Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Tue Jul 9th Todays News

Happy birthday and many happy returns Andrew Bollom. In 2013 it begins Ramadan and in Argentina, Independence Day. In 1572, Nineteen Catholic friars and clerics were hanged in Gorkum during the 16th century religious wars in the Low Countries. In 1745, War of the Austrian Succession: The French victory in the Battle of Melle made their subsequent capture of Ghent possible. In 1868, The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, including the Citizenship Clause and the Equal Protection Clause, was ratified by the minimum required twenty-eight U.S. states. In 1943, World War II: The Allies began their invasion of Sicily, a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. In 1981, Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong, which featured the debut of Mario, one of the most famous characters in video game history. Celebrate your independence, but avoid Gorkum. You will get Ghent. Be confident, the minimum is still sufficient. If the US hadn't taken Sicily, we might not now have Catch - 22. Today, you are Mario.
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Greens will stay with Rudd - they have nowhere else to go

Piers Akerman – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (12:56am)

GREENS Leader Christine Milne has had her five seconds in the sun.
Yesterday, she made the most oblique reference to her party’s support for the Labor-Green-Independent minority government and hinted in the gentlest possible manner that it would prefer an election to the current nonsense.
This was taken by unnamed journalists at News.com.au to be an indication that the Greens may remove all support for Labor if recycled Prime Minister Kevin Rudd drags out the election date.
This would seem the most unlikely scenario of the many hallucinatory notions that float around the corridors of the Canberra fantasy palace.

Rudd, as usual, can’t make up his mind.
He never could.
His analytical skills are non-existent and his strategic planning is always better when it is in the hands of others.
He doesn’t know whether to go to the polls early or late though he has ruled out Julia Gillard’s September 14 date – largely because it was Julia Gillard’s choice.
Everything that Julia touched is being rebadged, removed or rejected.
Rudd likes to believe that the more the voters see of him in prime ministerial poses, the more they will rekindle their affection for him.
That would seem to be a long shot.
No matter when he calls the election, the Coalition is ready with its advertising to remind the nation exactly how bad a prime minister he was – and how bad his colleagues thought he was.
Mid-October seems the wisest choice as an early election prospect starts to slip away.
October 12, 19, or even 26 are being talked up but Rudd could go through till late November.
The Greens, who jumped into bed with no negotiation before the turncoat Independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor extracted their tons of flesh in return for their support, have shown themselves to be dopes.
Like Tasmanian Independent Andrew Wilkie, they have let Labor walk all over them and still they have guaranteed Labor their support on the all-important confidence and supply motions.
“There are a lot of hypotheticals going on at the moment and no doubt Kevin Rudd is trying to play with the minds of the community,” Milne told Sky News.
“I don’t think that’s very sensible, I think he should go to an election an announce it as soon as he can.
“The longer this goes on the more people are getting frustrated about the chopping and changing under Kevin Rudd’s leadership.”
But really, does anyone really expect the Greens will do anything meaningful about their frustration?
They are losing supporters, they are fighting among themselves and they have been dudded by the ALP.
But as they have nowhere else to go, they’ll keep accepting the lack of respect and they’ll keep shedding all but their most deluded supporters.

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THE GOOD TIM

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (7:04am)

Every so often folk on Twitter get me mixed up with this Tim Blair, who always politely points out their error without any judgment at all. I owe him for this, so I’ve thrown some cash at Tim’s solo charity race across Scotland to raise funds for epilepsy research.
Readers are encouraged to do the same. Let’s see if we can get the good Tim over the £1000 mark. Come on. Pitch in a tenner.
UPDATE. Target reached in just half a day, with donations arriving at a rate of nearly $A100 per hour:

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Congratulations to Tim and huge thanks to all readers who donated so generously.

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GLOBAL UNIVERSAL STANDARD

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (6:59am)

Alene Composta proved in 2011 that Australian leftists are gullible idiots. Now novelist Sean Thomas provides similar proof in the UK: 
Two years ago I joined the Guardian comment threads under a pseudonym to see just how crazily, pungently, sputum-frothingly Lefty I could be, and still be accepted as sane, indeed sagacious, by my fellow Guardianistas. 
Among Thomas’s many subsequent pseudonymous Guardian contributions was this spectacular leftoid rant: 
Look at the Mail or the Murdoch press, they destroy ENTIRE LIVES. Look at the government, literally smearing the faces of the Disabled in chicken filth.
Look at Cameron and Osborne, strutting around in jackboots, stamping on the heads of hardworking women, kicking the faces of paraplegics, jumping up and down on the spines of the unemployed and cackling. 
That comment drew 45 recommendations from faithful Guardian readers. “It was one of the most admired and agreed-with comments of the day,” Thomas reports. “I had therefore proved that Guardian readers are LITERALLY delusional, and idiotic, and I had proved it in a particularly delicious way.”
Do read on.

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KEVMENTUM KONTINUES

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (6:49am)

Kevin Rudd’s popularity continues to rise, widening his lead over Tony Abbott as the nation’s preferred prime minister, lifting Labor’s primary vote to its best since the last election and putting the government dead even with the Coalition after preferences.
Since Mr Rudd was restored as Prime Minister just two weeks ago, Labor’s primary vote has risen nine percentage points to 38 per cent to equal its level at the August 2010 election. In the same period, the Coalition’s primary support has fallen six points to 42 per cent, below its election level.
The latest Newspoll survey, conducted exclusively for The Australian at the weekend, reveals that based on preference flows at the last election the Coalition and Labor are both on 50 per cent. 
An internal Labor poll also backs the returned PM: 
Kevin Rudd has catapulted Labor back into a potential election-winning position with surprise swings toward Labor suggesting the resurrected PM could not only hold ground for Labor but increase the party’s vote on the 2010 election result.
The first internal Labor polling since Mr Rudd took back the leadership two weeks ago shows Labor ahead of the Coalition in bellwether seats in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 
We might now see an election sooner rather than later.

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TENSION IN HUGSVILLE

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (6:34am)

It isn’t happy town right now for our Greens friends.

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END OF THE LINE

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (5:30am)

Where old trains fade away. On a similar theme, here’s Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst in 2007: 
Imagine, say, 2011. It’s Pete Garrett’s time to run the country.
Prime Miniature John Howard is long gone; a broken, bitter, deluded old man. His good ol’ Texan buddy-boy George W. Bush is forever “on the ranch, perfecting his putting” and no longer takes his calls ... 
Bush has lately been in Zambia, perfecting repairs to a women’s clinic while the latest White House occupant hits the links. And I understand that the 43rd President is still more than happy to speak with Howard. Drummer Hirst continued: 
He wanders the sandy shores of Hawk’s Nest, muttering darkly to himself (or to local fishermen, and those strange blokes with metal detectors), doggedly defending his legacy of education-for-the-rich/sacking-for-the-poor, the by now vice-like media monopoly, and his own unshakable international reputation for throwing refugee kids in desert jails and for putting Australia’s coal-driven economy before carbon – threatening life itself. 
Following six years of Labor government, there are now many more “refugee kids” in “jails” than when Howard left office. As for life being threatened by carbon dioxide, Hirst seems to have survived. Royalties may have been helpful.
(Via reader Peter)

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WATCH AN OLD JEW EAT A SALAD

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (4:57am)

Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee series is made so compelling by his knowledge of and affection for both the comedians and the cars. Best interview yet: Don Rickles, who is the less visible individual in this 1958 Cadillac:

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LET THE AGONY CONTINUE

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (4:51am)

Part eight of David Thompson’s agonies of the left.

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POLEY SELFIE

Tim Blair – Tuesday, July 09, 2013 (4:47am)

If poley bears were on Facebook …

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Rudd may unpick Gillard’s “captain’s pick”

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (6:23pm)

Kevin Rudd now goes after Julia Gillard’s “captain’s pick”:
KEVIN Rudd has signalled he will re-examine Julia Gillard’s ‘’captain’s pick’’ of Nova Peris as Labor’s NT Senate candidate and gauge local feelings about the move during his Darwin visit…
‘’I’ll be talking to the local branch about this question when I get up there and I will be talking to locals as well,” Mr Rudd told 104.9FM radio.
If Gillard can appoint, then Rudd can surely unappoint and hand control back to the local members. But note: the Labor Party is very swiftly becoming the Rudd Party, running not just against Tony Abbott but Labor.
UPDATE
Yes, please, Prime Minister, tell me more about what you are doing to fix Labor:
BUSINESS conditions slumped to their lowest level in more than four years in June, with retail activity collapsing to a 16-year low, an influential private survey found.
National Australia Bank’s (NAB) monthly business survey showed that conditions for businesses hit their lowest level since May 2009, with the index shedding four points to minus 8.
UPDATE
Was Rudd rolled?
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has endorsed Nova Peris as Labor’s Senate candidate for the Northern Territory after local officials told him they wanted the party to unite behind the indigenous Olympian.
Mr Rudd, who travelled to Darwin on Tuesday, said he had consulted NT Labor president Matthew Gardiner and NT Labor secretary Kent Rowe on former prime minister Julia Gillard’s decision to dump sitting Senator Trish Crossin and install Ms Peris at the top of Labor’s NT Senate ticket.

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How Tony Abbott was framed by an activist journalist who should calm down

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (4:22pm)

You cannot get a better example of media bias and malice - the gotcha journalism of the Left.
Spot Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s terrible sin - his latest crime against decency, as gleefully announced by the Left:
QUESTION:
Mr Abbott, how is Peter Slipper incorrectly claiming $900 and offering to pay it back different from you incorrectly claiming $9000 worth of travel expenses and then paying it back? How are the situations different?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well look, this matter was fully dealt with last year. There’s nothing further to add.
QUESTION:
Well he’s facing charges and you just got to pay $9000 back. How are those two situations different?
TONY ABBOTT:
Well as I said, this matter was fully dealt with by the Labor minister last year who said that the matter was closed.
QUESTION:
And why were the travel expenses incorrectly claimed? How did that happen? Can you explain what happened in your office that you incorrectly claimed $9000 worth of travel expenses?
TONY ABBOTT:
The matter was fully dealt with last year.
QUESTION:
But you’re not explaining how it occurred, why it occurred, why it happened in the first place?
TONY ABBOTT:
As I said, it was an oversight in my office. It was fully dealt with last year.
QUESTION:
Why did you use Comcars on your book tour? Surely you would have known when you were using the Comcars that you were on private business?
TONY ABBOTT:
Fully dealt with last year. The Labor Minister at the time was perfectly satisfied that there had been nothing that was deliberately done wrong and the matter was closed.
QUESTION:
Do you take responsibility for the mistake?
TONY ABBOTT:
I think I’ve fully dealt with it. Time to move on.
QUESTION:
It’s been reported that you have been forced to repay the amount? Are the reports inaccurate?
TONY ABBOTT:
This was dealt with two years ago. This is old news. Old news. Now, why is Kevin Rudd now trying to dish this sort of dirt? Kevin Rudd came into the prime ministership a few days ago and he said let’s have a kinder, gentler polity. Now, that was a bit rich from someone who’d spent three years and three days plotting against a prime minister, but he called for a kinder, gentler polity and he called for positive politics. Now, we’ve got the Labor Party spinning this kind of stuff. Now, let’s move on…
QUESTION:
Mr Abbott, why didn’t you say yesterday you had incorrectly claimed those travel expenses?
TONY ABBOTT:
Look, I think we’ve fully dealt with this. Gary Gray dealt with this…
QUESTION:
You just repeated your lines over and over again to me you haven’t answered any questions.
TONY ABBOTT:
Calm down. Gary Gray looked at this matter two years ago. He said there’s nothing to see here. Ok. Next question.
QUESTION:
After you repaid. Do you take responsibility for the incorrect claim of $9,000?
TONY ABBOTT:
I didn’t claim travel allowance. I never claimed travel allowance. My office inadvertently booked some travel as official, which should not have been booked that way. It’s been fully dealt with.
QUESTION:
No, there were expenses. Gary Gray wrote back after you repaid the initial $6,000 and said there were travel expenses that had been claimed, such as comcars.
TONY ABBOTT:
Ok. Are there any other questions?
Note also the aggressive tone of the heckling:

Note the selective targetting, given Climate Change Minister Tony Burke made 15 separate repayments involving family travel, totalling nearly $7000, and Julia Gillard made 10 repayments totalling $438 for taxi fares she said were “inadvertently” claimed by a family member. Labor Senator Trish Crossin repaid $3022 while her Queensland colleague, Kirstin Livermore, made 10 repayments totalling $3642.
So, Abbott’s sin in that exchange?
It was to say “calm down”.
So what, you naturally ask?
Well, his alleged crime was to say it to a female journalist. In so doing he apparently showed he was sexist.  It was almost as disrespectful as her heckling.
Really, it’s enough to made an adult gag.
But two weeks after a Labor MP stalked and knifed our first female Prime Minister, that’s what now has the Left’s sisterhood enraged - and expressing itself in the sensitive way the sisters - and “Darryl” - say Abbott lacks:
image
Hmm. I note that between the abuse and talk of bullets in Abbott’s head is a message from a Jabour sister. Here is another family member, Anna:
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What a coincidence. An Anna Jabour works in Rudd’s office:
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As for Bridie herself, she was a Labor member even in her teens, and dreamed of doing Labor’s work when older, as she wrote in The Australian:
When I’m 38
BRIDIE JABOUR, 18
ALP member, Grafton
In 2026, I’d like to be working in policy.
Having joined the ALP at such a young age, I hope I will have had a lot of opportunities by then.
When I’m 38 - 2026 A Vision for the Nation’s Future: Part 12 Politics and Ideas:
The Australian 03 Nov 2006
Don’t you love it when dreams come true?
But don’t you hate - I mean, really hate - this gotcha journalism of the hypocritical Left, seeking to take offence for political purposes, while acting offensively themselves? 

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Sceptical climate scientist punished by Tim Flannery’s university

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (4:00pm)

Astonishing. Here is how Macquarie University persecuted a scientist who challenge the global warming faith.
For shame.
From Professor Murry Salby, who was Climate Chair at Macquarie University:
6. During the protracted delay of resources, I eventually undertook the production of a new book… The endeavor compelled me to gain a better understanding of greenhouse gases and how they evolve… Insight from this research contradicts many of the reckless claims surrounding greenhouse gases. More than a few originate from staff at Macquarie, which benefits from such claims.
7. The preliminary findings seeded a comprehensive study of greenhouse gases… It indicates:

(i) Modern changes of atmospheric CO2 and methane are (contrary to popular belief) not unprecedented.
(ii) The same physical law that governs ancient changes of atmospheric CO2 and methane also governs modern changes…
8. Under the resources Macquarie had agreed to provide, arrangements were made to present this new research at a scientific conference and in a lecture series at research centers in Europe.
9. Forms for research travel that were lodged with Macquarie included a description of the findings. Presentation of our research was then blocked by Macquarie… Macquarie’s intervention would have silenced the release of our research.

10. ... My role was then reduced to that of a student teaching assistant: Marking student papers for other staff – junior staff…

11. In February 2013, Macquarie then accused me of “misconduct”, cancelling my salary. It blocked access to my office, computer resources, even to personal equipment I had transferred from the US…
12. Obligations to present our new research on greenhouse gases (previously arranged), had to be fulfilled at personal expense.
13. In April, The Australian (the national newspaper), published an article which grounded reckless claims by the so-called Australian Climate Commission…

To promote the Climate Commission’s newest report is the latest sobering claim:

”one in two chance that by 2100 there’ll be no human beings left on this planet”
Two of the six-member Australian Climate Commission are Macquarie staff. Included is its Chief Commissioner.
14. While I was in Europe presenting our new research on greenhouse gases, Macquarie undertook its misconduct proceedings – with me in absentia…
15. Upon arriving at Paris airport for my return to Australia, I was advised that my return ticket (among the resources Macquarie agreed to provide) had been cancelled...
Of course, Macquarie University has no problem at all with another of its staff, no matter how many of his absurd scares prove wrong:

Professor Flannery is currently Adjunct Professor in the Division of Environmental and Life Sciences at Macquarie University - a position he has held since 2007… In 2011 he was appointed Australia’s Climate Commissioner by the Australian Government. He will chair a panel of six experts in an effort to advance awareness of climate change issues in the community.
(NOTE: I am not suggesting for a second that Flannery had any role in these events. I have seen not the slightest evidence to suggest he did.) 

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Corinne Grant tried so hard, but Malcolm Turnbull shone

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (12:57pm)

Corinne Grant tried so hard on Q&A to shill for Labor that she made a fool of herself:
CORINNE GRANT: It’s the lack of detail. He still keeps holding up that little booklet - what’s your little booklet called, Malcolm?
MALCOLM TURNBULL: Real Solutions.
CORINNE GRANT: Real Solutions.
TONY JONES: That was said with real enthusiasm.
CORINNE GRANT: Awkward. Very awkward. See he cradles it like a baby and just goes, “Here, this is it. These are my real solutions”. And today he launched a policy about cutting red tape, I think it was. And somebody said, “Well, okay, how are you going to do that?” And he paused and then he said, “We’ll get rid of the carbon tax.” I went, “Oh, we’ve heard that. We’ve heard that. Come up with something new. Put some detail into it.” There still doesn’t seem to be - there only seems to be boats and carbon tax and that seems to be it.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: There is a huge amount of detail out there.
CORINNE GRANT: Where? Where?
MALCOLM TURNBULL: You know, if you don’t…
CORINNE GRANT: Floating around?
MALCOLM TURNBULL: If you don’t read it, I mean in my own area, the broadband…
CORINNE GRANT: Where would I read it? In the little Real Solutions?
MALCOLM TURNBULL: No, the broadband policy is on the web. It’s about 60 pages.
CORINNE GRANT: And it’s incomprehensible, Malcolm.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: No.
TONY JONES: No, that’s not fair.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: No. No. Well, Corinne, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say you are not releasing any policy and then when I point you to one you say, “Oh, I couldn’t understand it,” or “It’s incomprehensible.” I mean, that’s ...
CORINNE GRANT: I didn’t say I couldn’t understand it.
Er, but you did, dear comedian. From the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary:
incomprehensible
adjective
impossible to understand
Turnbull had a good night, demonstrating to Labor the perils of parachuting a busy minister into a fiendishly difficult portfolio such as Communications:
MALCOLM TURNBULL: Anthony, when you were up in Coffs Harbour and you mentioned you were launching the NBN up there, remember when you went to that place to do the demonstration of video conferencing? Remember that?
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Yeah. Yeah.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: You know that there was no fibre connected there?
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Yeah, absolutely.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: That was actually done on ADSL.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Absolutely. I do know that.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: So you were there talking about the joys of…
MIRIAM LYONS: It is not the point though, is it?
ANTHONY ALBANESE: What we were…
MIRIAM LYONS: It’s about what we haven’t done yet. It’s not about what we’re doing now.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: So what was that rotten copper system? That was the rotten copper system…
ANTHONY ALBANESE: No. No. What we were doing was turning on 14,000 homes in Coffs Harbour that are connected now. That’s what we were doing.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: But you did the big demo - you did the big demo with the media…
ANTHONY ALBANESE: No, we didn’t. No, we didn’t.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: ...and it was using the terrible copper system.

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Julia Baird fools the New York Times about the “misogynists” who destroyed Gillard

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (11:41am)

Julia Baird, former ABC journalist and voted one of Australia’s Top 100 Intellectuals, has no trouble fooling the New York Times about the women-hatred she alleges brought down Julia Gillard.
Her deceptive piece starts with critical facts omitted - facts that would have exposed her very first paragraph as a joke:
In Australia, Misogyny Lives On
By JULIA BAIRD
THE fastest way to lance a country’s anxieties about women and power is to appoint a female leader. For the three years and three days that Julia Gillard was prime minister of Australia, we debated the fit of her jackets, the size of her bottom, the exposure of her cleavage, the cut of her hair, the tone of her voice, the legitimacy of her rule and whether she had chosen, as one member of Parliament from the opposition Liberal Party put it, to be “deliberately barren.”
The sexism was visceral and often grotesque.
So who are these misogynists - these women-haters - whose “visceral sexism” and “anxieties about women and power” were exposed by the rise of our first Prime Minister?
Let’s take Baird’s examples in order.
- “the fit of her jackets” - a criticism first offered by the “misogynist” Germaine Greer, actually a leader of modern feminism.
- “the size of her bottom” - criticism again from the “misogynist” Germaine Greer.
- “the exposure of her cleavage” - a criticism first offered by “misogynist” Grace Collier, actually a former union official.
- “the cut of her hair” - a criticism offered by several “misogynist” women, notably Anita Qigley, a news executive.
- “the tone of her voice” - a criticsm made by many, notably by “misogynist” speech coach, throat singer and didgeridoo advocate Dean Frenkel, writing in the far-Left “misogynist” Age.
- “the legitimacy of her rule” - a valid criticism made by many “misogynists” in Labor, which has now reversed its decision to sack Kevin Rudd. In fact, even the “misogynist” Julia Baird herself later concedes Gillard’s “biggest problem may have been the way she became Australia’s first female prime minister”.
- “whether she had chosen, as one member of Parliament from the opposition Liberal Party put it, to be ‘deliberately barren’.” - a criticism made by Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan and apologised for three years before Gillard became Prime Minister.
Few readers of the New York Times would have known just who provided the examples Baird gave of the appalling hatred of women that brought down Gillard. Had they realised those examples of “misogyny” in fact came from a veteran feminist, a female ex-unionist, a female journalist, a speech-coach writing for a far-Left newspaper and a Liberal Senator speaking three years before Gillard actually rose to power, would they have accepted Baird’s thesis that women-haters destroyed Gillard?
Or would they understand, as I do, that Baird’s theory is complete bunkum, built from bull?
(Thanks to readers Peter and Andrew.) 

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Albanese says he’d warned Wayne Swan days earlier

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (10:27am)

New Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last night revealed that Julia Gillard was sold out by her closest backer days before she fell.
Yes, Albanese made out his rise was all a surprise:
MARIAN WILKINSON: Inside Parliament House, Rudd’s colleagues were circulating a petition calling for spill of the leadership. It was expected the next day.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well I think if I thought I was going to be part of a Caucus ballot for Leader and then ah, a candidate for Deputy Prime Minister I probably wouldn’t have been on the football field in the early hours of that very cold Canberra morning.
MARIAN WILKINSON: So the timing was a surprise to you?
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Ah it was certainly the case. I was not expecting there to be a ballot that day.
In fact:

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I was raised with ah three great faiths; ah the Labor Party, the Catholic Church and, and Souths and ah the Labor Party, for them to elect me as Deputy Leader was a great honour. And I also felt um because of my great friendship with ah with Wayne Swan, we’d had a discussion ah over the previous days. I’d made it clear that if he was a candidate I would not be a candidate, I would be supportive of him and ah he made it very clear that ah one, he wouldn’t be a candidate if there was a a change of leadership but secondly, that he would support ah, my candidacy.
The whole Rudd campaign was enough for Peter Garrett to quit in disgust, even if he can’t quite bring himself to say so in plain English:

PETER GARRETT: I felt that the vote reflected a view that I didn’t have and you know, ultimately ah I understand as member of The Caucus that the vote is respected and the decision’s made and in this case, the leadership changed. But I think that one of the most corrosive things that I’ve witnessed in public life and including in the Parliament and including in The Caucus, is when people are seeking to advance a position, ah or for example to advance a different proposition that The Caucus might consider about leadership that in doing that, ah we see a great deal of activity and behaviour which ultimately ah is lessening both the integrity of the institutions that we’re serving, and also reflecting out to the public ah something which is isn’t why I came into politics - it’s not what I came here to do.
Maybe Garrett should just have quoted Rudd himself:

KEVIN RUDD: In recent years, politics has failed the Australian people. 

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The hazards of slack googling: Gillard didn’t lie and Shaw admired Islam

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (10:09am)

Kerry-Anne Walsh in her poor-Gillard book used a fake quote to clear Julia Gillard of having lied about the carbon tax. The Sunday Age failed to spot or correct it.
Slack googling - and confirmation bias - seems to blame.
Today, another such example:
ANTI “Islamophobia” advertisements due to screen on major free-to-air channels from today rely on a fabricated quote from Irish playwright and avowed atheist George Bernard Shaw, from a book that does not exist, according to the International Shaw Society.
The 30-second ads have been funded by the Sydney-based Mypeace organisation, which says it hopes to “build bridges” between Muslims and other Australians…
[They] quote Shaw proclaiming the prophet Mohammed was “the saviour of humanity” in a book he is supposed to have written entitled The Genuine Islam…

[In fact] Shaw described the religion in a 1933 letter to Rev Ensor Walters as “ferociously intolerant”.
“Mahomet rose up at the risk of his life and insulted the stones (that the Arabs worshipped) shockingly, declaring that there is only one God, Allah, the glorious and the great . . . And there was to be no nonsense about toleration,” Shaw wrote.
“You accepted Allah or you had your throat cut by someone who did accept him, and who went to Paradise for having sent you to Hell.”
The suggestion that Shaw may have written a book entitled The Genuine Islam has its origins in an interview between Shaw and Muslim propagandist Maulana Mohammed Abdul Aleem Siddiqui published in a Muslim periodical in January 1936…
It contains a quotation which describes Mohammed as the “saviour of humanity” and Islam as having “wonderful vitality” and “the chance to rule of Britain, nay Europe, in the next hundred years”, but these are not recorded as the words of Shaw.
The quotation appears in a separate quotation box without attribution, and not in the main body of the interview. 

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Newspoll says it’s 50-50

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (9:52am)

Newspoll has the contest dead even:
The latest Newspoll survey, conducted exclusively for The Australian at the weekend, reveals that based on preference flows at the last election the Coalition and Labor are both on 50 per cent.
It’s Kevin Rudd personal popularity - and “clean start” trick - that makes the difference:
Personal support for the new Prime Minister is driving Labor’s revival, voter satisfaction with Mr Rudd up seven points to 43 per cent from 36 per cent the previous weekend. A four-point rise as preferred prime minister to 53 per cent gives him a 22-point lead over the Opposition Leader, who fell four points to 31 points.
Does Labor bank this and dash to the polls? Or does Rudd think he can win this with time?
I’d bank on an October election.
UPDATE
More hope for Labor:
Kevin Rudd has catapulted Labor back into a potential election-winning position with surprise swings toward Labor suggesting the resurrected PM could not only hold ground for Labor but increase the party’s vote on the 2010 election result.
The first internal Labor polling since Mr Rudd took back the leadership two weeks ago shows Labor ahead of the Coalition in bellwether seats in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
UPDATE
Daniel Street, one of the 29-year-old advisers who Rudd has long preferred as an adviser, says we critics don’t understand the man:

For an enthralling year and a half when he was foreign minister, I saw Rudd at close quarters. I worked with him up to 15 hours a day. While I don’t claim he’s the messiah, the attack ads are just wrong… So here’s the Kevin Rudd I know.
A workaholic? Absolutely. He has a greater capacity - and energy - for work than anyone I’ve known. But he’s not a slave-driver. He made sure every one of his staff carved out proper time for their personal lives. He extended to us, and our loved ones, extraordinary generosity, hospitality, and kindness.
Consultative? I just don’t get the claims he did not consult. His modus operandi was engagement and dialogue with every adviser from his team. He regularly talked with bureaucrats from government departments, with leaders from business and civil society. Policy wisdom for Rudd also resided with ‘’the people’’. From a student on a university campus to a mother in a supermarket aisle, he listened attentively, often scribbling down notes.
Disorganised and chaotic? Not even close. Sound planning and strategic co-ordination was the order of each work day…
An ego? You bet. Name me a successful person who hasn’t got self-belief…
Self-interested? Rudd’s only interests were the needs of others, and particularly those living on the margins. Far from the cameras, and between a busy work schedule, it was edifying to see him carve out time to provide care and comfort to those who have no home. I saw this sort of encounter many times.
I vividly remember seeing him in Brisbane during the Queensland floods. As Rudd walked into a ruined home, standing alone and dazed in her lounge room was a lady named Patricia. She collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He held Patricia tight. It was a graceful, tender moment.
Street strikes me as rather naive, or particularly eager for a job. Still, this is what some claim to see in Rudd that has escaped most of Rudd’s own colleagues. 

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Even Canada now has freer speech than Australia

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (9:49am)

Free speech
If Canada can repeal the absurd “hate speech” laws used to persecute Mark Steyn, then surely Australia dare repeal its own oppressive section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, says Professor James Allan.
He’s right. It is absurd that our laws make it too dangerous to comment on this graduation ceremony at the University of New England.
(Thanks to readers Peter and frances of melbourne.) 

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“Get back to China”: Clive Palmer shows the diplomatic style he’d bring as PM

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (9:12am)

And this boof wants to be Prime Minister:
CLIVE Palmer has been recorded lashing out in angry, expletive-laden tirades of abuse against executives of one of China’s largest companies, which is spending more than $7 billion in Australia.
In one of the recorded rants, obtained by The Australian, the resources tycoon and prime ministerial aspirant twice instructed an executive of CITIC Pacific to “tell your chairman to stick it up his arse”.
Mr Palmer, who describes himself to Australian voters as a lifelong friend of China with deep and respectful relationships, told the executive: “I’ve had enough of you, so just pack up all your f . . king gear and get back to China.”
In the same recording, dated 2010 and now on The Australian’s website, Mr Palmer added: “You people give me the shits. And if you continue to not pay your way we are going to throw you off to the point where we close your project down.

“I’m chairman of this f . . king company, and I don’t want to ring up little shits like you because you won’t pay your bloody, your bloody rates or pay your rent.”
The Australian has been told that the highest levels of China’s political leadership have received reports of Mr Palmer’s antics...
That’s helpful. 

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Media Watch: Paul Barry every bit the Leftist host he denied

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (8:40am)

Culture wars, Media
When Paul Barry was appointed the new host of Media Watch, I made the obvious point:
In its 24 years, Media Watch has never had any host that wasn’t of the Left. The ABC’s eighth pick as host is again of the Left - Paul Barry.
Under gentle questioning yesterday from yet another ABC host of the Left, Howard-whacker Jonathan Green, ABC managing director Mark Scott failed to explain why no conservative had ever managed to land the Media Watch job in nearly a quarter of a century. [Listen here.]
Paul Barry was cross, and denied what I thought was undeniable:

Paul Barry: I would certainly describe myself as to the left of Andrew Bolt, so on that basis I am left-wing. But in no other basis do I think I’m left-wing. I believe in the free market, I believe in freedom of speech, I believe actually in privatisation, I believe in an awful lot of things that would make me a free-marketeer and, you know, a liberal. So I don’t think that’s a valid criticism, and I have never decided anything by ideology.
I thought it odd that Barry claimed a belief in free speech and a rejection of state planning was all it now took to distinguish him from the Left.
But let’s not judge Barry by what he says but what he does.
Last night he presented his first Media Watch since his return to the chair. My verdict was vindicated. Barry followed the standard Leftist script of Media Watch to the last syllable.
There was the standard attack on Alan Jones, complete with denunciation of criticism of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd (but not Tony Abbott). And for main course, another attack on Rupert Murdoch, this time for daring to show loyalty to employees caught up in the British tabloids scandal.
What’s next week, Paul? Will you complete the Leftist trifecta with an attack on climate sceptics?
(Thanks to reader michelle2.) 

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Labor is voting to put itself under President Kevin-for-life

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (8:06am)

image
Kevin Rudd has actually wrapped two changes in one, and Labor had better reconsider the most self-serving:
Union boss Paul Howes is backing moves by Kevin Rudd to change Labor Party rules so that the leader can’t be deposed as he was by Julia Gillard…
Mr Rudd is proposing changes to make the parliamentary party leader directly elected, with half the vote coming from grass-roots members and half from the caucus.
He says the change is about making sure power to chose Labor’s leader doesn’t reside with ALP faction heavyweights.
Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) national secretary Paul Howes - a key backer of Ms Gillard’s leadership - says he supports Mr Rudd’s reforms…
“They’re things certainly that British Labor have done, that Canadian New Democratic Party have done, that the French Socialist Party have done,” he said.
Election of a leader by party members (in part) may well help Labor, although whether it will do anything for good government is debatable.
Far more dangerous to Labor and the country is Rudd’s second proposal: to guarantee that a Labor leader who wins an election stays Prime Minister the whole term, even if he goes gaga or leads like a dictator or clown.
First, this misunderstands our own electoral system. Australians do not vote for a Prime Minister. They vote for their local member, usually of a party they prefer. Under the Constitution, the Prime Minister is actually selected by MPs (essentially by their parliamentary colleagues) and appointed by the Governor-General.
Second, Labor is throwing away a key safety valve and the opportunity of renewal.
Was Paul Keating wrong to topple a fading and distracted Bob Hawke in 1991, reinvigorate Labor and lead it to an unlikely win in 1993?
Was Kevin Rudd wrong to topple Julia Gillard two weeks ago and give Labor a red-hot chance to win an election it was about to lose in a landslide?
Both these leadership changes - both these renewals - would have been impossible under Rudd’s changes.
Rudd’s change seeks its justification in only one removal - his own in 2010. But was even that one such a failure? Party leaders believed then that choatic Rudd was leading them to defeat. The switch to Gillard gave them a victory instead. Had Rudd not been so disloyal, that victory would have been greater and given Gillard more freedom to move. Had Gillard actually been even half competent, that switch would now be hailed as a masterstroke.
There is only one political plus for Labor in Rudd’s proposal - that it stops the Opposition from claiming that Labor after the election will once more ditch Rudd for the factions’ puppet. The danger, though, is that Labor will be stuck after the election with a leader whose policies they still do not know and who as Prime Minister will be freer to do as he damn well likes. The Prime Minister will have become the President. King Kevin.
Is that really what Labor stands for? Is this even good for the rest of us? Think, under Rudd’s changes the public would still be seething under Gillard, a Prime Minister most wanted long gone.
UPDATE
Reader Chris:

Actually, the Prime Minister is not mentioned in the Constitution, nor are the Cabinet or Government. Constitutionally, there are just ministers appointed at the pleasure of the G-General. PM and Cabinet exist by convention.
UPDATE
Another thought.  Rudd’s proposal means that as long as he wins elections, Labor can never remove him - except in the remote possibility that 75 per cent of federal MPs agree he’s brought the party into “disrepute”, and the members then back that call:

Under the changes to the rules, a leader who takes Labor to an election victory remains as prime minister for the duration of the term. But a ballot for a new leader can be sparked by a resignation, at the request of the leader or when 75 per cent of federal MPs sign a petition requesting a spill on the grounds the incumbent has brought the party into disrepute.
UPDATE
Former Tasmanian Labor Premier David Bartlett warns against Rudd’s proposal:

image
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 

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Don’t charge boat people who hijack ships. Just stop them

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (7:51am)

Boat people policy
No, Minister. They should not face charges in Australia but an Australian warship denying them any access to our land and our courts:

Immigration Minister Tony Burke yesterday warned asylum-seekers who seized control of ships at sea by any means should face a criminal investigation and potential rejection of their asylum applications. His warning came after The Australian revealed that an attempt to return a group of asylum-seekers to Indonesia was aborted last week when they threatened to kill themselves.
The group had been picked up in international waters by a Maltese-flagged oil and chemical tanker, the Sichem Hawk.
Man up, Minister. You missed your Tampa moment. Don’t do it twice.
UPDATE
Advocates for what the Press Council says I cannot call “illegal immigrants” say the best way to deal with them is simply to take lots more:

Director of the Australian National University’s Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy William Maley ... warned that Australia did not, on its own, have “a great deal of leverage” to force countries such as Iran and Afghanistan to take back their nationals.
The Prime Minister needed to make a much more significant increase in the humanitarian program, declaring that the additional 600 places opened up to asylum-seekers in Indonesia after the Houston expert panel report was just a “drop in the ocean”. “We are looking at big numbers here too; we are talking about an extra 10,000 to 20,000 if we are going to make a difference,” Professor Maley said.
Labor has already increased the humanitarian intake from 13,750 to 20,000 a year on the theory that boat people really are refugees, and if they can come by plane they’ll stop coming by boats. That failed, and Maley now wants the intake doubled. When that fails, too, he’ll want....
This is just telling the world’s poor to come join the welfare paradise, no questions asked.
UPDATE
Of course the boats can be stopped, despite what so many journalists of the Left prefer to believe:

INDONESIA could do much more to stem the flow of asylum seeker through their territory and could easily shut down people smuggling operations, a former senior army officer says.
Retired Major General Jim Molan, who served as Australian defence adviser in Jakarta, said ...  the problem was that Indonesia didn’t see this as a big problem.
“We have got to impress on the Indonesians that this is a real problem for us and as friends they should assist us,” he said…
Mr Molan said Indonesia’s lack of concern was demonstrated by the fact that not a single one of their navy’s 150 ships, including patrol boats donated by Australia, was stationed in their southern search and rescue zone…
Mr Molan said asylum seeker boats could be turned back but the actual techniques for doing that should not be publicly revealed.
(Thanks to reader Peter.) 

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Bin Laden escaped speeding ticket

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (7:44am)

Pakistan not only stopped searching for the terrorist chief, but even let him off a speeding fine:
A LEAKED Pakistani government report castigates the country’s military and civilian leaders for failing to detect the presence of Osama bin Laden for years…

Among the striking details are the fact that in 2002 or 2003, bin Laden’s car was pulled over for speeding on the way to a local market, but the bin Laden “quickly settled the matter”, according to the wife of one of his guards.

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Egypt turns bloody

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (7:15am)

Broke, starving and divided, Egypt is tearing itself apart:

At least 51 people were killed on Monday when the Egyptian army opened fire on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Mursi, in the deadliest incident since the elected Islamist leader was toppled by the military five days ago.
Protesters said shooting started as they performed morning prayers outside the Cairo barracks where Mursi is believed to be held.
But military spokesman Ahmed Ali said that at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) armed men attacked troops in the area around the Republican Guard compound in the northeast of the city.
The savagery suggests Egypt’s future will be military rule:

A YouTube video from this weekend shows Egyptian youths being thrown off a high wall situated on the roof of a building then being beaten in the head with sticks.

According to Al Arabiya, the incident took place during clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.
The Middle East news agency writes that the perpetrators are Islamist supporters of Morsi.
In the video, four young men are shown on the roof of a building in Alexandria, appearing to seek safety atop a high wall on the roof. Other activists can be seen congregating on the roof below them, one of whom is fully bearded and holding a large black al-Qaeda flag in his back pocket…
“Do you know the teen that they killed and disfigured his body and threw from the fifth floor is only 19 and four days,” Mohammed Badr, father of the killed teen, told el-Watan News in an interview published Saturday.
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO:


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Terrorise the gangs as they terrorise us

Andrew Bolt July 09 2013 (5:38am)

The gangs who have turned Sydney streets into a shooting gallery need to be harassed as they harass others. They need constant raids and arrests over even the most trivial offences. Above all, they need to thrown in jail or out of the country:
ONE man is dead and another injured after a targeted drive-by shooting in Sydney’s south east overnight.
It is believed the 37-year-old was standing with a “handful” of other men in front of an apartment block on George Street, Eastlakes, when the gunman drove past and fired several shots into the group.

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Under the Huge Shelf Cloud... I vacated this spot right after I took this picture... booking off the other direction at a high rate of speed. I'm not much one for large hail... even in a rental. — inNewcastle, OK.
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Bring back Howard policies - ed
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"You know, I hear everybody talking about the generation gap. Frankly, sometimes I don't know what they're talking about. Heck, by now I should know a little bit about it, if I'm ever going to. I have seven kids and 18 grandkids and I don't seem to have any trouble talking to any of them. Never have had, and I don't intend to start now." 
JOHN WAYNE
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Yesterday, we announced our first Better Public Services update. Find out morewww.national.org.nz/public-services.aspx
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Democrats are finally starting to realize that Obamacare will be detrimental to their electoral chances. Sign the petition to hold them accountable! http://bit.ly/14Yv97T
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"Politicians never accuse you of 'greed' for wanting other people's money – only for wanting to keep your own money." - Joseph Sobran
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Looking for the perfect treat to combat the summer heat? This Peanut Butter Cup Lover's Ice Cream Sundae is the way to go!http://reeses.me/Yzknmy
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Amanda Bynes says the Obamas are ugly; Think Progress blogger: ‘That’s racist’ ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/07/08/amanda-bynes-says-the-obamas-are-ugly-think-progress-blogger-thats-racist/
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Sarcasm alert: Monica Crowley ‘psyched’ for IRS to take over health care ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/07/08/sarcasm-alert-monica-crowley-psyched-for-irs-to-take-over-health-care/?utm_source=autotweet&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter
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C. H. Spurgeon
Idle people tempt the devil to tempt them.

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You'll get promoted, if you stick with it.
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Our soldiers always look past the dust to see the goal in the distance. 
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"The death toll from clashes in Cairo between Egyptian security forces and supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood has risen to 51, with 435 others injured, according to Health Ministry official Khaled al Khatib.

It is unclear if this death toll includes two security personnel whose deaths were reported on state television.

Witnesses said the military and police fired as protesters took a break from holding a vigil at the Republican Guard headquarters to say their dawn prayers. Morsy was reportedly detained in the building after his arrest Wednesday. But Interior Ministry spokesman Hani Abdel-Latif and army spokesman Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said security forces were under attack. Ali said "an armed group" used bombs, rocks and bullets to attack the area and the people safeguarding the headquarters building." - CNN Breaking News
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It is my birthday and I had to let go my secretary .. It started off well .. I woke early feeling great. My wife was tired and sleepy and the children had a late start, so I left for work without disturbing them. But I felt a little let down .. they might have said something. Still, off to work! My young secretary seemed really happy to see me. "Boss! Happy birthday!" and she got me my papers and a cup of coffee that I really like. A few work issues arose which made things really tight, but my secretary was a trooper, working through lunch. An hour before work was to finish, and no one else seemed to be coming into the business for the day. My secretary pointed out we had skipped lunch and deserved an early mark. I called home, but no one answered. My secretary said "Boss, it is your birthday .. I know this really nice place .. I think we should go there." I agreed. She said she needed to change, and her home was on the way. She said she wouldn't take long, and invited me in. So I went into her unit with her. I seated myself on her couch while she said something about freshening up. It took a few minutes, but finally she came back to the room. With her were my wife and children, carrying a cake with lit candles for each year of my life. And I was seated on the couch. Naked. - ed
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Life is duty poem, by Ellen Stugis Hooper, recited by Kathryn Hepburn in Rooster Cogburn
- Film Clip -

At this link:
http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/life-is-duty-poem-by-ellen-stugis-hooper-recited-by-kathryn-hepburn-in-rooster-cogburn/
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Something less desert like... it was a beautiful trip over the Tioga Pass on the way to the east side and eventually Nevada. The clouds convinced me to pull over... well, that and Miguel... — at Tioga Pass Road.
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The top 12 ways Israel Feeds the World
From drip irrigation to natural pesticides, Israeli innovations are helping to fill hungry bellies everywhere, but particularly in the developing world.

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In Nevada.
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The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the politicians spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases. 

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959. 

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. 

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion Dollars ago was only 13 hours and 12 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it!

Stamp Duty
Tobacco Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Income Tax
Council Tax
Unemployment Tax
Fishing License Tax
Petrol/Diesel Tax
Inheritance Tax
(tax on top of tax)
Alcohol Tax
G.S.T.
Property Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Vehicle License / Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Carbon Dioxide Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 60 years ago and our nation was one of the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt. We had the largest middle class in the world. Mum stayed home to raise the kids. Dad and teachers were allowed to discipline kids. A criminals life was uncomfortable. Boat people were simply kids sailing on the harbour.

What the hell happened?

Political Correctness or Politicians or both?
You can't tax your way to prosperity - ed
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
Hold Your Dream,Don't Give Up.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses”
(1 Timothy 6:12)

One of the keys to seeing your dreams come to pass is to see them come to pass in your mind’s eye first.It takes more than just visualization to see our dreams come to pass. It takes obedience; it takes prayer, and it has to be a part of God’s plan for our lives. But what I’m saying is that if you’ll keep the right pictures in your imagination, seeing yourself rising higher, seeing yourself healthy and whole, that’s going to get deep down on the inside and set the course for your life. When your mind is in agreement with God’s Word, it will help guide you toward your destiny. You will have a supernatural strength and power to see those dreams and desires come to pass in your life.God bless you.

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Photo credit: John W. Pope Civitas Institute
Hi everyone! Here's the MichelleMalkin.com newsletter for July 8th. Enjoy!

From the Blog

Eliot Spitzer announces stimulus for New York Post headline writers

Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York who resigned after a prostitution scandal, is now running for NYC comptroller...

New Obamacare slogan: Because we’ve forced ourselves to put our trust in you

Last week it was announced that the Obamacare employer mandate was being pushed back by a year...

Transparency: Obama’s video thank-you to librarians for helping push Obamacare will remain unseen by the public

There are three main types of protected privileges: Attorney-client; Doctor-patient; and President-librarian...

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July 9: Ramadan begins (Islam, 2013); Independence Day inArgentina (1816)
Donkey Kong arcade game

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