Thursday, June 13, 2013

Thu Jun 13th Todays News

Happy birthday and many happy returns Mapa Sparta Fisiihoi and James Baker. Born on the same day, across the years. On your day, in 1525, Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, against the celibacy discipline decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests. In 1805, The Lewis and Clark Expedition became the first European Americans to sight the Great Falls of the Missouri River. In 1970, "The Long and Winding Road" became The Beatles' twentieth and final number one single in the United States. Your journey is long and windy. But history shows you will find your passion and marry it.
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Credibility sinks in a sea of Labor hypocrisy

Piers Akerman – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (7:03pm)

ECONOMISTS are arguing whether Australia is in a domestic recession, thousands of illegal boat arrivals are changing the fabric of Australian culture and Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s attention is firmly focused on non-issues such as blue ties and phony menus. 

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Gillard cooks herself over phony menu

Piers Akerman – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (1:09am)

WHAT a rare thigh slapper Julia Gillard’s attack on Tony Abbott was yesterday.
Accusing him of being in some way responsible for a tawdry menu she claimed was circulated at a fundraiser for candidate Mal Brough.
The point must be made – the menu was never circulated.
It was drawn up by Brisbane restaurateur Joe Richards as a joke to amuse his staff in March.
It wasn’t that funny, the references to Gillard were the sort of thing that circulates on the web and are generally not passed on.
School boys and girls might have tittered but Labor thought it was on a winner - just like it did when a Labor staffer encouraged a race riot in an attempt to embarrass the Opposition last year.
But the Gillard camp seized on a fake “menu” by a Labor-leaning restaurant employee and it appears Gillard’s staff waited for an opportunity to reveal it.
That time came yesterday when it was obvious that Gillard’s misanthropic attack on Abbott and her decrying of blue-tied men had blown up in her face.
Both Labor and Liberal men wore blue ties yesterday demonstrating their disdain for the prime minister and her gutter appeal to gender politics and her attempt to make abortions a federal issue at this election.
Now her “menu” attack has imploded as well.
Restaurant owner Richards took responsibility saying: “There were never any menus distributed on the tables or in the restaurant. I created a mock menu myself as a light-hearted joke, however as I said I never produced them for public distribution.
“Unfortunately a staff member saw the mock menu, and unbeknownst to myself, posted it on their facebook. It now appears that a third party for political reasons has distributed it, yet I can reassure you that no such menu was distributed on the night.
“It is so unfortunate that an in-house joke between myself and my son has caused you great problems and embarrassment,” he wrote in an e-mail to Brough.
Gillard, for her part, called the mock-up part of a “pattern of behaviour” by Abbott’s Coalition.
She demanded Brough be disendorsed because of what she had heard about the “menu”.
Wrong, Julia, wrong. Just like your ridiculous speech in Parliament last year attacking Abbott for misogyny.
If you’re not prepared to wait for the facts before calling for someone to be disendorsed you should be made aware of what many Australians think of you and your association with the former AWU union bosses who rorted their members’ funds.
You would be out on your ear.
What we have seen here is not evidence of a pattern of behaviour on the part of Abbott but a continuance of the smear campaign Labor and Gillard have been conducting against the Opposition leader.
Sewer politics.
The sooner Gillard and her team of sewer feeders are driven out of office, the sooner the nation can start to feel better about itself.

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Another boat missing after answering Labor’s siren call

Miranda Devine – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (11:34am)

Thirty people were believed to be on board AMSA SAR 2013-3877, aka “Jayawe”, the 24-metre Sri-Lankan type vessel which our border protection aircraft have been searching for in the Indian Ocean northwest of Cocos Islands since receiving a “pan pan” or distress signal on Sunday. The search has now been suspended and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says, “Concern is held for the safety” of the boat.
This is what ASMA told me mid morning Thursday:
“The search for a vessel that may be disabled north-west of Cocos (Keeling) Islands concluded at last light local time yesterday (8pm AEST, 12 June). AMSA coordinated a three day search using two aircraft, including AMSA’s Perth-based Dornier and a RAAF P3 Orion, in an area more than 267 000 square nautical miles. The vessel was not relocated. 

The vessel was initially detected by a RAAF maritime patrol aircraft, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, on Wednesday 5 June north west of Cocos (Keeling) Islands as it was tracking towards Cocos (Keeling) Islands under its own steam. The vessel was approximately 480 kilometres north west of Cocos (Keeling) Islands and approximately 3500 km north west of Perth. 

After the vessel did not arrive at Cocos (Keeling) Islands at the time expected, a RAAF maritime patrol aircraft, operating under control of BPC, conducted a visual and radar search for the vessel. When the vessel was not relocated, the incident was referred to AMSA. 

In addition to aerial searches, AMSA issued hourly broadcasts to shipping requesting ships report any sightings of the vessel. There have been no such reports.
The original search and rescue communique from AMSA referred to a “pan pan” or distress call, from a 24-metre “Sri Lankan type” fishing vessel spotted north west of Cocos Island.
“The vessel has multiple persons onboard, distinctive yellow sides, a red stripe, blue hull with aft coachouse”.
This is the latest AMSA communique:
Maritime Safety Information current at 130130 UTC JUN 13
Issued by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia)
Part 1. Distress, Urgency, CQ and Safety Messages:
SECURITE
FM RCC AUSTRALIA 120757Z JUN 2013 AUSSAR 2013/3877
COCOS (KEELING) ISLAND - CHART AUS 4070 INDIAN OCEAN SOUTHERN PART
CONCERN IS HELD FOR THE SAFETY OF A 24METRE SRI LANKAN TYPE FISHING VESSEL, ‘JAYAWE’. LAST KNOWN POSITION 08-55S 093-55E AT 050422UTC COURSE 120(T) SPEED 6 KNOTS. THE VESSEL HAS MULTIPLE PERSONS ONBOARD, DISTINCTIVE YELLOW SIDES, A RED STRIPE, BLUE HULL WITH AFT COACHOUSE. VESSELS TRANSITING WITHIN 700NM OF THE LAST KNOWN POSITION ARE REQUESTED TO REPORT PREVIOUS AND OR FUTURE SIGHTINGS TO THIS STATION OR RCC AUSTRALIA VIA TELEPHONE +61262306811 INMARSAT THROUGH LES BURUM (POR 212,IOR 312), SPECIAL ACCESS CODE (SAC) 39, HF DSC 005030001, EMAIL: rccaus@amsa.gov.au OR BY FAX +61262306868.
NNNN

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The unfolding legacy of Labor’s failure

Miranda Devine – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (8:05am)

THE consequences of Labor’s border protection failure are making themselves clear, in the drownings at sea, in overcrowded, restive detention centres, and, as doctors and police in Victoria are warning, mental health, welfare and crime problems that have overwhelmed community resources on the suburban fringe.
With the arrival of almost 45,000 boatpeople since Kevin Rudd recklessly dismantled John Howard’s hard won border protection policies, detention facilities have been overwhelmed and Labor is dumping the problem on suburban Australia. Hundreds of marginalized, often traumatised, young men are being released into the community with little oversight or support, to languish on welfare, with no right to work. It is a recipe for disaster:
Asylum seekers languishing in suburbia are a ticking time bomb, doctors and police warn in a letter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

They say they can’t deal with problems caused by a lack of welfare and mental health support.
The letter, sent by South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local, says gang violence, street brawls and drug and alcohol problems are taking hold in Melbourne’s southeast and Ms Gillard must urgently direct health resources to the area.
One mentally troubled man even set himself on fire.
Confronted by up to 200 arrivals a month, South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local says it can’t meet the health needs of marginalised young men who, banned from working, are becoming more and more isolated.
SEMML chairman Dr Nicholas Demediuk said many had experienced trauma and had worsening health and little support.
....
The City of Casey and City of Dandenong have seen the greatest influx under recent humanitarian settlements.
The medical network warns it needs greater resources to cope with the young people arriving on bridging visas.
In comments quoted in the letter, Senior Constable James Waterson of the police Southern Metropolitan Multicultural Liaison Unit said young Afghan men were turning to crime including property damage, sexual assaults, and violence.
Sen-Constable Waterson said police were being called to incidents where men awaiting residency were threatening self-harm, including a case where a man set himself alight.
“The common theme across these incidents is that the offender/person involved has recently arrived in Australia, is suffering severe depression and anxiety and has turned either a criminal offender or to self-harm,” Sen-Constable Waterson wrote.
“Further discussions with these males has revealed many of the causal factors are around lack of employment options, which has an effect on their ability to repay loans and/or send money back to Afghanistan for help.
“This, coupled with the prospect of not being granted residency in Australia, is influencing these people to either commit crimes for financial gain or as an outlet.”

Asylum seekers in the community are provided with six weeks’ accommodation support, but are not allowed to work and must survive on 89 per cent of the Newstart allowance. 
This issue, above all, is killing Labor in the marginal seats of outer subuebia where asylum seekers are being dumped. As Laurie Ferguson tried to tell the Prime Minister last week, it’s not rednecks or racists who are alarmed about boat numbers, but migrants in his multicultural seat in western Sydney. As Greg Sheridan warns, we are threatening our successful immigration program with European-style dysfunction:
There will be many consequences beyond this.The Immigration Department’s figures, released last year, revealed that five years after arrival the rate of employment - not unemployment but employment - of Afghans was 9 per cent, while 94 per cent of Afghan households received Centrelink payments. From Iraq, 12 per cent were employed while 93 per cent of families received Centrelink payments. Overall, households that came under the humanitarian program had 85 per cent receiving Centrelink payments after five years. The family reunion cohort had 38 per cent, and skilled migration 28 per cent.

Taken together, these figures demonstrate the way in which the boatpeople phenomenon can overwhelm our immigration program. We are allowing, indeed attracting, a huge cohort of unskilled Muslim immigrants who have not been chosen by Australian policy or process. But there are almost no unskilled jobs, which is why we stopped unskilled migration in the 1970s. If it follows even remotely the European pattern, this cohort will be characterised by high unemployment, intergenerational welfare dependency, high crime rates, social problems across a broad spectrum and a minority tendency to extremism. For a nation to create this syndrome by avoidable policy failure, knowingly and with full foresight, is remarkable.

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DOTS JOINED

Tim Blair – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (2:48pm)

An explanation of how the Great Misogynist Menu Myth came to be, beginning with this line from the chap who posted the menu online: 
I’d rather be raped by a pitbull with aids than live in Tony Abbott’s Australia. 
The story’s primary source also admits he has “no idea” if the menu was on any tables, because he “wasn’t even working there at the time”. And thus was a global scandal born.
(Via Andrew Bolt, who has lots more.)
UPDATE. Meet David Carter, Labor’s new hero:


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EPIC QUAIL

Tim Blair – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (5:15am)

Misogynist menu mythology sweeps the planet!

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IN STRANGE CONCEALMENTS, VALIANT AS A LION

Tim Blair – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (2:55am)

Labor groupie Bob Ellis denies that he published something hateful about the late Christopher Pearson:

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Ellis presumably thought he was in the clear after deleting his insane slur. But that’s not how the internet works


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NEW LABOR MENU

Tim Blair – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (2:16am)

It’ll make a change from eating each other
One Rudd supporter warned Labor risked living “in caves, like the Taliban, eating rats” unless it regrouped. 
They’ll be the first branch of the Taliban with a female leader. Progress!

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BLUE KEVIN

Tim Blair – Thursday, June 13, 2013 (2:06am)

Reader Victor’s wife meets some guy wearing a blue tie yesterday:

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It was always odds-on that Kevin Rudd would wear a blue tie following Julia Gillard’s anti-blue tirade the previous day. Considering his reflexive animosity to the Prime Minister, it’s surprising that Rudd didn’t blue himself completely.

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SCANDAL OFF THE MENU

Tim Blair – Wednesday, June 12, 2013 (7:23pm)

The ABC’s Nick Dole now reports:

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image 
UPDATE. Liberals cleared
The owner of the restaurant at the centre of a scandal over a sexist menu has reportedly apologised to Mal Brough, saying he created a mock menu as a light-hearted joke.
The LNP on Wednesday night released an apology from Joe Richards, of the Richards and Richards restaurant, saying the menus were never distributed at the $1000 a head fundraiser featuring Joe Hockey.
“Dear Mal, I have been following the rubbish that has been on the news today,’’ the letter from Joe Richards reads.
“I would like to confirm what actually happened: there were never any menus distributed on the tables or in the restaurant.
“I created a mock menu myself as a light-hearted joke, however as I said I never produced them for public distribution.
“Unfortunately a staff member saw the mock menu, and unbeknownst to myself, posted it on their Facebook.
“It now appears that a third party for political reasons has distributed it, yet I can reassure you that no such menu was distributed on the night.
“As you know no one at the dinner was privy to such a menu, and it is so unfortunate that an in-house joke between myself and my son has caused you great problems and embarrassment.’’ 

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Howard Sattler confronts Gillard with baseless gay rumor. Suspend him

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (9:04pm)

Howard Sattler is an impertinent, offensive man who is way out of order in putting unsubstantiated and almost certainly false claims to the Prime Minister involving the personal life of her partner. He should be suspended by 6PR for doing the broadcasters’ equivalent of throwing a sandwich at the PM:

RADIO presenter Howard Sattler has caused a social media furore after quizzing Prime Minister Julia Gillard on same-sex marriage and asking if her partner was gay in her first radio interview with the 6PR host…
After discussing topics for 12 minutes, Sattler then asked Ms Gillard if he could put some of the rumours about her partner Tim Mathieson’s sexuality.
“That’s absurd,” she says to Sattler.
Sattler prompts her further: “But you hear it, ‘he must be gay, he’s a hairdresser’.”
Ms Gillard refused to be drawn on the controversial comments…
Mr Sattler kept going with his line of questioning, telling the Prime Minister he was promised a “candid” interview.
“You can confirm that he’s not (gay)?” he asked.
“Oh Howard don’t be ridiculous, of course not,” Ms Gillard replied.
“But you’re in a heterosexual relationship? That’s all I’m asking.”
To Sattler. No, he’s not gay. No, it’s none of your damn business if he were. And, no, you really have no excuse for flinging nasty, baseless rumors into a Prime Minister’s face. Or can we all start asking you if certain nasty rumors of dubious substance about you are true?
By the way, Sattler is employed by Fairfax, which got rid of broadcaster Michael Smith for asking the Prime Minister “unauthorised questions”.
The difference is that Smith was asking about important matters of public interest about which he’s had much evidence.  But Sattler...? 

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Swan defames as he tries to keep the smear going. But check the real menu

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (1:13pm)

Their smear is falling apart, but Labor just digs deeper in the mud:

WAYNE Swan has accused senior Coalition figures and a Brisbane restaurant owner of lying about a fundraiser menu containing derogatory comments about Julia Gillard. 

Liberal National Party candidate Mal Brough insists he never saw the menu, which Brisbane businessman Joe Richards said never left his kitchen.

Guest of honour at the dinner, Joe Hockey, is also adamant he never saw the menu, which advertised “Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail - Small Breasts, Huge Thighs & A Big Red Box"…
But the Treasurer today said the claims about the menu could not be believed, and accused those at the March 28 function of participating in a “vile act”.
“The stories that have been told by various participants frankly don’t add up,” Mr Swan said.
No evidence. But what does Labor care. Smear, smear, smear.
Prick With A Fork, however, checks the restaurant’s real menu and says the chef would have been pushed to prepare the dinner advertised in the fake one:
Without debating the jokes, the supposedly scandalous menu indicates foie gras, quail, butter-poached crayfish, jamon Iberico bacon-and-eggs with caviar, and so on were served up on the night – in other words, it would have been a helluva degustation:

Yet the regular menu at Richards and Richards, where the whole thing started and whose boss denies the thing was anything more than an in-house gag, suggests otherwise.

With all due respect to the crew, this sort of night might be a bit ambitious for this kitchen: I’m sure they serve nice stuff, veal cutlets and steaks and pizzas and the like, but hardly anything that flash. Hell, half the place is a menswear shop.
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UPDATE
Reader Michael disagrees. The Moroccan chicken in the fake menu also appears on a regular one.
UPDATE

The part-time chef who leaked the supposed menu seems a whole lot less shockable when it comes to abusing Liberals:
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Boat people scandal: importing violence, inflicting misery

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (12:56pm)

Boat people policy
A criminally stupid government has put Australians in danger - while luring more than a 1000 boat people to their deaths:

ASYLUM seekers languishing in suburbia are a ticking time bomb, doctors and police warn in a letter to Prime Minister Julia Gillard…
Confronted by up to 200 arrivals a month, South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local says it can’t meet the health needs of marginalised young men who, banned from working, are becoming more and more isolated…
“We request the opportunity to ... discuss strategies that we believe will address this simmering time bomb in our community,” his May 31 letter said.
“It has been widely reported to local services that people from Afghan backgrounds are experiencing racial stigma in Melbourne’s southeast, and there are specific neighbourhoods where tension has escalated to violence…
“At board level a major current concern relates to increasing violence and crime in our catchment, including gang-related brawls and increasing drug and alcohol issues.”
The area now houses 2496 Afghans aged 10 to 24…
In comments quoted in the letter, Senior Constable James Waterson of the police Southern Metropolitan Multicultural Liaison Unit said young Afghan men were turning to crime including property damage, sexual assaults, and violence.
UPDATE
This month’s boat arrivals so far - obviously excluding the two tragically sunk:
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For the third month running, boat people arrivals are over 100 day. That’s enough to fill a Canberra every 10 years.
UPDATE
Greg Sheridan on one barrier to tacking what the Press Council instructs journalists not to call “illegal immigration”:

Part of the problem is the moral and political intimidation that comes the way of anyone who tries to speak about this honestly.
The Australian Press Council, for example, has ruled that I may not call people who arrive illegally, illegal immigrants. I respect the Press Council, and the integrity with which it deals with such questions. But I believe its ruling is wrong in fundamentally important ways. It leads to a contortion of language and an inability to discuss the issue properly.
It is similar to the coercive political correctness, and the institutional enforcement of a left-liberal ideological world view, which has previously crippled Europe in its ability to deal with illegal immigration. The fraudulent and offensive use of Holocaust rhetoric and analogies rendered sensible debate all but impossible. You either let everyone in or you were Adolf Hitler. Europe mostly has shaken off that intellectual shackle, but Australian public discussion, in an effective abridgement of free speech, is still imprisoned in this mistaken ideological prescriptiveness.
The Refugee Convention itself talks of refugees “unlawfully” in a country of asylum, and of the “illegal entry” of refugees. It is not illegal to seek asylum, but it is illegal to enter Australia without legal authority. The UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime says illegal entry is “crossing borders without complying with the necessary requirements for legal entry into the receiving state”.
In 2009 Kevin Rudd repeatedly referred to boatpeople as “illegal immigrants”. Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan, Stephen Smith, Martin Ferguson, Robert McClelland, Simon Crean and many other Labor politicians have previously referred to boatpeople as illegal arrivals. The opposition does so routinely.
But there is still a vast, pervasive pressure against people, especially journalists, speaking plainly and truthfully about this. As Orwell observed, control language and you control thought. This issue needs clear thinking and plain speaking.

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When Gillard has lost even Mr Jordon…

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (12:46pm)

Mr Jordon is arguably this blog’s most fervent and prolific critic, writing reflexively oppositional replies to most posts, most days. But even he (?) has now given up on the Prime Minister:
I have to say that I have lost all respect for her. While I, along with John Howard, believe that he Australia economy is great shape. Gillard herself has turned out to be completely incompetent. She is incompetent and a fool. Which is the worst kind of incompetent. In Australia we vote for politician parties not Prime Ministers. The party needs to sack her and rebuild. confused
Big Ted is now the last known hold-out. 

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Summers should damn Gillard as she does Abbott

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (10:55am)

Anne Summers tries to push Labor’s scare campaign:
Tony Abbott is, of course, trying to reassure us all that he is not the man he once was on the subject of abortion. No longer ‘’the easy way out’’, he now likes to use a 20-year-old quote from Bill Clinton that abortion should be ‘’safe, legal and rare’’. He apparently is unaware that the word ‘’rare’’ really upsets women who chose abortion because they have an unwanted pregnancy, not according to some preordained timetable.

Julia Gillard in 2006 didn’t worry Summers at all, though:

Many members, including the minister for health (Tony Abbott), have adopted the Bill Clinton terminology that they would like to see a circumstance where abortion was safe, legal and rare. I agree with those comments. We would all like to see a circumstance where abortion was safe, legal and rare.
The only difference on this point is that Abbott is a man and Gillard is a woman. I therefore conclude that in taking offence at one but not the other Summers has demonstrated she is exactly the kind of sexist she condemns.
(Thanks to reader Alan RM Jones.) 

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I apologise to Mal Brough. Now it’s Gillard’s turn

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (9:17am)


I apologised yesterday on this blog and on 2GB to Mal Brough, the former Liberal minister and now candidate for Fisher. I apologise here again.
I made a mistake. I believed the Prime Minister. I jumped to a conclusion.
I believed her when she said a sexist menu had been featured at a fundraising dinner for Brough:

Mr Abbott personally has gone and stood next to signs that describe me in a sexist way. We’ve had the young Liberals hosting a function where jokes were cracked about the death of my father. And now, we have Mr Brough and [Opposition Treasurer] Mr [Joe] Hockey at a function with this grossly sexist and offensive menu on display. Join the dots.
I assumed that when Brough apologised for the menu he was implicitly acknowledging it was indeed on display.
Yes, the menu was sexist and I condemned it. Still do.
But this is the Australia Day mini race riot all over again.
Back then, a Gillard staffer helped to spread a lie about Tony Abbott’s comments on the Aboriginal tent embassy, and had furious Aboriginal protesters steered to an Australia Day function at which Abbott and Gillard were present. The intent was to divide Australians and make Abbott seem racist.
This time Gillard has helped to spread a seeming lie about the menu. The intent is to make Abbott seem sexist.
The facts.
Brough says he did not see the menu. There is no evidence he did.
Guest of honor Joe Hockey says he did not see the menu. There is no evidence he did.
The man who wrote the menu, restaurant owner Joe Richards, says he did not display the menu in the restaurant or circulate it. There is no evidence he did.
Richards says the menu was a private joke between him and his son. There is no evidence he shared it with Brough.
The part-time chef who leaked the menu was not there at the time and did not see the menu on any tables. Although a Leftist, he has no evidence that Brough knew of the menu.
Yes, Brough, Richards and Hockey may all be lying. But there is no evidence to show they have told anything else but the truth. They are owed the benefit of any doubt.
They have been framed.
Gillard has slimed Brough and Abbott on zero proof. She should apologise, too.
UPDATE
Tim Blair lists all those who jumped to conclusions - me included.
Will they, too, apologise?
UPDATE
Still, some pertinent questions:

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But the man who’d leaked the picture of the menu had done so long before Bourke rang. I wouldn’t be surprised at all that the klaxons had already sounded in Liberal headquarters.
UPDATE
How the smear unfolded - told in tweets.

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Gillard’s “blue tie” speech shows feminism is the last resort of the scroundrel

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (8:51am)

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KEVIN Rudd wore a blue tie to explain Julia Gillard’s latest attempt to turn women against men.
No, the Prime Minister’s disgraceful “blue tie” speech was not aimed only at Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
This was also Gillard playing the gender card against Rudd. And now we know: feminism has become the last resort of the scoundrel.
I say “scoundrel” advisedly. I cannot remember a more divisive, self-serving and dishonest speech delivered by a prime minister. Nor one as stupid. 

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If Julia Gillard and Bob Carr aren’t complete hypocrites they’d disown Bob Ellis

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (8:47am)

Labor speechwriter Bob Ellis pretends he didn’t write one of his vilest and most obscene slurs yet - but the Internet doesn’t forget.

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When will Labor disown this barbaric man? When will it hold its own to the same standards it demands of a restaurant owner?
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Why is the Foreign Minister still escorting Ellis around Parliament and appearing with him at Sydney Writers Festival events

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More floods to wash out the global warming groupthink

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (8:34am)

Global warming - dud predictions
We should never forget how global warming groupthink captured the politicians and experts in charge of our water supplies.
Remember the excuse given by Melbourne Water on behalf of the Victorian Labor Government for not building a cheap new dam, rather than the vastly more expensive desalination plant that is now mothballed?

Why aren’t we building another dam? ... Unfortunately, we cannot rely on this kind of rainfall like we used to.
It repeated:

Climate change—while the Mitchell has flooded recently, investing billions of dollars in another rainfall-dependent water source in the face of rapidly changing climate patterns is very risky.
In fact, after several years since of floods, yet another flood warning:
The bureau yesterday warned of heavy rain and possible flash floods across West, South and East Gippsland overnight and today.
Flood watches were also issued for greater Melbourne catchments at Werribee, Maribyrnong, Yarra, Dandenong and Bunyip, and other parts of the state, including the Otway Ranges and the Goulburn basin.

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Davis Strait study: more polar bear than warming scare

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (8:12am)

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Remember when polar bears were the poster animals of the global warming faith?
Now a new study, almost completely ignored by the media, concedes polar bear numbers may in fact be increasing:
… we now understand that polar bear demography can also be influenced by progressive change in the environment, and some populations have increased to greater densities than historically lower numbers...
No sign that polar bears in the Davis Strait are in decline:

We analyzed 35 years of capture and harvest data from the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulation in Davis Strait, including data from a new study (2005–2007), to quantify its current demography. We estimated the population size in 2007 to be 2,158?±?180 (SE), a likely increase from the 1970s....
Sure, the researchers are hanging on to the climate change theory and fears of ice break-up, but can’t actually be certain about what effect they’ve really had on numbers:

Harp seal abundance was significantly related to polar bear survival. Our estimates of declining harvest recovery rate, and increasing total survival, suggest that the rate of harvest declined over time. Low recruitment rates, average adult survival rates, and high population density, in an environment of high prey density, but deteriorating and variable ice conditions, currently characterize the Davis Strait polar bears. Low reproductive rates may reflect negative effects of greater densities or worsening ice conditions.
Others checking out the polar bear scare have also been astonished to find more bear than scare - and specifically made this widely publicised alarm of Steve Amstrup look ill-informed, to put it very politely:

Polar bear stories used to sell when the scare was on. But when the cool reality surfaces… Susan Crockford:

Exciting news about polar bears in eastern Canada: a new the peer-reviewed paper concludes that despite sea ice having declined since the 1970s, polar bear numbers in Davis Strait have not only increased to a greater density than other seasonal-ice subpopulations, but it may now have reached its ‘carrying capacity.’ This is great news. But where is the shouting from the roof-tops? This peer-reviewed paper was published February 19, 2013. No press release was issued that I could find and consequently, there was no news coverage. Funny, that.
(Via Watts Up With That.) 

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A Satan can’t be made good or given parole

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (7:49am)

ADRIAN Bayley and Leslie Alfred Camilleri showed us this month that evil exists and can’t be taught away.
Bayley raped and murdered Jill Meagher last year while he was on parole for five other rapes - and on bail while appealing against a sentence for punching a man in the head.
He’d also raped two teenagers when he was 19 and served time for sexual assault.
Camilleri pleaded guilty this month to murdering schoolgirl Prue Bird in 1992. He is already serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of two schoolgirls in Bega in 1997, soon after being released on bail for the alleged abuse of a 12-year-old girl. By then, he already had 146 convictions for non-violent crimes.
How could such evil men have been allowed to walk out of jail?  

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Not the face of the guilty

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (7:16am)

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To question is one thing, to act would have been another:

A MAGISTRATE has questioned whether a Saudi woman appearing in court should have been allowed to wear “a full burqa’’ or face covering, telling her “this is an Australian court”. 

Brisbane Magistrate John Costello was sentencing a woman who pleaded guilty to leaving her baby, four and half months, unattended in a car in direct sun for 45 minutes last year…

The magistrate questioned whether it was “appropriate’’ for the full burqa to be worn in court, saying: “This is an Australian court’’ and he queried “the validity’’ of her wearing it in court.
But Islamic groups yesterday came out in support of Mr Costello, saying they supported magistrates asking women to remove their face covering if there was a reasonable question of security or identification…
Mr Costello then proceeded to sentence the female student, without requiring her to remove her face covering, more commonly called a niqab when it reveals the eyes.
It’s harder to judge remorse or defiance, a lie or the truth, when the face is concealed. The woman, being unrecognisable, also escapes some of the shame that is the punishment. 

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Seven signs today of Gillard’s decline

Andrew Bolt June 13 2013 (7:09am)

Bad sign one:

LABOR powerbroker Bill Shorten hit the phones over the past few days to test the waters on Julia Gillard’s leadership, in a sign her backers are concerned her hold on the job could be weakening.
While the Workplace Relations Minister declared his support for the PM yesterday, two Labor MPs confirmed he had called them to gauge their support for Ms Gillard.
They said Mr Shorten had not lobbied them either way but had asked whether they still supported the PM or wanted a return to Kevin Rudd.

Bad sign two:

When asked whether she would retain the leadership [Shorten said]: “Yes, I believe so.”
Asked why he had used the word “believe”, he said: “I don’t have a PhD in English.”
Bad sign three:

JULIA Gillard has stepped up her gender war against Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party as her bid to make abortion an election issue opened splits among Labor MPs and sparked fresh doubts from internal critics about her political judgment. 

The Prime Minister rebuked NSW Labor MPs Ed Husic and Stephen Jones yesterday for expressing public doubts about her remarks on Tuesday on abortion.
Bad sign four - from feminist Eva Cox:

THIS week Julia Gillard’s appeal to women to vote for Labor as the party that represents women ...  caused some concerns to many active feminists, including me, who felt the approach ran the danger of setting up women as a category, rather than recognising women are as diverse as men.
Bad sign five:
A MENU that demeaned Julia Gillard - and was used yesterday to attack Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey - was reportedly mocked up for the amusement of the venue’s owner and never hit the tables of a Liberal National Party fundraiser.
Bad sign six:

THE blue tie took defiant centre stage as Kevin Rudd paraded through a Sydney street mobbed by locals wanting to talk to him, touch him or snap him on their mobile phone cameras…
Lifelong Labor voter John Pahos summed up the mood regarding Mr Rudd.
“He’s the best,” he told AAP.
Bad sign seven:

THE O’Farrell government will examine the tripling in federal funding for West Australian schools under the Gonski reforms, to ensure the offer does not disadvantage NSW, which was first to sign up to Julia Gillard’s school funding plan.
In a meeting with Premier Colin Barnett in Perth yesterday, the Prime Minister proposed to increase the extra money flowing into the state’s schools under its Gonski reforms from the $300 million originally proposed to more than $920m, of which the commonwealth would pay about $600m.

Mr Barnett immediately poured cold water on the offer, saying he remained concerned about handing control of state schools to the commonwealth and the state was unlikely to sign any deal before the federal election in September.
The offer to WA prompted the NSW government to cite the “no disadvantage” clause in the deal it signed with the commonwealth in April, which guaranteed any sweeteners offered to other states to sign up to the funding reforms would also flow to NSW.

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Mal Brough, complete turkey or sexist pig? UPDATE: Menu author clears Brough

Andrew Bolt June 12 2013 (7:36pm)

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I’ve long thought former Liberal Minister Mal Brough overrated. I came to realise he’s sloppy. Now I suspect he’s a sexist and complete clown, whose political career is going nowhere:
High-profile Liberal National Party candidate Mal Brough has apologised for a “deeply regrettable, offensive and sexist” menu at one of his fundraisers, which mocked Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s body.
The menu featured a dish called “Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail – Small Breasts and Huge Thighs....”, along with another crude jibe.
Mr Brough says the menu was drawn up by a non-party member who thought it would be “humorous” and “didn’t mean any harm by it,” but is now “deeply apologetic.”
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey was the guest of honour at the March event, but has tweeted that he can’t recall ever seeing the menu…
Mr Brough also insisted he could not recall seeing the menu at the event for 20 people, held on March 28.
I have trouble believing that last claim. If it turns out to be false, Brough should quit as candidate.
In fact…
UPDATE
Reader Kevin G:

Yes it is unacceptable. But WHY does it appear TODAY - when the event was held back in March? Seems like someone’s got a bottom draw of clippings ready to pull out some “dirt” when Julia Gillard gets into trouble and starts getting negative comments in the media. How convenient for this ( stupid little menu ) to emerge just as nearly everybody is denouncing Gillard’s attack on “men in blue ties”. 
UPDATE
Labor is right to decry sexism, which is why it’s surprising that none of the Labor heavyweights at Bob Hawke’s 80th birthday party said a word in protest about this:

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And why did Wayne Swan not walk out of this sexist joke:

TREASURER Wayne Swan was still present when a joke was made about Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s female Chief of Staff Peta Credlin and made a speech after the comedian’s performance.
A distasteful and offensive joke about Ms Credlin was made at a Labor union dinner last night attended by Julia Gillard and senior Cabinet Ministers.
I approve of Labor’s stand against sexism and abuse. I’m just surprised it’s so selective.
UPDATE
Not many people implicated:

The Brisbane-based fundraiser for Mr Brough took place at the Richards and Richards restaurant on March 28 this year and was also attended by shadow treasurer Joe Hockey. It was attended by about 30 people and is said to have cost between $1000 and $2000 per head.
I’d like to know more about this:

The photo was originally posted by Twitter user @Chef09876, who gave his name only as “Dave” when contacted by The Australian Financial Review. He said he had seen the image on the Facebook page of another employee from the restaurant and decided to share it on the social network.
“I just copied it. I tried to tweet it after the function, to send it to Julia Gillard, the Labor party, [Sky news presenter] Peter Van Onselen and Kevin Rudd, my local member, but I didn’t get a reply from any of them. I don’t know if they were too busy to notice them at the time,’’ he said.
“Dave” has subsequently clarified on Twitter that he did not attempt to contact Mr Rudd.
UPDATE
I may owe Brough an apology. The chairman of the restaurant which held the fundraiser says the menu was a private joke and was not distributed:

Dear Mal,
I have been following the rubbish that has been on the news today. I would like to confirm what actually happened: there were never any menus distributed on the tables or in the restaurant. I created a mock menu myself as a light-hearted joke, however as I said I never produced them for public distribution. Unfortunately a staff member saw the mock menu, and unbeknownst to myself, posted it on their facebook. It now appears that a third party for political reasons has distributed it, yet I can reassure you that no such menu was distributed on the night. As you know no one at the dinner was privy to such a menu, and it is so unfortunate that an in-house joke between myself and my son has caused you great problems and embarrassment.
Regards,
Joe Richards
Chairman
Again, I apologise to Mal Brough.
UPDATE
The farce gets sillier, the stitch-up more obvious:

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This could explode in Gillard’s face.  

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We welcome today's announcement that every school in NSW will have flashing lights by 2015:http://bit.ly/13Tzqck

Flashing lights go a long way to ensure that motorists are aware that they are travelling in a school zone and need to slow down. 
Do you find they help you?

We would also like to see the RMS adopt a regular program of school zone audits to identify safety issues.

We are currently collecting information from the public regarding neglected school zones and we would like to hear from parents or teachers, and particularly Parent & Citizens Committees, that have safety concerns with their local school zone:http://bit.ly/14tOLm7

The survey will remain open until 29 July 2013 with the results to be provided to the NSW Government to assist in the further roll-out of Australian-standard signs and flashing lights: To fill out the survey, please go to:http://bit.ly/14tOLm7

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HWY 412 — in Boise City, OK.
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Share this so every woman will get it!!!....

Check your breast my beloved girl-friends!! Don't be shy, we never know when this might happen and it's better to prevent it than to treat it... Love you all!!

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It's funny how children will be the first attracted to the music they hear. What kind of music do you think he was playing? I imagine something like this - http://bit.ly/12jzJQv
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Complete Classic Movie: The Guns of Navarone (1961)

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/complete-classic-movie-the-guns-of-navarone-1961/

Stars: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn. A British team is sent to cross occupied Greek territory and destroy the massive German gun emplacement that commands a key sea channel.
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Pastor Rick Warren
The prize is always on the other side of pain. You must cross that river to get the reward.

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C-1 self balancing electric vehicle by Lit Motors.
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Breaking: 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan is being prepped for surgery and is getting her lung transplant. http://tinyurl.com/moglfcz
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The Hollywood Collection: Clint Eastwood – The Man From Malpaso

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/the-hollywood-collection-clint-eastwood-the-man-from-malpaso/

Catapulted to international prominence by Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, Clint Eastwood leapt from TV lead to world-class movie star. Then with Dirty Harry came super-stardom. But even that was not enough. Eastwood’s goal was to get behind the camera — to make great films. To achieve this end, he has produced, directed and starred in such classics as Play Misty for Me, High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josie Wales, Bronco Billy, Honkytonk Man, Pale Rider, Heartbreak Ridge, White Hunter, Black Heart, and The Unforgiven.
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“The whole point of empathy is to stand in someone else’s shoes and see things through their eyes.” http://bit.ly/DRP0612 
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Bigger on the inside? Check out this TARDIS Shed built by David (from Chelmsford, UK) which won first place in the TARDIS Shed Category of the Shed of the Year awards. 

It now goes head-to-head with 7 other sheds for the coveted Shed of the Year 2013 award. The winner will be announced on 1st July so we'll let you know if it's a TARDIS triumph!
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Larry Pickering
PAROLE BOARD RESPONSIBLE FOR JILL’S DEATH... and police were fast asleep

Facts were reported (illegally, due to a suppression order) in the Pickering Post on September 30, 2012. 

This germ Bayley had at least 16 convictions for violent rape, there were many more unaccounted for and he was prematurely out on parole. 

He was a person very well-known to police and there had been a rash of rape reports in inner Melbourne suburbs prior to Jill Meagher’s murder.

A German backpacker was raped in StKilda only weeks before Jill went missing and had given police an excellent description of a ginger-headed man.

Police had issued an identikit pic of the assailant yet didn’t even recognise Bayley from their own description!

They made public a copy of a bridal shop’s CCT video and asked TV audiences for assistance to identify a person they already knew. WTF?

Why police cars didn’t immediately arrive at Bayley’s address demanding an alibi is astounding. And where the hell was his parole officer?

Oh yes, his parole officer had tipped him off that the police might be on to him. Even Bayley’s parents had told police that he was likely to re-offend again while on parole. Incredible!

A report written three years ago, recommended that "immediate priority" be given to fixing a Victorian Police problem: The report revealed that 11 (eleven) "parolees" were charged with murder between July 1, 2008, and November 17, 2010.

What the hell has been going on in Victoria?

When he raped and murdered Jill Meagher, Bayley had already been released on parole for the rape of two other girls.

While in jail he sent the two girls birthday cards each year, reliving his experiences with them.

The girls, who had already been through stressful court testimony, now had to suffer Bayley’s ghoulish reminisces.

The police did nothing to prevent the torment.

A police report, marked "Protected" and written by Detective Acting Inspector Mark Newlan, warned that the parole problem exposed Victoria Police to "legitimate criticism by the media and the broader community" and significant damage to the force's reputation.

Screw the force’s “reputation”! What about the public’s safety, Mr Newlan?

Premier Baillieu, at the time, said, "We've known about the problems, but particular problems in regards to parolees, the failure of Victoria Police, I’ve read about those over the last 24 hours," he said.

"I think like most Victorians I'm shocked that basic information like this has not been available. Police should have available to them all the information about parolees, indeed any breaches of parolees ought to be addressed very promptly.

"I am appalled, I am shocked, I can only say we will deal with this problem," he said.

He didn’t deal with it. And it was not until Bayley was sentenced that a suppression order was lifted allowing the public to know who and what they have a right to be aware of.

Police Association Secretary, Greg Davies, said the parolees charged with murder should not have been let out of jail early in the first place.

"Why are these people on parole? How can the Parole Board get it so wrong that they allow these people to be released early from jail?" Mr Davies asked.

Whether they are released early or not, the public is still at risk. People like Bayley are sick and will reoffend whenever they are released.

The problem is suppression orders keep the public in the dark and juries politically correctly unaware of an accused’s criminal history.

The Victoria Police have been accepting of praise for work well done but why wasn’t this known serial rapist in their cross-hairs long before this tragedy ocurred? They knew him better than anyone!

No wonder the Victorian Police asked Jill’s husband to tell everyone not to discuss the matter at the time.

Melbourne residents have not been safe for years and have had no way of knowing who they should be wary of.

Parents also are not allowed to know where serial paedophiles are living.

Juries are not allowed to know the history of someone they are asked to find guilty or innocent.

Judicial political correctness victimises the victim while protecting the criminal.

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Graphic Quotes: Barack Hussein Obama

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/graphic-quotes-barack-hussein-obama/

“To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structured feminists and punk-rock performance poets.” Barack Obama, Dreams From My Father
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Never trust a bloke in a Blue tie, hey Julia?
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Roasted Red Pepper Hummus spiced up the Shiksa way. Creamy, smoky, spicy, garlicky goodness!

Recipe here: http://theshiksa.com/2013/06/12/roasted-red-pepper-hummus/
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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6, NIV) Just like you have to stop what you are doing to take time to eat in the natural, you have to take time to “eat” or partake of the right things spiritually. We have to...

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Heavenly Father,I thank You for the promise to fill my hunger. I open my heart to You and ask that You draw me by Your Spirit. Teach me to walk in Your ways of righteousness that I may honor and serve You all the days of my life. I bless Your name today. In Jesus’ name....

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While the threats facing Israel are growing, the IDF works tirelessly to develop and implement the most advanced technology, doing its utmost to keep Israel's citizens safe.
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
Heavenly Father,I thank You for the promise to fill my hunger. I open my heart to You and ask that You draw me by Your Spirit. Teach me to walk in Your ways of righteousness that I may honor and serve You all the days of my life. I bless Your name today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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4 her
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Tell Congress: No Burmese Blood Rubies




Last week, we wrote to you about the ongoing suffering of the Kachin people. Now the Kachin need your help to make sure Congress doesn’t lift the ban on importing Burmese rubies and jade.
 
Tell your Representative to cosponsor the renewal of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act. 

Rubies and jade are mined in northeastern Burma where the Burmese military continues to wage war against the Kachin ethnic group. Control of the mines and labor exploitation fuel the war against the Kachin, to whom the rubies are known as blood rubies – not because they are the color of blood, but because of the blood spilt in mining them. The Burmese government uses child labor and forced labor in the ruby and jade mines, which are highly lucrative moneymakers for the Burmese government and its business cronies.

We visited Kachin leaders, human rights organizations, relief workers, and internally displaced persons earlier this year. They expressed their frustration at how ignored, betrayed, and abandoned they feel by the international community. They want the United States to keep some sanctions in place to pressure the Burmese military to stop attacking them, to stop abusing them, to stop exploiting their natural resources, including the rubies and jade mined on their land, and to guarantee their rights, and let them return home in safety.

The gem ban in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is one of the last pieces of leverage the U.S. has to push the Burmese military to meet the Kachin concerns and pursue rights-respecting reforms. If Congress does not renew the gem ban, the ban is automatically gone.  Please take a minute to send an email to your Representative to renew the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act before it expires. 

Don’t let the Burmese government profit off the sale of these rubies and jade in the U.S. Email your Representative today and let him or her know that the gem provision is essential for keeping pressure on the Burmese government if we want to see the end of human rights abuses.

Help us not fail the Kachin when they need us most.

Have time to send more than an email?  Email myradah@uscampaignforburma.org for instructions for calling your Representative.


In solidarity,


USCB team

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Hi everyone! Here's the MichelleMalkin.com newsletter for June 12th. Enjoy!

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June 13
Pioneer 10 plaque

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