Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Tue May 6th Todays News

ICAC is campaigning very hard to have its work curtailed by political intervention. It has claimed a police minister and two premiers of NSW without ever presenting a case against any of them. It now threatens to produce a report and time it for three months prior to the next election without providing details to the accused of what they are accused of. Coincidentally, today is the birthday of Maximilien de Robespierre who was incorruptibly stupid. His contribution to modern society was to model behaviour that gives teflon to the left .. he had his convictions of left wing idealism. He silenced his enemies by killing them. And he was executed by many that had been used by him to kill others. It seems that the ICAC are daring conservatives to shut it down before it executes its duty to weed out corruption .. corruption that flowered for sixteen years of ALP government under an ICAC watch. 

 Today is also an anniversary of a success of Thomas Cochrane. Cochrane was the protofigure of Hornblower. He was radical and persecuted by Tory conservatives. On this day in 1801, Cochrane, on board HMS Speedy (14 guns, 54 men) captured El Gamo (32 guns, 319 men) from Spain. Cochrane flew an American flag and approached so closely to El Gamo that its guns could not depress to fire on the Speedy's hull. The Spanish tried to board and take over the ship. Whenever the Spanish were about to board, Cochrane pulled away briefly and fired on the concentrated boarding parties with his ship's guns. Eventually, Cochrane boarded the Gamo, despite being outnumbered about five to one, and captured her. Thirteen years later, Cochrane was accused of profiteering from a fake report of Napoleon's death. He had profited, but legitimately, but was convicted by a conservative court and government willing to turn a blind eye to facts. He was later pardoned, after twenty years, and reinstated into the navy where he rose to Admiral of the Red. 

 For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball
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Hatches
Happy birthday and many happy returns Patrick Poulou and Peter Lambert. Born on the same day across the years. Born on the same date the Hindenburg dream came to an end. You are like phoenix.
Matches
Despatches
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Few questions and no answers in Q & A’s radical Left ambush agenda

Miranda Devine – Tuesday, May 06, 2014 (8:20pm)

The ABC’s Q & A program was out-gamed by a bunch of undergraduate socialists on Monday night.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'Few questions and no answers in Q & A’s radical Left ambush agenda'
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A clumsy clashing of the titans

Miranda Devine – Tuesday, May 06, 2014 (8:19pm)

COULD there possibly be a more delicious Sydney story than two media moguls brawling in the glorious sunshine on the edge of Bondi Beach?

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'A clumsy clashing of the titans'
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NRL bosses are totally gay

Miranda Devine – Tuesday, May 06, 2014 (8:18pm)

WHY doesn’t the NRL just burn Mitchell Moses at the stake? The 19-year-old Wests Tigers player has been hit with a two-week match ban for making a “homophobic slur” against Queensland opponent Luke Bateman. 

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'NRL bosses are totally gay'
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Joe Hockey should sue the pants off Malcolm Fraser

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (4:06pm)


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Joe Hockey is not corrupt and not “for sale”. Fraser is so bitter he has become downright vindictive.
UPDATE
Fraser backtracks:

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(Thanks to reader Mike.) 
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Q&A gives Leftists in its audience a good ride

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (3:54pm)

Q&A is hostile territory for conservatives. They are invariably outnumbered on the panel, the host is of the Left and the audience is generally hostile, despite the ABC’s claims that it is balanced.
But then you get last night’s farce. Or you get a Pat Scott in the audience for two weeks running and for two weeks running getting a chance to attack the Abbott Government.
Last week, he complained about the Liberals’ spending on defence:
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This week, complaining about the Liberals’ funding of science:
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(Thanks to reader Lynne.) 
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Expensive brawl. UPDATE: Police investigate

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (2:52pm)

  The last straw:
AN angry text fired off by billionaire James Packer demanding Channel 9 boss David Gyngell remove a news truck from outside his Bondi Beach pad ignited the sensational street brawl between two of Sydney’s highest-profile businessmen.
The text, sent moments after the casino mogul jetted into Sydney from Jerusalem, left Mr Gyngell seething with rage after months of escalating tensions between the friends of 35 years.
“I didn’t even know you were in f ... ing Australia,’’ Mr Gyngell is heard yelling in a video of the bare-knuckled fist fight on Sunday afternoon.
It is understood Mr Packer seriously considered suing his once-close friend for assault on the basis three witnesses could testify on his behalf.
I didn’t realise the fist-fight could be so expensive, or is this another beat-up?:

For Mr Packer and his casino operation, Crown Resorts, the fallout could still be very costly as he vies for business potentially worth billions of dollars in Asia.
His proposed $US400 million casino resort in Sri Lanka was already in serious doubt due to local concerns about its corrupting effect on Buddhist values and association with vices such as prostitution…
The public relations black eye may also prove costly in Japan, which is shaping up to become the world’s most lucrative casino market outside of Macau. The Japanese government is expected to be especially sensitive about the reputations of the parties involved with its proposed casinos as it overcomes long-held opposition to casinos in the country.
Terry McCrann:
What happened yesterday was obviously completely inexcusable for the CEO of a major public company.
But precisely because it was entirely personal, it’s arguably not a sacking offence, although both should — will — have to engage in some public demonstration of penance.
UPDATE
Last night I said police couldn’t investigate without a complaint.
False:
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(Thanks to reader Matt.) 
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“Shut up” is the new argument

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (2:51pm)

 I ask again, what is it with the Left and abuse?
Reader J says this video has been heavily edited to favor the complainers, yet it is damning enough:
I attended a civic trust meeting in my area of epping, NSW, tonight, imagining I’d be informed about developments with the new rail link.
It was hijacked by political radicals who came to hurl abuse at former Attorney General and member for Epping Greg Smith.
When he first walked up a woman next to me said “apparently his son will run in the seat next, hope not he looks like a sniveling pig in a trough”.
It then got quite heated and this woman soon yelled out “you f**king Catholic”. I asked her to “shhh"” and she said “what are you one of his son’s friends? Went to a f**king private school did you?” (I would imagine majority of the people in that area send their children to private schools.)
The night got so heated that a woman grabbed Greg Smith hanging off his arm trying to grab the microphone.
All the while this was filmed by a staffer for Greens MLC Mehreen Faruqi and will no doubt go on Youtube after editing.
When I arrived home I watched Q&A and saw the crowd. The new argument seems to be just disrespect, drowning out the voices speaking.  Nights like tonight reduce the enormous faith I have in Australians and it is extremely saddening.                      
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Is the ABC God?

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (2:35pm)

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I’m puzzled. Does the ABC run hospitals? Offer an afterlife to believers?
Can anyone explain?
(Thanks to reader Craig.) 
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Melbourne University appoints warming activist preaching Rudd slogans

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (9:35am)

Global warming - propaganda

Melbourne University tries to keep the great global warming scare alive after 16 years of no warming. It puts a green activist on the public payroll, so we will pay to hear the kind of slogans once made famous by Kevin Rudd, friend of the Vice Chancellor:
Highly regarded environmentalist, Don Henry has been appointed as a Public Policy Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
In his role, Mr Henry will undertake research into climate change policy and the role of public activism…
Don Henry comes to the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute from his role as CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation…
“Climate Change is the great challenge of our generation...,” Mr Henry explained.
Heard that line before?:
I look forward to Melbourne University giving me a similar sinecure for balance when I get closer to retirement.
(Thanks to reader mem.) 
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Nigeria’s president is as weak as Boko Haram is evil

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (9:12am)

Nigeria’s criminally inept Government has finally arrested people over the kidnapping and enslavement of more than 200 schoolgirls by Islamist extremists. Problem is, those arrested are reportedly protesters who angered the President’s wife by demanding the girls be saved:
Nigeria’s Islamic extremist leader threatened in a videotaped statement seen on Monday to sell the more than 200 teenage schoolgirls abducted from a school in the remote northeast of the country three weeks ago…
“I abducted your girls,” said the leader of Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sinful…
“By Allah, I will sell them in the marketplace,” he said in the hour-long video that starts with fighters lofting automatic rifles and shooting in the air as they chant “Allahu akbar!” or “God is great.”
It was unclear if the video was made before or after reports emerged last week that some of the girls have been forced to marry their abductors… An intermediary who has said Boko Haram is ready to negotiate ransoms for the girls also said two of the girls have died of snakebite and about 20 are ill… He said Christians among the girls have been forced to convert to Islam…
The mass abduction and the military’s failure to rescue the girls and young women has roused national outrage with protests in major cities…
First lady Patience Jonathan fuelled anger on Monday when a leader of a protest march said she ordered the arrests of two protest leaders, expressed doubts there was any kidnapping and accused the protest leaders of belonging to Boko Haram… Saratu Angus Ndirpaya of Chibok town said State Security Service agents drove her and protest leader Naomi Mutah Nyadar to a police station on Monday after an all-night meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja, the capital.
She said police immediately released her but that Nyadar remains in detention.... Ndirpaya says Patience Jonathan accused them of fabricating the abductions to give Nigeria’s government and her husband “a bad name…
Nigerian President Jonathan… proceeded to criticise parents for not being forthright with police. “… Because up to this time, they have not been able to come clearly, to give the police clear identity of the girls that have yet to return,” he said.
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If Indians are now “asylum seekers” we’ve got a billion potential more to come

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (8:24am)

The accusations may or may not be true. They may or may not be serious. But here’s what immediately strikes me: we now have Indians, Nepalese and Albanians claiming to “asylum seekers” or refugees?
THE Australian Navy has been accused of adding extra passengers to an asylum seeker boat turned back to Indonesia.
According to an account given to Indonesia’s navy, the crew said two Australian warships put three extra people on board their boat before they were escorted to Indonesian waters....
The Indonesian Navy on Monday night released a statement saying it had found a group of asylum seekers — 16 Indians, two Nepalese and two Albanians.
UPDATE
Yes, the allegations from the former Salvation Army staffer at Manus are serious. But again I wonder: we are asked to admit rapists to our country?
In the three months Ms Judge was on the island, she claims in the submission to the Senate inquiry there was sexual activity in the so-called “rape dungeon” in one of the compounds and was told by the guards to carry a “rape whistle” while inside the centre. When she told Salvation Army staff that a young Myanmar asylum seeker was walking away from a toilet block in pain, her Salvation Army team leader dismissed her concerns, saying that “because these transferees are Muslim and actively engaging in prayer that any sexual activity would have been consensual”.  
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Three-goal lead wasn’t enough?

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (8:20am)

 Moral: don’t get too greedy. 
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Our race commissioner deaf to the free speech that damned Sterling

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (7:43am)

Tim Soutphommasane seems determined to read the wrong lessons from the Donald Sterling case:
Some people say! Race Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane writes in The Age, yesterday:
THE NBA race controversy involving LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling has some resonance for Australians ... a leaked recording revealed Sterling had told his girlfriend not to ... bring black people to his team’s games. The NBA ... banned Sterling ... for life. Here some people say the Sterling incident confirms that we should be combating racist speech with “good speech’’, and not with legal instruments.
Not just some. Not just here. Barack Obama comments on the Sterling case, April 27:

WHEN ignorant folks want to ­advertise their ignorance, you don’t really have to do anything, you just let them talk and that’s what happened here.
Not good enough for Tim. Soutphommasane, The Age, yesterday:

IT is true that fighting racism can never be as simple as legislating away bigotry … (but) our law … ensures we can hold people accountable for acts that offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate on racial grounds. If we are to draw lessons from the US, we must draw the correct ones. There has only been an emphatic statement that bigotry shouldn’t be tolerated. We can all learn from this demonstration of leadership.
“Only been an emphatic statement that bigotry shouldn’t be tolerated”? First, isn’t that actually tremendous? Second, isn’t that claim false, given the punishment meted to Sterling?
Here are the real lessons of the Sterling case, as delivered by Rowan Dean:

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Cuts aren’t as easy as some journalists think

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (7:39am)

If journalists understood finance, more of us would be rich. Judith Sloan is peeved by suggestions by some journalists on how to fix the Budget:

Take ABC1’s Insiders program on Sunday. Phil Coorey, from The Australian Financial Review, maintained that Treasury has been arguing for a paring back of the diesel fuel rebate for years…
In fact, all the evidence points to Treasury being a staunch defender of the rebate as a means of avoiding the imposition of a tax on a business input. ..
Another misunderstood policy is negative gearing and its consequences for the budget…
When mention is made of the billions of dollars that taxpayers who invest in property claim off their tax, there is always a failure to point out the tax paid on the interest received by the banks and other financial institutions. ..
Here’s another furphy put out by ignorant journalists: that negative gearing does not exist in other countries…
There is also the erroneous interpretation of superannuation tax concessions which, according to David Marr on the same Insiders program, are costing the same as the age pension… In fact, according to Henry Ergas, the effective tax on super is close to 40 per cent, which is very high for a tax on saving.   
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Costello: axe the deficit tax

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (2:34am)

Former Treasurer Peter Costello tells his former colleagues to axe the deficit tax before it’s too late:
Australia has a spending problem. Labor geared up spending to stimulate the economy and never stopped. The public understands that. They know that spending has to be cut.
Last week the Government floated the idea of raising tax as a way of “sharing the pain” so everyone would shoulder the burden of fixing the Budget. It is important to note this is a political argument. The proposed “levy” has no economic benefit. To the degree it will affect the economy it will detract from growth by reducing consumption.
It will produce no interest rate reduction and, if it lasts four years and raises $10 billion, the most it could save would be $400 million in annual interest — hardly enough to touch the sides of the annual $12 billion Government financing requirement…
The argument for increasing income taxes through some kind of levy is all about the politics. That’s why it was floated: to gauge reaction. If the Government had irrevocably decided to do it, it would have just announced it in the Budget scheduled for next Tuesday night.
I think there has been enough reaction now for the Government to conclude that far from making it easier to sell repairs to the Budget, the proposed levy would make things a lot harder.... If the Government put such a levy in place, then long after this Budget has been forgotten, the press and the Opposition would still be attacking the Prime Minister over credibility.
And attacks over tax promises can be devastatingly effective.
Just ask Julia (There will be no Carbon tax under a Government I lead) Gillard, or Paul (L-A-W tax cuts) Keating…
If Labor and the Greens vote against it ... it will not go through the Senate unless the Palmer United Party (PUP) votes for it… The Liberal Party could be caught out campaigning for a tax rise that will never pass into law…
If it is acceptable for an incoming government to spring increases on the higher marginal income tax rates, then don’t think this will be the last government to try it.
Tony Shepherd, head of the commission of audit, isn’t a fan either:
There’s two issues there. One is to get back to surplus more quickly is an advantage. We save the interest cost and it means we’re in a more secure position earlier. The other side of it though is what is the impact on confidence, consumer and business? I would certainly say - and it’s not something that we looked at in the commission, but I’d say that if they were to bring in something like that, they’d need to be very careful about implementing any of our recommendations which have an immediate impact on the individual. So, things like Family Tax Benefit B and that sort of thing, I think you wouldn’t want to run that in parallel with a debt tax or levy or whatever you want to call it.... Because that might just be too much of a shock for the system.
Former Labor minister Gary Johns warns Tony Abbott he won’t get the thanks he expects for spreading the pain:
You will lose more votes from a loss of respect than from a reduction in benefits that every taxpayer knows are unwarranted, undeserved and unaffordable.
If you levy the levy, headlines in the tabloids will scream “Axe the tax”; if you don’t, the headlines will scream “Soak the rich”. Forget the headlines.
UPDATE
Rumours that the Abbott Government may ditch the deficit tax.
UPDATE
Criticise Abbott for trying too hard to fix what Labor broke. But criticise Labor more for recklessly pretending there’s nothing broken.
Check out the astonishing spin of shadow treasurer Chris Bowen in this email to voters:
Labor has an economic record we can be truly proud of: 
- Labor left the budget with a triple-A credit rating and stable outlook from all three ratings agencies, a first for Australia
- Australia was one of only three advanced economies to avoid recession during the global financial crisis
- Labor left a Budget with net debt well below most advanced economies
- Labor understood the need for fiscal discipline and took over $130 billion in responsible savings to invest in hospitals, schools and the NDIS
So where did this record deficit come from? How did Labor not give us its long-promised “no ifs, no buts” surplus? Why are both the Reserve Bank Governor and Treasury Secretary warning us the spending Abbott inherited is not paid for and changes must be made?
Is Labor lying or delusional?
(Thanks to readers Alan and PaulC.) 
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Socialists disrupt Q&A: prove the worst of the ABC and the far Left

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (12:57am)

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Last night’s shambolic Q&A proves:
- just how easy it has been for the Left to infiltrate the Q&A audience, often claiming to be conservatives. At least two of the first three questions came from people who identified as Socialist Alternative speakers. Then the show was interrupted for several minutes by at least half a dozen sympathisers, chanting slogans and unfurling a banner. Other questioners sounded like fellow travellers. So much for the vetting.  Q&A claimed the audience comprised Coalition voters 47 per cent, ALP 38, Greens 9. Utter rubbish.
- how foul a world would be led by socialists like these students. They were rude (one shouted “liar” at Christopher Pyne, misrepresenting Pyne’s opinion), they repeatedly heckled Pyne and shouted him down, they ended all discussion for several minutes by chanting and forcing Q&A to break transmission, they demanded others pay for their privileges, they lied in claiming our education system was only for the rich. Abusive, selfish thugs with no respect for the opinions of others. The kind of people who created the Gulag Archipelago.
It is the totalitarian instinct made manifest.

Healthy reactions:
Australian Liberal Students’ Federation spokesperson Matthew Lesh condemned the disruption to the debate that had been taking place on the show.
“This demonstration displays the willingness of the extreme left to use disruptive and ferocious methods” Mr Lesh sid.
“Tonight’s protests are an embarrassment to students, and do not in any sense represent the regular student body.”
And:
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UPDATE
Why is Anna Burke so rude to the conservatives on the panel?
Why is Mark Trevorrow so rude to the conservatives on the panel?
Why is the Left generally so abusive?
Why are Trevorrow and Burke sounding so sure of themselves when they sound largely ill-informed and irrational?
UPDATE
This stunt occurred in a very interesting time in the Budget considerations. Tony Abbott is considering breaking his promise not to cut funding for the ABC. I will now have even more trouble mustering outrage if he does, and I suspect I will have more company than ever.
UPDATE
A distinction without a difference:
Protester Brigitte Garozzo ...  said the protest was organised by the Education Action Group from the University of Sydney, not the Socialist Alternative.
Like the two have nothing in common. Garazzo is actually a Greens official (do the Greens support this protest?), but Sydney University SRC’s education officer explains how close the ties are between the Education Action Group and Socialist Alternative:

It was through my involvement with the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) and the Sydney Uni Education Action Group that I met Socialist Alternative; their constant commitment to hard work and sensible proposals initially sparked my interest.
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In fact, here are the protesters celebrating outside the ABC studio. They include both the two questioners who’d identified as Socialist Alternative members. The picture was posted by Omar Hassan, a Socialist Alternative leader and another member of the Q&A audience. Seems the Education Action Group is just another Marxist front.
And again, how did so many socialist radicals get into the Q&A audience? What is the vetting like? How often does this happen, when we’re told the audience is balanced but discover from the hooting it’s just another love-in of the Left?
UPDATE
[Note: this post has been updated since I first put it up last night. Apology to Paul Barry: I published a tweet of his saying democracy was back on track. I mistakenly took it to be praising the protesters’ contribution as democracy when in fact he’d posted it to praise their eviction. I’ve removed my reference and have resolved to in future think better of Barry.]  
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Shouldn’t Media Watch concede the ABC triumph may not be?

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (12:29am)

Peter of Bellevue Hill wonders why the ABC’s Media Watch didn’t correct the ABC’s record:

AB, disappointing that Media Watch last night didn’t cover the ABC’s apparent attempt to pull a fast one on taxpayers with its China ‘deal’.
On last week’s show - broadcast the same day that The Oz broke the story that it appeared the deal wasn’t done - Paul Barry had this to say:
That so-called landmark deal with the Shanghai Media Group will supposedly allow ABC International to broadcast programs online to more than a billion Chinese viewers. And while some have raised doubts it’s been described by one veteran media player, Harold Mitchell as… “… one of the most important breakthroughs in communications between our countries ...”
The Oz confirmed the deal wasn’t done last Wednesday ... but the scandal didn’t make the cut for last night’s show. It’s hard to see how they could have missed the story.
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Newspoll: Labor/Greens ahead 53 to 47. Promise of worse to come

Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (12:02am)

The Government’s sales job is not good and I think some of what it’s proposing had better be dropped before worse happens than this Newspoll:
SUPPORT for the Coalition has plunged to its lowest level in almost four years and voter dis¬satisfaction with Tony Abbott has jumped to the highest point since he became Prime Minister…
Satisfaction with Mr Abbott’s performance is down five points to 35 per cent, with dissatisfaction leaping nine points to 56 per cent.
Newspoll ...  shows support for the Coalition dropped five points to 38 per cent – the largest single fall for a government since Julia Gillard’s carbon tax announcement in February 2011…

There was no gain for Labor, with its primary vote flat at 34 per cent, as voters shifted to the Greens, minor parties and independents. However, ... the fall in the Coalition vote and the rise for the Greens would still lift the ALP and put it ahead in two-party terms by a commanding 53 per cent to 47 per cent...
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4 her, so she can see how I see her


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Charlton Heston – Patriot at The Podium – The Reagan In You – 2002 (Video)

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/charlton-heston-patriot-at-the-podium-the-reagan-in-you-2002-video/

The public life of NRA President Charlton Heston – excerpt from 2002 NRA address – The Reagan in You.
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Movie of the Week: Zulu

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/movie-of-the-week-zulu/

Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke’s Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War where 150 British soldiers, many of which were sick and wounded as patients at that field hospital, successfully held off an army of 4000 Zulu warriors.
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WAYNE SWAN... PLEASE EXPLAIN? Larry Pickering

New Zealand was on the brink of recession prior to the Conservative government of John Key taking the reins in 2008. This small economy of 4.4 million people is now preparing for a series of record surpluses... and without the help of a mining industry.

Helen Clarke’s Labour Government left the country facing severe recession with a bloated Public Service sector and disastrous losses due to her takeover of the NZ rail system.

Abbott could do worse than take a look across the Tasman when attempting to repair the damage left by the union government of Julia Gillard and the incompetency of Kevin Rudd.

Unions have assisted in bringing Euro Communist/Socialist governments to their knees. North America broke its corrupt union stranglehold years ago but when a union movement actually becomes the Government, as it has in Australia, prepare for a catastrophe we were totally unprepared for.

Unfortunately Wayne Swan’s and Julia Gillard’s response to our parlous economic state is to tell lies:

“We guided the nation through a global financial crisis”, says Gillard. Wrong! Australia was almost immune from the GFC. Our major client, China, averaged a 9 per cent growth, we were in the middle of a mining boom, we were not exposed to the US sub-prime rate, we had low unemployment, historically high terms of trade and our financial institutions were never at risk.

“Government revenue is down”, says Swan. Wrong again! Government revenue is up 7.5% this year alone, has risen each year of this government’s tenure and is up a massive $100 billion since 2008.

If Swan was to tell the truth he would say that his spending was predicated on unrealistic revenue expectations that, with the help of a compliant Treasury, were consistently and grossly overstated. That’s all.

We are now where NZ was four years ago... in a heap of Labor pain.

So, what’s different? NZ’s dollar has risen to exactly the same extent our dollar has. Helen Clarke’s socialist government went on the same spending spree and faced the same endless deficits. We had our floods, they had their earthquakes.

Fortunately, both countries possess the same resilience to bounce back from Labor disasters.

So, how did NZ tackle Labour’s, loss-making legacy? Luke Malpass, a research fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, a conservative think tank, explains it this way:

“First were tax cuts. The top tax rate for someone on about $45,000 a year went from 33 per cent to 17.5 per cent, the top income tax rate was slashed from 39 per cent to 33 per cent at $70,000, aligned with the trust tax rate. Company tax was reduced to 28 per cent, GST was increased to 15 per cent to encourage savings ahead of consumption.

“Second, employing people was made easier. A probationary working period was introduced, and the modest emissions trading scheme was drastically trimmed back. Compulsory employer co-contributions to Kiwisaver, New Zealand’s voluntary savings scheme, were reduced from 4 per cent to 2 per cent. (This has been increased to 3 per cent as conditions have improved.)


“Third, the government produced a series of so-called “zero budgets” allowing no new money for any area except health and education. New programs were funded from within existing budgets.

“Fourth, 49 per cent slices of several power companies are being privatised to improve market disciplines, deepen capital markets and encourage a share-owning democracy.”

Of 4.4 million people, 440,000 have enthusiastically pre-registered for the IPO. (Initial Public Offering)

Wow! And back to surplus, all within four years!

But we are five times the size of New Zealand with five times the damage wrought on our economy and social structure... and without one thing to show for it.

Still, Abbott could learn much from the NZ labour/union experience, but one critical mistake must never be repeated: The outdated Marx and Trotsky ideologies of unions are fine within their own arenas, but a blatant annexation of government by unions and the far Left, via unrepresentative Greens, must never be allowed to happen again.

The electorate doesn't want it.

The endless, feel-good “initiatives” of Labor in election mode must be put aside until surpluses re-emerge through sound management.

The awesome responsibility on Abbott’s shoulders will leave little time for bike rides as he will certainly face the full force of organised union militancy.

These corrupt, destructive little cretins must be banished back to the shop floor in a Thatcher style purge.

They, including the Prime Minister, must face a Royal Commission and eventually pay the penalties for their crimes against their own kind and the Australian people.

But there is one glaring difference in the NZ experience. Helen Clarke did not face the NZ electorate while under investigation by a Major Fraud Squad.
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In hostile situations, a fish's personality may matter more than size, according to new research.http://oak.ctx.ly/r/4p38

An animal's "personality" is characterized if it consistently displays an observed behavior, given certain conditions or environments, the researchers said.
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CCTV A VITAL POLICING TOOL

The Members for Hawkesbury, Riverstone and Londonderry said they would fight for the continued use of Closed Circuit TV to help fight crime.

Last week the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled that cameras installed by Shoalhaven City Council breached privacy laws and had to be switched off, which has raised doubts about Councils ability to use the technology.

“CCTV is a proven weapon which helps police drive down crime – we want to ensure our local police, council and other law enforcement agencies have access to cameras to drive down crime in our area,” Mr Williams, Conolly and Bassett said.

“While there is a role for privacy laws, this decision flies in the face of the views of most law-abiding citizens who support CCTV and its role in the fight against crime.

“We have seen in a number of recent high profile cases the invaluable assistance CCTV provides police in tracking down offenders.

“I will be conveying these views to the Attorney General so the situation is resolved as soon as possible.”

Attorney General Greg Smith SC is seeking urgent legal advice about the implications of the tribunal’s decision and whether legislation is required to validate the continued use of CCTV.

“We are urgently seeking to resolve this situation in the interest of the people of NSW,” Mr Smith said.
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A fabulous Emerald Cut Diamond Ring with Trapezoid and Cadi Step Cut Diamond should stones. Centre Emerald Cut Diamond 5.01ct F VS1
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A Truly fantastic Doctor Who themed Cake by

Imaginative Icing - York - Cake Decorating & Specialist Sugarcraft Shops

Give them some likes and support! 
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There are lessons to be learned from David Cameron's abandonment of his party's core principles: http://www.corybernardi.com/2013/05/the-ukip-lesson.html
Not my view .. but Cory Bernardi has a conservative following - ed
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Stars of David over Hollywood: From ‘The Jazz Singer’ to ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,’ the way Jews are portrayed on the silver screen reflects their acceptance into American society, says author Eric A. Goldman. 

Read more at http://toi.sr/18eBGP6
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Kung fu action and cooking fun is coming back on ya TV with the lovely Alice Zaslavsky (Masterchef 2012) and I. Kitchen Whiz season 5 airs from 7:30am MAY 20 on GO! Mon-Fri. The phone APP will be released on MAY 12. Woo!
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Anybody out there in the mood for a world famous Israeli breakfast! 
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May 6: Yom Ha'atzmaut in Israel (2014); St George's Day in Bulgaria
Pim Fortuyn
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Events[edit]

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“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
2 Corinthians 6:16
What a sweet title: "My people!" What a cheering revelation: "Their God!" How much of meaning is couched in those two words, "My people!" Here is speciality. The whole world is God's; the heaven, even the heaven of heavens is the Lord's, and he reigneth among the children of men; but of those whom he hath chosen, whom he hath purchased to himself, he saith what he saith not of others--"My people." In this word there is the idea of proprietorship. In a special manner the "Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." All the nations upon earth are his; the whole world is in his power; yet are his people, his chosen, more especially his possession; for he has done more for them than others; he has bought them with his blood; he has brought them nigh to himself; he has set his great heart upon them; he has loved them with an everlasting love, a love which many waters cannot quench, and which the revolutions of time shall never suffice in the least degree to diminish. Dear friends, can you, by faith, see yourselves in that number? Can you look up to heaven and say, "My Lord and my God: mine by that sweet relationship which entitles me to call thee Father; mine by that hallowed fellowship which I delight to hold with thee when thou art pleased to manifest thyself unto me as thou dost not unto the world?" Canst thou read the Book of Inspiration, and find there the indentures of thy salvation? Canst thou read thy title writ in precious blood? Canst thou, by humble faith, lay hold of Jesus' garments, and say, "My Christ"? If thou canst, then God saith of thee, and of others like thee, "My people;" for, if God be your God, and Christ your Christ, the Lord has a special, peculiar favour to you; you are the object of his choice, accepted in his beloved Son.

Evening

"He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he."
Proverbs 16:20
Wisdom is man's true strength; and, under its guidance, he best accomplishes the ends of his being. Wisely handling the matter of life gives to man the richest enjoyment, and presents the noblest occupation for his powers; hence by it he finds good in the fullest sense. Without wisdom, man is as the wild ass's colt, running hither and thither, wasting strength which might be profitably employed. Wisdom is the compass by which man is to steer across the trackless waste of life; without it he is a derelict vessel, the sport of winds and waves. A man must be prudent in such a world as this, or he will find no good, but be betrayed into unnumbered ills. The pilgrim will sorely wound his feet among the briers of the wood of life if he do not pick his steps with the utmost caution. He who is in a wilderness infested with robber bands must handle matters wisely if he would journey safely. If, trained by the Great Teacher, we follow where he leads, we shall find good, even while in this dark abode; there are celestial fruits to be gathered this side of Eden's bowers, and songs of paradise to be sung amid the groves of earth. But where shall this wisdom be found? Many have dreamed of it, but have not possessed it. Where shall we learn it? Let us listen to the voice of the Lord, for he hath declared the secret; he hath revealed to the sons of men wherein true wisdom lieth, and we have it in the text, "Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he." The true way to handle a matter wisely is to trust in the Lord. This is the sure clue to the most intricate labyrinths of life; follow it and find eternal bliss. He who trusts in the Lord has a diploma for wisdom granted by inspiration: happy is he now, and happier shall he be above. Lord, in this sweet eventide walk with me in the garden, and teach me the wisdom of faith.
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Absalom

[Ăb'salŏm] - father of peace. The third son of David by his wife Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. He was born of a polygamous marriage (2 Sam. 3:2, 13, 14).

The Man Whose Lovely Hair Meant His Death

What a singular fascination there is in the story of Absalom who, lacking capacity, certainly made up for it in charm! As to the story of his rebellion against David his father, such a heartless deed carries with it one of the most solemn lessons in the whole of the Bible. Let us briefly touch on some aspects of Absalom's character and conduct.
I. He was of royal descent on both sides, for his mother was a king's daughter. Undoubtedly he was heir to the throne, and the favorite, the idol of his father.
II. He was gifted with remarkable physical beauty - "no blemish in him" (2 Sam. 14:25 ). A commanding presence, natural dignity, extraordinary graces of person made him a conspicuous figure.
III. He also possessed a charm of eloquence and persuasiveness which won him the hearts of all Israel, who felt that in him they had a God-sent champion.
IV. He had a traitorous nature. Absalom murdered his own brother (2 Sam. 13:29), was guilty of designing politeness (2 Sam. 15:2, 3), and conspired against his own father (2 Sam. 15:13, 14).
V. He came to an untimely end ( 2 Sam. 18:9). Having everything in his favor - a throne ready made for him, and fortune bowing at his feet to load him with favors, his life ended in tragedy. Brilliant in its beginnings, he was buried like a dog in a pit in a lonely wood, leaving a name that was execrated. What brought Absalom to his Paradise Lost?
A. His all-absorbing egotism. Self-aggrandizement was Absalom's sin. He had no thought, no feeling, no pity for anyone else but himself. Those around him were only of use to him as they helped him to secure his own desires and build up his own grandeur. Filial affection and generous sentiment were sacrificed on the altar of his inordinate ambition. But in trying to save his life, he lost it.
B. His was a practical godlessness. Those around Absalom recognized God, and had a religious faith giving some restraint and principle to their conduct. But the handsome, selfish, scheming Absalom had none of this feeling. He was his own master. His own will was his only law. He was destitute of principle and destitute of faith. Love, tenderness, pity, were not his traits because he had no reverence for God.
C. His glory brought about his final tragedy. Adding to the beauty of Absalom was his flowing hair forming a crown to his person which made him the delight of Israel's daughters. Being proud of his chief ornament he must have carefully attended to it. But as Absalom was pursued by Joab's men his beautiful hair was caught fast in the thick and tangled boughs of an oak tree and he could not free himself. Thus his graceful personal endowment left him a target for those who hated him and sought his death.
May such a lesson not be lost upon us! Our chief glory can become the cause of our greatest shame. Our choicest endowments and most cherished gifts can become our greatest temptations. Our gifts, like ourselves, need to be rewashed every day in the fountain of God's truth, and guarded and sanctified by prayer, if they are to be fit for the highest service.
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Today's reading: 1 Kings 19-20, Luke 23:1-25 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: 1 Kings 19-20

Elijah Flees to Horeb
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

Today's New Testament reading: Luke 23:1-25

1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king."
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"You have said so," Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man...."



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