Cartoon denounced by HRC |
Before HRC killed Leak |
Mark Knight still lives despite belling the cat |
The issue Leak drew on was serious/relevant and still is. There was no racism attached to it by the cartoonist, but it is understandable racists see racism in the issue. How dare they find racism to obfuscate over the central issue. Kevin Rudd, former Australian PM effectively protected gang rapists from censure when he destroyed documents related to the rape of an aboriginal girl in detention. Being part of government bureaucracy, Rudd could do that, having no vested interest in ALP being criticised for allowing the gang rape of an aboriginal child in custody. After all, it is conservatives who are bad people, right?
Die Laughing: The Biography of Bill Leak is now officially on sale and you can buy your copy here.
On Saturday, an excerpt was published in The Weekend Australian and on Sunday on Outsiders Rowan Dean talked with the author of Die Laughing, Fred Pawle, about Bill's life and work. No-one is better qualified to write the story of Bill Leak than is Fred. Fred has been a journalist for 30 years and he first met Bill in 1994 at The Australian. Their friendship formed over ideas and the beach and the sea as Fred, Bill, and Bill's two sons, Johannes and Jasper, surfed together. Fred was with Bill every step of the way as the publication in August 2016 of the cartoon 'Yeah Righto, What's his name then?' had Bill pursued and persecuted by the Australian Human Rights Commission for allegedly breaching Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
This is how Fred in Die Laughing describes the reaction of Bill's friend, Anthony Dillon when the cartoon appeared on The Australian website at midnight. Anthony sent an email to his father Colin, Australia's first indigenous police officer and a central witness against police corruption in Queensland during the Fitzgerald inquiry of the late 1980s.
'Have a look at Bill's cartoon,' [Anthony wrote to his father.] Recalling the cartoon now, Colin says: 'Half of me was crying and the other half was laughing. He had an incredible talent that enabled him to blend humour and tragedy without losing the seriousness of the situation.'
Both Anthony and Colin emailed Bill to congratulate him early on the morning of 4 August. Colin thanked Bill for 'trying to depict and illustrate to those in ivory castles, as well as the moron brigade, what the real state of things is in the indigenous world, the things they choose to ignore and sweep under the carpet.' 'We did that before we knew how controversial the cartoon would be,' Anthony is now eager to emphasise.
As the raging mob's criticism grew, Bill's inbox filled with praise. 'It's always great confirmation of one's correctness to be condemned by the important, pious, inner-city bourgeois left, hard-blowing their 140-character popguns,' former Labor leader Mark Latham told Bill. 'As I see it, perversely enough, you're a lucky guy right now. Might not feel that way for you, but please take the long view.'
I've been overwhelmed by the response to Die Laughing from those IPA members who have already received the copies they pre-ordered and I'm glad that so many members think as I do that the IPA's support for the publication of Die Laughing is one of the most important things the IPA has ever done. As you know, the publication of Die Laughing wouldn't have been possible without the support of the hundreds of IPA members who donated to our fundraising appeal for the book.
There are a number of reasons why the IPA has published Die Laughing. When I talk with IPA members and ask them why they joined the IPA at least 80% answer 'because of the IPA's support for freedom of speech' - whether for Bill Leak, or Peter Ridd, or for any other Australian. What Fred captures so well in Die Laughing is that Bill never intended to become a free speech hero but once the forces of intolerance, illiberalism and the Australian government (ie the Australian Human Rights Commission) came after him, Bill didn't back down. Bill had a track record of not backing down. He'd received death threats and was forced to move house after he drew cartoons of Mohammed following the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo offices in January 2015. As Mark Steyn has written of Bill - 'there is a price of not taking refuge in bland, self-flattering hooey about weeping pens mightier than swords.'
Bill was a member of the IPA and through the trials of the 'Yeah Righto' cartoon I would have passed on dozens of messages of support to Bill from IPA members, and Bill and I travelled to Canberra for a briefing of MPs in Parliament House to explain why freedom of speech could not exist in Australia for as long as there's a law that makes unlawful to offend or insult someone.
Die Laughing - The Biography of Bill Leak by Fred Pawle is a wonderful book and I hope you enjoy it and that it gives you an appreciation of the life of a great Australian.
I'm not sure what Bill would have made of Covid. I can only guess, of course, but I suspect his humanity would, from the very beginning of what's happened, have him ask why we are doing this to ourselves and what is the price we're paying.
Gabrielle Williams was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Carers and Volunteers, working with the Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing and the Minister for Families and Children. Williams was given those titles when elected in 2014. It is difficult to find what value she has been to Dandenong, but clearly the ALP see her as the future.
The pontiff said the recent storms meant the effects of climate change could be seen "with your own eyes".
There have been four major Atlantic hurricanes in less than three weeks …
"If we don't go back we will go down," he warned reporters on Monday. "That is true. You can see the effects of climate change with your own eyes and scientists tell us clearly the way forward.
"All of us have a responsibility. All of us. Some small, some big. A moral responsibility, to accept opinions, or make decisions. I think it is not something to joke about."" So one guesses the papal prescription is to have the world's poorest spend $100 trillion over the next 85 years to achieve a net turn around of a fraction of a degree. So, Pope Francis, where do they line up to make their sacrifice? How will you want it paid? Their first born sons? Will you let them eat locusts? Maybe they can just forgo healthcare some years, and food in others? If we go back, as the pontiff advises, then every family in the west will burn logs for food every day, and forego air conditioning. It won't make the world less polluted.
On rating Malcolm Turnbull. I am reminded of two contemporary geniuses of the left. Bertrand Russel and Maynard Keynes. Russell was the older of the two. Russell recalled how a young Keynes was a moody genius who could dominate a room merely by entering it. Keynes would describe Russell as "A nice guy who liked nice things, and wondered why not everything in the world was nice."
Malcolm Turnbull is like Russell. Only he is not nice, or smart. He is hesitant. He is rude. He is callous. He can be charming, but he is too self-absorbed to be kind or gracious.
On rain. I am looking forward to my farmer friends doing very well from it. I hope it lasts, but know it won't. We need more flood mitigating dams. And we also need the inner Australia dams built and the northern rivers diverted inland. Then we can change the climate for all Australians, making the world colder and wetter.
Budget deal ends baby bonus. When it was implemented by Costello, the baby bonus was affordable and allowed a light form of maternity leave for mothers. But ALP made it unaffordable. Now ALP have killed it from opposition. Worth remembering whenever ALP talk about supporting strugglers. Turnbull has something he can now be remembered for.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
A video featuring a cross dresser wearing full cover Islamic clothing seems to have been filmed by Channel 9. An outraged terrorist sympathiser is in the video getting aggressive with the cross dresser. The journalist with the camera seemed to have put together the article to see what security issues could be faced by such gear, but it just appeared to be an exercise in terrorist baiting. The fragility and brittleness of terrorist sympathisers is the kind of thing which brings Islam into disrepute. An Australian soldier minding his own business is accosted by terrorist sympathisers and told he should fight in the Middle East so they could blow him up. Again, it isn't Islamic, but terrorist sympathisers behind it, but sadly the leadership of Islamic peoples fails to address such issues, which brings Islam into disrepute. One promising event has a father of a terrorist declaring that Islam is different and holding an Aussie style BBQ to highlight community spirit. But there is still a long road before one might refer to the greatness of Islam. Immigration is a hot issue for many noting the links of Islam and terror which has not been addressed by their leadership and youth involved with gangs, organised crime and drugs. However, terrorism aside, Australian migration history has often featured such issues, with Vietnamese, Chinese, NZ, Italian, German, Irish and Greeks having had similar issues.
When it comes to immigration the ALP have been negligent for decades. A large number of terrorist sympathisers have had ALP patronage, inviting them to come by boat, or family reunion, or other channels and the ALP chiding those who have raised issues. The ALP defended Sheikh Cat's Meat after he risibly excused the actions of rapist terrorists as being normal Islamic behaviour. Also the media are enamoured with using people who excuse terrorism in the name of Islam. There is no excuse for terrorism. An aid worker has been beheaded by terrorists a year after being captured. A result of the barbarity is Australia sending military to oppose terrorists in the Middle East. But lefties are opposing the PM, some ALP have denounced Mr Abbott as a terrorist, placing a moral equivalence between responsible government and acts of terror. Such an obvious divide from reality should discredit those who make the assertion, but they seem to have prized places in the media and in the ALP. Simple, useful measures can oppose terrorism, but the lefties joke about them. Collecting meta data is not the privacy concern of innocent people. But the threat of ALP incompetence over immigration is small compared to their wider incompetence. Australia has experienced a Rotherham style scandal in the Aboriginal community. and a 'sorry' hasn't covered it .. not really.
Fading hope for a missing three year old boy who disappeared after spending time on a farm with his sister. Missing three days, hope is fading to find him alive. A tomb from the time of Alexander the Great has been located in Northern Greece. Lots of promising possibilities for new research at the find. Apple, for $50 million I'll give my book away for free. Thanks for the U2 album. Record Antarctic ice shows that AGW alarmism is just that.
Julian Burnside is famous as an advocate for refugee welfare, which makes his mirror call for a Tasmanian penal colony funny. Rudd's election eve boast of having retained furniture in Queensland has been shown a sham, in the electoral sense. Gillard blames Rudd for letting her be a bad PM. Bolt posts an article as to how a good scare saved some ALP seats. Vote analysis shows ALP support was most rusty hard among constituents that don't read English and were unaware from media how bad the ALP are. ALP offer a discount of minus 100 percent after promising 10%, suggesting where their budget analysis came from. A graphic shows disturbing links of hatred in the Middle East. Today was Yom Kippur, but Israel is blameless for this web of hatred. While Syria is gassing its own people, Israel is stretched with her medical aide. Colarado drowns. Obama dithers. Putin stands up as an adult. UN point blame at Assad.
629 – Emperor Heraclius enters Constantinople in triumph after his victory over the Persian Empire.
786 – "Night of the three Caliphs": Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasidcaliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi. Birth of Harun's son al-Ma'mun.
919 – Battle of Islandbridge: High King Niall Glúndub is killed while leading an Irish coalition against the Vikings of Uí Ímair, led by King Sitric Cáech.
1180 – Battle of Ishibashiyama in Japan.
1402 – Battle of Homildon Hill results in an English victory over Scotland.
1607 – Flight of the Earls from Lough Swilly, Donegal, Ireland.
1682 – Bishop Gore School, one of the oldest schools in Wales, is founded.
1723 – Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena lays down the first stone of Fort Manoel in Malta.
1741 – George Frideric Handel completes his oratorio Messiah.
1752 – The British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2).
1763 – Seneca warriors defeat British forces at the Battle of Devil's Hole during Pontiac's War.
1791 – The Papal States lose Avignon to Revolutionary France.
1808 – Finnish War: Russians defeat the Swedes at the Battle of Oravais.
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée enters Moscow. The Fire of Moscow begins as soon as Russian troops leave the city.
1814 – Battle of Baltimore: The poem Defence of Fort McHenry is written by Francis Scott Key. The poem is later used as the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner.
1829 – The Ottoman Empire signs the Treaty of Adrianople with Russia, thus ending the Russo-Turkish War.
1846 – Jang Bahadur and his brothers massacre about 40 members of the Nepalese palace court.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of South Mountain, part of the Maryland Campaign, is fought.
1901 – U.S. President William McKinley dies after an assassination attempt on September 6, and is succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt.
1914 – HMAS AE1, the Royal Australian Navy's first submarine, was lost at sea with all hands near East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
1917 – Russia is officially proclaimed a republic.
1936 – Raoul Villain, who assassinated the French Socialist Jean Jaures, is himself killed by Spanish Republicans in Ibiza
1939 – World War II: The Estonian military boards the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł in Tallinn, sparking a diplomatic incident that the Soviet Union will later use to justify the annexation of Estonia.
1940 – Ip massacre: The Hungarian Army, supported by local Hungarians, kill 158 Romanian civilians in Ip, Sălaj, a village in Northern Transylvania, an act of ethnic cleansing.
1943 – World War II: The Wehrmacht starts a three-day retaliatory operation targeting several Greek villages in the region of Viannos, whose death toll would eventually exceed 500 persons.
1944 – World War II: Maastricht becomes the first Dutch city to be liberated by allied forces.
1954 – In a top secret nuclear test, a Soviet Tu-4 bomber drops a 40 kiloton atomic weapon just north of Totskoye village.
1958 – The first two German post-war rockets, designed by the German engineer Ernst Mohr, reach the upper atmosphere.
1959 – The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it.
1960 – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded.
1960 – Congo Crisis: With CIA help, Mobutu Sese Seko seizes power in a military coup, suspending parliament and the constitution.
1969 – The US Selective Service selects September 14 as the First Draft Lottery date.
1975 – The first American saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, is canonized by Pope Paul VI.
1979 – Afghan President Nur Muhammad Taraki is assassinated upon the order of Hafizullah Amin, who becomes the new president.
1982 – President-elect of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated.
1984 – Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a gas balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean.
1985 – Penang Bridge, the longest bridge in Malaysia, connecting the island of Penangto the mainland, opens to traffic.
1992 – The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declares the breakaway Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia to be illegal.
1994 – The Major League Baseball season is canceled because of a strike.
1997 – 81 killed as five bogies of the Ahmedabad–Howrah Express plunge into a river in Bilaspur district of Madhya Pradesh, India.
1998 – Telecommunications companies MCI Communications and WorldCom complete their $37 billion merger to form MCI WorldCom.
1999 – Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the United Nations.
2000 – Microsoft releases Windows ME.
2001 – Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks. A similar service is held in Canada on Parliament Hill, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital.
2003 – In a referendum, Estonia approves joining the European Union.
2007 – Late-2000s financial crisis: The Northern Rock bank experiences the first bank run in the United Kingdom in 150 years.
2015 – The first observation of gravitational waves was made, announced by the LIGOand Virgocollaborations on 11 February 2016.
786 – "Night of the three Caliphs": Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi. Birth of Harun's son al-Ma'mun.
919 – Battle of Islandbridge: High King Niall Glúndub is killed while leading an Irish coalition against the Vikings of Uí Ímair, led by King Sitric Cáech.
1752 – The British Empire adopts the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (the previous day was September 2).
1939 – World War II: The Estonian military boards the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł in Tallinn, sparking a diplomatic incident that the Soviet Union will later use to justify the annexation of Estonia.
1958 – The first two German post-war rockets, designed by the German engineer Ernst Mohr, reach the upper atmosphere.
1959 – The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it.
1979 – Afghan President Nur Muhammad Taraki is assassinated upon the order of Hafizullah Amin, who becomes the new president.
1982 – President-elect of Lebanon, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated.
1984 – Joe Kittinger becomes the first person to fly a gas balloon alone across the Atlantic Ocean.
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