=== Todays Toon ===
When the Liberals are in front, the media talk about getting over "Poll addiction" - ed.=== Bible Quote ===
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”- Proverbs 22:6=== Headlines ===
Hostages Safe After Police Shoot, Kill Gunman at Discovery HQ
URGENT: Three hostages escape safely after nearly four-hour standoff at Discovery Channel building in Maryland that ends with police shooting the gunman, known to employees for protesting the channel's environmental programming.Miller Calls for 'Unified Front' After Victory
Newly minted Alaska GOP Senate nominee calls for his party to come together following his upset victory against Sen. Murkowski, vowing to expand his lead in the polls over his Dem opponent
Earl Strengthens as It Approaches N.C. Coast
Earl, now a powerful Category 4 storm, prompts mandatory evacuations as the hurricane threatens to swipe the Carolinas as early as tomorrow — packing 135 mph winds
White House Bans Sale of Korean War Guns
The White House — which initially allowed the South Korean government to sell antique rifles used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to collectors — has banned the sale, fearing the guns could fall into the wrong hands
Breaking News
Charges in 'honey laundering' stingTHE US Government announced charges against those who conspired to bring antibiotic-laden Chinese honey illegally into the US.
US gunman shot dead in TV station siege
POLICE shot dead a gunman and freed three people he had taken hostage on today in a dramatic four-hour standoff.
Boy, teacher hurt abseiling
A BOY and a teacher from a college have been injured in an abseiling exercise.
Dollar soars to US91c on strong data
THE dollar opened US1c stronger thanks to a good run economic data from US, China and Australia.
'$7bn blackhole' in Opposition costings
TREASURY has uncovered a "black hole" in the coalition's costings of at least $7 billion, independent MP Tony Windsor says.
Armed man 'shot dead' after hostage terror
AN armed man who took three people hostage at the Discovery Channel's headquarters in Maryland today was shot and killed by police.
Paedophile's deathbed Madeleine confession
A PAEDOPHILE allegedly made a deathbed confession that Madeleine McCann was kidnapped to order.
US stocks soar on strong data
WALL Street stocks soared today after strong manufacturing data in the United States and China eased deep-running concerns over the state of the global economic recovery.
Crackdown on illegal gatherings by hoons
TWO drivers have been arrested and four cars impounded in a police crackdown on hoon drivers who hold illegal gatherings in industrial estates around Melbourne.
Robbers storm woman's home
TWO armed men stormed a Sydney woman's home, forced her to her knees and stole a small safe from the premises
NSW/ACT
True love found at Sydney's Luna ParkWHEN Madge Fitzgerald fell for the man of her dreams, he was there to catch her - literally.
'Evil Van Krevel' back in jail
FOUR years ago Belinda Krevel was released from prison after serving six years for plotting a murder. She's back behind bars.
Kiesha's mum, stepdad queried again
KIESHA Abrahams' mother and stepfather were interviewed by police again yesterday.
A dam fine idea, 50 years on
WARRAGAMBA Dam was an engineering marvel in 1960 and now. So raise a glass ... of water.
Two fatal crashes within five hours
THREE people died in three separate crashes last night, with two on the same stretch of highway leaving motorists stranded.
Girl, 4, impaled on stake
A FOUR-year-old girl impaled herself on a metal stake while playing in a shed. She was playing when she fell on the stake.
NSW wants a booze lockdown
NSW residents are leading the push for a ban on alcohol sales after 3am, with a staggering 85 per cent supporting such a move.
Charges over $5m cigs seizure
THREE people died in three separate crashes last night, with two on the same stretch of highway leaving motorists stranded.
Hunger striker's High Court win
WITH a thumbs up from a supporter, former pole-sitting hunger striker Peter Spencer savoured his victory in the High Court.
Young girls hurt in 4-metre fall
PARENTS are being reminded to keep a vigilant eye over toddlers near windows after two girls fell from a second storey building.
Queensland
Police bashed in wild beach brawlTWO police officers have been injured as they moved in to deal with a wild brawl at Burleigh Heads.
Woman hit by car in rush hour
WOMAN pedestrian hit by car on Sandgate Road during rush hour leads to massive traffic jams.
Feud theory as family flee inferno
FAMILY of six flee burning house on Gold Coast as police investigate whether it was arson and if it's linked to a business dispute.
Boy, teacher hurt abseiling
A BOY and a teacher from Brisbane Boy's College have been injured in an abseiling exercise at Mount Barney south-west of Brisbane.
Grief for young life cut short
CARRYING a teddy bear and flowers, a distraught family yesterday paid tribute to their 10-year-old boy killed in a horror smash.
New tilt revives old plan
TRANSPORT strategies first flagged 13 years ago have been rolled out again in the latest long-term $225 billion planning arsenal.
Farewell for army's finest
THREE more Brisbane-based Diggers killed in Afghanistan have been laid to rest with honour, reports Jason Tin
Wet 'n wild La Nina on the way
A FULL-BLOWN La Nina weather event has established in the Pacific Ocean, pointing to a wet spring and summer, with the possibility of cyclones.
Hogan the hero we nearly forgot
IT WAS 50 years ago. Hector Hogan and his wife were in Brisbane Hospital listening to the broadcast of the 100m sprint final at the Rome Olympics.
Govt fails to close 'cow' loophole
THE State Government is accused of pandering to developers after it failed to close a loophole which allows them to graze cattle to save thousands of dollars in rates.
Victoria
Buskers could be forced to auditionLORD Mayor Robert Doyle wants buskers to audition for the right to perform on Melbourne’s streets.
Graffiti vandal forced to say sorry
A GRAFFITI vandal who caused almost $7000 damage has been forced to write apology letters to owners of damaged properties.
Killer mum should pay twice
AN EVIL mum who drugged and murdered her two sons should have been jailed for life, the boys' father says.
Police blitz hoon drivers
UPDATE 6.40am: AN OVERNIGHT blitz of an alleged hoon gathering has recovered $119,000 in outstanding fines.
Children flood helpline
CHILDREN aged five are among the rising number of young people seeking help and counselling from the Kids Helpline.
Kids road test showbags
Children can pick from 340 showbags bursting with whoopee cushions, lollies, fake tattoos and glitter pens at this year's show.
Bungled treatments turn ugly
BOTCHED hair and beauty treatments are leaving clients with scalded scalps, burned skin and bald spots.
Hunter gets long locks cut off
THREE-year-old Hunter Panahi who had hair stretching down his back, has finally had his very first haircut.
Northern Territory
Police end asylum seeker stand-offPOLICE have ended a seven-hour stand-off by asylum seekers at a Northern Territory detention centre.
Situation calm in Darwin protest - Evans
FOUR Afghan asylum seekers have been taken to hospital with dehydration after pushing down a fence at the Darwin detention centre.
Detention centre protesters searched
POLICE are body-searching asylum seekers who staged a mass breakout from a detention centre amid concerns they might be armed.
Detainees break out for highway protest
POLICE have searched dozens of asylum seekers who broke out of a Darwin detention centre to protest.
Darwin dreams to be UFO hotspot
THERE are calls for Darwin to become the UFO capital of the world after the latest sighting above Northern Territory skies.
Officials rounding up escaped detainees
IMMIGRATION officials are rounding up 92 asylum seekers who have broken out of the troubled Darwin detention centre to stage a peak-hour protest.
Road accident claims life of Digger
A YOUNG soldier was killed when the motorbike he was riding collided with a passenger bus late yesterday.
Firefighter bashed by Aussie sailors
A FIREFIGHTER suffered broken ribs, a broken nose and a long cut to the forehead when he was allegedly bashed by Australian Navy personnel
South Australia
Power bills set to shockSOUTH Australian electricity bills will rise by 50 per cent in five to 10 years as more power comes from renewable energy on improved networks.
Water plan details next month
DETAILS from a controversial plan expected to recommend huge cuts to water use across the Murray-Darling Basin will be publicly released next month.
Man hurt in pizza shop explosion
AN EXPLOSION has ripped apart a Kilkenny pizza shop and put its manager in hospital.
Petrol station held
TWO men have held up the BP On the Run service station at Mile End.
Road blocked after fatal crash
A DRIVER has died in a serious two-car crash at Blakeview, blocking a section of Craigmore Rd.
Missing Adelaide girl found safe
MISSING Adelaide girl Corina Bruer has been found safe and uninjured in NSW after being abducted by her father yesterday.
Western Australia
Stranded fishermen rescuedTWO fishermen who spent the night stranded in mangroves north of Karratha have been rescued.
Roe renews native land fight
ABORIGINAL law boss Joseph Roe has renewed his damaging fight with the Kimberley Land Council.
Miners warn of new tax battle
MINING chiefs in WA have voiced strong concerns over a Labor-Greens ruling alliance.
War dispute sparked fatal fight
A PENSIONER who beat his 83-year-old neighbour to death with his fists following an argument about WWII could walk free from prison in two months.
Outdoor sport stadium decision looms
WESTERN Australian premier Colin Barnett is poised to make an announcement on the development of a new outdoor sports stadium.
Bikini Girls owner ordered to pay up
PERTH court orders massage parlour owner Bon Levi to pay more than $17,000 for misleading employees, operating under unregistered business names.
Two conned in scratchie scam
AT least two West Australians have been conned into handing over nearly $4000 each in a scratchie scam.
Monk killer 'out in four years'
A PERTH man who mercilessly bashed a Buddhist monk to death in a suburban park could be out of jail in under four years.
Barnett fed up with WA gas hub talks
WA Premier Colin Barnett looks set to compulsorily acquire land for the $30 billion Kimberley gas hub after negotiations with the Kimberley Land Council stall.
Rosalie Park win for residents
ANGRY Subiaco residents last night won a fight to stop the State Government turning part of Rosalie Park into a parking lot for QEII Medical Centre for two years.
Tasmania
'Immune' Tasmanian devil dies of tumoursA TASMANIAN devil thought to be immune to the facial tumour disease threatening the future of the species has died from the condition.
'Immune' Tasmanian devil dies of tumours
A TASMANIAN devil thought to be immune from the facial tumour disease threatening the future of the species has died from the condition.
=== Journalists Corner ===
Greta's Seeing Double!These top ranked tennis twins are serving up the competition at the US Open. What's their winning strategy? It's a grand slam interview with the Bryan brothers.
===
Guest: Dick Armey
Help wanted! Americans need jobs - so why can't both parties work out a tax plan to encourage companies to hire? We get answers from Dick Armey.
===
Keeping the Faith!?
Shocking poll results on how religious people view Obama. Dick Morris weighs in. Plus, fighting words? Al Sharpton levels sharp claims against Glenn Beck. Dennis Miller responds to the controversy.
===
On Fox News Insider
Janice Dean is Keeping a Close Eye on Hurricane EarlVOTE: Does the President Have the Right Plan for Afghanistan?
Was the Iraq War Worth It?
=== Comments ===
Meghan McCain on New Book 'Dirty Sexy Politics'THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FROM "THE O'REILLY FACTOR," AUGUST 31, 2010. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Personal Story" segment tonight: Meghan McCain, who worked on her father's presidential campaign, has a new book out. It is called "Dirty Sexy Politics," and it talks about Sarah Palin's impact on the campaign, among lots of other things.
Here now is Meghan McCain. You know, I saw you on "Good Morning America" this morning, right?
MEGHAN MCCAIN, AUTHOR, "DIRTY SEXY POLITICS": Yes.
O'REILLY: And were those pinheads nice to you over there, by the way?
MCCAIN: Yes, they were lovely.
O'REILLY: OK, because sometimes they can get a little -- but Stephanopoulos is OK. But you said you had conflicted feelings about Sarah Palin. I want you to flesh that out on "The Factor." What is the conflict to you?
MCCAIN: You know, when she was on my father's campaign, she brought so much enthusiasm, and you saw the crowds just double and triple and more women coming. And no one can deny this woman's power and enthusiasm and what she can do for the Republican Party. I am more socially liberal than she is, which is where the conflict takes place.
O'REILLY: So politically, because you are a liberal Republican and she...
MCCAIN: I consider myself a socially liberal Republican.
O'REILLY: OK. Socially liberal. That means abortion and gay marriage, those things.
MCCAIN: It's just gay marriage. I'm pro-life.
O'REILLY: She is -- she is a traditional conservative down the line. That's where you have the conflict. But that's not really a conflict, because under a political party tent, there's room for all of that, is there not?
MCCAIN: Exactly, and that's how I feel. I think there's room for all of us. There are some people in this party that don't think there's room for people like me.
O'REILLY: OK, understand that there's intolerance in every party for opposing points of view.
MCCAIN: Exactly. It's not just the Republican Party.
O'REILLY: Now, but you also write in your book that Governor Palin was a little bit problematic on the campaign?
MCCAIN: It was just, you know, I didn't know her. The opening scene of my book is me finding out that she's my father's running mate literally an hour before I go on stage with her.
O'REILLY: Right.
(More at the link)
===
POPULATION REDUCED
Tim Blair
James J. Lee was just your standard environmental activist, with the usual desires to save the planet, reduce pollution, cut the population and end global warming. He protested – mostly against the Discovery Channel, for some reason. All credit must go to Al Gore:
Lee said he experienced an ‘‘awakening” when he watched former Vice President Al Gore’s environmental documentary ‘‘An Inconvenient Truth.”Like his hero, Lee also thought himself a filmmaker:
After years of harmless idiocy, Lee last night went full Al. Carrying a gun and claiming to be armed with a bomb, the environmentalist entered the Discovery Corporation’s Maryland headquarters. Hostages were taken. Eventually, after several hours, police partially complied with Lee’s population reduction request:
James J. Lee, a radical environmentalist who railed against the Discovery Channel for years, is now dead.Lee’s YouTube clip – especially the terrible soundtrack – was a warning. Who’s next?
UPDATE. Lee was also part of the telepathic gorilla ecological movement.
UPDATE II. Harold Brown: “Predicted calamities are always the worst; until the future comes. Then, they don’t show up, or they shrink to ordinary. Overpopulation is a prime example.”
===
LESS IS MORE
Tim Blair
According to Treasury and Finance projections cited by the Age, Coalition policies would “improve the budget bottom line” by $4.5 billion over four years.
According to Treasury and Finance projections also cited by the Age, Labor policies would “improve the bottom line” by $106 million over four years.
That’s a difference of $4,394,000,000 in the Coalition’s favour. Now click for the Age‘s (and Labor’s) spin on these numbers.
UPDATE. The Australian also sees a glass way empty:
Treasury added that if some of the assumptions that the Coalition had used to come up with the figure did not hold up, the net benefit of its policies could be as low as $500 million.Only $500 million, you say? That’s still nearly five times as much as Treasury estimates for Labor.
===
BOGANFINDEN
Tim Blair
Malcolm Farnsworth reports:
I’m told the Citizens’ Assembly is referred to as “Boganhagen” in certain Labor circles ...Certain Labor circles evidently read Gavin Atkins.
===
JUST ANOTHER LABOR SCANDAL
Tim Blair
No wonder Labor types want a national broadband network:
The Ports Minister Paul McLeay has resigned from cabinet after admitting to visiting adult and online gaming sites after inquiries from the Daily Telegraph this morning.[Via Alan R.M. Jones]
Premier Kristina Keneally announced Mr McLeay’s resignation in Question Time.
A statement from Ms Keneally said: “Premier Kristina Keneally today confirmed Paul McLeay has resigned from his position as a Cabinet Minister.
“Mr McLeay this morning advised the Premier that he had used a computer supplied by the Parliament to visit gambling and adult sites.
Mr McLeay immediately accepted the Premier’s request to resign.
===
No excuse? Then no mercy
Andrew Bolt
Out in three years?A MAN who beat a Buddhist monk to death in a suburban park was sentenced to five and a half years in jail.Given we don’t know why he murdered a monk, we must assume for now it’s because he’s a violent man with an ungovernable temper and a taste for the kind of drugs he must know makes him lethally dangerous even to strangers. So let’s protect people from him, shall we?
Ian Samuel James McConkey, 38, was sentenced in the Western Australian Supreme Court for the manslaughter of Buu “Paul” Lieu (above), 48, on January 10.
McConkey - who could not explain why he attacked the defenceless monk - will be eligible for parole after three years and four months in jail, Perth Now reports.
Mr Lieu died in a hospital two weeks after being bashed during a meditation session early in the morning at Bibra Lake Regional Park in Perth’s South. He suffered four broken ribs, a ruptured liver and a fractured skull.
The court was told that McConkey attacked the monk after going on an alcohol and amphetamine binge following an argument with his girlfriend but there was no explanation of what motivated him..
(Thanks to reader Kin.)
===
Depends who gains
Andrew Bolt
Professor John Wanna says the two-party preferred vote matters when Labor is in front, but not so much when it isn’t.
===
Coalition’s costings blow out - yet it will still spend less than Labor
Andrew Bolt
This could be the excuse that the independents have been looking for to defy their own voters and go with Labor:
TREASURY’S costings of the Coalition’s election promises have found a $7 billion hole in the opposition’s claim that its election promises and proposals would save $11.5bn over the next four years.The Age seems happy:
The figures have dealt a blow to Mr Abbott’s hopes of securing the support of the rural independents to form the next Australian government on the grounds of being a responsible economic manager.The independents are very concerned:
Tony Windsor, one of the key MPs who will decide Mr Abbott’s political fate, said last night the discrepancies raised questions about the Coalition’s integrity. ‘’The Coalition must explain these discrepancies,’’ he said.And, indeed, mistakes of this kind do need an explanation.
But wait a minute. What does The Age itself concede is the effect of the error on the Budget bottom line?
The departments of Treasury and Finance, in a report handed to the three key rural independent MPs yesterday, found the Coalition policies would improve the budget bottom line by just $4.5 billion - not the $11.5 billion claimed.And this revised improvement of $4.5 billion compares to what improvement by Labor?
Labor said it would improve the bottom line by $44 million over four years, while the departments said the savings would be $106 million.So the Coalition is still $4.4 billion more prudent than Labor? Yet Labor, which seems to have blown more than that just on the Building the Education Revolution rorts, is touted as a the better economic manager?
Treasury, which got its costings of Labor’s mining tax out by as much as $12 billion, admits that even with the most pessimistic assumptions possible, the Coalition will still cut spending by five times more than Labor:
Treasury added that if some of the assumptions that the Coalition had used to come up with the figure did not hold up, the net benefit of its policies could be as low as $500 million.UPDATE
Treasury’s costing of the government’s promises and savings proposals suggested Labor’s economic plans would raise the underlying cash balance in 2013-14 by $106 million.
Meanwhile a new reason is found for Oakeshott to back Labor instead:
IF the Coalition fails to persuade Rob Oakeshott to support an Abbott government, the independent’s resistance may have less to do with the past two weeks of frantic negotiations and more to do with racist sentiments he encountered inside the Nationals as a 26-year-old newcomer.Oddly enough, Oakeshott was so stung by this National Party racism in 1996 that he took immediate action:
Oakeshott’s bubbly wife, Sara-Jane, who works part-time for the Birpai Land Council in their home town of Port Macquarie, was his partner and “best friend” when he was elected in 1996 as a Nationals MP to NSW parliament.
At a party to celebrate his success, Oakeshott was stung by a racist remark that seemed to be a pointed reference to his girlfriend’s proud Aboriginal and South Sea Islander heritage.
Oakeshott represented the Nationals in NSW parliament from 1996 until 2002...
===
Greens move into Labor’s cockpit
Andrew Bolt
Nice deal that Bob Brown and his Greens crew got from Labor:
The Greens will, in effect, have more power than Labor backbenchers, with a promise of regular briefings from the Treasurer and the Finance Minister and the secretaries of their departments as part of the budget process.Even some Labor ministers never got that access to Kevin Rudd.
When parliament is sitting, the Prime Minister will meet Greens leader Bob Brown and lower house MP Adam Bandt each week to work on the legislative agenda.
===
Green power means red ink
Andrew Bolt
And if this renewable energy actually did much to cut emissions and lower temperatures, consumers might even think it was almost worth it:
SOUTH Australian households can expect their electricity bill to rise by 50 per cent in five to 10 years as more power comes from renewable energy on improved networks, ElectraNet chief executive Ian Stirling says.(Thanks to reader CA.)
===
Learning from Labor
Andrew Bolt
One look at the tax pushed by Labor - and first designed by Treasury secretary Ken Henry - and our competitors are backing away:
South Africa’s mines minister has ruled a new mining tax in that nation, pointing to the political strife generated by a similar proposal in Australia.(Thanks to reader CA.)
South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, told the Paydirt Africa Down Under conference in Perth that her government would not follow Australia’s lead.
“What happened here, we never even thought about it,” Ms Shabangu told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
“We knew there was going to be big trouble, so we’re not in any way thinking in that particular direction...”
===
Dastardly Pentagon plot resumed
Andrew Bolt
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will have another chance to work on his conspiracy theory:
We have been warned that the Pentagon, for example, is thinking of deploying dirty tricks to ruin us. And I have also been warned about sex traps.No doubt the wicked Pentagon has been in the ear again of the Left-wing feminist whose complaint against him of rape was dropped by Swedish prosecutors:
A senior Swedish prosecutor is reopening a rape investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange - the latest twist to a case in which prosecutors of different ranks have overruled each other.The two complaints allegedly involve the wearing of condoms - or not.
Ny also said that another complaint against Assange should be investigated on suspicion of “sexual coercion and sexual molestation.”
That overruled a previous decision to only investigate the case as “molestation,” which is not a sex offense under Swedish law.
(Thanks to reader Curious in California.)
===
Still, it was a promise worth breaking
Andrew Bolt
The fastest-broken election promise in our history - broken even before Labor is sworn in:
JULIA Gillard has confirmed her deal with the Greens to establish a climate change committee could “substitute” for her election promise of a citizens’ assembly.Predictions, please, for the next Labor promise to be broken if it forms government.
The Prime Minister has refused to confirm the much-derided assembly would be scrapped, but said the assembly “was always a mechanism, it was never going to be the determining factor” in tackling climate change.
“With the circumstances of the parliament now, obviously I have agreed with the Greens that we should have a multi-party process ... in that process I will pursue a citizens’ assembly,” she said.
“Can this substitute for the climate commission we had in our policy [pre-election]? Well, we have to work that through...”
My own tip; cash for clunkers.
===
NSW Labor loses its fifth minister in a scandal
Andrew Bolt
How much worse can it possibly get for this utterly discredited government?
NEW South Wales Ports and Waterways Minister Paul McLeay has resigned from the frontbench after using a parliamentary computer to visit gambling and adult websites…Gone are former education and health minister John Della Bosca (resigned after an affair with a part-time student); Regional Development and Major Events Minister Ian Macdonald (sacked over dodgy expenses); Juvenile Justice Minister Graham West (resigned in frustration); Transport Minister David Campbell (resigned over visits to a gay sex club) and Penrith MP Karyn Paluzzano (resigned over corruption allegations).
The latest scandal to beset the NSW government comes just a week after Ms Keneally lashed out at Labor MPs for repeated bad behaviour…
Five ministers have resigned from Ms Keneally’s government this year.
This is a circus, but without the laughs. Draw the curtain.
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