Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Wed Jul 1st Todays News

At last you can revel in the joys of smaller government on this site for the Bolt Report Supporter's Group on Facebook. If something is broke, you fix it. Or not. There won't be any purges or changes because I've not the time to do much. But if you do something outrageous which I must respond to I will.
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The Australian Broadcasting Corporation came into being on this day in 1932. It is a bureaucratic mess. But it isn't the worst mess on this day. In 1766, a young French nobleman, Jean-François de la Barre who was tortured and beheaded before his body was burned on a pyre. Also burned, pinned to his body, was a work of Voltaire. The crime the twenty year old man committed was said to be failing to bow to a religious procession, but the unpleasant truth is that he was a protestant in a catholic land. The ABC was created in the hope that the left leaning press in Australia would be balanced by state body which reported facts, not bias. The reality is that the ABC has never been balanced. 

Greece has defaulted on her IMF loan. Soon she will vote to approve or deny the imposition of austerity. But she has already done so, and her government ran on the lie that Greece didn't need austerity. Now the EU has a choice, but it isn't really a choice. Greece needs to be booted from the EU as a lesson in humility. It should never be the case that a nation employs people without paying them. The civilised world abhors slavery. 

In 69, Tiberius Julius Alexander ordered his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. 552, Battle of TaginaeByzantine forces under Narses defeated the Ostrogoths in Italy. During the fightings king Totila was mortally wounded. 1097, Battle of DorylaeumCrusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeated a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I. 1431, the Battle of La Higueruela took place in Granada, leading to a modest advance of the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.

In 1523, Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes became the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in Brussels. They were Augustinian monks. Others from their monastery had recanted. These refused.  1569, Union of Lublin: The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania confirmed a real union; the united country is called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations. 1643, first meeting of the Westminster Assembly, a council of theologians ("divines") and members of the Parliament of England appointed to restructure the Church of England, at Westminster Abbey in London. 1690, Glorious RevolutionBattle of the Boyne in Ireland (as reckoned under the Julian calendar). 1766, Jean-François de la Barre, a young French nobleman, was tortured and beheaded before his body was burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire's Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in AbbevilleFrance. It sounds excessive, but he was a protestant. 1770, Lexell's Comet passed closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 a.u. 1782, Raid on Lunenburg: American privateers attacked the British settlement of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

In 1837, a system of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths was established in England and Wales. 1855, signing of the Quinault Treaty: The Quinault and the Quileute ceded their land to the United States. 1858, joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace's papers on evolution to the Linnean Society in London. 1862, The Russian State Library was founded as The Library of the Moscow Public Museum. Also 1862, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, married Prince Louis of Hesse, the future Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. Also 1862, American Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill took place. It is the final battle in the Seven Days Campaign, part of George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. 1863, Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) in Suriname, marked the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands. Also, American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg began. 1867, the British North America Act of 1867 took effect as the Constitution of Canada, creating the Canadian Confederation and the federal dominion of Canada; Sir John A. Macdonald was sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada. This date was commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.

In 1870, the United States Department of Justice formally came into existence. 1873, Prince Edward Island joined the Canadian Confederation. 1874, the Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful typewriter, went on sale. 1878, Canada joined the Universal Postal Union. 1879, Charles Taze Russell published the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower. 1881, the world's first international telephone call was made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States. Also 1881, General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell and Childers reforms of the British Army, came into effect. 1885, the United States terminated reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada. 1890, Canada and Bermuda were linked by telegraph cable. 1898, Spanish–American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill was fought in Santiago de Cuba.

In 1903, start of first Tour de France bicycle race. 1908, SOS was adopted as the international distress signal. 1911, Germany despatched the gunship Panther to Morocco, sparking the Agadir Crisis. 1915, Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German Fliegertruppe air service achieved the first known aerial victory with a synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker. 1916, World War IFirst day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army were killed and 40,000 wounded. 1921, the Communist Party of China was founded. 1922, the Great Railroad Strike of 1922 began in the United States. 1923, the Canadian Parliament suspended all Chinese immigration. 1931, United Airlines began service (as Boeing Air Transport). 1932, Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was formed. 1935, Regina, Saskatchewan police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambushed strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek.

In 1942, World War IIFirst Battle of El Alamein. Also 1942, the Australian Federal Government became the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax was abolished. 1943, Tokyo City merged with Tokyo Prefecture and was dissolved. Since this date, no city in Japan has the name "Tokyo" (present-day Tokyo is not officially a city). 1947, the Philippine Air Force was established. 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurated Pakistan's central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan. 1949, the merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ended more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin Royal Family. 1957, the International Geophysical Year began. 1958, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation linked television broadcasting across Canada via microwave. Also 1958, flooding of Canada's St. Lawrence Seaway began. 1959, the Party of the African Federation held its constitutive conference. Also 1959, specific values for the international yardavoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) were adopted after agreement between the U.S.A., the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.

In 1960, independence of Somalia. Also 1960, Ghana became a Republic and Kwame Nkrumah became its first President as Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be its Head of state. 1962, independence of Rwanda. Also 1962, independence of Burundi. 1963, ZIP codes were introduced for United States mail. Also 1963, the British Government admitted that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent. 1966, the first color television transmission in Canada took place from Toronto. 1967, the European Community was formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission. Also 1967, Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of the British North America Act, 1867, which officially made Canada its own federal dominion. 1968, the United States Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program was officially established. Also 1968, the Nuclear non-proliferation treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries. Also 1968, formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States. 1970, President General Yahya Khan abolished One-Unit of West Pakistan restoring the provinces. 1972, the first Gay Pride march in England took place. 1976, Portugal granted autonomy to Madeira. 1978, the Northern Territory in Australia was granted Self-Government. 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman.

In 1980, "O Canada" officially became the national anthem of Canada. 1981, the Wonderland murders occurred in the early morning hours in Los Angeles, allegedly masterminded by businessman and drug dealer Eddie Nash. 1983, a North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashed into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board. 1984, the PG-13 rating was introduced by the MPAA. 1987, the American radio station WFAN in New York, New York was launched as the world's first all-sports radio station. 1990, German reunificationEast Germany accepted the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany. 1991, the Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague. 1997, China resumed sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. 1999, the Scottish Parliament was officially opened by Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers were officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh.

In 2002, the International Criminal Court was established to prosecute individuals for genocidecrimes against humanitywar crimes, and the crime of aggression. Also 2002, Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 and a DHL (German cargo) Boeing 757 collided in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board. 2003, over 500,000 people protested against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong. 2004, Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens began at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC. 2006, the first operation of Qinghai–Tibet Railway in China. 2007, the Concert for Diana was held at the new Wembley Stadium in London and broadcast in 140 countries. Also 2007, smoking in England was banned in all public indoor spaces. 2008, Rioting erupted in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections. 2013, Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union. Also 2013, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) began its operative peacekeeping mandate in Mali. Also 2013, Neptune's moon S/2004 N 1 was discovered.
2014
Today is an extraordinary day. The birthday of Semmelweis (1818) whose work as a physician gave rise to the legal term "Clean Hands". Or Dorothea Mackellar (1885) who beautifully described Australia in poetry. But for all the amazing wonderful things about today that I could point to, my mind is drawn to the infamous act of cowardice and butchery in which the three bodies of children of Israel were unearthed following their abduction. There is a cowardly dismissal of Middle East events involving Israel by those who do not know or care, that there is blood on both sides. But that is not the case. There is no analog for what Israel does that excuses this murder. It is inexcusable, and those who are responsible need to be brought to justice, and those who excuse should be discredited. 

Three boys went to a religious function and were on their way home when they were abducted. They were not warriors. Targeting them was an act of terror. One boy had been able to use his phone to let people know he had been abducted. That call was the last anyone heard him alive. It is not too hard to follow the mindset of the terrorists, but remarkably, one mother of one suspect has claimed she is proud of her son for doing it. I want religious authorities of the perpetrators to denounce the activity. If that mum has excused the activity, I want her discredited. Saddam Hussein had paid money to family of suicide bombers. If her people are serious about wanting peace, perhaps they will meet similar justice as was applied to Saddam. 

One imagines the terrorists alerted to the phone call told the boys that they would have to die and not merely be hostages because of it. They probably did their best to torture the boys, and blame them, before killing them. But the boys had done nothing wrong. Earlier this year, Obama had forced Israel to release terrorists who had killed, from jail for peace. No peace has been forthcoming from those terrorist supporters. One of the boys was a US citizen .. someone Obama has sworn an oath to protect and serve. But instead, the US President has paid US money to support a terrorist administration. Maybe Hamas will deny the activity, they have not yet, instead accusing Israel of overstating the crime. The UN cannot endorse this crime, and if they fail to act on it, they need to be dismantled. 

Three boys kidnapped, tortured and murdered by terrorists. Who dares support that? 

The incident is not isolated in Middle East terrorist history. The second intifada, which began after Bill Clinton embarrassed Arafat over a Monica Special cigar transformed a lynching of two Israeli security detail who had been illegally lured and detained by so called Palestinian authorities. This incident is on a par. A crime against humanity linked by successive Democrat party US Presidents. 
Historical perspectives on this day
In 69, Tiberius Julius Alexander ordered his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. 552, Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeated the Ostrogoths in Italy. During the fightings king Totila was mortally wounded. 1097, Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeated a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I. 1431, the Battle of La Higueruela took place in Granada, leading to a modest advance of the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.

In 1523, Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes became the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in Brussels. 1569, Union of Lublin: The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania confirmed a real union; the united country is called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations. 1643, first meeting of the Westminster Assembly, a council of theologians ("divines") and members of the Parliament of England appointed to restructure the Church of England, at Westminster Abbey in London. 1690, Glorious Revolution: Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (as reckoned under the Julian calendar). 1766, Jean-François de la Barre, a young French nobleman, was tortured and beheaded before his body was burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire's Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France. 1770, Lexell's Comet passed closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 a.u. 1782, Raid on Lunenburg: American privateers attacked the British settlement of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

In 1837, a system of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths was established in England and Wales. 1855, signing of the Quinault Treaty: The Quinault and the Quileute ceded their land to the United States. 1858, joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace's papers on evolution to the Linnean Society in London. 1862, The Russian State Library was founded as The Library of the Moscow Public Museum. Also 1862, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, married Prince Louis of Hesse, the future Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. Also 1862, American Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill took place. It is the final battle in the Seven Days Campaign, part of George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. 1863, Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) in Suriname, marked the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands. Also, American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg began. 1867, the British North America Act of 1867 took effect as the Constitution of Canada, creating the Canadian Confederation and the federal dominion of Canada; Sir John A. Macdonald was sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada. This date was commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.

In 1870, the United States Department of Justice formally came into existence. 1873, Prince Edward Island joined the Canadian Confederation. 1874, the Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful typewriter, went on sale. 1878, Canada joined the Universal Postal Union. 1879, Charles Taze Russell published the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower. 1881, the world's first international telephone call was made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States. Also 1881, General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell and Childers reforms of the British Army, came into effect. 1885, the United States terminated reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada. 1890, Canada and Bermuda were linked by telegraph cable. 1898, Spanish–American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill was fought in Santiago de Cuba.

In 1903, start of first Tour de France bicycle race. 1908, SOS was adopted as the international distress signal. 1911, Germany despatched the gunship Panther to Morocco, sparking the Agadir Crisis. 1915, Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German Fliegertruppe air service achieved the first known aerial victory with a synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker. 1916, World War I: First day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army were killed and 40,000 wounded. 1921, the Communist Party of China was founded. 1922, the Great Railroad Strike of 1922 began in the United States. 1923, the Canadian Parliament suspended all Chinese immigration. 1931, United Airlines began service (as Boeing Air Transport). 1932, Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was formed. 1935, Regina, Saskatchewan police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambushed strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek.

In 1942, World War II: First Battle of El Alamein. Also 1942, the Australian Federal Government became the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax was abolished. 1943, Tokyo City merged with Tokyo Prefecture and was dissolved. Since this date, no city in Japan has the name "Tokyo" (present-day Tokyo is not officially a city). 1947, the Philippine Air Force was established. 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurated Pakistan's central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan. 1949, the merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ended more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin Royal Family. 1957, the International Geophysical Year began. 1958, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation linked television broadcasting across Canada via microwave. Also 1958, flooding of Canada's St. Lawrence Seaway began. 1959, the Party of the African Federation held its constitutive conference. Also 1959, specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) were adopted after agreement between the U.S.A., the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.

In 1960, independence of Somalia. Also 1960, Ghana became a Republic and Kwame Nkrumah became its first President as Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be its Head of state. 1962, independence of Rwanda. Also 1962, independence of Burundi. 1963, ZIP codes were introduced for United States mail. Also 1963, the British Government admitted that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent. 1966, the first color television transmission in Canada took place from Toronto. 1967, the European Community was formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission. Also 1967, Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of the British North America Act, 1867, which officially made Canada its own federal dominion. 1968, the United States Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program was officially established. Also 1968, the Nuclear non-proliferation treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries. Also 1968, formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States. 1970, President General Yahya Khan abolished One-Unit of West Pakistan restoring the provinces. 1972, the first Gay Pride march in England took place. 1976, Portugal granted autonomy to Madeira. 1978, the Northern Territory in Australia was granted Self-Government. 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman.

In 1980, "O Canada" officially became the national anthem of Canada. 1981, the Wonderland murders occurred in the early morning hours in Los Angeles, allegedly masterminded by businessman and drug dealer Eddie Nash. 1983, a North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashed into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board. 1984, the PG-13 rating was introduced by the MPAA. 1987, the American radio station WFAN in New York, New York was launched as the world's first all-sports radio station. 1990, German reunification: East Germany accepted the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany. 1991, the Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague. 1997, China resumed sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. 1999, the Scottish Parliament was officially opened by Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers were officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh.

In 2002, the International Criminal Court was established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. Also 2002, Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 and a DHL (German cargo) Boeing 757 collided in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board. 2003, over 500,000 people protested against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong. 2004, Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens began at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC. 2006, the first operation of Qinghai–Tibet Railway in China. 2007, the Concert for Diana was held at the new Wembley Stadium in London and broadcast in 140 countries. Also 2007, smoking in England was banned in all public indoor spaces. 2008, Rioting erupted in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections. 2013, Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union. Also 2013, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) began its operative peacekeeping mandate in Mali. Also 2013, Neptune's moon S/2004 N 1 was discovered.
=== Publishing News ===
This column welcomes feedback and criticism. The column is not made up but based on the days events and articles which are then placed in the feed. So they may not have an apparent cohesion they would have had were they made up.
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Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August https://www.createspace.com/4124406September https://www.createspace.com/5106914October https://www.createspace.com/5106951, or at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4  The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows the purchase of a kindle version for just $3.99 more. 
===
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

Or the US President at
https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-change-this-injustice#
or
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/change-injustice-faced-david-daniel-ball-after-he-reported-bungled-pedophile-investigation-and/b8mxPWtJ or http://wh.gov/ilXYR

Mr Ball, I will not sign your petition as it will do no good, but I will share your message and ask as many of friends who read it, to share it also. Let us see if we cannot use the power of the internet to spread the word of these infamous killings. As a father and a former soldier, I cannot, could not, justify ignoring this appalling action by the perpetrators, whoever they may; I thank you Douglas. You are wrong about the petition. Signing it is as worthless and meaningless an act as voting. A stand up guy would know that. - ed

Lorraine Allen Hider I signed the petition ages ago David, with pleasure, nobody knows what it's like until they've been there. Keep heart David take care.


I have begun a bulletin board (http://theconservativevoice.freeforums.netwhich will allow greater latitude for members to post and interact. It is not subject to FB policy and so greater range is allowed in posts. Also there are private members rooms in which nothing is censored, except abuse. All welcome, registration is free.
===
Happy birthday and many happy returns Faris Baghdad. Today is Canada Day! Enjoy something with maple syrup. On this day in 1879, American evangelist Charles Taze Russell published the first issue of The Watchtower, the most widely circulated magazine in the world. In 1911, The German gunboat Panther arrived in the Moroccan port of Agadir, sparking the Agadir Crisis between Germany, Great Britain, and France. In 1963, The British government revealed that former MI6 agent Kim Philby had engaged in espionage for the Soviet Union. Sometimes those little things you do cause a big ruckus. Generally you sell your message well, but not everything should be free. Keep your heart with the Lord and avoid its betrayal .. and on this day .. well .. be nice. Enjoy your day!
Deaths
Remington No. 1 typewriter
It should have been Polania. Remington writes like a treble blade razor. Synchronised machine guns will never be a sport. Don't take great music for granted. Our parliamentary rump is bare. Let's party. 
Matches
Hatches
Despatches
===
2015
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The war on drugs is real. And this is not the time to surrender

Miranda Devine – Wednesday, July 01, 2015 (11:46am)

Matt Noffs means well. But he has fallen for a crackpot idea in his quest to help the addicts at the Ted Noffs Foundation crisis centre founded by his grandfather.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'The war on drugs is real. And this is not the time to surrender'
===

TAKE THIS AS A COMMENT

Tim Blair – Wednesday, July 01, 2015 (5:07pm)

A statement from the ABC Board: 
The ABC Board has reviewed the chronology of events relating to the Q & A program broadcast on Monday 22 June. The Board agrees with ABC management’s statement last week that the decision to allow Zaky Mallah to appear live on the program was wrong. The nature of the Q & A broadcast made this program different to Mallah’s other media appearances. Given his criminal background and past public statements, the live broadcast meant that the ABC was not in a position to manage unpredictable or inappropriate actions or responses …
The Executive Producer of Q & A acknowledges the failure of editorial process and judgment around this episode. He has received a formal warning under the misconduct provisions of the ABC’s industrial agreement. 
So nothing will happen to Peter McEvoy. Now to the ABC’s promised independent review: 
In looking at the show’s performance over 22 episodes, the review will take into account the key editorial decisions that impact on the delivery of the program including:
• audience selection;
• panel selection and make-up
• subject selection
• social media strategy, including on-air tweets
The review will be undertaken by the former Managing Director of SBS, Mr Shaun Brown and the television journalist, Mr Ray Martin. 
Two luvvies. The ABC is having a laugh. 
===

TOTALLY DIFFERENT

Tim Blair – Wednesday, July 01, 2015 (3:29pm)

New York Times associate managing editor for standards Phil Corbett – the Jill Singer of US media – explains why his paper published an image of the Pope made from condoms but didn’t publish any Charlie Hebdo cartoons
I don’t think these situations – the Milwaukee artwork and the various Muhammad caricatures – are really equivalent. For one thing, many people might disagree, but museum officials clearly consider this Johnson piece to be a significant artwork.
Also, there’s no indication that the primary intent of the portrait is to offend or blaspheme ...
And finally, the very different reactions bears this out. Hundreds of thousands of people protested worldwide, for instance, after the Danish cartoons were published some years ago. While some people might genuinely dislike this Milwaukee work, there doesn’t seem to be any comparable level of outrage. 
Translation: Catholics won’t try to kill us, so we’re not scared of them.
(Via A.R.M. Jones)
===

A BETTER QUESTION: WHY DOES ANYONE BELIEVE IN THE ABC?

Tim Blair – Wednesday, July 01, 2015 (2:51pm)

The ABC’s Leigh Sales asks: 
Given how much scientific knowledge has advanced over, say, you know – well obviously all centuries, but particularly the past century or so, why has science not yet done away with belief in God? 
(Via Ganesh)
===

SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

Tim Blair – Wednesday, July 01, 2015 (2:42pm)

Given Chelsea Clinton’s lifetime of remarkable accomplishments, it’s little wonder the University of Missouri paid her gigantic speaking fee
The university paid the former first daughter $85,000 for the short appearance, which only amounted to about an hour on campus …
“She negotiated to speak for 10 minutes, participate in a 20-minute moderated question-and-answer session and spend a half-hour posing for photos with VIPs,” said John Martellaro, a spokesman for the university. 
Clinton’s mother was last year paid $225,000 for a university speech that included the line: “Higher education shouldn’t be a privilege for those able to afford it.”
===

BY GEORGE THEY’VE GOT IT

Tim Blair – Wednesday, July 01, 2015 (6:32am)

Today’s Daily Telegraph editorial
Attorney-General George Brandis was widely ridiculed after he made these comments in the Senate in May, 2014: “People do have a right to be bigots, you know. People have the right to say things that other people would find insulting, offensive or bigoted.”
Many of Brandis’s critics were from the ABC, where the Attorney-General is something of a hate figure.
So it was a surprise on Monday night to hear so many people on the ABC’s Q & A program using Brandis’s exact argument to defend the show’s decision to grant several minutes of airtime last week to Islamic extremist Zaky Mallah. 
Read on.
===

The ABC is kidding us with this inquiry

Andrew Bolt July 01 2015 (9:51pm)

The ABC board is kidding us, right? They pick these guys to check the ABC’s Q&A for bias?
The Board said the review will take into account the key editorial decisions that impact on the delivery of the program including audience selection, panel selection and make-up, subject selection and social media strategy, including on-air tweets.
The review will be undertaken by the former Managing Director of SBS, Mr Shaun Brown and the television journalist, Mr Ray Martin.
This is the Ray Martin who will check Q&A for bias?
Conservative talkback hosts have the loudest voice on politics, Martin says.
“While ever commercial television isn’t offering any balance to (politics), I think they’re dangerous. Those who are most successful tend to be conservative - and those who have a small-L liberal bent, they usually lose the ratings.
“Phillip Adams couldn’t be anywhere else than Radio National. Why don’t we have any moderates?”
Martin says compassion is diminished by the conservative opinions popular on talkback and commercial current affairs programs, on issues including boat people.
And this is the Shaun Brown who will help check for bias, too, after Q&A asked on a sympathiser of terrorists linked to al Qaeda? From 2006:

But in recent weeks, SBS’ ability to provide an impartial view of world events has been vigorously questioned. As the subject of a Senate Estimates Hearing Committee in Canberra last Monday, the broadcasting service was charged with gross imbalance of reporting and of systemic bias in favour of terrorist organisations.
Liberal Senator Michael Ronaldson said George Negus had expressed “pro-Arab” sentiments on international current affairs program Dateline and Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said SBS had “sided” with Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks and exhibited “a rather equivocal view of terrorism”.
Ronaldson told Green Guide: “I want a robust, informative, even a controversial national broadcaster but there’s got to be complete balance and there’s got to be lack of bias and the SBS cannot continue to hide under the mantra of neutrality . . . Even when it was put to (Shaun Brown, managing director of SBS television), the question of Osama Bin Laden, (he said) that SBS would refuse to refer to (al-Qaeda) as a terrorist organisation, which is patently stupid…
Speaking after the Senate hearing, Shaun Brown said he expected SBS to come under fire in the wake of government focus on the ABC’s editorial policies on balance and bias.
I suspect the ABC board has deliberately commissioned a whitewash. In no way can the Government accept this inquiry as serious.
(Thanks to reader Peter H.) 
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Bill Shorten caught without his briefs

Andrew Bolt July 01 2015 (9:47pm)

Another PR blunder for Bill Shorten:
Bill Shorten says he has “not seen” proposals to merge Customs with the Immigration Department, despite the Labor Party voting the legislation through parliament less than two months ago…
The Opposition Leader, when asked whether he believed Customs and Immigration should be merged, said today: “We haven’t seen the propositions around that. I will wait to see details before I start commenting...”
The ABF was conceived under Labor justice minister Jason Clare. Legislation to establish the agency cleared the House of Representatives with Labor support on March 25, and passed the Senate on May 14.
A free kick for Tony Abbott:
“As for Border Force, the Labor Party voted for the legislation and I expect them to be familiar with it,” Mr Abbott said.
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What ABC bias?

Andrew Bolt July 01 2015 (9:21pm)

The ABC’s Lateline promotes the God of the Left, riding from heaven on a rainbow:
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ABC insists - er - even bigots have a right to speak, you know

Andrew Bolt July 01 2015 (8:43am)

Brilliant observation from the Daily Telegraph, noting the hypocrisy of so many of the Left:
Attorney-General George Brandis was widely ridiculed after he made these comments in the Senate in May, 2014: “People do have a right to be bigots, you know. People have the right to say things that other people would find insulting, offensive or bigoted.”
Many of Brandis’s critics were from the ABC, where the Attorney-General is something of a hate figure.
So it was a surprise on Monday night to hear so many people on the ABC’s Q & A program using Brandis’s exact argument to defend the show’s decision to grant several minutes of airtime last week to Islamic extremist Zaky Mallah. 
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The Greeks run out of other people’s money

Andrew Bolt July 01 2015 (8:17am)

Sound familiar?

The problem with Greece is that it wanted to develop a modern country with benefits for all, especially those that vote. Tertiary students were given free education, lodging and books. Greece was generous to those with large families. There were inbuilt systems of local protectionism to guard against competition. They were open-handed with superannuation and pensions.
Steven Hayward:
As the Greek economy continues its predictable slow motion collapse, one of the early WSJ account of the inevitable bank closures and capital controls imposed yesterday has one of the funniest sentences I’ve read in a long time, but which is also fully revealing of the decadence of the liberal mind: 
“How can something like this happen without prior warning?” asked Angeliki Psarianou, a 67-year-old retired public servant, who stood in the drizzle after arriving too late at one empty ATM in the Greek capital.
No warning? Check.  Retired public servant?  Check.  But, but . . . how can we run out of other people’s money? We still have pension checks left.
George Will:

Since joining the Eurozone in 2001, Greece has borrowed a sum 1.7 times its 2013 GDP. Its 25 percent unemployment (50 percent among young workers) results from a 25 percent shrinkage of GDP. It is a mendicant reduced to hoping to “extend and pretend” forever…
The EU has a flag no one salutes, an anthem no one sings, a president no one can name, a parliament whose powers subtract from those of national legislatures, a bureaucracy no one admires or controls, and rules of fiscal rectitude that no member is penalized for ignoring. It does, however, have in Greece a member whose difficulties are wonderfully didactic.
It cannot be said too often: There cannot be too many socialist smashups. The best of these punish reckless creditors whose lending enables socialists to live, for a while, off other people’s money.
A society in sharp decline, with even its population falling:

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The crisis has forced Greece to lift the retirement age from the absurd 57 years in 2009 to 67 today, meaning Greeks must now work a decade longer.
But public servants have so many loopholes, as the Labor Minister said in December:
On Wednesday, Greek Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis presented data to the parliament, explaining that almost 75% of Greek pensioners are trying to secure their early retirement through legal provisions that allow them to stop working before the age of 61.
“In the public sector, 7.91% of pensioners retire between the ages of 26 and 50, 23.64% between 51 and 55, and 43.53% between 56 and 61. In IKA, 4.44% of pensioners retire between the ages of 26 and 50, 12.83% retire between 51 and 55, and 58.61% retire between 56 and 61. Meanwhile, in the so-called healthy funds, 91.6% of people retire before the national retirement age limit,” Vroutsis said.
UPDATE
Greece defaults:
The IMF has put out a statement on Greece’s €1.6bn debt default. 

“I confirm that the ... repayment due by Greece to the IMF today has not been received,” said fund spokesman Gerry Rice. “We have informed our executive board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared.”
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The rage of journalists called out at last for their bias

Andrew Bolt July 01 2015 (8:11am)

What’s relatively new is journalists being called out publicly for their bias. For many years, when dissent was punished or simply not published, journalists congratulated each other on being balanced - or at least seeming so.
I’m talking of the time when even George Negus - Negus! - was assumed to be impartial. When Phillip Adams was seen as at the centre of respectable opinion. When the ABC defined the middle ground.
I think one of the sources of the rage so many journalists have for the likes of me is that we are now calling out this fraud, using endless evidence. I have no hesitation in leveling with the audience and announcing my own biases - humanist, conservative, liberal, rationalist and individualist - but I have no hesitation in pointing out the biases of others in the media, too, particularly on the ABC. For a start, I want to end this deceit that the ABC is balanced and not at all leaning to the Left.
ABC presenters have been outraged to have their cover blown. Some - Jonathan Green, Virginia Trioli and Patricia Karvelas - profess astonishment at being identified as Left leaning, either because they are simply not self aware or because they don’t want you to know where they lie:
Green on being called Leftist by Greg Sheridan:
How does Greg Sheridan have any clue what my politics are? We’ve never met. Never had a conversation. Beyond parody.
Karvelas:
Bolt says I’m Left wing. Deeply inaccurate.
Trioli:
Enough of Bolt bullshit about bias: “Of the Left”? How? Never been a member of any party, don’t vote for any party. Bolt has agenda not me.
Which has me now ask: For how long did Paul Bongiorno convince Channel 10 viewers that he was fair and impartial?:
Paul Bongiorno during Monday’s episode of Q&A;: 
At least Paul Kelly has the guts to turn up on #QandA unlike the government. He’s doing their job for them. Must be a Murdoch journo.
Bonge responding to Chris Kenny’s suggestion he’d “ignored the substance and slurred a journalist he could not dream to emulate”:

Slurred? Telling it as it is. BTW Paul Kelly’s reputation will survive tonight. 
Bonge had one for Tim Wilson, too:

Uh oh “Freedom Boy” has deserted his principles. Give him a pay rise.
Nationals MP Darren Chester weighing in on Twitter:

It must be truly liberating @PaulBongiorno to feel no obligation to ever be an objective political reporter/commentator again.
But hubris alert: this outing of the media Left is also due in part to social media - as in their own use of it. How quickly many betray themselves on Twitter. How easily a picture from their parties bobs up on the Internet, such as this one, showing the John Howard pinata that Jonathan Green asked his guests to whack with a stick.
Of course, the collective react badly to this rougher than usual handling. Guides to their bias do tend to get a media monstering. But the public good is worth this small pain.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 
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Riot police to enforce a smoking ban?

Andrew Bolt July 01 2015 (4:07am)

Tuesday morning:
Victoria’s prison system is “very ready” for a smoking ban which comes into effect on Wednesday, Corrections Commissioner Jan Shuard says.
Tuesday night:
A SMOKING ban in jails sparked a riot that raged through the night at the state’s biggest remand centre.... Up to 60 inmates began the riot, which swelled into hundreds of prisoners breaching a “secure inner perimeter’’ at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall. Staff, guards and visitors were evacuated as chaos broke out about 12.20pm on Tuesday.
I’m seeing riot police sent in to uphold the smoking ban. Is this a bit over-the-top for a health measure? 
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Tweeter beware of the Hockey verdict

Andrew Bolt July 01 2015 (1:55am)

A warning to all tweeters and bloggers from the Joe Hockey defamation victory. Linking to a balanced article won’t save you if you’ve written a one-sided and defamatory tweet or post to sell it.
Ask The Age, which tweeted that Joe Hockey was “for sale” and linked to the article which explained he wasn’t actually corrupt:
Of The Age’s 280,000 Twitter followers, just 789 followed the links to stories that eased the sting in those defamatory tweets.
Oh, and another warning, this time to Age’s social media marketing team. That’s a shocking hit rate for your biggest story of the day. Tweeters seem too lazy even to hit a link. 
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Roaming the Prairie Lands
Posted by Matt Granz on Wednesday, 1 July 2015

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Public breakups are the living worst! #3 just proves it.
Posted by YourTango on Saturday, 24 January 2015

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Thought this was pretty clever...
Posted by Sick Drummer Magazine on Saturday, 27 June 2015

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Planetary Bodies in ConjunctionVenus and Jupiter aligned with our moon a couple of weeks back.  I shot this near the ocean.
Posted by Matt Granz on Tuesday, 30 June 2015

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=== Posts from last year ===

SEXISM ENABLED

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 01, 2014 (1:30pm)

Vanessa Badham’s frightbat slogans are proudly printed on American Apparel 100% cotton t-shirts. Let’s find out a little more about the American Apparel company
While there are many controversial aspects to the company, one of the biggest topics is thesexualization and exploitation of women, as well as the pressure the brand places on individuals to conform to normative standards of beauty …

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With all these strikes against them, American Apparel should most likely be considered one of the most sexist, misogynist clothing companies out there. 
In Sweden, American Apparel is condemned as the sexist of the year. But in Australia, feminists give them money. Perhaps our frightbats missed this piece in Fairfax’s ladypages.
(Via Mike M.)
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LISTEN UP, LADIES

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 01, 2014 (10:31am)

This might be a nice slogan for your next range of best-selling feminist frightbat garments:

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'LISTEN UP, LADIES'
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TITLE TROUBLE

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 01, 2014 (10:29am)

Simon Longstaff reflects on his decision to schedule a speech from Islamic extremist Uthman Badar titled “Honour killings are morally justified”
Of course, we do look to bring out the danger in the idea being presented. There is not much danger in the title, Honour Killings Are Morally Reprehensible. Such a title merely states the obvious and would hardly be deserving of inclusion in a Festival of Dangerous Ideas. 
So the festival’s name was the problem all along! Easily fixed. Just change it to Festival of Ideas That Aren’t Completely Retarded. 
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Herald rule: If it’s Abbott it’s awful

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (10:37am)

The Sydney Morning Herald  last week saw Al Gore at Clive Palmer’s press conference and, dazzled, falsely reported Palmer had blown up Tony Abbott’s plans to scrap the carbon tax.
This week, the Sydney Morning Herald runs a column by former Liberal Minister Peter Reithand falsely reports he’s blown up Abbott as well:

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In fact, here are the only things Reith actually said in the column about Abbott:
Despite the media’s obsession with Clive Palmer last week, Tony Abbott had a very good week of his own. He will soon achieve the four big promises made in the 2013 election. The boats have been largely stopped, the carbon tax will soon be repealed, the mining tax will go and Abbott will be the infrastructure Prime Minister.... 
History is more likely to remember the Abbott changes whereas Palmer will be lucky if anyone even remembers the stunts…
The problem of the 2013 election manifesto was that it did not offer enough. The four big promises may now be fulfilled but, although useful, they don’t give the economy the shot in the arm it needs in the way that labour market reform or tax reform or welfare reform would have done. So now the government is promising the bigger reforms, all of which will be put to the electorate at the 2016 election… 
With difficult reforms like welfare and tax changes, Tony Abbott could do with some good policies that are also popular with the Liberal base. 
How on earth do Reith’s words justify the cartoon? Why did The Age put the most negative angle into the headline, which falsely implies Abbott isn’t tackling big issues?  
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Kidnapped Israelis found dead

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (9:55am)

 Hamas does not accept Israel’s right to exist. It runs Gaza. It controls terrorist units. And now this:
Israel weighed its options Monday following the discovery of the bodies of three teens kidnapped June 12 in the West Bank, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing, “Hamas will pay.” 
The bodies of the youths—including one with U.S. citizenship—were found just north of Hebron.

“They were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by animals,” Haaretz quoted Netanyahu as saying at a hastily arranged security cabinet meeting. “In the name of the whole of Israel, I ask to tell the dear families - to the mothers, the fathers, the grandmothers and the grandfathers, the brothers and sisters - our hearts are bleeding, the whole nation is crying with them.” 
The leader’s angry words came hours after the search for Eyal Yifrach, 19; Gilad Shaar, 16; and Naftali Frenkel, also 16, who were snatched while hitchhiking, ended in the West Bank, where Hamas operates.
Israel is the Left’s favourite villain, condemned for measures it takes to defend its civilians and its democracy. Perhaps more Leftists may now contemplate the nature of its enemy and the folly of imagining peace is possible if Israel just trades off some of its security. 
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Denmark orders church to hold same-sex marriages

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (9:17am)

The intolerance of the tolerance movement:
Denmark’s Parliament last week voted by a large margin to force churches belonging to the state Lutheran Church to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies inside their sanctuaries. The law goes into effect June 15. 
Under the legislation, individual priests can refuse to carry out the ceremony, but they cannot forbid the ceremony from taking place in their church building.
Worse:
The new law stipulates that individual priests have the right to refuse to conduct the ceremony but, should that happen, local bishops are charged with finding a replacement.
How did conscience and faith become a matter for the state to determine?
(Thanks to reader George of AdelaIde.) 
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Big Government will clean up afterwards

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (9:11am)

Reader Chris F.:
I was in the audience for Q&A;tonight. I arrived early and got a coffee. When the bell went to go in everyone in the cafe rose to their feet and headed out. As I looked at the sea of paper coffee cups and screwed up napkins which no one made any effort to drop in the supplied bin I thought “what a bunch of dirty pigs”. Of course this also confirmed that the audience was stacked with lefties. Even their rubbish is someone else’s responsibility.
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Bodies-in-a-septic-tank myth that Catholic-haters loved

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (9:03am)

The ABC reported:
MARK COLVIN: In County Galway, the remains of 800 babies and young children have been discovered dumped inside a disused septic tank. 
Media Watch now corrects:
That of course was bullshit. 
Not 800.
Not discovered.
Not a septic tank.
Not dumped. 
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China’s missing millions went to media agency which worked for Clive Palmer

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (8:36am)

Clive Palmer has extremely serious questions to answer about missing money:
A BRISBANE media agency involved in Clive Palmer’s federal election campaign received $2.167 million in Chinese government cash allegedly siphoned from an account controlled by the businessman at the time of his record-spending bid to enter parliament. 
The Australian can reveal that new documents show the agency, Media Circus Network, received the payment with cheque No 2073 drawn on a National Australia Bank account called “Port Palmer Operations’’, just five days before the September 7 election.
Documents obtained from the Supreme Court of Queensland yesterday show that one month earlier, a sum of $10m went to one of Mr Palmer’s companies, Cosmo Developments, after being removed from the same bank account with cheque No 2046. Company searches show Cosmo Developments, which is owned by Mr Palmer’s flagship company Mineralogy, has one director, Mr Palmer’s nephew Clive Mensink.
Both men were yesterday named in subpoenas requiring them to hand over numerous documents as part of Chinese state-owned company Citic Pacific’s quest to determine how and why the $12.167m was withdrawn from an account set up to run an iron ore port in Western Australia.... 
Under formal contracts and deeds, the NAB account’s funds were only meant to be spent by Mr Palmer’s company on expenses for running the port of Cape Preston, a hub for the export of iron ore from Mineralogy’s West Australian tenements being mined by the Chinese subsidiaries of Citic ­Pacific. New evidence suggesting that at least $2.167m of the Chinese money was instead directed with out their permission or knowledge is likely to be referred to police fraud squad detectives in Queensland and Western Australia by Citic Pacific.
Palmer denies all allegations.
A further question - should the claims prove right: is Palmer really so short of money that he needed to do any of this?
UPDATE
Hedley Thomas:
DID the People’s Republic of China unknowingly bankroll the Palmer United Party’s balance-of-power-achieving success in the federal election last September?… 
Given the Chinese antipathy towards Palmer, the dawning knowledge in Beijing that their money appears to have been wrongfully used to pump up the tycoon’s political tyres is going down like a cup of cold congee. But it is a bigger problem for Palmer, who denies any wrongdoing, because the Chinese are likely to ask the police to take it to the next level.
UPDATE
Palmer has been told to release his records or face arrest: 

CLIVE Palmer could face arrest unless he fronts a secret arbitration hearing with chequebook stubs that show how he spent $12m that a Chinese company has accused him of taking during last year’s election campaign.
Sino Iron yesterday swamped the Queensland Supreme Court with 15 applications, including a personal subpoena for the federal politician, demanding he produce butts for two cheques numbered 2046 and 2073… The chequebook belongs to Mr Palmer’s parent company, Mineralogy Pty Ltd… 
Mr Palmer’s subpoena, and others, stated: “Failure to comply with this subpoena without lawful excuse is contempt of Court and may result in your arrest.” It was not clear from Mr Palmer’s redacted subpoena when he was required to appear but the NAB and others were told to front the tribunal on or before July 11.
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Newspoll: Labor 10 points ahead

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (8:25am)

I had the feeling the Abbott Government was slowly digging itself out of a hole, as the Essential Media poll suggested, too. Newspoll today says I’m wrong:
Labor has a 10-point lead in two-party terms to be ahead 55 to 45 per cent, the same result as in the first poll after the May budget. It marks a 7.5 percentage point swing since the election and the Coalition’s equal worst result in four years. 
Voter dissatisfaction with Tony Abbott has reached the highest level since he became Prime Minister, 62 per cent, and is his worst personal result since November 2012.
It is time for the Government to reconsider “steady as she goes” as the appropriate strategy. Change is needed, particularly in messaging, and change and penitence will also need to be signalled between now and the end of the year. Young, aggressive talent needs to be introduced into the ministry. Can-do ministers need to be given more to do, and say-little ones need retirement.
UPDATE
Phillip Hudson notes one unambiguously good part of the poll figures: 
Palmer’s stunt with Al Gore in Parliament’s Great Hall and boasting about holding the balance of power in the new Senate has done nothing to win votes for his Palmer United Party, despite voters clearly being put off by the major parties. PUP continues to flatline with 2 to 3 per cent national support, although it is higher in Queensland and Western Australia.
But Shorten wins when politics is a clown show:
But what the Palmer drama does is make politics look like clowns climbing in and out of increasingly small cars as a distraction from important debates about how we fund the future… 
Yet Shorten does nothing more than pop up to agree with voters that the budget is rotten without offering any solutions to the mess left by Labor. So far he’s getting away with it, just like Abbott used to when he was leader of the Opposition.
UPDATE
Shorten wins, but Australia loses: 

TREASURY chief Martin Parkinson has warned that opposition to the savings measures in the budget risks inflicting long-term damage to Australia’s economic future.
Dr Parkinson also declares that Australia’s budget position is not sustainable without major reform and the government’s budget strategy achieves this…
“It is one thing to argue that reform proposals should be designed with fairness in mind,” he said. “But it is quite another to invoke vague notions of fairness to oppose all reform. Using such an argument to defend an unsustainable status quo means consigning Australia to a deteriorating future.” ... 
Continued increases in income taxes would hit lower and middle-income earners hardest, and have adverse impacts on labour force participation while “sharpening incentives for tax minimisation by the highest income earners.”
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 
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Exploding the fake excuses for the “honor killing” speech

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (7:50am)

This was the topic:
image
Then denials were made, excuses given and the audience blamed for having “the wrong impression”:

Event organisers cancelled the planned talk hours after the program was released, by issuing a statement… “It is clear from the public reaction that the title has given the wrong impression of what Mr Badar intended to discuss. Neither Mr Badar, the St James Ethics Centre, nor Sydney Opera House in any way advocates honour killings or condones any form of violence against women."…
Dr Longstaff appeared to back Mr Badar by claiming the gig was cancelled because the speaker was Muslim. 
“Have not the ‘Islamophobes’ already won the day when a person dare not speak on controversial matters because he is Muslim,” he wrote to one user.
But these are the facts - Badar did indeed support some “honour killings”, which he linked to Islam. Organiser Simon Longstaff now writes:
I approached Uthman Badar (of whom I will say more later) and began a discussion about how such a session might be run and eventually how it might be described. My opening email to Uthman Badar set out the issue (as above) and then established the context for the session, where I wrote: 

“...Ideally, we are looking for a speaker who will lay done [sic] the arguments that they believe would justify killing for honour (including killing one’s own children) in the extraordinary circumstances where this might be necessary. It may be that the argument needs to be couched in terms of culture and custom - and that there is not an argument for allowing the practice to be followed in Australia...” 
Uthman and I then exchanged a number of emails in which he outlined his views. In summary, he does not support vigilante behaviour by families (or anyone). Rather, he believes that the administration of justice should be according to Islamic Law - ideally, within the politico-religious context of an Islamic Caliphate. In such a state (the Caliphate), crimes - and their associated penalties - would be defined and dealt with, not as a matter of “honour,” but as a matter of Law. For example, the crime of adultery would be punished by death - and so on.
Uthman was then proposing to consider how families might respond in conditions where they are denied the “benefit” of living in a Caliphate. Would they be justified in taking Islamic Law into their own hands when no legitimate magistrate can be found to administer this distinct form of “justice”? ... [Badar wrote:]  

“End of the day the honour killings discussion is, at its essence, a discussion about different ideological/cultural values and practices - in our case western liberal values and Islamic values.”
...I then wrote to Uthman the following email, the intent of which is self-evident: 
“I see, Uthman. You would argue that killing for the honour of the family is wrong (as is killing for the honour of country, religion, flag, etc.). However, I take it that if the Law of God prescribes that the penalty of death for an adulterer - then to impose such a penalty is right. Is this a correct understanding of your position? And if so, is such a penalty prescribed under Islamic Law? 
“I ask this, because I do not wish to have you argue a position that is not in accordance with what you believe. Rather, we might be able to open up the discussion about liberalism, etc. by beginning with an alternative dangerous idea - that adulterers should be condemned to death (or some such wording). Would this be a better option - from your point of view?"…
Uthman responded as follows:
“I’d rather not go with the adultery topic. It’s too narrow. If it’s between this and the original, I’d prefer the honour killings topic. What’s the intended wording here?
If we go with something like ‘Honour killings are morally justified’ or similar, I’d be okay with that. I could define honour killings in a way where I genuinely argue for the case and at the same time touch on the broader issues.”
So, no, the public did not misunderstand the topic. Yes, Badar indeed planned to argue for “honour killings”.
And, yes, the organisers were indeed prepared to host a discussion arguing for the killing (by the state) of wives and daughters who’d “shamed” their family’s “honor”.
Despicable.
(Thanks to reader David.) 
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Preachers of hate

Andrew Bolt July 01 2014 (12:14am)

How the Left hates

I suspect you’re now wondering what kind of people run the Socialist Alternative - a movement whose followers physically attacked Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and whose official magazine just put this on its cover:
image
This is Mick Armstrong, a Socialist Alternative leader who speaks on behalf of its national executive and addressed the Marxism 2014 conference at Melbourne University:
image
And this is the magazine’s editor:
image
Corey Oakely revels in hatred and dreams of violence:
Andrew Bolt described the March in March as “a carnival of brutal, savage, expletive-riddled political hate”. 
For once in my life I agree with him. And I couldn’t be happier.
I was fortunate enough to be taking photographs for Red Flag along the route of the Melbourne demonstration, and can confirm that many placards and banners ridiculing our dear leader were indeed as flamboyant and acid tongued as various hyperventilating Murdoch writers made out…
There is, of course, more to political struggle than the expression of anger. But a good place to start is identifying with the people who think the best thing that could happen to Tony Abbott is a solid punch in the face.

I’ve often said the Left is now the natural home of the totalitarian and the thug. Not to mention the barbarian. 
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- The Original Hero -

His name is Jesus, His name is Lord

He died to save us, He saved the world

He walked on water, He walked on clouds

He healed the sick, He fed the crowds

He raised the dead, and rose to life

He healed the lepers, removed their strife

He drove out demons, He drove out hate

He gave us love and He gave us faith

He is the Saviour, He is the Christ

the One Messiah, His name's no heist

He wore our shoes, and walked on our way

He showed us wonders, and saved the day

He taught us lessons, to understand

that it's by grace and not just by hand

that life and spirit, soul and mind

with truth and love, in God we'd find

He wore a thorn of crowns and wood

but never cursed even though He could

He had nails in His hands, and tears in His eyes

but His tears were for us, whom He'd never despise

He was whipped and spat on, by the people He saved

the same people, for Him, had cheered and waved

He's my own superhero, and even yours too

he Greatest, the First, the Only one true

His name is Jesus. His name is Lord.

He died to save us. He saved the world.

- Jamike Ekennia


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Pastor Rick Warren
Courage is continuing in spite of the pain.
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To anyone that's ever broken a bone, the negatives of traditional plaster casts are familiar: they're cumbersome, heavy, and can get rather smelly. Victoria University of Wellington graduate Jake Evill is looking to change all that with his Cortex cast. A mere concept for now, Evill says the cast — which is specifically fitted to each wearer based on X-rays of the fractured bone and a 3D scan of its surrounding limb — introduces many benefits. First and foremost, you'd be able to wear a longsleeve shirt over the lightweight, ventilated nylon cast.

The Cortex would be 3D printed on site, according to Evill, and each cast would be most dense near the location of a wearer's fracture. "After many centuries of splints and cumbersome plaster casts that have been the itchy and smelly bane of millions of children, adults and the aged alike, the world over, we at last bring fracture support into the twenty-first century," says Evill. His Cortex cast may still be awkward from a fashion perspective, but it's a marked improvement over where things stand today.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/29/4477428/3d-printed-cortex-cast-puts-modern-spin-on-bone-fracture

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Not too many of us are aware nowadays, but there was a school of erudite thought in the 1930s that perceived Adolf Hitler as the Third Reich’s man caught in the middle. That broadminded view held that the fuehrer wasn’t the most extreme in the cast of Nazi characters, that it was possible to tame him – that he was pulled in contradictory directions by opposing forces.

The villains, according to this scenario, were Heinrich Himmler and Josef Goebbels who influenced Hitler to adopt ever more rigid positions, while his deputy Hermann Goering encouraged him to opt for a less belligerent stance.

Again, for those unaware, Goering was the egotistical, gluttonous and greedy hedonist who sadistically robbed helpless Jews and thereby amassed a vast personal fortune. Its crowning glory was an extraordinary art collection comprised initially foremost of works plundered from Jews. Goering ordered the registration of all Jewish property and personal belongings to make the pickings easier. Outrageously, the Nazis’ most prolific looter levied incredible fines on Germany’s Jews for damages inflicted upon them during the anti-Jewish rampages of Kristallnacht.

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... " Rudd is the uncooked sausage at every barbie." - Dallas Beaufort

Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.

Here we see Rudd trying to impress businessmen in Western Sydney.

Lack of eye contact is typical of those who have no empathy towards others typical of those who suffer from Aspbergers syndrome and schizophrenia.

Is Rudd mentally stable to be leading government ? The animosity towards him can be seen by the number of resignations.

This is a serious political crisis.Our nation is being squeezed to the last drop so Rudd can play his little mind games while the rich remain rich but the poor become poorer.

Rudd, a multi millionaire himself whose wife benefitted from Liberal employment policies,is no friend of working Australians.

Nouveau riche pratts never are.

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I am angry if what has been reported is the final outcome of the inquiry. I understand that the report says that child reporting should not be mandatory. Presumably, this would excuse parliamentarians from shredding legal documents in the case of a child gang rape in a state run detention centre. Rudd should face justice over the issue .. he is Prime Minister, not Prime Monster. - ed
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Kwame Nkrumah
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“The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.” Zechariah 14:9 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them."
John 17:22
Behold the superlative liberality of the Lord Jesus, for he hath given us his all. Although a tithe of his possessions would have made a universe of angels rich beyond all thought, yet was he not content until he had given us all that he had. It would have been surprising grace if he had allowed us to eat the crumbs of his bounty beneath the table of his mercy; but he will do nothing by halves, he makes us sit with him and share the feast. Had he given us some small pension from his royal coffers, we should have had cause to love him eternally; but no, he will have his bride as rich as himself, and he will not have a glory or a grace in which she shall not share. He has not been content with less than making us joint-heirs with himself, so that we might have equal possessions. He has emptied all his estate into the coffers of the Church, and hath all things common with his redeemed. There is not one room in his house the key of which he will withhold from his people. He gives them full liberty to take all that he hath to be their own; he loves them to make free with his treasure, and appropriate as much as they can possibly carry. The boundless fulness of his all-sufficiency is as free to the believer as the air he breathes. Christ hath put the flagon of his love and grace to the believer's lip, and bidden him drink on forever; for could he drain it, he is welcome to do so, and as he cannot exhaust it, he is bidden to drink abundantly, for it is all his own. What truer proof of fellowship can heaven or earth afford?
"When I stand before the throne
Dressed in beauty not my own;
When I see thee as thou art,
Love thee with unsinning heart;
Then, Lord, shall I fully know--
Not till then--how much I owe."

Evening

"Ah Lord God, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee."
Jeremiah 32:17
At the very time when the Chaldeans surrounded Jerusalem, and when the sword, famine and pestilence had desolated the land, Jeremiah was commanded by God to purchase a field, and have the deed of transfer legally sealed and witnessed. This was a strange purchase for a rational man to make. Prudence could not justify it, for it was buying with scarcely a probability that the person purchasing could ever enjoy the possession. But it was enough for Jeremiah that his God had bidden him, for well he knew that God will be justified of all his children. He reasoned thus: "Ah, Lord God! thou canst make this plot of ground of use to me; thou canst rid this land of these oppressors; thou canst make me yet sit under my vine and my fig-tree in the heritage which I have bought; for thou didst make the heavens and the earth, and there is nothing too hard for thee." This gave a majesty to the early saints, that they dared to do at God's command things which carnal reason would condemn. Whether it be a Noah who is to build a ship on dry land, an Abraham who is to offer up his only son, or a Moses who is to despise the treasures of Egypt, or a Joshua who is to besiege Jericho seven days, using no weapons but the blasts of rams' horns, they all act upon God's command, contrary to the dictates of carnal reason; and the Lord gives them a rich reward as the result of their obedient faith. Would to God we had in the religion of these modern times a more potent infusion of this heroic faith in God. If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers. Let Jeremiah's place of confidence be ours--nothing is too hard for the God that created the heavens and the earth.
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Tobiah, Tobijah

[Tōbī'ah,Tōbī'jah] - jehovah is good.
  1. A Levite sent by Jehoshaphat to instruct the people of Judah (2 Chron. 17:8).
  2. A founder of a tribal family the descendants of which returned from exile but were unable to trace their genealogy (Ezra 2:60; Neh. 7:62).
  3. An Ammonite who with Sanballat and others ridiculed the efforts of the Jews to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:10; 4:3, 7). This enemy of Nehemiah and of the Jews was silenced by the diligence of the people.
  4. A chief man whose posterity returned from exile (Zech. 6:10, 14). He it was who obtained the gold and silver for Joshua's crown.
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Today's reading: Job 17-19, Acts 10:1-23 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Job 17-19

1 My spirit is broken,
my days are cut short,
the grave awaits me.
2 Surely mockers surround me;
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.
3 "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.
Who else will put up security for me?
4 You have closed their minds to understanding;
therefore you will not let them triumph.
5 If anyone denounces their friends for reward,
the eyes of their children will fail.

Today's New Testament reading: Acts 10:1-23

Cornelius Calls for Peter
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"
4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked.
The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea."
7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa....
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