills after thieves robbed his home.
Lane affectionate to newborn
KELI Lane told an adoption worker she "did not feel capable of being a parent yet", court hears.
Grisly find reopens Milat wounds
BENEATH a blue tarpaulin, off a deserted fire trail in Belanglo , lies the hopes of many families.
Covering up during Kiesha questions
THE biological father of Kiesha Abrahams wore a hoodies when he fronted Mt Druitt police station.
Rape kit plan for cruise ships
RAPE kits should be put on cruise ships to help preserve evidence from crime scenes, the Dianne Brimble inquest was told.
Vital links when kids go missing
IT'S like CSI for parents - a new kit allows mums and dads to record their child's DNA and fingerprints and keep it in the freezer.
Non-bank's flutter for your home
AN emerging non-bank lender has upped its fight against the major banks by removing the need for applicants to show savings proof.
Queensland
Thieves cut alarm and access safeTHIEVES have pulled off an elaborate burglary at a Toowoomba engineering company to steal a five-figure sum from the safe.
Cigarette may have sparked fire
AN unattended cigarette is thought to have sparked a fire in the bedroom of a house at Camp Hill on Brisbane's southside.
High-speed trains for southeast
HIGH-speed passenger trains will rocket between Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine coasts in just 60 minutes within 20 years, says Anna Bligh.
Hey! I know that robber
DETECTIVES have arrested a man who allegedly held up a supermarket with a knife after a witness recognised him and told police his name.
30 years and no UFOs then suddenly ...
A BRISBANE UFO tragic has finally seen his first UFO after 30 years of searching ... on election night.
Coast's underbelly laid bare
THE Gold Coast's dark and dangerous underbelly has been laid bare by a woman who drove the getaway car in a slaying outside a McDonald's restaurant.
King 'sorry' for $2.5bn collapse
FALLEN Gold Coast businessman Michael King has apologised to investors stung by the $2.5 billion collapse of his Octaviar finance and tourism group two years ago.
Safe zones 'only shift the problem'
PUB and club owners outside the State Government's new Drink Safe precincts at Surfers Paradise, Fortitude Valley and Townsville fear an onslaught of drunken louts.
Town in desperate fight to keep GP
A SMALL town is so desperate to hang on to its deregistered GP that it is taking on Queensland's Medical Board.
Eastern Busway completion in limbo
RESIDENTS and businesses along Brisbane's Eastern Busway route have been left in limbo, with the State Government clueless about when the project can be completed.
Victoria
Man critical after shootingA 27-YEAR-OLD man has been flown to Melbourne after being shot in the front yard of a house in Albury.
Dog stabbed inside kennel
A SMALL dog has been stabbed inside its kennel at a house in Lalor, in Melbourne's north.
Toddler's horror 2.5m fall
A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl has survived a sickening 2.5m fall from a balcony in Melbourne’s north.
Arrests made over body find
THREE people have been arrested over the death of a man in Melbourne's west.
Teenager drowns in Yarra
A TEENAGE boy's body has been found floating in the Yarra River in an apparent drowning.
Police can't find up to 200 firearms
ALMOST 200 shotguns, semi-automatics and revolvers held by Victoria Police can't be accounted for, an audit has revealed.
Time to ban teen booze
HEALTH experts concerned about alcohol bingeing want the legal drinking age raised from 18 to 21.
Sunny days on the way
THERE'S good news ahead for Victorians after a long cold winter. On the eve of spring, the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting balmy nights.
Save the Facebook addicts
HIGH school boys who are stuck on sites like Facebook and don't want to learn will be the focus of a big drive to engage troubled students.
Vegemite on toast and pyjamas
BREAKFAST favourite Vegemite is making a foray into fashion, collaborating with flamboyant sleepwear designer Peter Alexander.
Northern Territory
Protest continues at detention centreACCUSED Indonesian people smugglers have gone back to protesting on the roof of the Darwin immigration detention centre.
Riot continues at detention centre
ACCUSED Indonesian people smugglers have gone back to protesting on the roof of the Darwin immigration detention centre.
South Australia
Mayor rejects $33,000 pay riseTHE Mayor of Campbelltown has said thanks but no thanks to a $33,000 a year pay rise.
Water plan drip fed
WATER Security Commissioner Robyn McLeod was unaware the State Government would announce the easing of restrictions.
Desal plant toll hits three
TWO more deaths have been linked to Adelaide's controversial desalination plant.
Peak hour trains' near-miss
PASSENGERS on a Noarlunga-bound train had a near miss when the train came close to crashing into a Tonsley-bound train.
Emergency fear at airport
A QANTAS plane activated emergency procedures at Adelaide Airport but landed safely this afternoon.
Fatal car crash at Elizabeth
A MAN has died after the car he was driving hit a truck before colliding with a tree at an Elizabeth South intersection.
Garrett retains guilty plea
BANKRUPT former winemaker Andrew Garrett has abandoned his attempt to withdraw a confession to fraud allegations.
Woman attacked on Jetty Road
POLICE are searching for a man who indecently assaulted an 18-year-old woman near Jetty Rd.
Western Australia
Bombmaker charged with home explosionA 34-YEAR-OLD Ballajura man, who allegedly blew himself up with homemade explosives, has been charged.
Sprawling Perth needs to grow up
THE sprawling city of Perth must tighten up and plan for higher density living and greater public transport use, WA's planning minister says.
Coldest year on record
PERTH is shivering through its coldest year for overnight temperatures, but at the same time bathing in the sunniest winter on record.
Search for missing woman draws blank
WA police are no closer to finding missing Perth woman Ah Bee Mack despite an extensive search of her Mt Hawthorn property.
Driver incinerated in crash
A 38-YEAR-OLD man was incinerated when the car he was driving left the road and slammed into a tree at Perenjori, 350km north of Perth.
Chopper crashes at Jandakot
A HELICOPTER has flipped onto its side while attempting to take off at Perth's Jandakot Airport, leaving two people with minor injuries.
Ripper laments aged care failings
THE WA Opposition Leader Eric Ripper has spoken out about the difficulties his family has encountered in caring for his aged mother.
Youth escapes from detention centre
A 17-YEAR-OLD youth is on the run after escaping from Banksia Hill Detention Centre.
Tasmania
ABC host on new child porn chargeTELEVISION and radio personality Andy Muirhead has been charged with a second child pornography offence
=== Journalists Corner ===
Bill's Back ...And he's brought some friends! Goldberg, Krauthammer, Williams and Ham are all here. 'The Factor's' in full swing!
===
Guest: Sarah Palin
Election countdown! The former governor on the biggest issues impacting the polls. And, which candidates have the right strategy for America?
===
'On the Record' Goes on the Road
BIG concerns for small business. How owners across the country are surviving these tough economic times, and what D.C. is really doing to help out this independent industry.
===
On Fox News Insider
Courtney Friel's Red Carpet View at the EmmysDo Americans See Obama as a Stranger?
Taliban Hopes NYC Mosque Will Fail
=== Comments ===
Is the Tea Party Toxic for the GOP?THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FROM "THE O'REILLY FACTOR," AUGUST 27, 2010. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LAURA INGRAHAM, GUEST HOST: In the "Impact" segment tonight: Is the Tea Party good for the Grand Old Party? One influential Republican, Michael Gerson, formally the chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush, doesn't think so.
In a Washington Post op-ed, he wrote that the Tea Party is "incompatible with some conservative and Republican beliefs. It is at odds with Abraham Lincoln's inclusive tone and his conviction that government policies could empower individuals. It is inconsistent with religious teaching on government's responsibility to seek the common good."
Michael Gerson joins us now from Washington. Mike, it's good to see you.
MICHAEL GERSON, FORMER CHIEF SPEECHWRITER FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Great to be here.
INGRAHAM: Here's what I look at when I think about some of the advice that you're giving. In 2000, Republicans had majorities, barely in the Senate, but a majority in the House and the Senate. By the time President George W. Bush finished his second term, we had lost, Republicans had lost 52 congressional seats, nine Senate seats. We had an increase in the first term of discretionary spending by 29 percent. Seventy-five percent increase in the education budget. We had a demoralized Republican Party and a demoralized conservative base. With all due respect, why should we listen to you now?
GERSON: Well, actually, there were two presidential elections that were won by George W. Bush in the intervening time and large congressional majorities really until 2006 and 2008. You know, the problem here is not in these cases that Republicans had a domestic policy message. That's what George Bush brought in 2000, a message on education, a message on Medicare. You know, positive things. The next presidential candidate, whoever it is for the Republican Party, is going to need a domestic agenda.
INGRAHAM: But Michael, Michael…
GERSON: It can't just be a…
INGRAHAM: Yes.
GERSON: …kind of simplistic anti-government agenda.
INGRAHAM: Well, I agree with you absolutely, wholeheartedly. But do you say now today that Bush's policies of the last three or four years of his second term have no culpability at all? There's no culpability for what happened to the Republican Party?
GERSON: Well…
INGRAHAM: Big government conservatism, Michael, was tried and it failed. We tried to expand Medicare, the biggest expansion ever, and we ended up adding to the deficit. We tried on all these big programs. You guys gave it the old college try and it failed.
GERSON: Well, I'm not here to defend big government conservatism, but I am here…
INGRAHAM: Well, that's what it was.
GERSON: No, no, no. First of all, I substantively disagree with that in the last few years the Bush administration, who actually had a freeze in domestic discretionary spending, something we haven't seen under the Obama administration, the facts are just wrong. But I would also argue here that Obama has overreached significantly, creating a huge backlash in America. There is a risk that libertarian Republicans, anti-government Republicans, anti-immigrant Republicans will create a backlash.
INGRAHAM: Who are anti-immigrant Republicans? You and you…
GERSON: J.D. Hayworth. (More at the link)
===
Who Has Really Hijacked the Civil Rights Movement?
By Cal Thomas
The so-called mainstream media looked down at the Glenn Beck rally at the Lincoln Memorial last weekend through predictable lenses set on their very long noses.
What interested me, though, was the charge by speakers at the other rally at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., the one led by Al Sharpton, that Beck and company have “hijacked the civil rights movement.” Now there is a subject worthy of debate.
Let’s see now...
- Liberal Democrats keep African-American poor children locked inside underperforming schools, thus hijacking their futures.
- The number of births to single African-American young women in Washington is well over 50 percent, hijacking family.
- How often have we heard that more black men are in jail than in college, hijacking hope.
- Trillions have been spent on anti-poverty programs, yet there seem as many poor people as when the Great Society began in the Johnson years. That’s hijacked their economic freedom.
Conservatives talk about empowering the individual; liberals talk about groups and more power to the state. Who are the real hijackers of the civil rights movement? People like Al sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Eleanor Holmes Norton.
I’ll take the inspiring rhetoric of Martin Luther King’s niece, Alveeda King and Rev. C.L. Jackson at the Beck rally over more of the same rhetoric that helps no one.
Keep hope alive!
Cal Thomas is America’s most widely syndicated newspaper columnist and a Fox News contributor.
===
BUSTED
Tim Blair
Immediately following the election, Julia Gillard played her strongest hand:
“It now appears clear that Labor has won the two-party vote. That means the majority of Australians who voted yesterday prefer a Labor government. I think this is a critical fact to weigh in the coming days.”But with the two-party count now 80 per cent complete, Labor is losing. Labor trails by nearly two thousand votes. I think this is a critical fact to weigh in the coming days. Further from Matthew Franklin and Patricia Karvelas, Lanai Vasek, Malcolm Farr, Sarah Collerton, Mark Kenny and Michelle Grattan.
UPDATE. More bad news for Labor:
“A number of clients have been on the roof at different times today,” an Immigration Department spokesman said.UPDATE II. Tony Abbott:
“We are no longer an opposition, we may very well be a government in waiting,” he told shadow ministers.UPDATE III. ABC news just showed footage of a reporter asking Abbott: “Do you think that the two-party vote is important? Does it really matter?” Well, it mattered to Julia Gillard.
UPDATE IV. Labor back in front:
Labor has regained a slender lead in the national two-party preferred vote, one of the key elements Prime Minister Julia Gillard has relied on to argue her party has the better right to form a minority government.UPDATE V. Numbers-watcher Peter Brent:
From election night until yesterday afternoon, the Australian Electoral Commission’s website was overstating the ALP’s after preferences lead by about 0.3 percent … the national figure has gone from understating the Coalition’s 2pp to overstating it.UPDATE VI. Julia Gillard at the Press Club: “I stand ready to form the next government of Australia.”
===
THE LOOK OF LOSS
Tim Blair
Wayne Swan didn’t exactly tick all the options boxes when facial expressions were being handed out. The treasurer went with the basic package; a kind of one-look-fits-all model.
Shock apparently isn’t included. Even when he was being torn to bits by Liberal power broker Michael Kroger during Nine’s election night broadcast, Swan barely registered much beyond mild confusion. It’s a common enough appearance among senior Labor people these days. Swan blends right in.
But if you’d told him just one year ago that in mid-2010 he’d practically be begging Bob Katter for a job, even Swan’s frozen dial might have displayed some emotion. Dismissive scorn, most likely.
===
DUMBRELLA
Tim Blair
Two Harvard graduates attempt to solve a perplexing mobility and transference dilemma:
===
CNN vs CS
Tim Blair
Three errors in seven (or possibly eight) words! A CNN caption may have broken Australian academic Christopher Sheil’s record for the most mistakes per word count:
As Jim Treacher points out:• “Happening now” – clearly not.
• “Sara Palin” – first name misspelled.
• “(R) Former Presidential candidate” – Palin has never run for President.
Of crucial importance: does the abbreviation “R” count as a word? If so, CNN merely ties Sheil, who accomplished an eight-word triple-error play. If not, we have a new seven-word champion. Judgment awaits in comments.
===
NO APOLOGY FROM CHARLES
Tim Blair
Charles Johnson, 2010:
Today Glenn Beck said he’s sorry he called Obama a ‘racist with a deep seated hatred of white culture‘.Charles Johnson, 2007:
Here’s a piece on Barack Obama’s past, based on his own account of his shockingly racist anti-white attitudes.UPDATE. In the manner of a pancake, Charles keeps flipping.
===
HELP A BROTHER OUT
Tim Blair
Iowahawk sends out the call. Unless everyone donates at least $20, I will put this site behind a paywall. Don’t think that I won’t.
===
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN IMAM
Tim Blair
Reality television in Malaysia:
Cash and a new car are up for grabs, but the winner will also be offered a job as an imam, or religious leader, a scholarship to study in Saudi Arabia and an all-expenses-paid pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.It’s a big hit, especially with the young:
In preparation for the show, producers surveyed young people about the type of imam they wanted to see in their mosques.Nothing is cooler than rappin’ about UFOs with a imam. Certain elements of the show possibly wouldn’t appeal outside of the host country:
“They said, ‘We want someone who can talk on the same wavelength, who can be one of us, an imam who can play football, can talk about the World Cup, can talk about the environment and U.F.O.’s, for example,’ “ Mr. Izelan said.
Challenges include washing corpses in preparation for burial and ensuring that animals are slaughtered according to Islamic law.Tip for competitors: getting these two mixed up may result in disqualification.
UPDATE. Copenhagen police blame Ramadan for an outbreak of the usual youthy car-burning:
“It’s Ramadan, and it is our impression that the unstable eating patterns, combined with the fact that these youths have nothing to do at night, leads to unrest. We see this every year.”The local Presbyterian Faith Society finds this absurd. Says a spokesman:
“The Copenhagen police should be very careful in concluding why the youth are acting they way they do.”Maybe they’re just cold.
===
China’s central bank chief rumored to have fled
Andrew Bolt
Only a rumour, but STRATFOR reports:
Rumors have circulated in China that People’s Bank of China (PBC) Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan may have left the country. The rumors appear to have started following reports on Aug. 28 which cited Ming Pao, a Hong Kong-based news agency, saying that because of an approximately $430 billion loss on U.S. Treasury bonds, the Chinese government may punish some individuals within the PBC, including Zhou. Although Ming Pao on Aug. 30 published a report on its website indicating that the prior report was fabricated by a mainland news site that had attributed the false information to Ming Pao, rumors of Zhou’s defection have spread around China intensively, and Zhou’s name has been blocked from Internet search engines in China.On the other hand:
But George Friedman, chief executive officer of Stratfor, said that the swirling rumors, which also accuse Zhou of overseeing a $430 billion loss on U.S. Treasury bonds, have little basis in fact and may instead signify a power struggle in advance of a leadership change in 2012.(Thanks to reader Warwick.)
“We don’t believe it either,” Friedman told SpyTalk, referring to the alleged $430 billion investment loss. But he added, “I’m less concerned about the number and the specific charges than the politics of a senior banker clearly under attack without the government stepping in and backing him...”
Two knowledgeable government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had no evidence of Zhou’s defection and that he was not in U.S. custody.
===
Worse than warming, but more boring
Andrew Bolt
Something a little more likely and potentially a lot more devastating for the global warming alarmists to fret over:
An asteroid more than a mile wide is heading for earth, posing the greatest threat yet by an object approaching the planet, scientists have warned.Same apocalyptic scenario as the global warmists’ own, but missing that vital ingredient for a new mass faith - a narrative of human sin and the punishment to come.
The asteroid – called 2002 NT7 – was spotted only three weeks ago, but could strike on 1 February 2019, the US space agency Nasa said…
Gerrit Verschuur, an astrophysicist and radio astronomer at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the impact would create a fireball so intense it would kill anyone who could see it, after which material thrown into the air would shower half the world with flaming debris. “It would be as if the sky itself had caught fire,” he said.
The heat would set fire to forests and cities, after which dust would fill the atmosphere, obscuring the sun for a month. That in turn would kill plants and animals, so that only creatures that lived underground would have a strong chance of survival.
(Thanks to reader Warwick.)
===
What genocide, Julian?
Andrew Bolt
Remember the wild claims by human rights advocates and Greens that Tamil boat people should be welcomed since they were facing “genocide” back home? Take Julian Burnside:
Tamils from Sri Lanka are fleeing [to Australia on boats] because they face genocide in Sri Lanka…You don’t often hear of victims fleeing towards a genocide, though, do you?
UNHCR statistics show that in the first six months of this year, 852 refugees returned from India with UNHCR’s help compared to a total of 823 for all of 2009. A further 1,005 refugees returned on their own accord – what UNHCR calls ‘spontaneous’ returns – and approached UNHCR offices in Sri Lanka for assistance…Fact is that the Tamil Tigers and members of the Tamil diaspora are hyping the genocide claims - and infiltrating the Greens - to keep open an easy conduit for their members.
But now, tens of thousands of internally displaced people are returning to their homes in the north and it seems that some refugees abroad are also opting to return. The Menik Farm site in Sri Lanka, once a huge camp hosting 228,000 internally displaced people at its peak, now has a dwindling population of around 35,300. The camp continues to diminish in size with some 3,000 people returning to their homes every week.
(Thanks to readers H. and analyst Serge DeSilva-Ranasinghe.)
===
Hawker sticks like glue to Oakeshott
Andrew Bolt
Guess who was by the side of independent Rob Oakeshott at Canberra airport yesterday as they collected their luggage after the flight from Sydney?
Oakeshott, of course, is one of the Three Amigos whose votes will decide whether Labor or the Coalition form government. He is also a Left-leaning warmist, desperately looking for an excuse to support Labor even though his own electorate is strongly conservative.
And by his side, to help him decide, was hired Labor spin-merchant Bruce Hawker. Riding shotgun?
Hawker helped to run Labor’s disastrous marginal seats campaign, working from Labor headquarters, and is desperate to salvage his reputation. He is also the man the independents asked Labor to provide them as a “wise elder”. And he’s the cousin of another of the independents, Tony Windsor, whose phone conversation with friend Alby Schultz, a Liberal backbencher, was somehow leaked to the papers as lurid evidence of the Coalition’s dirty tricks and “threats”.
Just how much is Hawker driving Oakeshott’s increasingly erratic demands and scripting his lines?
I’ll later post a link to my confrontation with Oakeshott on MTR this morning. You may find it very illuminating about his frame of mind.
===
Rescued by Robb
Andrew Bolt
Niki Savva singles out the hero of the Liberals’ campaign - besides Tony Abbott himself, of course - and says he should be rewarded:
Abbott should do it by putting Andrew Robb in the Treasury portfolio… .She’s right, of course. And Turnbull also deserves promotion:
It was Robb as the finance spokesman who had main carriage of the opposition’s economic arguments in the past few months and during the campaign. Not Abbott, and not the present shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey…
Inside the Liberal Party, in the organisation as well as the parliamentary party, people are quick to lavish praise on Robb for his performance in the campaign.
He was reliable, available, and well-informed. A few might complain about his presentation but he knows his stuff and he invariably gets the tone and content right.
A decent consolation prize for good behaviour should go to Turnbull… In finance he would have to show his colleagues he can be tough, play with his team on the same ground at the same time, and that he is capable of setting aside past grievances, especially with Robb.
===
Don’t blame Bert
Andrew Bolt
Patti Newton explains why she and husband Bert went on A Current Affair last night to talk about their son Matthew and his drug taking, mental illness and bashing of girlfriends:
Bert’s had a very long, good career, over 60 years. I feel very sad about the fact that he might be remembered for the fact that Matthew cause so much trouble and so much heartache for everybody. And I don’t want that to be the case.It was the most jarring of many lines in the interview.
UPDATE
Desperately unfortunate timing by Channel 9 - or so I hope:
20 to 1: Madness & Meltdowns(Thanks to reader Rocko.)
Next episode Tue 31 Aug 10:00 PM
Hosted by Bert Newton, counting down the most hilarious brain explosions caught on tape. From sensitive superstars to politicians under pressure, these tears and tantrums would be shocking - if they weren’t so funny. But who gets the biggest public meltdown?
===
Just look at Wilkie’s wish list, for a start
Andrew Bolt
Alan Anderson, adviser to former treasurer Peter Costello:
WHEN I hear “consensus government”, I reach for my wallet—it means I’ll have to pay for all the crazy ideas instead of just half of them.
===
What’s Gillard’s argument now?
Andrew Bolt
Let’s recall Julia Gillard’s argument last week for three rural independents’ to hand government to Labor:
It is clear that neither party has earned the right to govern in its own right ... (But) the Labor Party is the political party that received the biggest share of the two-party preferred vote.And again:
It now appears clear that Labor has won the two-party vote. That means the majority of Australians who voted yesterday prefer a Labor government. I think this is a critical fact to weigh in the coming days.Gillard’s own argument is now destroyed by the latest counting from the Australian Electoral Commission:
Australian Labor Party 5,345,241One reason for the change:
Liberal/National Coalition 5,347,150
One reason is that officials have now removed all eight seats where the final contest was not between the Coalition and Labor - including the six seats won by the independents, Greens and WA Nationals, and two seats where the Greens were runners-up.As I said yesterday, that would leave Tony Abbott’s Coalition with all the moral arguments for winning the casting votes of the Three Amigos - Tony Windsor, Bob Katter and Rob Oakeshott. Abbott’s Coalition has:
Adding them, Labor’s vote now is about 50.1 per cent. But with a million votes still to be counted, the odds are that the Coalition will end up the winner.
- won the most votesTwo independents are unmoved:
- won the most seats, 73 to 72
- won the most votes, after preferences
- won the most support in the three independents’ seats, as measured by the Senate vote
- won the most support in the three independents’ seats, as measured by two polls since the election.
Rookie Hobart-based independent MP Andrew Wilkie says the two-party vote count is not relevant to him.UPDATE
Another independent, New England MP Tony Windsor, says it will not play a big part in his decision-making.
“I think it’s all part of the mix - and all of these things are what we should consider,” he said.
“But I haven’t changed my view from the start of this - the objective here is to see whether we can form a stable government that will last and operate for the term of Parliament.”
More from Gillard on the importance of the two-party-preferred vote that’s just gone to the Coalition instead:
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister you just led the Labor Party to the brink of a disastrous defeat. Why should the independents the Greens and the people of Australia imagine you’ve got control of the party that you’ll retain the leadership?UPDATE 2
GILLARD: Well, can I say firstly, number one – the majority of Australians through the two-party preferred vote have indicated that they want a Labor Government.
(Julia Gillard, Press Conference, 23/8/2010)
“I do want to say that even as votes continue, voting continues, it is clear that the government has attracted the majority share of the two-party preferred vote. What that means is that the majority of Australians wanted a Labor Government. Now I note that the Leader of the Opposition in the context of the South Australian election said that it was the two party preferred vote, the majority of what people wanted, that was the key indicator to be taken into account in circumstances such as these.”
(Julia Gillard, Press Conference, 23/8/2010)
JOURNALIST: What is the criteria for forming a legitimate government if you win 72 seats, will you try to form government or is it only if you win 73?
GILLARD: Well, as I’ve indicated to you, I will be continuing to offer during this caretaker period, effective and stable government. I’ll be entering into discussions with the independents and the Greens to form a government in the future. The Labor party is the political party that received the biggest share of the two party preferred vote. Ok last one.
(Julia Gillard, Press Conference, 22/8/2010)
Now Labor is back in front in the preferred vote, by just 778.
===
Media twits
Andrew Bolt
It’s a poll of sorts. Five journalists - using the term broadly - won media attention for these recent tweets about politics.
Geoff Hutchison, ABC Perth Mornings host:
[On Tony Abbott’s alleged views on gays] morally dubious, but big tobacco is all right by meCatherine Deveny, sacked from The Age and now writing for the ABC:
Tony, why are you frightened of intercourse with Julia? Is it because we will be watching and measuring?
I have gay Muslim friends, says Tony. But I don’t really like them.
Get f.. ed you frigid mole [Family First candidate Wendy Francis]. With a crucifix if possible. And guess what? I can’t be sacked because I don’t have job.Marieke Hardy, ABC literary critic and commentator:
“The most conservative instinct of all - the instinct to have a family’. Tony Abbott, I hope your cock drops off and falls down a plughole.Adam Turner, Fairfax freelancer and former Melbourne deputy editor of Next, the business IT section of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald:
Tony Abbott finds the burqa ‘confronting’. OH YEAH? I FIND YOUR F**KING FACE CONFRONTING, DOUCHEBAG.
Listen to this c-------er [Abbott] gloat when he hasn’t even won…Daniel Burt, comedian and freelance arts writer for the ABC:
this a---hole is trying to make a victory speech, complete with cheersquad...
Call it maturity, but I have officially lost the desire to hate f..k Julie BishopYes, only five, but all attacking from the Left, with the ABC and barbarians strongly represented.
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