=== Todays Toon ===
Sir William Wellington Cairns, KCMG (1828 – 1888) was a British colonial administrator, born in County Down, Ireland. He served in various senior colonial civil service posts in the British Empire before being appointed Governor of Queensland in January 1875. He held the post for two years before becoming acting Governor of South Australia. He subsequently returned to England where he died in London on 9 July 1888.
=== Bible Quote ===
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”- Proverbs 29:25=== Headlines ===
Sources: U.S. May Issue Travel Alert to Americans in Europe
URGENT: Obama administration poised to advise U.S. citizens to be vigilant as they travel in Europe after new intelligence pointed to new Al Qaeda threats, senior intelligence officials tell Fox News.Whitman: Brown to Blame for Maid Flap
GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman says Dem rival Jerry Brown is behind scandal over her former illegal immigrant housekeeper, prompting Brown to fire back, saying say Whitman is not fit to be governor
Software Theft Poses Problem... for Thieves
As the FBI cracks a scheme that used 'a potent strain' of the malicious Zeus application to siphon millions from bank accounts in the U.S. and abroad, criminals are having a harder time purchasing the software to deploy the virus
Justice Kagan Plays Supreme Court Rookie
As the high court's term officially kicks off Monday, court watchers eye Kagan's jurisprudence, but most observers believe it will take several years determine how she fits in with her other eight colleagues
Breaking News
Correa declares victory over rebelsECUADOR'S President Rafael Correa has declared victory over rebel security forces behind a mutiny he claims sought to kill him.
Masked men bundle girl into car boot
SEVENTEEN-year-old girl pulled over for kidnappers because she thought she was being stopped by police.
No peace talks if settlements built - PLO
PALESTINIAN leadership says there will be no further peace talks with Israel as long as it continues building in occupied territories.
Panda suffocated to death in zoo
CHINESE experts investigating death of animal on loan to Japanese zoo say it died of asphyxiation.
NSW/ACT
Belanglo body may be overseas backpackerDETECTIVES are preparing a worldwide search to identify the remains of a young woman.
Cold Chisel hit Ute muster
WORKING class men love their utes, so it was the perfect place for Cold Chisel for a one-off gig.
Life after my gay sex scandal
RETIRING NSW MP David Campbell has revealed why he ended his ended his political life.
'Fire brigade boss saw sex assault'
A FIREFIGHTER has claimed NSW Fire Brigades Commissioner Greg Mullins "watched and laughed" as he was sexually assaulted.
What got Sailor through coke suspension
WENDELL Sailor has revealed what helped him get back on his feet after testing positive to cocaine use, which was "simply devastating".
Spring now to buy a unit
PROPERTY buyers will get value for money over the next two months as the market bounces back.
Kiwi climbs Opera House for a lark
'SHEEPISH' New Zealander charged - but not before getting high enough to catch the view.
Queensland
Mergers fail to halt council bloatLOCAL government bureaucracy has ballooned more than two years after controversial mergers to make councils leaner and less costly.
Child care costs set for sharp rise
THE head of the childcare consortium that took over 640 former ABC Early Learning centres says fees could rise by as much as $20 a day from January.
QR National chiefs on gravy train
QR NATIONAL'S executive team and board are on track for a salary and bonus bonanza from the controversial sale of the Government rail freight business.
Water PR bill hard to swallow
IT is the $1 million taxpayer-funded shopping list that could be mistaken for a party planner's inventory rather than a government PR campaign.
Wallaby falls foul of feral fowls
TWO dusky moorhens soon showed a young swamp wallaby who ruled the roost at David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast.
LNP airbrush out defectors
EMBATTLED LNP leader John-Paul Langbroek has been caught trying to airbrush out the troubled history of his tenure by doctoring a picture of his team.
Prisoner release scandal
QUEENSLAND jails have been embarrassed by revelations convicts are being freed too early as prisoners do the crime but fail to do the correct time.
Australia's second saint?
A NUN murdered by terrorists in Peru for the ''crime'' of feeding the poor will be nominated to become Australia's second Catholic saint.
Time change ticks off
DAYLIGHT savings confusion begins today with Queensland and NSW entering their annual six-month time warp.
Teen gang attack Indian restaurant
TEENAGERS ran riot in a Brisbane restaurant, hurling racist abuse at staff and forcing patrons to flee in a shocking attack caught by security cameras.
Victoria
Don't forget daylight saving todayDAYLIGHT saving starts today which means you need to wind your clock forward one hour.
Our CBD parking is equal dearest
MELBOURNE is one of the two most expensive cities in Australia for CBD parking, a nationwide investigation has found.
DFO boss to sell mansion
A LUXURY home owned by the boss of the company behind the embattled Direct Factory Outlet chain is on the market for $4.5m.
Top cop tells senior MP to back off
POLICE chief Simon Overland stands accused of intimidating a Victorian Liberal MP in a bid to block the release of police rosters.
Magpie army storms AAMI Park
THERE were scenes of utter jubilation among the thousands of Magpie supporters who missed out on elusive Grand Final tickets, but celebrated side by side at AAMI Park.
Magnificent Magpies in cakewalk
UPDATE 9.00pm: COLLINGWOOD has won their first AFL Grand Final since 1990, beating St Kilda by a crushing 56 points at the MCG.
Man breaks leg in balcony fall
A MAN was taken to The Alfred hospital last night after falling from a second storey balcony in Greville St, Prahran.
Tragedy as toddler drowns in creek
A FAMILY friend and ambulance officers were unable to revive a boy found floating in a creek at a property in Victoria's north.
Missing fisherman's body found
THE body of an elderly Pakenham fisherman who went missing in Westernport Bay last night has been found after an airwing search.
Footy joy for bereaved Brumby
PIES fan Premier John Brumby has spoken of his joy at watching his beloved team compete in a Grand Final days after the death of his father.
Northern Territory
Nothing newSouth Australia
Splashes of red for RoxbyJUST 10km out of Roxby Downs, in the middle of barren, open desert, a natural marvel has sprung up overnight - thousands of Sturt's desert peas.
Hero dad saves family from fire
OVERCOME with grief, William Cluney cries as he surveys the smoking shell of his house - destroyed by fire.
Cuts, but not both ways
BUDGET cutbacks in the public service have resulted in the Employment Department axing 27 junior and mid-level positions in its employment programs section - but put on an extra 10 senior managers on huge salaries of $96,506 each.
Foley's $22,000 phone bill
TREASURER Kevin Foley racked up a $22,000 taxpayer-funded mobile phone bill in 12 months while planning a horror budget which slashed public service jobs, increased rent for Housing Trust pensioners and condemned The Parks Community Centre.
Western Australia
Can you help animals in need?THE RSPCA is calling on volunteers great and small to help the RSPCA celebrate Happy Tails Day on Friday, October 8.
Armadale win 'shot in the arm for Labor'
THE WA Labor party was handed some much-needed good news last night, hanging onto the safe seat of Armadale.
Composer defends Freo theme song
THE Perth jingle writer who composed Freo Heave Ho has pleaded with the Fremantle Dockers not to change the club's theme song.
AMA wants WACA booze crackdown
THE state's top doctors group has written to the Director of Liquor Licensing calling for tough new laws to curb binge drinking at the WACA Ground.
Kokoda paintball comp 'disrespectful'
WAR veterans have slammed a paintball competition dubbed the Kokoda Campaign.
Education boss pockets big pay rise
WA's education chief has been awarded a pay rise of up to $50,000, taking her annual salary package to more than $400,000.
Hollywood goes Bollywood
IT sounds a logical fit and for one gifted young Australian sportswomen it is just that.
Taser blitz on leavers' parties
POLICE will go armed with Taser stun guns during next month's schoolies' celebrations.
Daylight savers go ahead
WA businesses still want daylight saving, says the state's peak business lobby group.
Tasmania
Nothing new=== Comments ===
Long list of broken promisesPiers Akerman
TAKE the Aboriginal “welcome to country” out of the Gillard Government’s first 100 days in office and voters are left with little beyond broken promises and dodgy claims.
Even the “welcome to country” looks a little dubious given the lack of any real progress to break the cycle of welfare that saps the will of many Aboriginal Australians.
Further, Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s humdrum words were reckoned to be overshadowed by the thoughtful address made by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott - by her critics from her own side of the House - so the new Parliament hardly began on a sparkling note. Indeed, it only got worse and worse.
One of the major promises made by Gillard and by her deputy, Treasurer Wayne Swan, during the dismal election campaign was a resounding pledge to not introduce a carbon tax.
Gillard was insistent that was her position, while Swan said claims that Labor would introduce a carbon tax were “hysterical”.
Abbott also pledged that the Coalition would not introduce a carbon tax. Only he looks like keeping his promise.
The Australian public voted overwhelmingly for the two major parties. According to the Australian Electoral Commission, just under 78 per cent of those who voted gave their votes to Labor (37.99 per cent) or the Coalition (39.58 per cent).
They voted for parties which promised not to introduce a carbon tax.
Gillard has now, at her peril, turned her back on a large number of those who voted for her. She has done this to woo the Greens - who will hold a substantial number of votes in the Senate after July 1 - and to lure the Independents, Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor to her corner.
Like the disastrous Emissions Trading Scheme, which she urged her predecessor Kevin Rudd to dump after the failure of the Copenhagen Conference, the carbon tax is all but dead in the countries that have adopted one, with the price of carbon plummeting.
Gillard’s proposal to set up a committee of MPs and private individuals who must all agree with the Government on the need for some form of a carbon tax is a silly a stunt just like her earlier plan to appoint a committee of citizens to advise her on climate change.
Pushing ahead with this restricted group now - even as one of the world’s leading scientific bodies reports that gaps in scientific knowledge about climate change make it impossible to accurately predict the extent of possible changes and consequences such as rises in sea levels - is an exercise in sheer futility. It may be a sop to a handful of Australians who voted for the Greens or Independents, but their numbers are insignificant in the whole, albeit crucial to Labor’s hold on power. In embracing the few and ignoring the bulk of her support base, Gillard has spat in the eye of those who voted for her platform.
There is an oft-quoted dictum in US politics which says you “dance with the one that brung you”.
Gillard has dumped those who voted for her party and risks alienating them with her newfound infatuation for things regional.
So heavily indebted is she to the cowboy clowns she is even reneging on her promise to fix urban hospitals and prioritise a minor renovation of Hobart’s crumbling hospital by targeting regional health for the speediest fix.
In doing so, she is poking a very sharp stick in the eye of those in western Sydney and western Melbourne who were foolish enough to believe her promises to make their decaying health infrastructure the priority of her new Government. With nothing to show for its 100 days in power, Labor has fallen back on its pre-election spin that Abbott is a wrecker for failing to fall into line with its pitiful agenda. The reality is that Abbott has stayed true to his election promises - and had Labor stayed true to the policies it campaigned on - there may have actually been some consensus.
The position Abbott has stuck to in Opposition is no less than the position Gillard once claimed for her own when she was in Opposition - that is the right to oppose.
“The nature of our democracy is that the wheel turns and times change and who is the party of government and who is the party of opposition changes over time,” she lectured the House in March, 2005.
“One thing should never change and should be shared by everybody in this place is a commitment across parliament - whether in government or in opposition, whether in a governing party or in an opposition party, or indeed whether an Independent - and an understanding of the vital role that the parliament plays in holding the government to account. One of the foundation stones of our system of democracy is that this parliament can hold the Government to account”.
She continued: “That is not just a statement about the nature of being in opposition, though I think there is a special burden placed on members of the opposition because of course, at the end of the day, it is our job to hold the Government to account and to join the government in the public policy debate.”
But though she was then a supporter of “enabling an opposition to play the role that it must play in our parliamentary system: holding the government to account and providing scrutiny of the bills that the government brings before this parliament,” that is not her position today. The wheel has turned and Gillard has shown she is unhappy with the result.
She leads a fractured Government still riven with division over the nature of her own appointment as leader, a Government still saddled with failed Cabinet members and lacking the numbers to take decisive action internally or provide positive leadership for the nation.
Gillard’s willingness to dump key portions of her election promises in order to appease a handful of unrepresentative MPs is not a sound basis upon which to seek the trust of the people. It is a deceit, and deception is not a good foundation for open, honest leadership. - What Gillard has said doesn’t match what Gillard does. She was not accountable for her failures in the last term, and it doesn’t strike me she feels the urge to change. It isn’t as if she is being held to account by her supporters. They were expecting disappointment and she has delivered on that. Thing is, she is in a good position to do everything a reforming government could wish to do, but she would have to give up her pork barrels to do that .. and that is where her support lies. She can always rely on rusted on ALP voting for her, but she also has the self interest of the corrupt to cater for the balance. Those that will support her no matter how bad her policy is for the nation or individuals, but some few will still benefit .. like those with interests in desalination, big business, some mining companies, but not the whole sector. Those in the Aboriginal industry who aren’t necessarily of the culture. For some bizarre reason, the ALP seems to be the party of choice for pedophiles. - ed.
Merilyn Williams repliedOne disturbing aspect of the Hamidur Rahman issue is my involvement, which is by no means direct and the apparent cover up. Is it the case that it has been covered up not because of the tragedy involving the death of that school boy, which I warned his school about a year before it happened, but that the death was a result of my warning the school, and because I had blown the whistle on a bungled pedophile investigation involving another close by school a few years earlier?
DD, you have basically said what I was going to say, that Julia Gillard wad not held to account for the things she did when she was Minister for Education, etc, and was one of the group of four who ran the Government under Rudd, so it should be no surprise that she would continue on that same track, as PM.
Trueblue replied
“the ALP seems to be the party of choice for paedophiles”
A interesting fact DD and I wonder whether there’s some connection between socialism, political correctness and paedophilia.
Why IS the ALP so attractive to kiddie
fiddlers ?
Rocky replied
“The ALP does seem to be the party of choice for paedophiles going by all the proven evidence and convictions. However it gets worse when you investigate further, in Qld the shredding of the heiner documents by the corrupt Goss/Rudd regime to protect paedophiles and the murder of Philip Wood in 1998 when he attempted to expose a paedophile cell within the CMC as detailed by Bill Heffernan in federal parliament. In SA the speaker was ridiculed and destroyed when he attempted to expose paedophilia and murder by ALP politicians. The list goes on for anyone willing to dig a little.
It seems the safest place to be if you are into abusing children is the ALP”
The bungled investigation involved not investigating the alleged, but claiming a behaviour of the alleged perp did not warrant investigation and wasn't a complaint. Now the alleged perp has disappeared and the police do not know what has become of them, although some at the school have said that he had gone to Nepal to practice.
Thing is I don't know anything beyond what I have seen. Yet it concerns me considering the reputation the local area of Cambelltown had regarding pedophilia and the ALP. It concerns me that the press won't report on it, although understandable from any of many possible explanations none of which I have been given. I have been threatened by senior ministers of the ALP, and I have been denied access to my trade despite the apparent demand for it. I want answers. - ed
Piers, politicians of all parties make promises that they can’t keep, remember the core and non core promises? Doesn’t surprise me that Gillard is breaking promises, however I wouldn’t trust Abbott either.MSM got away with a lot by saying they didn’t understand or were confused by good policy. Mr Howard was elected on a campaign to make the GST. He put his case for change forward. In an earlier campaign he had promised not to implement a GST, and he subsequently did not do that in his term of office. With that back ground, the Liberals would get my vote every time. OTOH, the ALP have promised much that was impossible and delivered none of it. They failed to cater for the needs of indigenous persons struggling under appalling conditions, but they have profited from their despair. They made promises about migrants they couldn’t keep. Desperate people have died as a result of their broken promises. I was raised as an ALP supporter, but I would not support them now, unless they changed substantially from their current chosen path. - ed.
Sea Eagle of Central Coast
Ms. Gillard well deserves the title of PM for brazen deceit, and deception for which she has no shame.It isn’t merely one faction which does the heavy lifting, for the ALP. They all are uniquely abysmal. Collectively they stand for self interest and promote corruption. Desperate people die for their decision making, but they control the levers for the dead hand of bureaucracy. - ed.
PeterMax of Adelaide
The duplicity of this woman is breathtaking. Does she really take us all for clueless fools? She needs to be held up to scrutiny on a daily basis for the things she says and does now, compared to her previous utterances and policy positions. Thank goodness for you Piers because unlike many journos, YOU DO! Talk about disingenuous - she is certainly not my prime minister!!!Yes, she takes us for fools. Some were confused by the election campaign to not vote for the conservative parties. Now we have the reward for the success of the ALP campaign. Some still blame Mr Abbott or those behind him, but the real finger of truth points at the corruption of the ALP and the leadership of Rudd and Gillard. - ed
Paul of Manly
===
BALD vs BLONDE
Tim Blair
Considering how Peter Garrett was installed by Labor goons, he can scarcely object to this:
Powerbrokers in the dominant NSW Labor Right are looking to a federal career for the Premier, Kristina Keneally, if Labor loses the state election.Keneally denies any interest in federal politics. Then again, she also claims she’ll be premier beyond 2011.
They are eyeing the electorate of Kingsford Smith, the Labor stronghold held by Peter Garrett, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth.
===
BIKES FIRST
Tim Blair
Special bicycle privileges in Seattle:
What may look to some like a green crosswalk at East Pine Street and 12th Avenue will actually be the city’s first bike box.It may also lead to bike boxing, if tardy cyclists cause slow green-light getaways:
Signs at the intersection will help motorists and cyclists know how to use the new bike box … Basically, when the light is red, motorists will stop before the box and cyclists will enter it. The cyclists will go first when the light turns green, and motorists will continue after them.Sounds like a recipe for sweet roadway harmony. In the modern cycling tradition, these little painted areas are stunningly expensive:
Each bike box costs about $15,000 to install. The paint is actually an aggregate of crushed rock set in epoxy and costs about $10,000. It requires special skills to put down correctly, which results in $5,000 for labor, according to SDOT. The three bike boxes were listed among the city’s top biking and pedestrian projects for 2010 under Mayor Mike McGinn’s “Walk Bike Ride” initiative.Meanwhile:
On Tuesday, McGinn announced a budget proposal that would raise parking meter rates and the commercial parking tax to help solve the city’s financial crisis.And in Sydney:
The first bike library in Australia will be based in Sydney, allowing people to loan cargo bikes and bike trailers.(Via Lee M.)
The Watershed Bike Library, based in Sydney’s inner-western suburb of Newtown, has been set up to meet the growing popularity of commuter and recreational bike riding.?
===
NEIL SMITH
Tim Blair
One of the finest obituaries you’ll ever read. Toast the memory of a solitary man who knew his likes and lived within his means, a man who could be counted upon.
===
The making of Peter Beattie
Andrew Bolt
A protester telling porkies about police brutality? Ah, for the old days when such tales were instantly believed, and stamped the accuser as a man of the future:
A PREVIOUSLY unseen Queensland police dossier has finally shed new light on the now legendary political baptism of former premier Peter Beattie.===
In 1971 Beattie, an 18-year-old university student, was arrested and bashed by police during the city’s wild anti-apartheid protests against a visiting South African rugby team.
He has always claimed he was persecuted for his beliefs and that the incident sent him on the road to politics. The incident cast Beattie as Labor hero.
But the 40-year-old dossier, including police reports, witness statements and medical assessments, alleges that it was Beattie himself who taunted police and sparked the melee outside Brisbane’s Trades Hall.
And doctors who assessed Beattie in hospital after his supposed bashing declared he showed no signs of having been subject to undue force by the arresting officers.
Damn, that’s useful research
Andrew Bolt
Research you can use:
BRITISH research which found that swearing helped people cope better with pain was honored at the Ig Nobels, an American parody of the Nobel Prizes.===
Scientists from the University of Keele… recruited 64 volunteers for the study, each of whom was given the gruelling task of submerging their hand in a tub of freezing water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice.
They were then asked to repeat the experiment, this time using neutral words, such as “table.”
On average, the volunteers were able to tolerate the pain for nearly two minutes when swearing compared with one minute and 15 seconds when not.
CNN, its Cuban host and that Jewish “bigot” who attacked him
Andrew Bolt
CNN’s Rick Sanchez on “bigot” Jon Stewart, a Jew, who picks on him, the poor Hispanic:
Dominick: How is he a bigot?Then, after being told that Stewart is Jewish and Jews might well understand the troubles of a powerless minority:
Sanchez: I think he looks at the world through, his mom, who was a school teacher, and his dad, who was a physicist or something like that. Great, I’m so happy that he grew up in a suburban middle class New Jersey home with everything you could ever imagine.
Dominick: What group is he bigoted towards?
Sanchez: Everybody else who’s not like him. Look at his show, I mean, what does he surround himself with?
Very powerless people… [snickers] He’s such a minority, I mean, you know [sarcastically]… Please, what are you kidding? … I’m telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart, and to imply that somehow they — the people in this country who are Jewish — are an oppressed minority? Yeah.CNN on Rick Sanchez:
Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company. We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well.What Sam Rubin says CNN failed to say:
In light of Rick Sanchez’s radio interview, we have fired him. Sanchez’s views, which in our view, are clearly anti-Semitic, demand an immediate response, and our response is this, we have asked him to leave CNN immediately. We object strongly to Sanchez’s statement that Jon Stewart is a bigot. We also object to Sanchez’s statement that the Jewish management at CNN would not advance his career. CNN’s management is not characterized by race nor religion. The company that Rick Sanchez described is not our company.===
I’d better not comment
Andrew Bolt
A defence of free speech,albeit ungracious and pitched to the prejudices of the typical Age staffer.(It starts: “ANDREW Bolt is getting sued. Don’t applaud yet.") I’m advised I should not freely speak about this case or allow you to freely comment on it, so I’ve turned off the comment facility.
UPDATE
The piece includes these lines:
At worst, Bolt is deliberately and provocatively disrespectful… Of course, Bolt tackles the issue with trademark belligerence.This criticism appears next to an illustration which inadvertently and respectfully, and without belligerence, portrays me as a horned-and-tailed Satan.
UPDATE 2
A much fairer editorial on the matter, even if it repeats a claim I strongly dispute. I have written my own article on this issue but have,on legal advice, been unable to publish it. I apologise again for not being free to speak out this important matter.
===
Just a little bit extinct
Andrew Bolt
Is it because there’s fame to win - and a cause to prosecute - by declaring an extinction?
A study has found that a third of all mammal species declared extinct in the past few centuries have turned up alive and well.
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