=== Todays Toon ===
In NSW the ALP are a bad joke .. and a corrupt presence in government. Maybe people would be forgiving if they looked at the issue of Hamidur Rahman .. a competent government would try to address the issue.=== Bible Quote ===
“This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”- Isaiah 48:17=== Headlines ===
New Fire in the Gulf Reignites Debate Over Offshore Drilling Ban
Second fire at an offshore oil facilities in less than five months has spurred some to press the Obama administration to extend its six-month ban on deepwater drilling, but critics of that plan say the arguments fall flat.Muslim Group Calls GI 'Traitor' for Faith Claim
American Muslim organization is asking the U.S. Army to deny a Muslim soldier's request for conscientious objector status, accusing him of treason and urging the military to punish him to the full extent of law
Obama Feels Heat as Jobless Rate Climbs
New employment figures renew GOP's call for Obama to replace his economic team, as the president sought to put the best face on what many say is just more evidence of an economy stuck in neutral
Earl Lashes Northeast But 'Losing Its Punch'
After weakening to Category 1 storm, a hurricane warning remains in effect for southeastern Massachusetts, where forecasters say fierce winds and heavy rains pose a threat to the region
Breaking News
State on flood watch as rain continuesVICTORIA remains on flood watch as much of the state recorded heavy downpours overnight and more is forecast to come.
Google to settle privacy case for $9m
GOOGLE has agreed to pay $US8.5 million dollars ($9.2 million) to settle a privacy lawsuit over its Buzz social networking feature, according to court documents.
Toshiba recalls notebooks over fire risk
JAPANESE electronics maker Toshiba has recalled 41,000 laptop computers worldwide because of a fire risk.
US stocks soar after employment data
US stocks closed higher on Friday after a much anticipated jobs report lifted hopes that the US economic recovery is on the right track.
Sydney flight grounded over bomb threat
A CHINA Airlines flight bound for Sydney has been grounded for safety checks in Taiwan because of an alleged bomb threat, airport police say.
Gale warning as bad weather moves east
THE nasty weather that's causing havoc in South Australia and Victoria is also impacting on NSW as the low pressure system deepens.
Scientist freed after US airport scare
SCIENTIST was detained after screeners spotted a metal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb.
Strong earthquake leaves NZ trembling
WIDESPREAD damage and power cuts across New Zealand's second-largest city.
Cops seized sports car then crashed it
TWO British police officers have been suspended for confiscating a sports car from its driver and then crashing it.
Suicide bomber kills 42 in Pakistan
POLICE say bomber was among the 450-strong crowd and detonated on reaching the main square
NSW/ACT
Homebuyers have spring in their stepMORE than 100,000 Sydneysiders are waking from winter hibernation ready for a spring home-buying spree experts predict will jump-start the property market.
Tax operation struggling to find victims
IT STARTED by accident, when a laptop computer was picked up in a hotel room raid, Operation Wickenby, the much-trumpeted $300 million investigation.
Queensland
Irwin kids follow dad's footstepsON THE fourth anniversary of Steve Irwin's death, Robert and Bindi Irwin have paid tribute to their dad in true crocodile hunter style.
Pressure may ease on water bills
SOUTHEAST Queensland residents could get relief on future water bills as the Bligh Government and councils seek to blame each other over skyrocketing prices.
Backing Coalition too 'easy'
SUPPORTING the conservatives is the "easy option" according to the rural Independents expected to reach their decision on who leads the country this weekend.
Cops told to boost random checks
INNOCENT people, including elderly women, are being caught in a police competition to clock up the highest tally of random "street checks".
Bitter Bevis hits out at loss
DEFEATED Labor MP Arch Bevis has hit out over his election loss, taking aim at everyone including Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and NSW Labor powerbrokers.
Are you as smart as a 12th grader?
FOR the first time The Courier-Mail has been provided with a copy of the Core Skills Test which is taken by Year 12 students across the state
Brisvegas comes alive
THE words "Are We There Yet?" form the universal catchcry of bored kids in the back of the car during a long drive to reach a promised destination.
Bligh sits in the popularity pits
RIGHT now, and despite her best efforts, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is more unpopular than nuclear power.
English exam reprieve for nurse
A NEW Zealand-born nurse who was denied registration until she could prove she was competent in her native language has had the decision overturned.
Council's 'safe' in tunnel jam
BRISBANE City Council is adamant it has legally locked up more than $20 million in payments owed from the embattled operator of the Clem7 toll road.
Victoria
Man charged over armed robberyA 41-year-old South Melbourne man has been charged with armed robbery and other offences following his arrest yesterday.
Sando's shot at new life
SANDO might just be the toughest mongrel alive. Three months ago he was rescued from a Mildura animal shelter.
Up to their necks and loving it
WHEN the snow depth is higher than you are, there's no option but to jump in - as Sammi Tatterson discovered.
Black, white and blue
AS the football award season heats up, the glamorous girls of the AFL are hurriedly putting the final touches to their all-important outfits.
Dad's best gift ever
FOR this Malvern man, the best Father's Day present he has been given was the chance to have children.
Plumber floored by daughter's arrival
AS the daughter of a plumber, baby Tilly Rose chose the perfect place to enter the world: the bathroom.
See seashore prices soar
HOME buyers looking for the luxury of living on the water should expect to pay double the amount for similar homes just streets away.
Rapist ruined my life
A RAPE victim whose attacker was jailed yesterday says she sees his face every day and will continue to suffer for the rest of her life.
One-eyed cat a true Pie
HE'S a Magpie-supporting moggie with one eye on the AFL Grand Final.
$150,000 fat cats travel bill
TAXPAYERS have picked up the tab for $150,000 so transport bureaucrats could hunt for clues to fix our system.
Northern Territory
Nothing newSouth Australia
Man robs Murray Bridge petrol stationA KNIFE-WIELDING bandit has robbed a Murray Bridge petrol station.
Car driven into creek
A WOMAN has driven her car into a creek at Mt Crawford.
Kayakers rescued at North Haven
TWO kayakers who capsized in rough seas at North Haven have been rescued.
SA properties set to bloom in spring
SA's top end real estate market is poised for a mini boom this spring, as it bounces back from the battering taken during the global financial crisis.
Making SA safe for visiting students
THE state Government will crack down on unscrupulous education providers in a bid to reassure overseas families SA is a safe study destination.
Man wanted over failed abduction
A WOMAN walking her dog in Ridgehaven fought off an abductor.
Kids charged over church blaze
FOUR children have been arrested and charged over an allegedly deliberately lit fire that severely damaged a church at Port Augusta this morning.
HIV accused wants to leave
An HIV-positive man accused of endangering women with unprotected sex wants to leave South Australia to visit his sick mother in Sudan.
Drunk teenager crashes into tree
A TEENAGER who tried to avoid a police breath testing station was charged with drink driving after crashing his car into a tree at Norwood.
Royal Show goes on despite rain
DETERMINED showgoers are braving wind, rain and lightning at the Wayville Showgrounds as the Royal Adelaide Show gets under way.
Western Australia
Two fatals in horror day on roadTWO people are dead after a series of horror car crashes across WA today.
Whale nursery 'bigger than expected'
HUMPBACK whale calving grounds off WA's Kimberley coast stretch much further out to sea than previously thought, say researchers.
Man denies bashing bouncer
A 26-YEAR-OLD man accused of assaulting a bouncer outside a Perth nightclub has refuted the charge during a brief court appearance today.
Man loses leg in construction horror
A MAN has lost one of his legs and injured the other in a shocking workplace accident in Kununurra this morning.
Car-jacker Little jailed for six years
A MAN was today jailed for six-and-a-half years after two terrifying car jackings and a two-hour high speed chase across Perth's suburbs.
Murdoch sacks 'sex-for-marks' academic
AN academic accused of pressuring students for sexual favours at Curtin University has been sacked by another institution after the story caused an international scandal.
Bali Legionnaires' Disease warning
TWO West Australians and one Victorian who recently returned from Bali have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' Disease.
Missing woman's son on murder charge
THE 25-year-old son of missing Perth woman Ah Bee Mack has been charged with his mother's murder.
Rapist's neighbours 'given panic buttons'
RELATIVES of a rapist released by a West Australian Supreme Court judge fear he may reoffend, and are stunned that he was let out of jail.
TV chef leads mine plan protest
AN underground coalmine planned for Western Australia's world-class wine region of Margaret River has infuriated and mobilised locals.
Tasmania
Wilkie move 'leaves hospital $160m short'INDEPENDENT MP Andrew Wilkie's decision to back Labor will leave the redevelopment of the Royal Hobart Hospital $160 million short, the Tasmanian Opposition says.
Labor hospital plan responsible - Wilkie
INDEPENDENT MP Andrew Wilkie says he rejected the Coalition's "intoxicating" offer of $1 billion to rebuild a Hobart hospital because he couldn't see where the money would come from.
=== Journalists Corner ===
Geraldo Rivera: Celebrating 40 Years in TelevisionGroundbreaking journalism ... Intrepid reporting ... His stories have touched our lives and changed how we look at our world.
Plus, Geraldo has a special message just for you.
===
Exclusive: John McCain and Tim Kaine on Fox News Sunday
Economy, taxes, Afghanistan ... What's the top issue on Congress' to-do list? Senator McCain tells us! Then, Tim Kaine shares the Dems' strategy for November!
===
On Fox News Insider
Video: Brian Kilmeade Tees Off with President George W. Bush!You Asked, Neil Cavuto Answered!
Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign for Jesus
Video: Million Dollar Quartet Performs for Fox and Friends
Geraldo: Compromise Necessary for Mosque to Move Forward
=== Comments ===
Is NBC News Defending Saddam Hussein?THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FROM "THE O'REILLY FACTOR," SEPTEMBER 2, 2010. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LAURA INGRAHAM, GUEST HOST: In the "Back of the Book" segment tonight: the "Dumbest Things of the Week." Is NBC News making excuses for Saddam Hussein?
Regardless of your thoughts on Iraq, one thing most people agree on is that getting rid of Saddam was a good thing. But some are wondering if NBC's chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engle, doesn't miss the good old days when Saddam was still around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ENGLE, NBC CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: If there had been no invasion, Saddam would still be in power. He was probably getting more moderate. He was being welcomed into the -- into -- by a lot of European countries. He was being welcomed in Eastern Europe, in particular. He was heading in a direction of accommodation. The sanctions regime that was holding him in place was starting to fail. So I think it would be somewhat of a basket case, but it would be -- Iran would be a lot more contained.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Joining us now from New York is Greg Gutfeld, host of "Red Eye" and the author of "The Bible of Unspeakable Truths." So Greg, as far as I can tell, Saddam was on the verge of having his own reality show.
GREG GUTFELD, HOST, "RED EYE": I mean, you have to figure out he said he would be more moderate. You have to ask him what does he mean by moderate? Was he talking about alcohol intake? Was he going to cut back on his booze? Or was he going to only gas half as many Kurds or tell his sons they could only rape women every other weekend? Or maybe he was becoming more environmentally friendly and was going to use renewable car batteries when he electrocuted his citizens. So we need -- we need to give specifics on what he meant by moderation.
INGRAHAM: I think he was clearly going green, Greg. He was making inroads with Eastern Europe. I don't know what countries in Eastern Europe. Poland? Old Czechoslovakia? What countries was he getting close to? I just don't recall that.
GUTFELD: He does have a point though. He said that if we didn't have the war, Saddam would be more accommodating, which is true because you are more accommodating when you are not dead. It's really hard to buy somebody dinner when you're dead. So, in effect, he's actually correct by accident.
INGRAHAM: Well, Iran -- Iran might not have been the problem it is today, but the idea that he -- it was going to be Saddam the milquetoast if we didn't invade. I just -- I was desperately looking to follow that logic. But you know, when NBC is involved, Greg, all bets are off. All bets are off.
GUTFELD: Yes. Can't stomach victory. You've got a war that you've won. Enjoy it.
INGRAHAM: Winning is not fun. We're supposed to be America on our knees, begging for mercy all the time. You don't understand that. We need to apologize, Greg. Get used to it.
GUTFELD: I am. Believe me. I'm married.
===
PIXIE POWER
Tim Blair
“Helping at nephew’s school fete,” reports Genevieve Robey. “Just sold a fairy wand to kevin rudd.”
Among Rudd’s nicknames: Pixie. Our ex-PM is living the dream. Adds Genevieve: “He did ask for a bag so that he wasn’t seen carrying it around.”===
TOO POPULAR TO PRINT
Tim Blair
Interesting theory:
Comedian Catherine Deveny has taken another swipe at management of her former employer The Age, saying they sacked her because they were jealous of her high profile …“Furious” might not be the right word. Try “embarrassed”.
She added senior management were “furious” at the attention she was attracting on radio, in comments on The Age’s website and in appearances on programs such as ABC1’s Q & A, which “they see as yardsticks of their success”.
Deveny believed she was sacked due to her popularity …Keep it relevant, Catherine. The woman’s ego is epic:
“They were looking for a reason to sack me and they couldn’t sack me for my writing,” she told an audience at the Melbourne Writers Festival’s New News Conference on journalism.
“And they’ve been looking for quite some time because they were furious because they had relevance deprivation and they no longer have their finger of the pulse of what is going on.”
“I can’t walk out into the street without being accosted by people saying ‘I miss you’ and they act like they’re the only ones. I say yeah, there’s a club for that and it’s called half of Melbourne.”Melbourne’s population: four million. The Age‘s circulation: 197,500. The “half of Melbourne” that might be missing Deveny is actually less than five per cent.
Deveny wrote for The Age for nine years, and was elevated to the newspaper’s opinion page by former editor Andrew Jaspan. Upon his sacking, she said, her first dealing with new editor Ramadge was his reneging on her “handshake agreement” and imposing a 40 per cent cut in her pay rate.Just think of it as reducing the gap between rich and poor.
===
GENERAL MAYHEM
Tim Blair
New Zealand rocked by an earthquake. Central Victoria flooded. Nearly 20,000 homes without power in South Australia. Gale warnings across NSW. Birdsville races washed out for the first time in 128 years.
UPDATE. Gaia smites a Prius. (Via Adam I.)
UPDATE II. Far from the stormy south-east, seas are still:
Calm weather between Indonesia and Australia has triggered a dramatic surge in people smuggling with six boats carrying 274 people arriving since the election on August 21.UPDATE III. “The Australian Capital Territory got almost all of its August rainfall in just one day.”
Intelligence sources said the upsurge in asylum seeker voyages would continue while the sea remained “like glass”.
===
BALDO BANDANA BATTLE
Tim Blair
Which bandana-wearer looks more of an idiot: 48-year-old SMH columnist Peter FitzSimons (the man who said sorry to Osama); 49-year-old pop star/drug addict Leif Garrett (the man who should just say sorry); or eternal deity Ganesha (who doesn’t apologise to murderers or perform horrible pop tunes, so needn’t feel sorry at all)? Tell it to the poll:
===
NATIONWIDE INTERVENTION REQUIRED
Tim Blair
The front-page picture from Friday’s Adelaide Advertiser:
I keep warning people about this city. Nobody listens.UPDATE. This will only encourage them.
UPDATE II. In other troubling food news: Soy You Think You Can Dance – the vegan dance program alternative.
===
FEEL THE PRESENCE
Tim Blair
A Twilight Zone moment for former Obama car czar Stephen Rattner:
“Suddenly I felt that I was indeed in the presence of a community organizer ...”Polls continue to register that same chilling organiser-like feeling:
When Obama arrived in office in January ‘09, his Gallup approval rating stood at 68%, a high for a newly elected leader not seen since John Kennedy in 1961. Today Obama’s job approval has been hovering in the mid-40s, which means that at least 1 in 4 Americans has changed his or her mind. The plunge has been particularly dramatic among independents, whites and those under age 30. With midterm elections just nine weeks off, instead of the generational transformation some Democrats predicted after 2008, the President’s party teeters on the brink of a broad setback in November, including the possible loss of both houses of Congress. By a 10-point margin, people say they will vote for Republicans over Democrats in Congress, the largest such gap ever recorded by Gallup.And the community remains remarkably unorganised.
===
New Zealand rocked
Andrew Bolt
Christchurch has sure suffered some damage from that 7.1-force earthquake. Pictures here.
UPDATE
Reader Jono reports:
It was really scary. For nearly a minute the house was shaking wildly even though our house is pretty much earthquake proofed. I was under the bed at 4.35 am soon after the first quake worried about the after shock. I do feel sorry for those in other suburbs whose houses are not as strong as ours. Thankfully there have been no deaths (as of the time of writing)
I live one of the southern suburbs on one of the hills where it was an amazing sight to see the street lights all off, and see complete darkness after the first after quake. Where I live, we were thankful there was no serious damage to most of the houses nearby and ours is fully intact. Power was restored to our place just after 12pm. (NZST) However in some of the suburbs on the eastern coast (New Brighton, Sumner) there have been reports of severe damages and there was flooding on the banks of the Avon river in Avonside which has affected lots of houses in that area.
The main issue at the present is water contamination, particularly sewerage as we have been advised not to flush the toilets. Even though it was a very strong earthquake, one questions whether there was any need for looting - which happened within 30 minutes after the quake.
===
Not what they just voted
Andrew Bolt
The undecideds who broke to the Coalition so decisively in the last days of the election campaign are undecided again:
MORE voters want the three rural independents to back a Labor minority government than the Coalition… According to the Newspoll survey of 1134 voters on Monday and Tuesday, 47 per cent want the ALP to get the independents’ support and 39 per cent want the Coalition to form government.And even the most conservative of the three independents, Bob Katter, seems of the same mind, issuing this astonishing praise of Kevin Rudd:
I make no secret of the fact that [Rudd] provided good government.Katter sure has an odd benchmark for “good government”, given even Labor agreed Rudd was so bad that he had to be sacked.
He’s certainly more charitable to Rudd than Labor’s Arch Bevis, who’s just lost the seat of Brisbane:
Insiders at the meeting also said Mr Bevis labelled Mr Rudd a “rat” who would resign his seat of Griffith within six months, despite the former prime minister’s promise to serve his full term.UPDATE
Independent Rob Oakeshott seems not only hyperbolic and an anti-Coalition conspiracist, but also blind to the logical conclusion of his own words.
We’ve already heard him exaggerate a single joking phone call to his wife from Liberal MP Bill Heffernan into a scare campaign by several MPs against his children, too:
I’ve got MP’s on the Liberal side who are ringing my wife and kids playing games.Now “sources close to” Oakeshott see a conspiracy when Coalition voters in his overwhelmingly conservative seat decide - what a surprise, this - that they won’t vote for him again if he helps to install a Labor-Greens alliance:
Sources close to the independents have confirmed that their electoral offices had been flooded with “suspect” calls which they believed had been made by local Liberal or National Party members.Pardon? But Labor’s operatives “don’t have the numbers in those seats” that the Coalition does? Then which side do these “sources close to” Oakeshott think he should put into government, if his duty is to represent the will of his electorate?
The calls warned they risked their seats by supporting a Labor-Greens government. A pattern of phrases being used by the callers, such as: “I voted for him, I won’t do it again if he supports a Labor Greens government”, has led them to believe it was part of a co-ordinated campaign…
The most intense pressure is believed to have been concentrated in the electorate of NSW independent Rob Oakeshott…
“There is definitely an orchestrated campaign in those seats,” the source said.
“Labor are doing it as well, but not to the same extent, they don’t have the numbers in those seats.”
UPDATE 2
But I have found one demand in Katter’s grab-bag that very much deserves support:
Mr Katter, a former Queensland Nationals minister with responsibility for Aboriginal affairs, called for the commonwealth to intervene to allow for indigenous home ownership on communal land, arguing that it is not happening now despite being notionally possible under the law.(Thanks to readers Rick, CA and Sisyphus.)
===
Labor’s black hole is far deeper
Andrew Bolt
In ordinary times, this would be the final straw - and not just for the independents who claim to be so concerned with black holes and competent government:
THERE is a multi-billion-dollar gap between what Labor expects its mineral resources rent tax to raise and what the miners expect to payUPDATE
The ... three companies, which negotiated the revised deal and would supposedly pay the vast majority of the new tax, believe it will cost them only a few hundred million dollars extra each year.
That adds up to only about $1bn a year in total from them in contrast to the $5bn to $6bn a year extra predicted by Treasury and promised by Labor…
It also makes the arguments and accusations over Coalition costings look modest by comparison. The difference is that Labor can rely on official Treasury backing for its figurings.
Paul Kelly says it would be bizarre if the independents seize on Tony Abbott’s costings shortfall, as claimed by Treasury, as the reason to back Labor instead:
Some of this ($10.6 billion costings “hole") reflects the inevitable “different models and data”, as Treasury concedes. But the Coalition has made mistakes that should have been avoided… And if Gillard wins she will lay this charge around Abbott’s head for the next three years to ruin him…The real strategic blunder of the week was Gillard’s deal with the Greens:
The reality, however, is that the budget policy of Labor and the Coalition, measured by Treasury estimates, is near identical. Treasury says that over the forward estimates the Coalition improves the bottom line by $863m compared with Labor’s improvement of $106m, though in the final two years Labor’s surplus is bigger…
The independents need to be careful: any effort to tie costings to the issue of confidence when both sides have a similar bottom line would seem bizarre and Labor’s first-term financial blunders have been so high profile.
In a sense the deepest insight from the week is Gillard’s commitment to a Labor-Green alliance, precisely because it was so unnecessary… It is Gillard taking ownership of the Labor Party: a decision driven totally by politics, not any pro-Greens sentiment. Its motive is to show that Gillard is the arch interpreter of the new politics, prepared to compromise to secure the numbers.(Thanks to reader Spin Baby, Spin.)
In this deal Gillard surrenders little of substance…
(But) Gillard has invited the Australian public to see and judge Labor as the party in alliance with the Greens, a movement it cannot control, whose values are sharply different from Labor’s. If Abbott is consigned to opposition he will crusade on this strategic blunder for the next three years.
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