=== Todays Toon ===
Arthur Lyulph Stanley, 5th Baron Sheffield KCMG (14 September 1875 – 22 August 1931), also 5th Baron Stanley of Alderley and 4th Baron Eddisbury, was an English nobleman and Governor of Victoria from 1914 to 1920.
=== Bible Quote ===
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”- Psalm 119:18=== Headlines ===
Ethics Panel Finds Rangel Guilty on 11 Violations of House Rules
House ethics panel finds Rep. Charles Rangel guilty on 11 counts of breaking House rules, charges that include financial and fundraising wrongdoing by the 80-year-old congressman from New York.Senate Challenge on Earmarks Expected
As Senate Republicans move to approve a two-year ban on earmarks, Sen. Tom Coburn is part of a bipartisan duo expected to challenge the move
Chinese 'Hijacked' U.S. Web Traffic
When 15 percent of the world's Internet traffic — including the Pentagon — was redirected last April onto computer servers in China, it may have left the sites vulnerable to surveillance
Beyond the Call of Duty To Save His Buddies
President Obama will present Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta — who raced head-on into an enemy ambush to save the lives of two American soldiers in Afghanistan — with the Medal of Honor
Hundreds of foetuses found in temple
THE bodies of more than 340 human foetuses, apparently from an illegal abortion clinic, were discovered inside a Buddhist temple in central Bangkok, Thai police said overnight.
Muslims torch Christian homes
MUSLIMS set fire overnight to at least 10 houses belonging to Coptic Christians in a village in southern Egypt over rumours that a Christian resident had an affair with a Muslim girl, security officials said today.
French cuisine makes world heritage list
UNESCO today declared French cuisine one of the world's cultural treasures, the first time gastronomy has been added to a list aiming to protect intangible slices of a nation's heritage.
iTunes to sell Beatles music
BEATLES for Sale is finally for sale on iTunes - along with the rest of the Fab Four's albums, from Please Please Me to Revolver to Abbey Road.
Iran security 'strike French diplomats'
IRANIAN security agents struck French diplomats in scuffles at a Tehran embassy residence, prompting France to summon Iran's ambassador and complain of "unacceptable violence", officials said overnight.
Wealthy schools cover-up alleged
PARENTS won't be told the true wealth of elite schools when the updated My School website is launched next month, allegedly.
Please DON'T fix our street
SUE Roker and Robyn Martin, neighbours in Newcastle, just want Newcastle City Council to leave Lambton Road the way it is.
Father and son facing kill counts
A MAN and his father have been charged over the disappearance and suspected murder of high-ranking Nomads bikie Neil Green.
Cash cow suburb angry at levies
THEY paid more than $5 million in levies to their local council - but can't get a pedestrian crossing to escape speeding trucks.
'A higher levy is not enough'
VICTIMS of crime have backed State Government plans to boost a compensation fund but fear it could still fall short of demands.
Fed-up Muslims to take on ALP
ISLAMIC leaders declare war on the NSW Labor, calling for pro-Muslim candidates to run in key western seats.
Libs water down liquor shame law
A LIST of the most violent pubs dumped in favour of "three strikes", says Coalition
Miner dismisses sand theft claim
SAND miner Unimin is digging in against environmentalists over North Stradbroke Island, declaring any illegal mining was carried out with the "full knowledge" of the State Government.
At-risk children wait 18 months
CHILDREN'S lives are at risk if health bosses do not cut an 18-month waiting list to see a paediatric allergy specialist, experts have warned.
Bligh cuts breast screening funds
A CAMPAIGN credited with encouraging an extra 13,000 women to have potentially life-saving mammograms has been controversially cut by the Bligh Government.
Trains to get boost in numbers
TRAINS will run every six minutes during peak-hour at some of Brisbane's busiest stations in the biggest overhaul of the Citytrain timetable in more than a decade.
More MPs buck gay marriage stance
A QUEENSLAND Labor MP has broken ranks to back same-sex marriage as pressure builds within the party to overturn the ALP's official opposition.
Combat vehicle has lots of grunt
IT has a Falcon automatic gearbox, can run on jet fuel, has an F1 engineering pedigree and will withstand a bomb blast - but you can't buy one.
LNP gas pledge is 'hot air'
THE Opposition's promise of a new body to oversee coal seam gas and groundwater in Queensland is ``too little, too late'', environmentalists claim.
Noosa's koala population dwindles
NOOSA National Park's famed koala population is on the brink of being wiped out.
Chinese rush to call Australia home
THE number of Chinese migrants moving to Australia has almost doubled in a decade, a new report reveals.
Man killed, four hurt in smash
A MAN is dead and four people are injured after a car collided with a pole in Melbourne's north overnight.
Police officer wins over 'wog' insult
VICTORIA Police spent almost $300k of taxpayers' money trying to beat an officer's complaint that he was called a "f---ing wog" at work.
Public service army balloons
ALMOST one in 10 Victorians works for the state because of unprecedented growth in the public sector under the Brumby Government.
State schools pay $4m for bully victims
STATE school students who sued after being bullied or injured have received payouts of more than $4 million in the past two years.
More females drinking at risky levels
AN alarming number of Victorian women are turning to alcohol at dangerous levels, far outdrinking their male colleagues.
School apology over gay ruckus
THE girls' school at the centre of a gay partner controversy wants to apologise to the students concerned.
Tortured teen's life rebuilt by surgeon
A BANGLADESHI teen shot during an uprising has been given his life back by Melbourne surgeons who restored the use of his arm.
Hi-tech heaven for mum
IT'S not only juggling the needs of four children aged under eight that wears out Lillian Kline.
Be careful when selling gold
CUSTOMERS wanting to cash in on unwanted jewellery could be offered as little as half its value.
Qantas plane damaged in lightning strike
A QANTAS flight has been struck by lightning soon after takeoff on its way from Alice Springs to Darwin.
Doomsday cult chief to face court
CONTROVERSIAL religious cult leader Rocco Leo will return to South Australia in January to face assault charges, The Advertiser has learned.
Danger signs all point to SA
THE South Australian Film Corporation has been transformed into Adolf Hitler's lair for Adelaide's first locally produced fictional adult TV series in two years.
Minister blunders again
A SENIOR minister has questioned the intelligence of those who put his Government into office - saying South Australian are less well-educated than other states.
Recall of 'leaked' Burnside draft files
COPIES of a controversial report into Burnside Council are being recalled as "extracts" from the suppressed document are being made public.
Youth comfortable in their own skin
SOUTH Australian teens are more positive about their body image than interstate peers but are more concerned about violent crime.
Extremists warn of invasion
EXTREME nationalists are bombarding homes with flyers opposing the "refugee invasion in the Adelaide Hills".
Olympic Dam plan within days
MINING giant BHP Billiton will hand a long-awaited Olympic Dam environmental plan to the federal and state governments within 10 days.
Pokies 'soft target'' in crime spate
INVESTIGATORS will pull in extra resources - including the police helicopter - to stop a spate of armed robberies on hotel pokie rooms.
SACE exam question pulled
A QUESTION has been pulled from a SACE maths exam already completed by some students.
Cat's horrific end recorded on video
A MAN laughed as he tortured his housemate's cat by "chopping" it with a shovel and setting it on fire, a court has heard
Government blocks Barnett-Carles inquiry
GOVERNMENT uses its numbers in Parliament to stop the 'staff for votes' deal between Colin Barnett and Adele Carles being referred to a powerful committee.
Crash closes Great Northern Hwy
GREAT Northern Highway has been closed to all traffic following a serious traffic crash in Upper Swan that has left two men critically injured.
Avatar star joins Sea Shepherd
HOLLYWOOD actress Michelle Rodriguez, star of blockbuster Avatar, is in Fremantle throwing her support behind anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd.
Man denies '160km/h Lamborghini test'
A PERTH mechanic has denied driving a Lamborghini at 160km/h and telling officers that he was taking it on a test run because of performance issues.
Bikie link to firebombed tattoo parlour
POLICE are investigating whether a tit-for-tat feud between rival Rebels and Rock Machine bikies is to blame for the firebombing of a Bibra Lake tattoo parlour early this morning.
Bank ordered to pay stressed boss
A FORMER Perth bank manager who was driven to a nervous breakdown by stress has won a legal battle against the Commonwealth Bank for withholding his entitlements.
Man on Salvos robbery charges
POLICE have charged a 29-year-old man who allegedly stole an axe and used it to rob a Salvation Army store.
Woman charged after robbery, chase
A 28-YEAR-old woman has been charged with a string of offences, including the robbery of a 90-year-old woman in her Redcliffe home just over a week ago.
Cane toad find sparks suburban hunt
A CANE toad discovered in a Bayswater front garden may have hitched a ride from Queensland, wildlife officials suspect.
Jetstar to fly Gold Coast-Hobart
DIRECT flights from the Gold Coast to Hobart will start next month.
Salvos up security after $1m crimewave
THE Salvation Army has been forced into a national roll-out of security cameras to combat theft.
=== Journalists Corner ===
Prince William Gets Engaged!All of Britain is buzzing today with the official announcement that Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged!
===
12 in 2012: Sarah Palin
Can being a Tea Party favorite carry Sarah Palin all the way to the White House in 2012?
===
Airport Screenings: Safety Precaution or Sleazy Practice?
Are "intimate" airport pat-downs an invasion of privacy? Ann Coulter sounds off! Plus, making a modern-day president! Is the job just too big for any one individual to control? Charles Krauthammer responds on O'Reilly!
On Fox News Insider
New Clue in Natalee Holloway Case?VIDEO: Bulls Leap Into Crowds
What Did Glenn Beck Think of His SNL Mention?
Saul Anuzis Reveals Why He's Taking On Michael Steele
=== Comments ===
The President in RetreatBY BILL O'REILLY
Things did not go well in the Far East last week, and now the president's home and immediately has to deal with the Bush tax code.
As you may know, the president wants to hike taxes for the affluent, but that is an unpopular strategy, and "Talking Points" believes the president will pull back and extend the Bush tax code for everybody. That, of course, will infuriate the far left, which desperately wants income redistribution in this country.
Also, The Washington Post is reporting that the Obama administration has folded on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and how to prosecute him. You may remember Attorney General Eric Holder wanted to try the mastermind of 9/11 in New York City. That turned into a PR fiasco, and now The Post reports Mohammed will remain in Guantanamo Bay indefinitely, with some believing he will not be put on trial until after the 2012 presidential election.
Now, I wrote all about the Khalid situation in my book "Pinheads and Patriots," saying the president was crazy to go up against public opinion on the issue. Just try him in front of a military tribunal, Mr. President. That's all you need to do.
There is no question the Obama administration is now in retreat. Apparently the president finally understands his power position has been severely weakened. I mean, when "Saturday Night Live" begins to ridicule you on a regular basis, you know things are tough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were so surprised to see you embark on this 10-day vacation to Asia that is costing $200 million a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. I don't know where you heard that, but this trip is not costing $200 million a day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's not what Glenn Beck says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, let me be clear. Glenn Beck has no idea what he is talking about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was right about buying gold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Just think about what you just saw. The wise guys at "SNL" actually siding with Glenn Beck against President Obama. They are, indeed, wearing earmuffs in hell.
Finally, it is hard to see how Mr. Obama will make a comeback, but I believe he will to some extent. The president is a man who is not going to go quietly into the night.
===
LAKEMBA LEAVES LABOR
Tim Blair
All those years of pandering, and this is the thanks that Labor gets:
Islamic leaders have declared war on the State Government, calling for pro-Muslim candidates to run in key western Sydney Labor seats.Islamic leaders are a little late on this.
Lebanese Muslim Association president Samier Dandan yesterday used the Eid al-Adha festival at Lakemba to outline his group’s political ambitions.
In front of more than 5000 followers, Mr Dandan said Labor had to be kicked out of office at the March election.
“We want the Muslim people to have their say. We are telling them that Labor has not done the job and that it’s time for them to go,” he said.
===
MAGIC TAX
Tim Blair
Australia has sufficient coal reserves to supply us with power for centuries. Beyond that, we also have massive uranium reserves. But Julia Gillard believes the best way to guarantee continued power is by taxing a trace gas:
Putting a price on carbon is the only prudent answer, because it unlocks one of the most powerful forces on earth - the genius of the street market.If it works for carbon, why not tax other gases? Maybe if we tax hydrogen we’ll all get free Ferraris.
The alternative is very stark, if we continue to do nothing we will pay a heavy cost - electricity prices will spiral up. Our power supplies will begin to run short.According to this logic, increasing the tax on cigarettes will boost smoking.
Just because the dominance of coal has been the status quo doesn’t mean it should remain the status quo.Indeed. Why stick with something inexpensive and abundant when unspecified other things might be even better? Bring on the alternatives, Prime Minister.
UPDATE. It’s time for carbon action!
===
CUPS OF GRIEF
Tim Blair
An unfortunate abbreviation in the Werribee Star:
===Where are those 50 million environmental refugees?
Andrew Bolt
The United Nations University’s warning in 2005:
Amid predictions that by 2010 the world will need to cope with as many as 50 million people escaping the effects of creeping environmental deterioration, United Nations University experts say the international community urgently needs to define, recognize and extend support to this new category of ‘refugee’.Anyone seen those 50 million environmental refugees? Or was this just one more outrageous scare by alarmists who should be held to account?
(Thanks to reader Observer of Wodonga.)
===
They seem old for their age, or we’re dumb for our own
Andrew Bolt
WHAT sort of “children” are these really, who this week put seven other boat people in hospital?
Sunday’s all-in brawl between 40 boat people at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation should finally alert us to what seems yet another immigration rort.
These brawlers are reportedly all “unaccompanied minors” from Afghanistan - that is, they are allegedly aged under 18, and came on boats without their parents.
They are among more than 200 such unaccompanied Afghan “boys” in detention, or about one in six of all Afghans now detained, which seems an astonishingly high proportion.
In all, 645 “unaccompanied minors” have come by boat since the Labor Government softened the rules in 2008.
Fancy so many parents sending children off alone on leaky boats.
But already alarm bells should be ringing - even more so given that teachers working with these “boys” say they actually seem to be young adults.
One, who has asked for anonymity, says of the more than 30 students they’ve seen, only two seemed to be children, and neither was Afghan.
“All the rest look to be anything from their late teens to their mid twenties. All claim to be 15,” the teacher says.
And almost every one is Afghan, or says so, since some Afghan boat people seem to come from Pakistan instead.
Why men would call themselves children is not surprising when you see what privileges come with being deemed to be under 18.
===
If warming is so dangerous, why is Dick Smith overhead?
Andrew Bolt
DICK Smith and his two helicopters aren’t just evidence that global warming is the first faith preached exclusively by hypocrites.
Our petrol-powered greenie also demonstrates a bizarre chasm between private behaviour and public policy that should warn us we’re being ripped off.
Smith, in a profile in Good Weekend on Saturday, once more banged his warmist drum.
Having criss-crossed the world by chopper and private plane, the entrepreneur declared: “After my research, it is most likely that humans are affecting climate.”
Er, one human in particular, Dick.
As the same article made clear, few of us would have pumped out more emissions than Smith, even though he’s the one claiming these gases are suffocating the planet.
For instance: “He has a holiday house, a farm with a homestead, a large house with a swimming pool, two cars, a steam train and all that owning three separate households entails.
“He’s very open but for some reason refuses to confirm just how many aircraft he owns - there are at least two helicopters and a jet.”
Smith objects that cutting back on his joy rides would “make no measurable difference”, and change really had to come from governments.
Decoded, that means governments must pass laws to force the rest of us to make the sacrifices Smith will not.
Or put it this way: Smith wants governments to force up the bills for the power you need to cook dinner and wash the kids’ clothes, but won’t voluntarily cut down on his helicopter trips to watch birds.
You may say I’ve picked an extreme example, but how many would you like?
===
Who’s minding Victoria’s shop?
Andrew Bolt
That’s insane:
ALMOST one in 10 Victorians works for the state because of unprecedented growth in the public sector under the Brumby Government.===
The explosion in staff numbers means 40c in every $1 spent by the Government goes on paying staff.
The public sector workforce has jumped by almost 40,000 in the past five years but neither side of politics plans to cut jobs.
Almost 250,000 people are employed in the Victorian public sector, according to the State Services Authority.
More eco-cars like this will burn the planet
Andrew Bolt
Neil Young’s eco-friendly LincVolt causes record emissions instead:
The three-alarm blaze that caused $1.1 million in damage to a warehouse filled with rock legend Neil Young’s music equipment and memorabilia appears to have started in a one-of-a-kind hybrid car stored at the site, a fire official said Monday.(Thanks to reader Mickey.)
===
Obama’s hype exposed; Gulf oil spill good for fish
Andrew Bolt
President Barack Obama mercilessly hyped the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico:
Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it’s not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years.I’ve written before of the grotesque scaremongering by the President, media and environmentalists, but now comes news that the spill was actually good for the fish there:
The catastrophists were wrong (again) about the Deep Water Horizon oil spill. There have been no major fish die-offs. On the contrary, a comprehensive new study says that in some of the most heavily fished areas of the Gulf of Mexico, various forms of sea life, from shrimp to sharks, have seen their populations triple since before the spill. Some species, including shrimp and croaker, did even better.(Thanks to reader tony.)
And meanwhile, the media has greatly exaggerated damage found in studies about coral, which is in some ways more vulnerable to oil and dispersant. Most of it is doing fine.
The growth of the fish population is not occurring because oil is good for fish. Rather, it is occurring because fishing is bad for fish. When fishing was banned for months during the spill, the Gulf of Mexico experienced an unprecedented marine renaissance that overwhelmed any negative environmental consequences the oil may have had, researchers say.
===
Again, Sykes’ whole story not told
Andrew Bolt
One of the most interesting things about Roberta Sykes is discretely overlooked, and, given the new legals risks these days, probably wisely:
ROBERTA SYKES, the campaigner on indigenous issues, has died after a long illness.No mention of it in the Age version, either:
A vigorous advocate for Aboriginal civil and political rights and education, she was awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal in 1994…
Dr Sykes became the first black Australian to attend Harvard University in the 1980s, which Professor Behrendt said encouraged her own studies there in the 1990s.
Dr Sykes was the first executive secretary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy and worked as an adviser in Aboriginal health and education.The ABC avoids it, too:
Aboriginal rights campaigner Roberta Sykes has died at the age of 67, after suffering a debilitating illness for several years.The Australian does mention it, though:
Bobbi Sykes, as she was better known, was an author and poet who became a national political figure as the executive secretary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972.
While Dr Sykes was careful to define herself by colour rather than as being indigenous, she was widely believed to have been part-Aboriginal until her white mother disclosed that Dr Sykes’s father was an African-American serviceman. The revelation led to controversy in indigenous circles, with Dr Sykes widely criticised, among others, by lawyer Pat O’Shane and academic Gracelyn Smallwood for adopting the Aboriginal snake motif as her own when she entitled her three-part, prize-winning autobiography Snake Dreaming.Apologies, but to better protect my right to free speech, I must prevent you from commenting on this thread.
===
Oakeshott does his duty
Andrew Bolt
Just representing a generous constituent:
ROB Oakeshott intervened in a government investigation on behalf of a campaign donor accused of dumping thousands of tonnes of contaminated waste.===
The independent MP’s intervention, which allegedly included meetings with officials and a potential witness, came after the NSW Environmental Protection Agency launched an investigation in 2006 into the dumping of up to 10,000 tonnes of waste containing the toxic biocide tributyltin, or TBT.
Attention Newsweek: the problem is not the job but the man
Andrew Bolt
Witnessing the past two chaotic years, Newsweek has a question:
Can any single person fully meet the demands of the 21st-century presidency?Answer: not if that person is community organiser Barack Obama.
===
At least the kids will be able to spell S-T-U-N-T
Andrew Bolt
If you’d asked me to reform state school education, I admit this would not have been on my list:
COUNTRY kids will spend two weeks in the city and city kids a couple of weeks in the bush in a $208 million policy announced today by Victorian Premier John Brumby…This option in the term-long program was not included in Brumby’s campaign launch, oddly:
The year 9 program would give state school students the same opportunities as some of the best private schools in the state, he said.
TEENAGERS will be packed off to military bases such as Puckapunyal for intensive boot camps under an overhaul of the year 9 education program.===
The Herald Sun can reveal the State Government has written to the Defence Department with a proposal to send year 9 boys and girls to Army, Navy and Air Force bases for two-week camps as part of a new $208 million Education For Life Program.
Premier John Brumby said the army camps can help to boost both self-respect and respect for the wider community among young people, helping to combat rising youth violence…
Mr Brumby admitted to the Herald Sun that spending time at an army camp won’t be for everyone and the program will also include options of working with volunteer groups such as the CFA, SES, Life Saving Victoria and St John Ambulance.
“For some students, spending time with the defence forces might be just the sort of experience they want to undertake,” he said.
“But I think the defence forces could offer valuable experience for some students in areas like leadership, survival skills and personal discipline.”
Er, no, she’s not
Andrew Bolt
You write it, and Virginia Trioli will read out every word on the ABC TV autocue.
Professional hazard:
(Thanks to readers Michael, who is, and Ganesh, who isn’t.)
===
Let the Inuit drown, for Jake must fly
Andrew Bolt
Global warmist Jake Gyllenhaal flies to the Arctic to protest against emissions:In a recent effort to demonstrate the human impacts of climate change, Global Green led a delegation of celebrities, scientists and political leaders to the Arctic Circle on Earth Day.So when even his warming protest involves hypocrisy, who can be surprised by Gyllenhaal’s latest flights:
Salma Hayek and Jake Gyllenhaal helped Global Green generate worldwide visibility from “the top of the world” about the plight of the indigenous Inuit people whose very way of life is threatened by the impacts of snowmelt attributed to global warming.
ACTOR Jake Gyllenhaal has spent up big and rented a personal jet to woo his new love, country singer Taylor Swift. The Brokeback Mountain actor reportedly spent $165,000 whisking the chart-topping country singer from America to the UK on a private jet to be with her for 24-hours.(Thanks to reader BlackBall.)
===
Krugman endorses death panels. But it’s still Palin who’s wicked
Andrew Bolt
When Sarah Palin warned against “death panels”, that was terrible. But what if Nobel laureate and Leftist Paul Krugman recommends them?
When former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin warned about the potential for “death panels” under ObamaCare that would make life and death medical decisions for patients, she was scoffed at and dismissed as off base.(Thanks to reader John.)
Now, an economist who is a columnist for the New York Times says death panels may be needed as a solution to fix the troubled economy.
Paul Krugman appeared on ABC’s “This Week with Christiane Amanpour” during a roundtable discussion about the economy and the recent conclusions from the U.S. Debt Reduction Commission.
Krugman said the death panels won’t come into play now but would down the road.
”Some years down the pike, we’re going to get the real solution, which is going to be a combination of death panels and sales taxes. It’s going to be that we’re actually going to take Medicare under control, and we’re going to have to get some additional revenue, probably from a VAT. But it’s not going to happen now,” he said.
Krugman said if the debt commission “were going to do reality therapy, they should have said, ‘OK, look, Medicare is going to have to decide what it’s going to pay for. And at least for starters, it’s going to have to decide which medical procedures are not effective at all and should not be paid for at all.’”
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