=== Todays Toon ===
Sir Henry Barkly, GCMG, KCB, FRS, FRGS (24 February 1815 – 20 October 1898) was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences.
=== Bible Quote ===
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”- 1 Peter 5:8-9=== Headlines ===
2 DAYS TO DECIDE: Bold Predictions in 'Earthquake' Election
With midterm elections just a couple of days away, Republican Sen. John Cornyn, right, says the GOP will win big, while his counterpart Chris Van Hollen says voters will keep Dems in controlMiller Alleges CBS Child 'Molester' Smear
Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller's campaign claims it has audio proof of local reporters at a CBS affiliate scheming about ways to connect the Republican nominee to child 'molesters,' a claim the TV station denies
Tea Time: Know Your 2010 Candidate
Love it or hate it, the 2010 election may be remembered most for the political phenomenon known as the Tea Party — and FoxNews.com brings you the guide to the candidates backed by the movement
Yemen Releases Mail Bomb Plot Suspect
Authorities in Yemen release the female computer engineering student from custody that they originally suspected of mailing explosive packages, saying that her identity was stolen
Parcel bomb suspect released
A WOMAN arrested in Sanaa on suspicion of having sent two parcel bombs on US-bound flights has been released.
Guards killed in stock exchange attack
TWO guards at Baghdad's stock exchange have been killed in clashes with gunmen trying to battle their way into the building.
Woman in Halloween costume dies in fall
A YOUNG teacher teacher dressed for a Halloween party as the Watchmen superhero character Silk Spectre fell four floors to her death when she tried to slide down a banister at a hotel.
Iraqis held hostage in Baghdad church
IRAQI police have stormed a Catholic church t in downtown Baghdad in pursuit of gunmen who were holding as many as 10 people hostage inside.
One dead, 6 injured in US bar shooting
ONE person was killed and six others were injured early today in a shooting at a bar in Chicago police said.
Sharks hit the beach
LIFEGUARDS are on a heightened shark watch as huge schools of fish move close inshore off Sydney's most popular beaches.
Walkers build bridges for charity
FORMER Olympic swimmer Elka Graham and newsreader Mark Ferguson have joined more than 12,000 people for the Seven Bridges Walk.
Monkey goes missing
IF YOU see a cross-eyed monkey any time soon, chances are it has been stolen.
Canterbury on the road to ruin
NO council area has generated more complaints to The Daily Telegraph's Fix Your Street campaign than Canterbury.
Speed camera private cash bonus
PRIVATE speed camera operators will be paid incentives based partly on drivers they help to prosecute.
Outsiders take control of our power
POWER companies could be given remote control over air conditioners in malls, offices and homes under a radical proposal.
Cab hurls man 8m
A MAN was hit by a taxi and thrown into the air after he lay down in a busy road early today.
Weekend rail trippers face chaos
THOUSANDS of commuters are set to be denied rail access to major sporting events and the city centre every second weekend.
Cycle scheme impact unclear
BICYCLE hire schemes are good ideas but may have little impact, especially in terms of better health, researchers say.
Logan boy's body found in water
A YOUNG rugby league player from Logan died in front of his father and teammates on Saturday, slipping on rocks and plunging 8m into a swimming hole.
Lottery to choose Watson's judge
HONEYMOON killer Gabe Watson stands a 50-50 chance of facing trial before a female judge in Birmingham, Alabama.
Jockeys 'need drug counselling'
STATHI Katsidis' partner Melissa Jackson has called for the appointment of a drug and alcohol counsellor for jockeys.
Tenants leave landlords in red
Tenants are running riot in Queensland rental properties, costing some landlords tens of thousands of dollars in repairs.
Inquest to focus on Taser use
Findings of a trial into Taser-mounted cameras awaited ahead of inquest into the Taser-related death of a north Queensland man.
Man dies in NQ ute smash
A MAN has died after his ute and a semi trailer collided near Collinsville north-west of Mackay on Sunday afternoon.
Beaches close as stingers move in
STINGER season has come early, with most of the state's beaches north of Mackay due to be shut down on Monday.
Girl stable after quarry jump
AN 18-year-old woman who jumped into a water-filled quarry in Brisbane’s south this afternoon is in a stable condition despite injuring her back.
Lib candidate quits amid race row
THE Liberal Party is scrambling to find a new candidate for a key country seat after the original contender quit amid a race row.
Events a major windfall
VICTORIA'S major events calendar generates $1.4 billion of economic benefits to the state, a new study has claimed.
Home-brew mum risks jail
A MOTHER spared jail after getting her five-year-old son drunk on home brew will fight her conviction and risk a tougher sentence.
Cousins perfect baby trifecta
COUSINS Jenna Pauw and Kate and Angela Parks have always been close, but they never expected to give birth on the same day.
Dams half full after deluge
MELBOURNE'S dams are half full for the first time in four years.
How Hep C doctor ruined lives
VICTIMS have told how their lives have been ruined by an anaesthetist who is accused of infecting them with hepatitis C.
Bikie gang may have rip-off link
AN outlaw motorcycle gang is suspected of involvement in a scam that fleeced $1.4 million from mum and dad investors.
Jail for work bullies
TOUGH new laws for workplace bullies - including jail terms - will be investigated if the Brumby Government retains power.
Pressure your bank
BORROWERS could snare up to $10,000 in hidden discounts on a typical home loan if they barter with the banks.
Dam levels rise to 50 per cent
MELBOURNE'S dams are half-full for the first time in four years after city's heaviest October rainfall in 35 years.
Man missing after falling from yacht
NORTHERN Territory police are searching waters near Bathurst Island, north of Darwin, for a 67-year-old sailor who fell overboard from his yacht.
German tourist found dead in Kakadu park
THE body of a German tourist has been found in the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park.
Islanders have corellas in sights
UP to 1000 little corellas may have to be killed as Kangaroo Island residents try to rid themselves of the unwelcome visitors from the mainland.
Cirkids forced to pack their bags
CIRKIDZ circus school and performing troupe has been forced to pack up its trapeze and find a new home.
Jetty jumpers risk death
LIFESAVERS have warned jetty jumpers they risk death or serious injury after a series of near-misses on Adelaide beaches in the past week.
October rain below average
ADELAIDE'S October rainfall will fall well short of the average, despite the weekend's wet weather.
Survey stumbles upon rare volcano
SCIENTISTS have discovered an extinct volcano, in deep sea off the state's far west coast.
Crackdown on child safety seats
CHILD restraint and seatbelt use will be targeted in a month-long police crackdown throughout November, following the end of a grace period.
GPs lose right to remain silent
NEGLIGENT doctors will be forced to explain themselves to their victims for the first time under a system which abolishes their right to silence in discipline hearings.
Call to fast track city-loop trams
A CITY tram loop should be the number one light rail extension priority instead of the planned "coast-to-coast" extension, the Thinker in Residence says.
Missing - 200,000 votes
ALMOST 200,000 businesses and landlords have been struck off the voters' roll for this month's local government elections.
Protest against sprawl gains legs
OUTRAGED Mt Barker and McLaren Vale residents have demanded the State Government reconsider plans to turn farmland into urban sprawl.
Teen bashed with hammer outside wild party
A TEENAGER bashed with a hammer early this morning outside an out-of-control Beeliar party is being treated for serious head injuries and a fractured eye socket.
City traffic pollution is killing our kids
AN alarming WA medical study has revealed a link between city traffic pollution and an increase in severe childhood asthma attacks.
Nothing new
=== Comments ===
President Obama and the Upcoming ElectionBY BILL O'REILLY
The president continues his campaign to try to convince Americans that his administration is on the verge of success and that voters should not toss the Democrats out of office.
On Monday the president made a mistake, however, telling the Univision Radio network that Hispanic-Americans should vote against their "enemies," clearly referring to Republicans. As we said the other night, the president should not use race in appealing for votes.
On Wednesday, Mr. Obama talked to Jon Stewart in the hopes of mobilizing young voters:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": How did we go, in two years, from hope and change, we are the people we have been looking for to you are not going to give them the keys, are you? Are you disappointed in how it's gone? Are you surprised that other people, even your base, can be disappointed? Or do you reject that narrative?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know, look, when I won and we started the transition…
STEWART: Yes.
OBAMA: …and we looked at what was happening in the economy, a whole bunch of my political folks came up and said, you know what? Enjoy this now because two years from now folks are going to be frustrated. And that is, in fact, what's happened. But, having said that, I look over the last 18 months and I say we prevented the second Great Depression. We've stabilized the economy. An economy that was shrinking is now growing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
You can decide whether the president's description of his economic policies is accurate. But the polls continue to say that many independent voters are not buying what Mr. Obama is selling, which may be unfair but it's reality.
Mr. Stewart continued, asking the president about his decline in the polls:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Is the difficulty that you have here the distance between what you ran on and what you delivered?
OBAMA: This is something where, you know, I have a profound disagreement with you and I don't want to lump you in with a lot of other pundits.
STEWART: You may.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, no. Look, this notion that health care was timid. You have got 30 million people who are going to get health insurance as a consequence of this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
So the president is basically hanging tough, not conceding that his first two years in office have been rocky. And I think the man truly believes what he is saying. He thinks his policies are saving the nation.
The Great Depression line is a key. The president has convinced himself that the massive federal spending has saved the nation from a repeat of the 1930s. Of course, that's impossible to prove one way or the other. Therefore, it is a pure political play.
Next Tuesday's vote will be fascinating. In the space of two years, the country has gone from electing a charismatic newcomer to perhaps rejecting his entire agenda.
THINK ABOUT IT: That is a stunning turn if it happens.
In my lifetime, this is one of the most interesting elections I've seen.
===
They wish
Andrew Bolt
CBS News claims the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally was much bigger than Glenn Beck’s.
Nonsense, says Charles Martin. The reverse, in fact, and he proves it.
UPDATE
I like Jon Stewart, but David Burchell nails the moral hollowness at the core of his show:
The Daily Show is probably as good an indicator as exists of the swamp of self-indulgence into which Left politics has slipped over the last generation. Since earnestness is by definition uncool, and since the sophistication of one’s politics is chiefly to be measured by the potency of one’s negative wit, clever folks who wish to be thought progressive are nowadays required to engage in a rather complicated ballet, the dual purpose of which is to appear more caring and sympathetic than other people, even as you project a general attitude of ironic disdain towards the objects of your care and sympathy(Thanks to reader Spencer de Vere and Instapundit.)
UPDATE 2
That said, Stewart said it beautifully at the rally, in decrying the modern fashion of smear-by-labelling:
If we amplify everything, we hear nothing ... There are terrorists and racists and Stalinists and Theocrats. But those are titles that must be earned. You must have the resume. Not being able to distinguish between real racists and Tea Partiers and real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez is an insult not only to those people, but to the racists themselves who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate.It’s interesting that the two examples Stewart gave are smears from the Left.
===
Doesn’t the ABC watch its own eco-scare shows?
Andrew Bolt
The next time the ABC preaches yet again about global warming and our dreadful environmental footprint, ask why it’s using more water and pumping out more greenhouse gases than ever.
===
How the ABC shields the Greens
Andrew Bolt
The Australian Conservative describes how ABC host Jon Faine shut down an attempt to question a Greens supporter:
Melbourne ABC radio presenter Jon Faine threatened to switch off his guest panellists’ microphones this morning when one of them—IPA executive director John Roskam—tried to press questions on the policies of the Australian Greens.This report doesn’t even describe just how desperately loaded this “conversation” was. Listen at the link. The Greens-leaning Warhaft was allowed to speak long and uninterrupted by Faine, himself Greens-sympathetic. The Greens caller was allowed to speak at length, even when he falsely accused Roskam of being a liar. But whenever the outnumbered Roskam attempted to speak as the lone voice of the non-Greens majority…
Faine’s threat came after Roskam tried to question “Rob of Monbulk”, a Greens’ supporter, during the program’s talkback segment.
The caller phoned in to criticise Roskam over the IPA boss’s opposition to trialling drug injection rooms. But when Roskam attempted to ask the caller about the Greens’ policies on euthanasia and carbon taxes, Faine would not let him do so, declaring that he wanted to “move on”.
Roskam said this was an example of why the Greens are enjoying growing electoral support – “no one has ever held them to account"…
When Roskam attempted to question the caller about electricity prices, his co-panellist, former editor of The Monthly Sally Warhaft, urged the Greens’ supporter not to answer.
Jon Faine said, “And we’re moving on, we’re moving on, we’re moving on, we’re moving on, and we’re moving on. I can turn your microphones off, but it would be a drastic step to do so.”
(Thanks to reader Duncan.)
===
He should be several steps behind. And probably a lot more
Andrew Bolt
Tim Mathieson struck me as a very pleasant bloke when I met him, despite some colorful reports on his chequered business career as a hairdresser and even more colorful reports on his love life.But I do wonder if his presence at high ceremonial occasions does his partner, Julia Gillard, much good with the voters. Not actually being married to the Prime Minister and not having a distinguished career of his own just adds to the impression Matheison seems to give of an underemployed bloke who can’t believe his amazing luck. I suspect many voters will begrudge him that luck.
More deadly for Gillard, having Mathieson by her side at leaders’ meeting overseas tends to emphasise just what a fish out of water she seems there. I’ll be brutally blunt: it also defines that awkwardness as a case of a wide-eyed bogan elevated to beyond her station.
I know, that’s a cruel exaggeration. But if Labor doesn’t swiftly address this presentation problem, crueler will be the public reaction.
===
Complete surprise announced: Labor’s still spending big
Andrew Bolt
I don’t wish to shock you with totally unexpected news, but it seems this Labor Government just can’t deliver the spending restraint it solemnly promised:THE budget deficit hit a record $63.3 billion in the year to September as a result of soaring government spending and stagnant revenue.Good luck with Labor’s promise to return the budget to surplus in 2012-13.
The Department of Finance insists the budget is still on track to get the deficit down to $40.8bn for the full financial year. However, the first few months show spending is continuing to climb.
CommSec chief economist Craig James says government spending in the first three months of the financial year was $9.6bn higher than it was in the same period last year, while revenue was $1.9bn lower.
He said September budget figures, which were released by the Department of Finance on Friday, did not yet show any sign of the boost to revenue on which the government’s estimate of a reduced deficit depended.
“The main concern is that revenues are still trending sideways rather than showing signs of repair. Meanwhile government spending is at record highs and showing no signs of stabilising,” Mr James said. “The risk is that both Treasury and the Reserve Bank have underestimated the softness of the economy.”
===
Victorian Labor builds a “parasite city”
Andrew Bolt
Bob Birrell and Ernest Healy ask if Melbourne has become a “parasite city” under Labor:
Melbourne appears to be booming. Job growth is far more rapid than in Sydney. This article shows that Melbourne’s economy is being driven by population growth and that most job growth is in the city-building and people-servicing industries. The city’s apparent boom is obscuring its poor performance in exports to international markets. When export and imports are taken into account, the growth in per capita gross state product in Victoria is the slowest of all Australian states and territories since 2000–01. Melbourne is becoming increasingly dependent on external support.Birrell and Healy say Victoria’s deficit on overseas trade was $35.7 billion in 2008-9, up from $15.3 billion 10 years earlier. The frantic building you see around the city has come not from building stuff to make us more competitive, but from building stuff just to squeeze in the 90,000 people coming to Melbourne each year, two thirds of them international students. The growth has ‘’led to delusions of endless growth’’ within the Brumby government..
But Birrell and Healy point to warning signs of a reckoning. International student numbers seem set to fall, after propping up population growth for so long. Increases in interest rates could squeeze the housing boom. The infrastructure boom, mainly to service a booming population, is financed by overseas borrowings and a share of Commonwealth grants that may not be sustainable.
Meanwhile:
The warning came as the treasurer in the Kennett government, Alan Stockdale, said Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu would have to fix an economic mess if he won next month’s election.===
Mr Stockdale, now federal Liberal president, told a business lunch that after 11 years of the Bracks/Brumby government, the state economy was in almost as bad a state as it was after the ‘’discredited’’ Labor government of John Cain and Joan Kirner.
The Kennett government had cut state debt to $5 billion over its seven years in office, down from $32 billion in 1992. Now debt was forecast to be $31.7 billion in 2014.
Taxes were rising, massive cost blowouts on major projects were now ‘’the norm’’ and only Commonwealth grants were hiding the extent of Victoria’s ‘’underlying budget deficit’’, Mr Stockdale said.
They missing him yet?
Andrew Bolt
The answer in Texas seems “yes”.
Ah, when adults ruled…
(Thanks to reader Paul.)
===
Warmists put Norfolk Island on rations
Andrew Bolt
The global warming faith is just the latest vehicle for people who like to order other people around “for their own good”. Nothing reveals its appeal to the inner totalitarian better than the latest taxpayer-funded research of the Southern Cross University:Southern Cross University is set to lead a project testing the world’s first Personal Carbon Trading program conducted in a ‘closed system’ island environment on Norfolk Island commencing early next year.Of course, to fulfil its mission, the experiment will have to include the bit where emissions are forced down if the guinea pigs don’t respond to the bribes.
This follows the announcement this week of a Linkage Projects grant by the Australian Research Council valued at $390,000.
Leading chief investigator Professor Garry Egger, a Professor of Lifestyle Medicine and Applied Health Promotion at Southern Cross University, said the main goals of the project were to test the effectiveness of a Personal Carbon Trading scheme over a three year period; reduce per capita carbon emissions and reduce obesity and obesity related behaviours…
“This is a project for looking at reducing climate change and obesity in the one hit…
“The way the system will work is basically it will involve giving everyone on the island a carbon card, like a credit or debit card, and they will get carbon units on that card. Then every time they go and pay for their petrol or their power - and from the second year their food - it will not only be paid for in money but it will also come off the carbon units that they are given for free at the start of the program.
“If they’re frugal and don’t buy a lot of petrol or power or fatty foods, then they can actually have units to spare at the end of a set time period so that they can cash those in at the bank and make money from them.
“If they aren’t frugal and they are very wasteful and they produce a lot of carbon and consume unhealthy foods then every year they will have to buy extra units. Also over time - as we target lower carbon emissions and increasing health goals - the number of carbon units they are given will go down and therefore the price for the individual will go up to sustain that lifestyle they are not prepared to forego...”
(Thanks to reader Welcome to 1984.)
UPDATE
On MTR 1377 this morning, Professor Egger told me his idea was borrowed from this British proposal:
The Environment Agency will argue today that carbon rationing is the fairest and most effective way for the UK to meet its legally binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions.Nor was this proposal just the thought-bubble of some out-of-control quango:
The Agency’s chairman, Lord Smith, will propose at the organisation’s annual conference in London that every citizen be provided with a “carbon account” and unique number that they submit when buying carbon-intensive items such as petrol, electricity or airline tickets.
Individuals would then periodically receive statements that show the carbon impact of each purchase and how much of their annual ration has been used up. If they exceeded this ration, they would need to buy extra credits from those people that have not used their full allowance, in a similar fashion to existing emission cap-and-trade schemes.
Lord Smith, former culture secretary under the Blair Government, is expected to say that carbon rationing will help citizens “judge how they want to develop their own quality of life in a sustainable way”.
The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee called on the Government last year (2008) to resume research on a rationing scheme and to be “courageous” in seeking to overcome likely public hostility to the idea…But although the idea has kicked around for a while, it seems that some basic questions have not been answered.
The committee concluded: “Widespread public acceptance, while desirable, should not be a pre-condition for a personal carbon trading scheme; the need to reduce emissions is simply too urgent.”
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, called for a “thought experiment” on carbon rationing when he was Environment Secretary in 2006.
Egger told me his carbon-rationing plan could be one day spread to the whole mainland, so that citizens who’d blown their ration by buying too much fatty food, for instance, would find that buying more “credits” prohibitively expensive. I asked what would happen to a fat and poor family who’d maxed out on their ration card. Would they then starve? Egger said this was a problem they’d have to work on.
Er, right.
UPDATE 2
More on the trial:Each year the quota of carbon units will be reduced, and the price of a high carbon emission lifestyle will rise.So those who look like making money will join, and those who’d blow their rations can opt out - for now. Some test.
Although it will be a voluntary scheme, the incentive to participate was obvious, Professor Egger said: ‘’People can make money out of it.’’…
The Norfolk Island trial will determine whether the approach is acceptable to people or not. If so, it could eventually be scaled up to a country level, and then world level, he said.
Egger himself should be overdrawn on his carbon rations - if the scheme was made to apply to him, too:
He has been invited to speak to business people at the United Nations climate change conference in Mexico in December.===
Gillard is no PM
Andrew Bolt
On Insiders yesterday, I said Julia Gillard seemed out her depth.
Peter Brent tends to agree that this is indeed how Gillard appears, and suggests an excuse:
Several observers have commented that after four months Julia Gillard is not yet looking prime ministerial. She lacks that hard-to-define ‘something’: gravitas; authority. This might account for the absence of a post-election opinion poll bounce…I suspect the explanation is much simpler, and I repeat: she’s out of her depth. Observe the difference:
I reckon she doesn’t really want it.
I don’t mean the prime ministership – she wants that – but the accoutrements. At some level she doesn’t want to be prime ministerial.
To use a juvenile expression favoured by a certain former PM, Gillard doesn’t want to seem ‘elitist’. She’s scared of appearing ‘up herself’.
Plain talking. Associated Press, July 22:===HILLARY Rodham Clinton has urged Vietnam to improve its human-rights record. Clinton said [Vietnam] “is on the path to becoming a great nation with an unlimited potential”. To fulfil that promise, though, she said the communist government must ease curbs on free speech and political activity. “That is among the reasons we expressed concern about arrest and conviction of people for peaceful dissent, attacks on religious groups and curbs on Internet freedom.”.Plain talking? Julia Gillard in Hanoi yesterday:JOURNALIST: Hillary Clinton yesterday had strong comments to Vietnam about its human rights record and her concerns. Will you be raising human rights concerns?
PM: I will be having some comprehensive discussions today with the leaders of Vietnam. I’ll have the discussions and then we’ll talk about matters raised in the discussions, but I anticipate we’ll have a comprehensive engagement across all things in the relationship.
Obama loses even the heckler vote
Andrew Bolt
Getting into a slanging match with AIDS activists shows that Barack Obama is not just losing the Left. He’s losing it, full stop. Did George Bush ever lose his cool like this?
That said, what is it with the Left and shouting people down?
UPDATE
Of intolerant Lefitst hecklers and a man who could deal with them with grace:
UPDATE 2
Power Line says the polls indicate a hiding for Democrats, who are copping the consequences in part of a disenchantment with Obama:
===
What we could have done with that water with a new dam
Andrew Bolt
Remember when the Victorian Labor Government said it couldn’t build a new dam because global warming was drying up the rains?
Melbourne has had its wettest October since 1975, with 135.4 millimetres of rain falling in the city by late yesterday, about 70 millimetres more than the monthly average.===
Now that’s a sex scandal
Andrew Bolt
Our own “scandals” are so hum-drum:Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi is facing new calls to resign over links to a 17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer.===
The 74-year-old is alleged to have given the girl (above) £6,000 as a gift and reportedly called police to free her after she had been detained for theft.
Fed exed
Andrew Bolt
The plot explained:
AL Qaeda bomb plotters hoped to stage a Lockerbie-style outrage over Britain.===
Explosives found inside a modified printer ink cartridge on board a cargo plane at East Midlands Airport were primed to detonate in mid-air…
Home Secretary Theresa May yesterday said: “I can confirm that the device was viable and could have exploded. The target may have been an aircraft and had it it detonated, the aircraft could have been brought down.”
Security chiefs initially believed the bomb, which was to be activated via a timer, was destined for a synagogue in the US.
Isn’t “compassion” best judged by the results?
Andrew Bolt
Labor makes its boat people laws more “compassionate”, and what do we get? More boats, more deaths, more detainees, more bills and more self-harm, too:
Data from the Immigration Department shows there were 53 incidents of self-harm in Australian immigration detention camps in the period from July 1 to October 25.
There were only 39 incidents of self-harm for the whole of the 2009-10 financial year and just 10 in 2008-09.
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