Friday, June 07, 2013

Fri Jun 7th Todays News


The Gillard government is two sandwiches short of a picnic

Miranda Devine – Tuesday, June 04, 2013 (8:25pm)

YOU know you’ve lost the respect of the electorate when schoolkids start hurling their sandwiches at you. If we were to rate prime ministers on the “sandwich index”, Julia Gillard is down one Vegemite and one salami, and two teenagers have been suspended from their respective schools for declaring voting intentions they are too young to register at the ballot box in 100 days.
This is bad news for the country and bad news for the office of prime minister, which ought to be held in high esteem. With Julia Gillard in the chair, however, the electorate’s tolerance has been tested. So, too, it seems is the patience of Labor MPs as they face an electoral bloodbath.
Newspoll showed Labor’s primary vote down in the death zone of 30 per cent while the Coalition is up three points to 49 per cent. This translates to 42 to 58 per cent for the Coalition on a two party-preferred basis.
Gillard’s personal approval reflected the sandwich index, plunging three points to 28, while dissatisfaction with her performance rose to 62 per cent. Even in her home ground of Victoria, she is several sandwiches short of a picnic, with another poll by JWS Research showing swings as high as 15 per cent against Labor and the loss of as many as six seats. Further, internal Labor polling reportedly suggests the loss of every seat in Queensland, except Griffith, leaving Kevin Rudd last man standing. That really would be poetic justice.
Labor is left with what one friend calls the “dependocracy” for support - people on welfare or in protected jobs, who have been the recipients of Gillard largesse. All that’s left for Labor is to laugh.
Former whip Joel Fitzgibbon yesterday couldn’t even be bothered pretending. When asked on Channel Seven by David Koch about the latest dire poll predictions, he held up a piece of paper and began to read: ”Hang on Kochie, I just brought a manual with me ... It says I should say: ‘Polls come and go, but the only poll that matters is on election day’.” Later he quipped: “I do know there’s a seminar on in Parliament House this week for retiring MPs. I hope there’s not a rush for the door.”
Martin Ferguson is the latest MP to announce his retirement and he is not expected to be the last, as what is left of the once great Labor Party disintegrates.
Emblematic of the rot is the unseemly pre-selection battle for his safe seat of Batman.
Gillard is backing Senator David Feeney, the factional warlord who engineered the ousting of Kevin Rudd. Now he’s come to collect the debt.
Not that his rivals are superior - backed by the Socialist Left for no better reason than that they are women. As Emily’s Lister Tanya Plibersek put it, Batman is “a great opportunity obviously to continue to work on our equal opportunity targets”.
Yep. Gender quotas are what counts when your party is dying. You have to laugh. Since sandwich throwing is unacceptable, and free speech is under threat, Australians are resorting to underground black humour, emailing cartoons, jokes and videos.
One video doing the rounds is titled: “Would I lie to you,” featuring a melange of Gillard highlights dating back a decade, with hairstyles to match. There is the Rudd coup: “A good government was losing its way.”
There is the famous: “There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.”
There is her proud declaration the government would dismantle Howard-era border protection and implement the policy she drew up as shadow immigration minister. “Labor will end the so-called Pacific Solution, the processing and detaining of asylum seekers on Pacific islands, because it is costly, unsustainable and wrong.”
There is her 2010 Lowy institute speech: “A regional processing centre removes the incentive once and for all for the people smugglers to send boats to Australia.”
There is the surplus that never eventuated. “No ifs, no buts. Failure is not an option here”. There are cameo appearances from Craig Thompson and Peter Slipper - to Benny Hill music - and the bizarre song and dance routine Craig Emerson performed to a Skyhooks tune.
Ah. Memories. It is an unedifying 12 minutes summarising a government that has descended to Keystone Cops farce.
News that NBN contractors have been reckless with the old asbestos-laden Telstra pits they are digging up to lay cable is simply the last straw.
The NBN can now be bundled into Labor’s legacy of incompetence, failure and waste, on a par with the pink batts and school halls scandals.
Yet again, the government’s refusal to perform basic due diligence or cost benefit analysis before a huge outlay of cash has brought it undone.
It’s clear the Gillard experiment has failed. It has lurched from one catastrophe to another, whether imposing a carbon tax and renewable energy imposts that have driven up energy prices and helped kill off manufacturing jobs, or destroying the live cattle trade because of a TV program, or trying to legislate the “hate media” into submission, or flinging open the door to more than 35,000 asylum seekers since the last election, blowing out the Budget by $3.2 billion and luring hundreds of men, women and children to their deaths at sea.
As the polls pile up, it is remarkable how meekly Labor MPs accept their fate, silent like lambs before slaughter.
One explanation came in the reported remarks of an unnamed senior Labor figure: “We’re not going to win but some think they can influence the future.”
Good luck with that. Until then, Gillard should avoid visiting any more schools. Two sandwiches is unfortunate. Three would be a trend.
UPDATE: Discipline crumbles.
Senator Mark “watch my tea” Bishop loses it. 
The unflappable Tanya Plibersek loses it.

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WINNING STREAK DOOMED

Tim Blair – Friday, June 07, 2013 (6:14pm)

As Malcolm Mackerras frames things, Julia Gillard is one of Labor’s greatest winners: 
Julia Gillard has now won four prime ministerial elections, a caucus election (unopposed) on June 24, 2010, a popular general election on August 21, 2010, another caucus election on February 27, 2012 (when she secured 71 votes to 31 for Kevin Rudd) and a caucus election on March 21, 2013 when she again won unopposed. 
Win, win, win, win, win, win, win! Sloppy Fairfax subediting – a colon instead of a comma should follow “four prime ministerial elections” – makes Mackerra’s claim seem even grander than it is. And it’s a little rich to give caucus brawls the same weight as a general election. Even Mackerras can’t keep this nonsense up for long: 
However (and I write this with regret) there is no way she can win a fifth election, a second popular election. The fifth/second election to which I refer is the one which will take place on September 14 …
For the House of Representatives I predict 102 seats for the Coalition, 45 for Labor and three others. Labor’s seats will consist of 44 retained and one gained from the Greens, Melbourne. 
Mackerras might actually be close this time. 
Where would that leave Gillard’s reputation? I compare her to Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating. They were more successful politicians than Gillard – although I think the Gillard government is the best of the three. 
What he means to say is “least worst”. 
If my predictions are correct only Whitlam would have led Labor to a bigger defeat than she did.
In 1975 Whitlam Labor won 36 of the then 127 seats, or 28 per cent.
In 1996 Keating Labor won 49 of the then 148 seats, or 33 per cent.
I am predicting that Gillard Labor will have 45 of the 150 seats, or 30 per cent. 
But if Gillard wins 42 seats or fewer, in percentage terms she’ll be a bigger loser than Gough. Note that number. Next, Mackerras gazes into the distant future: 
Labor, under its first post-Gillard leader, Bill Shorten, will make big gains in 2016, positioning itself well for a victory in November 2019. 
Anyfing’s possible, as a certain minister might put it.

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THEY SEE DEAD PEOPLE

Tim Blair – Friday, June 07, 2013 (6:04am)

The Daily Telegraph‘s Simon Benson confesses: 
I was wrong. Seven days ago I wrote in this space that last week was the worst in the worst year of the worst parliament in history. I can now admit my error.
This past week has been even worse …
Some Labor MPs appear to have simply lost the will to live.
“All I see in that chamber is ghosts,” one said. 
Labor’s ghosts are led, at least nominally, by Julia Ghoullard: 
Her presentation to the party room on Tuesday was said to be one of the poorest ever delivered by a leader.
The PM did not even admit that the government was in trouble. Instead she told them to stand in front of a school gate and try to sell Gonski.
Her performance indicated to many MPs that even Gillard had given up. She has stopped leading. 
It’s all too much for ex-Fairfaxer turned Guardianista Lenore Taylor: 
Only 30% of the electorate say they will give their primary vote to Labor, according to Newspoll. Obviously, that represents electoral disaster for the ALP. But it also represents more than 4.6 million people who are backing Labor despite its leadership sideshow and its backflips on promises and policies.
Those 4.6 million people want a choice. 
So do the 7.5 million people currently planning to vote for a change of government. Work out the difference, Lenore. With Gillard’s Labor hitting the rotors, look who’s suddenly talking tough: 
Mr Rudd branded the Opposition Leader a liar for pushing simplistic slogans he knows he cannot deliver on …
“On the asylum seekers question, let’s just put his proposal into a nutshell, he [Mr Abbott] says he will stop the boats, and he will send them back to Indonesia, that is an absolute lie, he knows that, everyone who knows this area of policy well knows that, it’s more of a slogan than a substantive policy position and the Indonesian government made that clear through their ambassador, in the course of the last week or so,” he said. 
Let’s review Rudd’s simplistic slogans prior to his election in 2007: 
“You’d turn them back,” he said of boats approaching Australia …
“You cannot have anything that is orderly if you allow people who do not have a lawful visa in this country to roam free,” he said. 
And then he put in place policies that led to a massive increase in asylum seeker arrivals. Keep talking, Kevni.
UPDATE. Following a recent tea disturbance, further Labor shouting: 



UPDATE II. Bill Shorten looks at the numbers: 
The Workplace Relations Minister was asked a question by a caller on talkback radio about whether Labor should switch leaders to try to boost its electoral chances.
“There is no doubt in my mind that if the polls are correct Tony Abbott will win in a landslide,” he said. 
UPDATE III. Mark Latham lashes out, yet again: 
With less than 100 days until the federal election, Latham said the antics of Rudd and Fitzgibbon this week pointed to the absolute disintegration of the modern Labor Party, which he said was ruled by warlords more intent on manoeuvring, plotting and backstabbing rather than representing their constituents to the best of their ability …
“Let’s make it absolutely clear: Rudd knows that every time he gets in the media cycle, he knocks Gillard down a notch or two in the polls,” Latham told 2UE’s Paul Murray on Friday.
“This is deliberate sabotage, an absolute replay, groundhog day, on 2010.
“Rudd knows that all of this is damaging the party. He is a lunatic. I look at him on the TV, Paul, and I’ve got to say, this bloke’s nuts. I look at him and I think, this bloke is certifiable. This bloke is absolute nuts. He is addicted to the media in a way that damages his own interests and hurts the political party that he otherwise claims to love. I mean, this is absolutely crazy.” 
We need this.
UPDATE IV. In Geelong, Kevin Rudd unveils his new campaign slogan: 

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TOWARDS A GREENER PLANET

Tim Blair – Friday, June 07, 2013 (5:14am)

The American Geophysical Union reports: 
Scientists have long suspected that a flourishing of green foliage around the globe, observed since the early 1980s in satellite data, springs at least in part from the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere.
Now, a study of arid regions around the globe finds that a carbon dioxide “fertilization effect” has, indeed, caused a gradual greening from 1982 to 2010 …
CO2 fertilisation has increased maximum foliage cover across the globe’s warm, arid environments. 
The study specifically links “gradual greening of arid areas like Australia’s outback to increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide.” Readers are invited to list the ways they’ve helped green our precious planet today.

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HELEN PREFERS FILM

Tim Blair – Friday, June 07, 2013 (5:04am)

Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood was asked last year if the content of his newspapers might have anything to do with their dramatic decline in sales. His reply: 
Absolutely nothing! 
Keep that in mind as you read Sydney Morning Herald opinion editor Helen Pitt’s preview of Wednesday night’s State of Origin opener: 
Forget blue. Forget maroon. The only colour I am interested in tonight is red. Not as in the blood of Queenslanders or half of the team colours of the Dragons or the Rabbitohs. But red as in the colour of the carpet at the opening night at the Sydney Film Festival. 
Well, that’s OK. So she prefers movies to rugby league. Who doesn’t? But Pitt’s issues with State of Origin run deeper: 
I find it obscene, the amount of attention that newspapers, television, radio and social media devote to it. 
Finally we have a Fairfax definition of obscenity. Forget pervy pictures of schoolchildren, accusing innocent people of terrorism or publishing ideologically-convenient lies on the front page; the real problem is excessive sports coverage. 
I want to shout it to anyone who will listen: “I JUST DON’T CARE ABOUT THE STATE OF ORIGIN.” 
Helen, sweetheart, shouting about it kind of undermines your whole “I don’t care” routine. Turns out Pitt is on some kind of existence-long quest to avoid caring about rugby league: 
I find it the ultimate in parochial buffoonery – and everything about Australian “blokey” sports culture that I hate. It’s the sort of Bogan Paradise I’ve spent my life trying to avoid (and successfully, I might add – admittedly, more than a decade spent out of Australia has helped me feign ignorance rather than lack of interest.) 
And you’re doing a great job of it. 
You see where I am going here? 
Yep. You’re going straight into the Elizabeth Farrelly zone. 
The thought of spending the rest of my Saturday nights with footy zealots in a suburban Sydney leagues club – whatever its location – feasting on footy and chicken parmigiana, serenaded by the pokie machines – fuelled my escape from Sydney. 
She could have just left the leagues club. 
It’s just I was more interested in the things I was learning in other subjects at high school – French, ancient history, geography – than what I was made to watch on the sporting field. That, coupled with a university education and overseas travel which introduced me to things like art-house films, foreign languages, books and plays, meant they lost me at kick-off. 
Helen too smart for stupid Sydney. Helen been to fancy school and airports. In related developments: 
Fairfax Media has announced it will deliver another $60 million in cost savings this year and launched a sweeping review of its newspapers, magazines, radio stations, websites and digital products, declaring that “profitability is everything” … 
A key to that might be not hating your readers.
(Via Marcus V.)

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VOCALISTS

Tim Blair – Friday, June 07, 2013 (4:44am)

It’ll be a different Miss World competition this year, seeing as it’s hosted in Indonesia: 
Adjie S. Soeratmadjie, one of the local organisers, said on Thursday that all contestants will be required to wear Bali’s traditional long sarongs instead of the sexy bikinis that are traditionally part of the competition.
He said the London-based Miss World Organisation has agreed to the request out of respect for the traditional customs and values of Indonesia.
Most Muslims in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Islamic country, are moderate, but a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years. 
“More vocal” is a nice way of putting it. The country’s “small extremist fringe” was noticeably vocal in 2009, when “the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, were hit by separate bombings five minutes apart. Three of the seven victims who were killed were Australians, two from The Netherlands, and one each from New Zealand and Indonesia. More than 50 people were injured in the blasts.” In other examples of vocality: 
October 1, 2005: Four explosions kill at least 32 people, including several foreigners, in tourist spots on the Indonesian island of Bali. More than 100 are injured.
August 25, 2005: Seven people are wounded when a bomb explodes at a market in Ambon in eastern Indonesia.
May 28, 2005: Two bomb blasts kill 19 people and injure more than 40 in the town of Tentena.
September 9, 2004: A car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta kills 10 people, plus a suicide bomber, and wounds more than 100.
August 5, 2003: A car bomb explodes outside Jakarta’s Marriott Hotel, killing 12 people and wounding 149.
July 14, 2003: A bomb explodes at Indonesia’s parliament building. No one is injured.
April 27, 2003: A bomb blast wounds 11 people in Indonesia’s international airport.
December 5, 2002: Three people are killed in an explosion at a McDonald’s restaurant in the eastern Indonesian city of Makassar.
October 12, 2002: Two explosions at Bali nightclubs kill 202 people including 88 Australians. 
So very vocal.
(Via Alan R.M. Jones)

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Mark Lathan, who’d know, calls Kevin Rudd a “lunatic”

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (3:51pm)

A tale of three Labor leaders: Crean hates Rudd who hates Gillard who hates Latham who hates…

Former federal Labor leader Mark Latham has unleashed a remarkable verbal assault on his former party colleagues, branding Kevin Rudd a “once-in-a-century egomaniac” and likening Joel Fitzgibbon to a “giggling schoolkid effectively peeing on his foot"…
Latham said Rudd’s re-entry in the public fray on Thursday night, when he participated in a nationally televised interview, was a calculated move from an “egomaniac” and “lunatic"…
“He is a lunatic. I look at him on the TV, Paul, and I’ve got to say, this bloke’s nuts. I look at him and I think, this bloke is certifiable. This bloke is absolute nuts”
But in Geelong today:
”Come back Kevin Rudd,” screamed scores of middle aged fans [as] he strolled through a local shopping centre in Corio.

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Bolt Report on Sunday

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (12:02pm)

On Channel 10 on Sunday at 10am:
Why in God’s name have Labor MPs let Julia Gillard ruin Labor?
My guest: Labor’s Richard Marles, who lost his frontbench job after backing Julia Gillard Kevin Rudd. (Oops.)
The panel: Nick Minchin and Gary Johns.
And the Labor MP who seems to think only white Australians can be racists.
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear. 

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Why is the no case for this dodgy referendum not being funded?

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (11:58am)

Why is only one side of the argument for recognising local government in the constitution being funded?
$21.6 million of public money is being used to campaign for this referendum. The Australian Local Government Association is amassing a $10 million ratepayer-funded campaign war chest. The Federal government has appropriated $11.6 million for a campaign that they have admitted will be a defacto ‘yes’ campaign”. Under questioning, Senator Jacinta Collins stated in the Senate:
“Certainly we will be looking at a broad education campaign, but a component of that campaign will be a position where the government seeks to advocate that there are strong benefits in accepting what is proposed in this case”. – Senator Jacinta Collins, 15/05/2013
The public is being railroaded. 

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McTernan looks for another job

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (11:41am)

Labor MPs packing up their Canberra offices, and now even John McTernan is looking for alternative employment:
Government communications director John McTernan has been caught out offering his services to 2GB radio host Ben Fordham.
Mr McTernan and Mr Fordham crossed paths at the chairman’s box at the State of Origin on Wednesday.
According to Fordham, Mr McTernan said: “You might even want me to do a regular spot on your show next year if we lose the election.”
Mr McTernan yesterday stated “no” in a text when asked [by News Ltd’s Lanai Scarr] if he had offered his services to the radio show.
Fordham revealed that Mr McTernan then texted him to say: “Your tweet has gone viral, I thought what goes on Origin stays on Origin.”
UPDATE
Fordham on radio yesterday: 
He lied. Julia Gillard’s chief spin doctor lied to Lanai Scarr about something that was so insignificant I was just asked by someone: ‘Did he say it in a sarcastic manner?’ Well, I didn’t think he did. There was no kind of ha-ha or nudge or wink. Maybe he’s got a super-dry personality. I was telling the truth, John. And you told a lie. And you represent the Prime Minister.
UPDATE
I do hope McTernan isn’t planning on being one of those terrible 457 visa rorters his boss keeps complaining about. Via Catallaxy, this official government warning to all foreign workers - like McTernan - brought here on that visa:
Overseas employees who hold a temporary business (long stay) subclass 457 visa usually have condition 8107 applied to their visa. This means that they cannot cease to work for their original employer. This includes changing employer, moving to a substantially different position with the same employer, certain types of leave, and situations where the visa holder has become unemployed.
If the visa holder fails to comply with condition 8107, their visa may be cancelled. It is very important for overseas employees, and their employers, to understand what this condition means.
UPDATE
I detect the beginnings of a scapegoating of McTernan. I agree, he’s misread things - not least our appetite for the politics of division and leaders who scream abuse - and I warned him of this long ago. But he was given a hopeless hand, works for a hopeless boss and all his advice had to be OK’d and accepted by hopeless others. 

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Claim: climate alarmism causes legionnaires’ disease

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (7:59am)

Global warming alarmism is deadlier than any warming:
AN engineer has linked the state government’s Climate Smart program with the decision to lower water temperatures at a Brisbane hospital where legionnaires’ disease has broken out.
One patient has died and another is in intensive care after being infected with the bacteria, which has been found in water taps at the Wesley Hospital.
The hospital’s entire water system is now being flushed out with hot water in a bid to kill the bacteria…
An electrical engineer has told ABC Radio a push to save energy was one of the reasons water temperatures were lowered at the hospital.
He said the move was part of the government’s now-defunct Climate Smart program, which aimed to help businesses and homeowners cut energy consumption.
He said anyone who used the Climate Smart service would have had the temperatures on their hot water systems turned down, something he says encourages bacteria such as Legionella…
The government has said the temperature was reduced to cut the risk of patients being scalded.
More:
But a Brisbane electrician who worked for the State Government’s now defunct Climate Smart Program says ... electricians warned the Government at the time that lowering the temperature would encourage harmful bacteria growth, but the warning was ignored.
“Part of the direction given was to turn down all the hot water systems all over Queensland down to 50 degrees,” the man, who did not want to be named, said.
“Anybody that had the Climate Smart service had the temperature of their hot water system reduced [from] 65 to 70 degrees down to 50.”
From the ClimateSmart website:

The ClimateSmart Home Service (CSHS) was a residential energy efficiency program designed and delivered by Local Government Infrastructure Services for the Queensland Government… The service included:
...  Adjustment to the hot water system thermostat (where suitable)
(Thanks to reader Leigh.) 

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Government releases violent boat people into our streets

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (7:50am)

How the Gillard Government’s “compassionate” border policies have not just lured 1000 boat people to their deaths but endanger Australians:
Asylum seekers involved in violent attacks while in immigration detention are being released, including one man who assaulted staff and was involved in more than 250 incidents.
The violent detainees are released before security checks are completed, according to an insider with knowledge of the system…
The account follows Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s decision on Wednesday to launch an inquiry into the release of a convicted terrorist into a low-security detention centre, where he remained for months, even after his background came to light.
According to the latest account of security problems, one man, Khoda Doost, was involved in more than 250 incidents, including assaulting staff, but was still released in Victoria, where he threatened to kill people and burn down his house…
A Department of Immigration spokeswoman confirmed a ‘’series of incidents’’ led to Mr Doost having his residency revoked in September last year…
In another incident, a detainee in Melbourne was released only two weeks after threatening self-harm and to kill staff in a rooftop protest, the whistleblower said.
Kick out these bums.
The Government, I mean.
UPDATE
More on that very well-travelled convicted terrorist:

After fleeing Egypt in 1992, Mr Abdellatif went to Albania, where he worked with the Kuwaiti society. He sought asylum in Britain but was rejected, and then wound up in Iran.
He then went through India to Malaysia and on to Indonesia. After trying again unsuccessfully for asylum to Britain, he told IRIN from Indonesia he had planned to pay a people-smuggler up to $US17,000 to travel by boat to Australia.
We really are being gamed.
UPDATE
Here’s another one lured to Australia by this reckless government:
AN asylum-seeker alleges that Iranian people-smuggling suspect Mohammad Abdi, accepted twice by Australia as a refugee, has been a major figure in the illicit trade for a decade…
The allegation and details provided this week by Mr Abdi’s wife, “Fatima”, raise further questions about the quality of vetting by Australian security authorities and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
Fatima, whose visa has also been cancelled along with those of her two sons, said she and her husband came to Australia by boat in 1999 but returned to Iran after release from Immigration detention.
The Abdis fled Iran again in 2009 claiming persecution as Christian converts, she said, and were again accepted as refugees and given Australian residence in February 2011.
The Press Council has warned journalists not to use the term “illegal immigrants”.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 

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A global warming sermon from a Uniting Church pulpit. Amen, says the ABC

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (7:04am)

Global warming - propaganda, Media
Go to the Uniting Church of the Rev. Brian Brown on a Sunday and you can get a reading from the gospel of global warming. It’s a miracle! The Lord has made a reverend a global warming expert to whom the congregation must dutifully listen, as if he really knew what the hell he was talking about.
And - even more amazing - the ABC thinks he’s such an expert he gets face time on TV.
What more proof that global warming is a religious movement more than a science?
In the same ABC report, a sermon on global warming from former Liberal Party leader John Hewson, who works for a company that makes money from the scare.
Also featured: visiting American eco-alarmist Bill McKibben, an extremist and hypocrite currently getting an armchair ride through ABC studios.  In the entire report, not one true scientist expert in climate-related fields who could point out, for instance, there has been no warming of statistical significance for 16 years:
image
No expert is quoted by the ABC to point out the world isn’t warming as the warmists’ models claimed:

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The reporters who have pushed along this scare - editing out inconvenient truths while giving platforms to cranks, dreamers and planet-savers - are not just guilty of bad journalism. They are guilty of reckless fear-mongering and a betrayal of reason. They have made a moral decision that should always be held against them.
Note their names. 
POSTSCRIPT
This report is just the last evidence that ABC head Mark Scott is kidding himself - or just deceiving us - by claiming that stacking every main current affairs show with hosts of the Left - such as Lateline host and fervent warmist Tony Jones - does not skew the presentation of issues.
The truth is instead as former ABC chairman Maurice Newman stated:
The ABC is not being frank and open about the way global warming is portrayed on its various platforms, although the sense of imbalance is becoming more overt, I feel…
I retain a deep affection for the ABC. But, like the BBC, there are signs that a small but powerful group has captured the corporation, at least on climate change.
(Thanks to reader watty.) 

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Warmists pull out of Australia. Climate too “unfavourable”

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (6:42am)

Normally we are sad when multinationals pull out of Australia. Not this time:

The Climate Group, one of the world’s biggest NGOs working in the climate space, is withdrawing from Australia, citing the “unfavourable” policy environment.
The Climate Group, which has offices in the US, China, Europe and India, founded its Australian offices in 2005. It has been heavily involved with federal and state governments in the development of policies on climate change and clean energy, including energy efficiency and electric vehicles, and hosted Queensland’s first climate summit.
However, the offices are to be closed, Climate Group CEO Mark Kenber said.  “This decision has been made in the light of the increasingly challenging political environment for action on climate change in Australia, despite the exceptional efforts of our local representatives,” he said in an email.
How could it have failed, when it had the help of the man who claimed global warming meant dams would never again fill, and the deputy premier who banned a new dam site in part on that premise?
From 2008:

Former Victorian Deputy Premier John Thwaites has been appointed chair of The °Climate Group in Australia. Recently retired from politics, Mr Thwaites was Victoria’s first Minister for Climate Change. He will be joined on The °Climate Group’s Australian Board by 2007 Australian of the Year Tim Flannery, who will be vice-chair…
Mr Flannery said he was impressed by the way The °Climate Group had effectively engaged some of the most influential individuals on the planet. “We need strong leadership on this issue. With The °Climate Group I hope to play a role in encouraging more business and political leaders of the need to take urgent action,” said Mr Flannery…
The °Climate Group’s Australian Director Rupert Posner said he was delighted the two had volunteered to work with the not-for-profit group."You couldn’t ask for two more qualified people to help advance action on climate change,” said Mr Posner.
(Thanks to reader mem.) 

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Labor’s nerve is cracking

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (6:26am)

They really are losing it:
(Thanks to reader Jeff of FNQ.) 

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PNG: bloody island

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (6:14am)

What’s happening to our closest neighbour? Women being burned and beheaded for alleged witchcraft, and now police use knives to cripple 70 men.

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Labor delivers just half the super clinics it shouldn’t have promised

Andrew Bolt June 07 2013 (6:06am)

Politics - deceits and stuff ups
Another Labor failure - a dumb promise to start with, and not delivered anyway:
HALF the Federal Government’s promised 59 super clinics are not open and 16 are not even under construction.
Up to six years after they were promised as part of the $650 million program , six of the 31 clinics announced in the 2007 election are still not open, two have been scrapped and three needed extra funding.
And three years after they were promised, only two of the 28 clinics promised in the 2010 election have opened their doors. Sixteen of these have not commenced construction and four sites do not even have contracts signed with potential providers....
The Australian Medical Association has attacked the clinics for competing with existing private practices and the Opposition claimed they were part of a pork barrelling strategy to help Labor win marginal seats.
(Thanks to reader Peter.) 

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4 her
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime.(Psalm 30:4–5, NIV)
Today, if you are believing God for something, maybe a turnaround in a relationship, career or your health, stand firm that God’s Word is true. When you put Him first place in your life, when you follow His commands, He promises to pour out His favor on you. When those thoughts try to tell you, “It’s not going to happen. It’s too good to be true.” Turn it around and say, Father, I thank You for Your favor on my life, on my children, on my career, on my future. I am Your child, and I know it’s not temporary. It’s not seasonal. It doesn’t come and go. Thank you, God, for a lifetime of favor in Jesus Name,Amen.

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God desires for us to be at peace. Dismiss, destroy and cancel anything that disturbs your peace of mind. You were not supposed to live life in a miserable state of mind. I pray that God releases his joy, strength, divine favor, abundant blessings and sweet peace upon you even at his very hour. Amen. Holly
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Shabbat Shalom
Eshet Chayil is a twenty-two verse poem with which King Solomon concludes the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 31).

Eshet chayil mi yimtza v'rachok mip'ninim michrah
An accomplished woman, who can find? Her value is far beyond pearls.

Batach bah lev ba'lah v'shalal lo yechsar
Her husband's heart relies on her and he shall lack no fortune.

G'malathu tov v'lo ra kol y'mei chayeiha
She does him good and not evil, all the days of her life.

Darshah tzemer ufishtim vata'as b'chefetz kapeiha
She seeks wool and flax, and works with her hands willingly.

Haitah ko'oniyot socher mimerchak tavi lachmah
She is like the merchant ships, she brings her bread from afar.

Vatakom b'od lailah vatiten teref l'vetah v'chok l'na'aroteiha
She arises while it is still night, and gives food to her household and a portion to her maidservants.

Zam'mah sadeh vatikachehu mip'ri chapeiha nat'ah karem
She plans for a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

Chagrah v'oz motneiha vat'ametz zro'oteiha
She girds her loins in strength, and makes her arms strong.

Ta'amah ki tov sachrah lo yichbeh balailah nerah
She knows that her merchandise is good. Her candle does not go out at night.

 Yadeha shilchah vakishor v'chapeiha tamchu felech
She sets her hands to the distaff, and holds the spindle in her hands.

Kapah parsah le'ani v'yadeiha shil'chah la'evyon
She extends her hands to the poor, and reaches out her hand to the needy.

Lo tira l'vetah mishaleg ki chol betah lavush shanim
She fears not for her household because of snow, because her whole household is warmly dressed.

Marvadim astah lah shesh v'argaman l'vushah
She makes covers for herself, her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Noda bash'arim ba'lah b'shivto im ziknei aretz
Her husband is known at the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

Sadin astah vatimkor vachagor natnah lak'na'ani
She makes a cloak and sells it, and she delivers aprons to the merchant.

Oz v'hadar l'vushah vatischak l'yom acharon
Strength and honor are her clothing, she smiles at the future.

Piha patchah v'chochma v'torat chesed al l'shonah
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the lesson of kindness is on her tongue.

 Tzofi'ah halichot betah v'lechem atzlut lo tochel
She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Kamu vaneha vay'ash'ruha ba'lah vay'hal'lah
Her children rise and praise her, her husband lauds her.

Rabot banot asu chayil v'at alit al kulanah
Many women have done worthily, but you surpass them all.

Sheker hachen v'hevel hayofi ishah yir'at Hashem hi tit'halal
Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God shall be praised. 

T'nu lah mip'ri yadeiha vihal'luha vash'arim ma'aseha
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
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This is the last weekend to see the Long Tan cross before it leaves the Memorial. 

The Long Tan cross has been generously loaned to the Memorial by the Dong Nai Museum in Bien Hoa, with the support and approval of the Ministry of Culture, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

It is on display in the Memorial's Conflicts 1945 to today gallery until 12 June, 2013.

https://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/long-tan-cross/
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Peace by Phillip Jensen
Phillip has posted the fact that "Most murders are committed by family members in the same household."
I would have preferred it for you to address the cultural asset of our faith, rather than the faux pillar of atheism that islamo fascism is faith. The lives of those who commit atrocities, when the public becomes privy to them, is of extreme secular humanism. Osama Bin Laden's compound had substantial amounts of porn, drugs and alcohol. These people are not living faithful lives, and to lift their actions to that status is a mistake and a straw dog, imho. But, those of faith who resist such evil .. some have died, some wounded, some lucky to escape, they have been blessed. Their faith speaks. In the fight between the IRA and UDL, God is not part. But his love, his healing, his hope .. shines clearly in those who resisted the murderous druggies. Embrace faith. Serve God and resist the devil. If you fight the devil you might end up merely dancing his tune. But if you resist him, you can be assured that the Lord has won. Our cultural asset is God. - ed
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Flames of energy rages on! Shot by Lalirra Photography #team9lives #iphoneonly
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The plasma from the sun seen in the northern lights is not isolated to the North Pole .. it happens at night .. and it could be .. but .. I feel a simpler explanation, and Occam's razor suggests the simplest is correct, is that ET did it
As with all great literature, the actual reason begins with the line "He'd been constipated for a week" - ed
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"What were you thinking?": Rep. Darrell Issa shows Star Trek video at hearing on IRS spending, questions 'Spock' -- http://tinyurl.com/kts4pj3
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Awesome Artwork by Paul Henley: The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Edition.
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VIDEO: Megyn Kelly got into a verbal dustup with Rep. Jim McDermott, who disparaged folks who claimed they were unfairly scrutinized by the IRS-- Watch: http://bit.ly/11uEBjP
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IDF teamwork: standing shoulder to shoulder in defense of Israel.
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4 her
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Introducing the new 3.75-inch scale Character range for Doctor Who. Featuring Clara, the Doctor (in his new attire) and other characters from series 7. Check out the range on doctorwho.tv:http://bit.ly/15Ndgue
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For the IDF's Bedouin scouts, every day is a fine day for tracking down terrorists and explosives.
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1953: Film Director Rossen Admits He Was Communist for 10 Years

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/1953-film-director-rossen-admits-he-was-communist-for-10-years/

Rossen appeared before the committee in 1951, but at the time he had invoked constitutional privilege in refusing to answer questions about his Communist affiliations. He said he had changed his mind voluntarily after a two-year search of his conscience.
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69 years ago, more than 70,000 American soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation. We will forever remember the Greatest Generation’s courage and heroism.
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"We accept the love we think we deserve." -The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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Joe Hockey
Education dept. has admitted in the Senate that they are still rolling out 31 BER ( school halls) projects. Another great Kevin /Julia job!

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The Oklahoma tornadoes blew away homes, lives…and common sense…The storm chaser community was rocked by news that the casualties of last Friday’s Oklahoma tornadoes included well-known storm chasers Tim Samaras, his son Paul and his partner Carl Young. They were killed when their storm-chasing car was struck by a tornado in El Reno. We should all offer our prayers and condolences to their families. But there will always be people who think that every tragedy be dealt with by creating more laws. So there are now calls to “do something” about storm chasers – for their own safety, of course. It’s a perfect illustration of what a reflexive, unthinking position the belief in “more laws, more government” can be. I have a feeling that safety isn’t the number one concern of people who become tornado chasers. Of course, they take precautions, but they know it’s a dangerous field. So what law could possibly stop them? Banning people from driving toward dark clouds? Why not just ban tornadoes? There will always be people who want to study severe weather. They may be brave or foolhardy. But thinking the government can alter human nature…that’s just foolhardy.

For more of the Huckabee Report visit MikeHuckabee.com.
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Robin sets a bad boy straight! #ThrowbackThursday http://bit.ly/TBT0606 
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‘Everyone in America needs to see this’: Rep. Gowdy delivers passionate, teary savaging of IRS [video] ==> http://twitchy.com/2013/06/06/everyone-in-america-needs-to-see-this-rep-gowdy-delivers-passionate-teary-savaging-of-irs-video/
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Why Stalin loved Tarzan and wanted John Wayne shot

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/2004-why-stalin-loved-tarzan-and-wanted-john-wayne-shot/

The Soviet dictator was also a film buff who’d teach Eisenstein how to make movies. Simon Sebag Montefiore delves into the newly opened Politburo archives.
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Windows included Solitaire in Windows to teach people how to drag and drop.
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We're in for a helluva' ride, America. Obama just named Susan Rice as his National Security Adviser and nominated Samantha Power to replace Rice as our U.N. ambassador. Samantha Power is married to Cass Sunstein, the very, very strange Obama pick for an early "czar" position who wowed us with his numerous bizarre claims including the wacko belief that animals should have the right to sue in court, that hunting should be banned as genocide, and that pet ownership is akin to “slavery.” But Mrs. Cass Sunstein’s character judgment in choosing her life partner is the least of America's worries. Information about Obama's new picks will be revealed in coming days. Pay attention to who they are; what they stand for; and what their records, associations, and statements reveal about them and their intentions. Especially consider Obama's chosen ones as evidence of his skewed thinking as he "fundamentally transforms" our great nation.

Here's just a taste, as summarized by The Daily Caller:

"In 2002, President Barack Obama’s new nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, proposed imposing a peace deal on Israelis and Palestinians militarily, even if such a policy alienated wealthy pro-Israel American Jews. 'I actually think in the Palestine-Israeli situation there is an abundance of information, and what we don’t need is some kind of early warning mechanism there,' Power said in an interview. 'What we need is a willingness to actually put something on the line in sort of helping the situation. And putting something on the line might mean alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import,' she added laughing, clearly referring to American Jews and suggesting they were a great obstacle to moving toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”

"Isn't that lovely. Not only is she condescending toward American Jews, but her analysis also happens to be utterly wrong. The failure to achieve peace in the Middle East is not because wealthy American Jews have somehow manipulated America's leaders into thwarting peace, but rather because Palestinian leaders have consistently rejected generous Israeli peace offers for a state of their own. In fact, the wealthy American Jews that Power haughtily dismisses in the interview as obstacles to peace are very often staunch advocates of a two state solution. On another note, Power also once compared actions abroad to those of Nazi Germany. As the Washington Examiner's Philip Klein wryly noted on Twitter, 'Samantha Power is the UN Ambassador, who is supposed to represent US interests at the UN?'"

http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/06/thedc-morning-samantha-power-is-unsuited-for-the-job/

And these articles by TheBlaze, Breitbart.com, and Townhall should help wake up Obama supporters who naively and blindly (despite failure after failure and scandal after scandal) continue to give him the benefit of the doubt:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06/05/who-exactly-is-samantha-power-obamas-new-u-n-ambassador-pick-everything-you-need-to-know/

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/06/05/Samantha-Power-Pushed-For-Apology-Tour

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/06/05/a-look-at-obamas-new-un-ambassador-radical-samantha-power-n1613587

Nah, America... I shouldn't have prefaced this post with a warning to hang on because "we're in for a helluva' ride." Sorry. That was crass and inaccurate. I should have just said about Obama's judgment and unchecked power, "America, we are so screwed."

- Sarah Palin
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Bam! Steve Doocy nails NSA phone snooping: ‘We’re all being Rosen-ed!’ ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/06/06/bam-steve-doocy-nails-nsa-phone-snooping-were-all-being-rosen-ed/
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If you are new migrant to Australia and currently holding TEMPORARY or PERMANENT VISA, we have lenders that can consider your loan application up to 95% for PERMANENT VISA or 90% max for TEMPORARY VISA. Please contact our office and quoting your visa subclass number so that we can advise you if you are eligible or not. Lender also can consider loan for Business or Self Employed Migrant Customers at Max 60% LVR. Product/rate & other lending guidelines are applied same as normal Australian Residents. This is good news for new arrivals to Australia as they now can buy property and borrow loan under their own names. Please help to pass this status to anyone that you know in need of this service thanks — with Starr Fairfield, Maria Lawrance, Tranh H. Nguyen and 22 others.
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“Screen Guide for Americans”: Ayn Rand, Walt Disney, & Ronald Reagan tried to warn America

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/screen-guide-for-americans-ayn-rand-walt-disney-ronald-reagan-tried-to-warn-america/

Conservatives in Hollywood are very difficult to find as most projects that have messages outlined in Ayn Rand’s Screen Guide for Americans will never get the “green light.” Many financial backers in the motion picture industry have an “agenda” driven by political ideology shaped by Cultural Marxism.
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Friend,
Tonight I'll be hosting a Google+ Hangout with my oldest daughter Elizabeth, and I'd love if you tuned in.  
I'll be joining some Patriot Voices members to talk about the issues facing our country, including our future economic prosperity, some of the scandals plaguing the Obama administration, education and other news of the day.  
The Hangout should last about 30 minutes, and you can watch itHERE.  You can also tweet questions by using: #pvamericandream and we'll get to as many as possible.
Look forward to seeing you tonight! 
Sincerely,
Rick Santorum signature 
Rick Santorum

Donate Today button

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michelle at garden of the gods
Hi everyone! Here's the MichelleMalkin.com newsletter for June 6th. Enjoy!

From the Blog

History lesson: The crucial differences between Bush and Obama’s NSA phone surveillance programs

It is certainly schadenfreudelicious to see Al Gore and assorted Democratic tools going bonkers over news of President Obama’s radically expanded phone call data collection program — which he, ahem, inherited from the Bush administration and has apparently now widened far beyond anything Bush ever enacted or proposed...

D-Day: 69th anniversary

Never forget...

Dueling Headlines, ‘taxpayers will recover more than they invested in GM bailout’ edition

The first of our competing headlines today comes from November of 2010...

More From the Right Side of the Web

Michelle's Stop Common Core Link of the Day

FreedomWorks is hosting a nationwide Common Core townhall tonight starting at 8:30 EDT. Click here for more information!

Featured Video

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Last night on "Hannity," Michelle debated James Carville over White House Scandalpalooza.

Michelle's Top Tweets

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And ... Our Hate Tweet of the Day

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Leftists are renowned for their gift of sound argument.

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June 7: Sette Giugno in Malta; Journalist Day in Argentina
Carrie Nation holding an axe in her left hand and a book in her right

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