Sunday, June 07, 2015

Sun Jun 7th Todays News

Bolt report Instructions follow the publishing news. 
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According to the ABC the big news event of the week was the leaking of cabinet discussions on treatment of foreign fighters who had turned their back on Australia. The ABC want Malcolm Turnbull to kick the conservatives out of government. They hope by claiming it will happen then the Abbott led government will implode. But that is just not realistic. On the other hand, Shorten is facing another test of character and he has already fallen short. He has been challenged to explain why the union he led stole money from the poorest workers so as to feather the union nest. It doesn't matter if he isn't challenged within the ALP if he is arrested by police and thrown into jail for a long time. A power sharing arrangement could be worked out with the second in charge. 

 It was interesting hearing the former adviser to Rudd call Gillard 'solid' in policy terms and Rudd 'brilliant.' In reality neither offered worthwhile policy. Rudd said he was an economic conservative like Howard before the '07 election, but changed his mind after election and embraced tossing money away. Meanwhile Gillard was against a carbon tax prior to election but could do nothing else when she was in government. Rudd claimed to have ended the carbon tax the second time around, while Shorten voted to keep it after conservatives were elected. The only brilliant, or solid policy the ALP had was to implement a useless tax. Ending the useless tax, was one of the few things independents supported the new Abbott led government on. Now with an increase in growth, it can be seen the tax opposed growth.

In 421, Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia. The wedding was celebrated at Constantinople(Byzantine Empire). 1099, First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem began. 1420, troops of the Republic of Venice captured Udine, ending the independence of the Patriarchal State of Friuli. 1494, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas which divided the New World between the two countries. 1628, the Petition of Right, a major English constitutional document, was granted the Royal Assent by Charles I and became law. 1654, Louis XIV was crowned King of France. 1692, Port Royal, Jamaica, was hit by a catastrophic earthquake; in just three minutes, 1,600 people were killed and 3,000 were seriously injured. 1776, Richard Henry Lee presented the "Lee Resolution" to the Continental Congress. The motion was seconded by John Adams and led to the United States Declaration of Independence. 1788, French Revolution: Day of the Tiles — civilians in Grenoble tossed roof tiles and various objects down upon royal troops.

 In 1800, David Thompson reached the mouth of the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba. 1810, the newspaper Gazeta de Buenos Ayres was first published in Argentina. 1832, Asian cholera reached Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and killed about 6,000 people in Lower Canada. 1862, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to suppress the slave trade. 1863, during the French intervention in Mexico, Mexico City was captured by French troops. 1866, 1,800 Fenian raiders were repelled back to the United States after they looted and plundered around Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg, Quebec. 1880, War of the Pacific: The Battle of Arica, the assault and capture of Morro de Arica (Arica Cape), ended the Campaña del Desierto (Desert Campaign). 1892, Benjamin Harrison became the first President of the United States to attend a baseball game. Also 1892, Homer Plessy was arrested for refusing to leave his seat in the "whites-only" car of a train; he lost the resulting court case, Plessy v. Ferguson. 1893, Mohandas Gandhi committed his first act of civil disobedience. 1899, American Temperance crusader Carrie Nation began her campaign of vandalizing alcohol-serving establishments by destroying the inventory in a saloon in Kiowa, Kansas.

 In 1905, Norway's parliament dissolved its union with Sweden. The vote was confirmed by a national plebiscite on August 13 of that year. 1906, Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania was launched from the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow (Clydebank), Scotland. 1909, Mary Pickford made her screen debut at the age of 16. 1917, World War I: Battle of Messines – Allied soldiers detonated ammonal mines underneath German trenches at Messines Ridge, killing 10,000 German troops.  1919, Sette giugno: Four people were killed in a riot in Malta. 1929, the Lateran Treaty was ratified, bringing Vatican City into existence. 1936, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, a trade union, was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Philip Murray was elected its first president. 1938, the Douglas DC-4E made its first test flight. Also 1938, Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Nationalist government created the 1938 Yellow River flood to halt Japanese forces. 500,000 to 900,000 civilians were killed.

 In 1940, King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government left Tromsø and went into exile in London. They returned exactly five years later 1942, World War II: The Battle of Midway ended in American victory. Also 1942, World War II: Aleutian Islands Campaign: Imperial Japanese soldiers began occupying the American islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska. 1944, World War II: The steamer Danae, carrying 350 Cretan Jews and 250 Cretan partisans, was sunk without survivors off the shore of Santorini. Also 1944, World War II: Battle of Normandy – At Abbey Ardennes, members of the SS Division Hitlerjugend massacre 23 Canadian prisoners of war. 1948, Edvard Beneš resigned as President of Czechoslovakia rather than signing the Ninth-of-May Constitution, making his nation a Communist state. 1955, Lux Radio Theater signed off the air permanently. The show launched in New York in 1934, and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films. 1965, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, effectively legalising the use of contraception by married couples. 1967, Six-Day War: Israeli soldiers entered Jerusalem.

 In 1971, the United States Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing was protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Also 1971, the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service raided the home of Ken Ballew for illegal possession of hand grenades. 1975, the inaugural Cricket World Cup began in England. 1977, 500 million people watched the high day of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II begin on television. 1981, the Israeli Air Force destroyed Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor during Operation Opera. 1982, Priscilla Presley opened Graceland to the public; the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier was kept off-limits. 1990, Universal Studios Florida opened in Orlando, FL. 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted, generating an ash column 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) high. 1995, the long-range Boeing 777 entered service with United Airlines. 2000, the United Nations defined the Blue Line as the border between Israel and Lebanon.
2014
Government is good at some important functions, but ultimately it is not for liberty or freedom. Government baulked at organising transport for a D-Day vet to get to anniversary celebrations, so the vet put his medals on his chest, grabbed his raincoat and caught a coach to France. We salute him. 

US Government has, in the past, been a great defender of freedom. But recently, she has lacked judgement. Terrorists have taken her for a soft touch. And that is a terrible signal to send. But bureaucracy is the opposite of personal. It took more than six months for the Australian public broadcaster (ABC) to apologise to a journalist for explicitly portraying him as a dog fucker. In their defence, the journalist occasionally is balanced regarding conservatives and so the biased media may have felt he was fair game. Ultimately, they needed a court ruling to order them to apologise. They are so self interested and dull witted that they are offensive even before they give their 'thoughts.' 

But while the media are often over the top in criticising anyone who might be conservative, they are blind to the faults of those who are not. And the revelations regarding union corruption which has enveloped the ALP are growing in there enormity. Only, it seems never to have been secret. The press have been so inept as to be liable for an allegation of colluding. That is not mere bias. A talentless hack can move from TV presenter to ALP Minister to early pension. But if that involved obscuring corruption to legitimate authorities then that talentless hack should face charges of corruption too. 
Historical perspectives on this day
In 421, Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia. The wedding was celebrated at Constantinople(Byzantine Empire). 1099, First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem began. 1420, troops of the Republic of Venice captured Udine, ending the independence of the Patriarchal State of Friuli. 1494, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas which divided the New World between the two countries. 1628, the Petition of Right, a major English constitutional document, was granted the Royal Assent by Charles I and became law. 1654, Louis XIV was crowned King of France. 1692, Port Royal, Jamaica, was hit by a catastrophic earthquake; in just three minutes, 1,600 people were killed and 3,000 were seriously injured. 1776, Richard Henry Lee presented the "Lee Resolution" to the Continental Congress. The motion was seconded by John Adams and led to the United States Declaration of Independence. 1788, French Revolution: Day of the Tiles — civilians in Grenoble tossed roof tiles and various objects down upon royal troops.

 In 1800, David Thompson reached the mouth of the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba. 1810, the newspaper Gazeta de Buenos Ayres was first published in Argentina. 1832, Asian cholera reached Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and killed about 6,000 people in Lower Canada. 1862, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to suppress the slave trade. 1863, during the French intervention in Mexico, Mexico City was captured by French troops. 1866, 1,800 Fenian raiders were repelled back to the United States after they looted and plundered around Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg, Quebec. 1880, War of the Pacific: The Battle of Arica, the assault and capture of Morro de Arica (Arica Cape), ended the Campaña del Desierto (Desert Campaign). 1892, Benjamin Harrison became the first President of the United States to attend a baseball game. Also 1892, Homer Plessy was arrested for refusing to leave his seat in the "whites-only" car of a train; he lost the resulting court case, Plessy v. Ferguson. 1893, Mohandas Gandhi committed his first act of civil disobedience. 1899, American Temperance crusader Carrie Nation began her campaign of vandalizing alcohol-serving establishments by destroying the inventory in a saloon in Kiowa, Kansas.

 In 1905, Norway's parliament dissolved its union with Sweden. The vote was confirmed by a national plebiscite on August 13 of that year. 1906, Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania was launched from the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow (Clydebank), Scotland. 1909, Mary Pickford made her screen debut at the age of 16. 1917, World War I: Battle of Messines – Allied soldiers detonated ammonal mines underneath German trenches at Messines Ridge, killing 10,000 German troops.  1919, Sette giugno: Four people were killed in a riot in Malta. 1929, the Lateran Treaty was ratified, bringing Vatican City into existence. 1936, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, a trade union, was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Philip Murray was elected its first president. 1938, the Douglas DC-4E made its first test flight. Also 1938, Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Nationalist government created the 1938 Yellow River flood to halt Japanese forces. 500,000 to 900,000 civilians were killed.

 In 1940, King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government left Tromsø and went into exile in London. They returned exactly five years later 1942, World War II: The Battle of Midway ended in American victory. Also 1942, World War II: Aleutian Islands Campaign: Imperial Japanese soldiers began occupying the American islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska. 1944, World War II: The steamer Danae, carrying 350 Cretan Jews and 250 Cretan partisans, was sunk without survivors off the shore of Santorini. Also 1944, World War II: Battle of Normandy – At Abbey Ardennes, members of the SS Division Hitlerjugend massacre 23 Canadian prisoners of war. 1948, Edvard Beneš resigned as President of Czechoslovakia rather than signing the Ninth-of-May Constitution, making his nation a Communist state. 1955, Lux Radio Theater signed off the air permanently. The show launched in New York in 1934, and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films. 1965, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, effectively legalising the use of contraception by married couples. 1967, Six-Day War: Israeli soldiers entered Jerusalem.

 In 1971, the United States Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing was protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Also 1971, the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service raided the home of Ken Ballew for illegal possession of hand grenades. 1975, the inaugural Cricket World Cup began in England. 1977, 500 million people watched the high day of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II begin on television. 1981, the Israeli Air Force destroyed Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor during Operation Opera. 1982, Priscilla Presley opened Graceland to the public; the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier was kept off-limits. 1990, Universal Studios Florida opened in Orlando, FL. 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted, generating an ash column 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) high. 1995, the long-range Boeing 777 entered service with United Airlines. 2000, the United Nations defined the Blue Line as the border between Israel and Lebanon.
=== 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/4124406, September https://www.createspace.com/5106914, October 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. 
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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
Douglas Sutherland-Bruce via David Daniel Ball
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.net) which 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.
=== Bolt Report Items ===
On Bolt Report an ongoing policy is that any Islam post can only be on the pinned leader. Normal rules apply in that if it is merely foul and abusive it will be deleted. Otherwise comments are welcome.  
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Dear Members (YOU MUST READ THIS THREAD)
As of today, the rules of this forum are going to be enforced more rigorously. This includes the instant removal of members who personally abuse other members of this forum.
Whilst the use of bad language is often invoked as colourful descriptors of politicians, we ask that people refrain from the C word as there are many people on this forum who do not want to see that as part of every day language here.
Blatant racism, homophobia and religious slurs will be removed from the forum, along with the person who posted them.
Crass, vile & vitriolic hate posts will also be removed along with the person who posts those comments or threads.
Generally we will give people a 24 hour time out to cool off after they have been removed and those people will be welcome back to the forum once they have applied via an admin..... we will however, permanently remove repeat offenders with a rule of "3 strikes and you're out".
We are trying to encourage legitimate debate, conversation and discussion on this forum where people are able to have free thought and their own opinions without "mob" rule attacking them for thinking differently, however, in saying this, members who are here to deliberately cause trouble or "troll" will be removed without warning.
The standard of this forum needs to be better and people are responsible for their own behaviour.... bullying of others or bullying of admins will also result in that person being removed.
Legitimate criticism is appreciated, along with logical and rational commentary.
Admins decisions are final.... so make of this forum what you want of it and do not complain if you are removed for behaviour that is contrary to the posting protocols.
If you feel intimated or threatened by another person, contact an admin immediately so the situation can be monitored and mediated.
Regards
Admins
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Happy birthday and many happy returns to those born on this day, across the years, including
Despatches
June 7: Sette Giugno in Malta; Journalist Day in Argentina
Prudential Cup trophy of the Cricket World Cup
Our treaty divides the world. Roof tiles aid construction. Democrats liked the whites only section. One flesh is where the rubber hits the road. The cricket world cup was the 'come to Jesus' moment. Let's party. 
Matches
Hatches
Despatches
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2015
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Poison bubbling out of this scab on Labor

Piers Akerman – Sunday, June 07, 2015 (12:21am)

LABOR has long reserved the epithet “scab” — usually howled or hissed at strike-breakers to vilify those perceived to work against the interests of trade unionists.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'Poison bubbling out of this scab on Labor'
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Liberals kiss farewell to PM Tony Abbott on gay marriage

Miranda Devine – Sunday, June 07, 2015 (12:19am)

A SLEEPING giant is rising within Coalition ranks. For some conservatives in the party room who have always supported Tony Abbott and helped secure him the leadership, the issue is a deal-breaker.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'Liberals kiss farewell to PM Tony Abbott on gay marriage'
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PRODUCE THE FORM, DEMANDS LOCAL BIRTHER

Tim Blair – Sunday, June 07, 2015 (1:05pm)

“Here, friends, is a key and interesting difference between the US and Australia,” writes SMH bandana man Peter FitzSimons, who then explores a key similarity: 
When Barack Obama was elected as President, nutters of all descriptions emerged from the woodwork maintaining that despite ample evidence to the contrary – including his birth certificate, and two notices in local newspapers – he was born in Kenya, not Hawaii. If true, his presidency would be invalid, as it is against the US Constitution to have a foreign-born president. The “birther movement” itself was born, led by Donald Trump, and still sputters on, though it is so discredited now, to say you’re a “birther,” is shorthand for “I’m a loon.”
Here in Australia, there has been, true, a little muted rumbling over whether or not our own Prime Minister retains dual citizenship with Britain, which would be against our own Constitution, but it has never developed into a mass movement.
A compelling piece written this week, however, by the editor of Independent Australia, has gone viral, with 8.8 K likes on Facebook, and 1.4 K tweets.
It notes that, whatever else, the PM was not an Australian at all until the age of 21 when he was obliged to be one to get his Rhodes Scholarship. And it notes his refusal to show the form which really proves he “has renounced his British citizenship.” We’ll see. All up, the easiest thing to kill it stone-dead would be to produce the form. 
So the mark of a loon in the US becomes “compelling” when applied to Tony Abbott. As well, although FitzSimons doesn’t realise it, his birther howl of “produce the form” is the local equivalent of “produce the birth certificate”.
(Via Monsterdome)
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THERE WILL BE NO TELEMOVIE OF THE GOVERNMENT SHE LED

Tim Blair – Sunday, June 07, 2015 (12:45pm)

Back in 2013, actress Rachel Griffiths looked forward to her portrayal of Julia Gillard in an upcoming drama: 
“I am thrilled to portray Australia’s first female prime minister and explore the private aspects of her remarkable term,” Griffiths said.
“I believe that the creative and intellectual capacity of the team involved will produce a stunning drama that will reframe this historic period in our cultural and political life.” 
Sadly, audiences will have to wait. Gillard is now judged to be box office poison: 
A proposed telemovie about her life has been rejected by every local network, cable broadcaster and digital streaming service.
Despite boasting the signing of Hollywood favourite Rachel Griffiths, who was set to play the one-time Labor leader, the project’s writer and executive producer Richard Keddie has confirmed he’s now making the story for the big screen after being knocked back by all local TV channels.
Keddie, whose previous credits include successful TV biopics on Bob Hawke and John Curtin, said today’s programmers were “risk averse” when it came to producing local drama, but were particularly put off by this proposal because of the perceived negative public opinion which they believe still plagues Gillard.
“They think the public were sick of the story and no one will watch this show,” Keddie, of WTFN Productions said. 
Considering that even her own party threw Gillard out, they’re probably right. 
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AY CARAMBA

Tim Blair – Sunday, June 07, 2015 (12:33pm)

Bart Simpson’s voice is provided by a 57-year-old woman who once donated $10 million to the Church of Scientology.
Which is much funnier than anything in The Simpsons since at least 2005. 
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McCrann: how Alan Bond bugged me

Andrew Bolt June 07 2015 (6:27pm)

Terry McCrann on the passing of that bugger, Alan Bond:
WHEN your doorbell rings in the half-light of a chilly winter morning around 7am and a sombre voice announces that it is Sgt Carr of the Federal Police, it’s a fair bet your mouth might go suddenly dry, as mine did.
That was how we found out the problems with our home phone had been caused by a listening device, clamped to the wire from our house at the junction box on the telephone pole across the road.
Months later we would be told that the “bugger” was Alan Bond — formally, a private detective hired by his Bond Corporation, which at the time in the late 1980s was sliding at a rapidly increasing pace to its always inevitable rendezvous with bankruptcy.
Later also I would get to hear the “tapes” — recordings of our conversations. They were chillingly clear. The chilling part was the voice at the end of each call, noting “recording finished at 9.23pm”, with the knowledge that person was sitting in a car 100m down the road.
The police also told me that he’d followed me on a few occasions; I had never noticed.
This was 1989, the end of the “Greed is Good” decade and the beginning of the end of Bond, who had blazed so extravagantly through it, quite like no other of the — phony — entrepreneurs of the time.
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Today’s Bolt Report, June 7

Andrew Bolt June 07 2015 (7:13am)

On Channel 10 on Sunday at 10am and 3pm.
My guests:  Immigration Minister Peter Dutton; Niki Savva of The Australian; former Labor campaign guru Bruce Hawker and Sharri Markson, media editor of The Australian. 
So much to discuss and some greens to set straight. Not to mention a president of the Human Rights Commission.
The videos of the shows appear here.

UPDATE
ANDREW BOLT, PRESENTER: The great controversy this week was the Abbott Government’s plan to strip citizenship from Australians with dual nationality who the Government believes are involved in terrorism.
TONY ABBOTT, PRIME MINISTER: We think that anyone who raises a gun or a knife to an Australia because of who we are has utterly forfeited any right to be considered one of us.
ANDREW BOLT: Now, the Government wants a Minister to make this decision, not a court. And that has upset Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
MALCOLM TURNBULL, COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER: We have laws which restrain and restrict the actions of Government so that it is bound by the law.
ANDREW BOLT: Then there is the other issue - whether the Government should also strip citizenship from people who only have Australian nationality, which would leave them stateless. Tony Abbott was considering that, but then Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop hit the roof. Joining me is Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. Thanks for your time.

PETER DUTTON, IMMIGRATION MINISTER: Well, good morning Andrew.

ANDREW BOLT:  We’ve already got a law that lets you strip citizenship from people fighting for hostile armies. So, why is it so shocking to strip it from people fighting against us for terrorist armies?
PETER DUTTON:  Well, of course, it’s only a modernisation of what’s in the law already in Section 35 of the Citizenship Act. If somebody takes up arms against our country, a country against whom Australia is at war with - I mean, already, the minister has the ability, the Government has the ability, to take that citizenship away. This is a modernisation because people who are going off to fight in the name of ISIL, if they’re going off to do terrorist attacks or, worse still, if they’re wanting to come back to Australia or launch a terrorist attack here on our own soil, we need to be realistic about that threat and the proposal the Government’s put forward, Andrew, I think is reasonable, and it’s the way in which it’s worked in the United Kingdom since 2006. And I think we’ve got a well-established legal principle in the UK that’s been tested by the courts.  We’re not going to render anybody stateless and it’s a decision that’s judicially reviewable here in our own country.

ANDREW BOLT:  Yeah, I don’t understand what the problem is with making people stateless. I mean, they joined Islamic State. Good luck to them. Why should I care if they no longer have, you know, any citizenship from here? Why should I-what’s the problem?

PETER DUTTON:  Well, we’ve signed a convention saying that we won’t render somebody stateless, so, we abide by that principle. And similarly for the UK, they abide by the same principle. Now, for us-

ANDREW BOLT: -No, they render people stateless, too. They did that with one particular guy, a Vietnamese-born citizen, who gave up his Vietnamese nationality, joined al-Qae-… joined Islamic State. He lost his citizenship.

PETER DUTTON:  They-they have, in the UK, a different arrangement in terms of the, the convention. So, they put a caveat on the convention when they signed it. Australia didn’t. That was in the ‘70s.

ANDREW BOLT:  What an idiot we are.

PETER DUTTON:  So, we-we live under that arrangement. And as ASIO said, they’ve got 400 high-priority investigations into terrorism at the moment. They have 110 people or so fighting in Syria. We have 150 people we can identify on our shores now who are supporting those in Syria, who are fund-raising, who are training, who are involving themselves in preparations otherwise. So, I think people realise now that this is a significant threat. It is the most significant nationality security threat that we face. And the Government is determined to deal with it as best we can. And I think it’s quite odd, actually, that Bill Shorten called this a dog whistle and then 24 hours later turned around and said, “No, no. I strongly support it. Should be praised for it.” And I think people want from their Prime Minister, and the alternative prime minister, a strong approach to these measures because in the end we want to keep our people as safe as we possibly can.

ANDREW BOLT:  Can I go quickly through some of the questions about how it would work - why would a minister make the decision and not a court?

PETER DUTTON:  Well, because we need ministerial discretion around some of the particular cases. So, where the 17-year-old Australian goes across and is involved in beheadings and strapping vests on to other young kids, who then go off and do suicide, bombings – so, that person may present a very different case than the 17-year-old who went across, got cold feet at the airport, and decided to come back home. If we had a black letter operation of the law and there was no discretion, I think we would get anomalies, and that’s been experience in the UK.

ANDREW BOLT:  No, no. But the courts… but the courts also go that way, Peter. Courts also don’t necessarily go through black-letter law. They would also take these things into account. Why not a court?

PETER DUTTON:  Well, we’re not trying to impose this as a criminal sanction, Andrew. We’re saying that if people are able to be prosecuted under the criminal law, they should be, and they should face jail if they’re involved in these sort of activities. But Australian citizenship is an enormous privilege. We do live in the greatest country in the world and we do believe that it comes with responsibilities.

ANDREW BOLT:  No, no, I got all that. I’m just wondering why a minister makes this decision, not a court.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'Today’s Bolt Report, June 7'
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Fantasy bidding - Leonard Joel

Andrew Bolt June 07 2015 (5:57am)

If money were no object at the Leonard Joel Fine Art Sale on June 23:
image
Plus the Ken Whisson, the first Jason Benjamin and one other. 
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What did Bill Shorten know about this ripping off of workers?

Andrew Bolt June 07 2015 (5:46am)

Piers Akerman says Bill Shorten has some questions to answer after startling revelations at the royal commission into trade unions:
As the trade union royal commission has heard, the Australian Workers Union’s Victorian branch traded workers’ benefits worth about $6 million in wages and penalty rates which should have flowed to some its lowest-paid members in exchange for ­employer contributions worth $225,000…
Counsel assisting the commission Jeremy Stoljar has ­detailed the 2010 agreement between the giant cleaning contractor Cleanevent under which it provided lists of names of cleaners and paid union fees to the AWU, without their knowledge and ­despite some of them already paying union dues.
The cleaners were then paid about a third of what they would have received under a more modern award…
Cleanevent was in no doubt about the advantage of the sweetheart deal with the union bosses, with its then general manager of operations, writing in a June 25, 2012, email that the benefit to the company ‘‘by not having the EBA and employing labour through the modern award is circa $2 million (per annum)’’…
However, the secret 2010 deal revealed by the commission merely extended the 2006 agreement, with some adjustments, made when Opposition leader Bill Shorten was Victorian and national secretary of the AWU and it was Clause 39 of that original agreement which removed all protected award conditions, including penalty rates.
The 2006 agreement ­covered cleaning workers in the company’s operations throughout Australia and, under the AWU’s rule, any agreement which covers workers in multiple states must be approved by the national secretary.
The secret 2010 deal was handled by Shorten’s factional ally successor at the Victorian branch of the AWU, Cesar Melhem, now the Labor government’s Whip in the Victorian Upper House…
As huge amounts of money passed from Cleanevent to the AWU when the 2010 agreement was reached to extend the original 2006 deal, did money change hands then also?
At the time of the 2010 ­negotiations, Melhem seemed to think that Shorten was sufficiently clued-in on the nuts and bolts of the secret arrangements to be able to offer Cleanevent’s senior management “a special invitation to attend a small, intimate luncheon” with him, or was the secret deal to be kept hidden from the star attraction?
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 
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Greens kill the reef

Andrew Bolt June 07 2015 (5:31am)

Global warming alarmists have succeeded in spreading a lie about the Great Barrier Reef:
Col McKenzie, executive officer of the association of the marine park tourism operators, told The Australian that many visitors thought the reef was “dead”.
“Our brand has copped a hiding over the last few years and to a large extent unjustifiably. We have seen a big decrease in the amount of pre-booked and long-term bookings coming out of Europe and America. You talk to those people and they think the reef is dead and, if not, it is so close to being dead that it is simply not worth coming to see. That simply could not be further from the truth,” Mr McKenzie said.
“The green conservation movement ... has caned the reputation of the tourism industry.”
No wonder a key to the Abbott Government’s lobbying to keep the Reef off UNESCO’s in-danger list has been to simply get journalists to see for themselves that it’s still there:

The federal government underlined the importance of keeping the reef off the UNESCO “in danger” list after it was revealed it spent $100,000 lobbying almost all of the World Heritage Committee to convince them the reef was not in danger. It also spent $88,000 on a junket for international journalists as part of a wider lobbying campaign.
Once again we must ask: if man-made global warming is so obvious, why all these lies and exaggerations?
(Thanks to reader TdeF.) 
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St Gillard doesn’t sell popcorn

Andrew Bolt June 07 2015 (5:11am)

A gap between the artistic community and the audience is exposed when the topic is Julia Gillard:
...such is the polarising place the first female PM still holds in current history that a proposed telemovie about her life has been rejected by every local network, cable broadcaster and digital streaming service.
Despite boasting the signing of Hollywood favourite Rachel Griffiths, who was set to play the one-time Labor leader, the project’s writer and executive producer Richard Keddie has confirmed he’s now making the story for the big screen after being knocked back by all local TV channels.
I suspect public money will be involved in the making of what will be a sympathetic movie of Gillard the Victim that few will watch.
(Thanks to readers Peter of Bellevue Hill and DS.) 
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This video will touch your heart for sure. The message is so powerful that it will change many hearts as well. Also, It...
Posted by The Logical Indian on Thursday, 14 May 2015

It isn't the words. Sometimes it is a gesture.
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=== Posts from last year ===

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Tim Blair – Saturday, June 07, 2014 (3:38pm)

A British D-Day veteran invades Normandy one more time: 
Bernard Jordan, 89, was told by staff at his Hove care home that he would not be able to travel to France for the ceremony because they could not organise transport for him.
However, the Royal Navy veteran refused to take no for an answer. Showing all the determination that got him through the Normandy invasion, he pinned his medals to his chest, grabbed his raincoat and caught a coach to France. 
Well done, sir.
(Via Brat)
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WHEN BOB BROWN LOVED COAL

Tim Blair – Saturday, June 07, 2014 (3:46pm)

A reminder of the former Greens leader’s fondness for coal-fired evil:



(Via Melissa)
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INDEPENDENT AUSTRALIA

Tim Blair – Saturday, June 07, 2014 (4:11pm)

Lefties rejoiced when their favourite ex-Liberal urged a split with the US: 
Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser has renewed his call for Australia to cut its close ties with the United States … 
One assumes Fraser and his fellow anti-Americans will be delighted by this, then: 
Australia risks seriously damaging its international reputation and being isolated in the global debate on climate change unless it rethinks its inaction on greenhouse gases, international experts have warned.
And a top adviser to the Obama administration on climate change said Australia could jeopardise its relationship with the United States if the Abbott government fails to fall into line on climate policy. 
Your call, US haters. Should Australia stand proud and defiant, or should Australia slavishly follow America? 
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THE RIGHT DECISION FOR OUR FUTURE

Tim Blair – Saturday, June 07, 2014 (4:52pm)

When it comes to Australia’s precious environment, we must always ask the important questions:
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Bolt report tomorrow

Andrew Bolt June 07 2014 (12:07pm)

On Channel 10 at 10am and 4pm.
Clive Palmer: the most dangerous man in Parliament.
My guest:  Senator-elect David Leyenhjelm, the man who could help Tony Abbott break the Palmer grip.
The panel: former Labor advisor Cassandra Wilkinson and former Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger. Plus a message to Malcolm Turnbull.
On NewsWatch: Hedley Thomas on how Palmer was spun - and could be unspun. And the AWU slush fund scandal becomes a story the media cannot ignore.
Plus Barack Obama’s amazing surrender.
The videos of the shows appear here.
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The dog that didn’t bark

Andrew Bolt June 07 2014 (10:00am)

Chris Kenny notes a curious public silence from ABC staffers on the ABC’s sliming of him as a “dog-f...er”:
During the public debate that developed after I launched legal action over the dog skit there were two noteworthy responses from ABC staff. 
First, it was revealing that only two on-air staff went public with criticism of the Chaser boys’ skit or support for me.
The rest were either united in a groupthink belief that the skit was acceptable, or they believe ABC critics invite such a depiction, or they are cowed into holding the company line. And I don’t know which would be worst. Second, and perhaps more ­illuminating, the private messages I received from senior on-air and managerial staffers were extremely critical of the Chaser boys and supportive of me, encouraging strength to my arm.
The ABC is too big and biased for a healthy democracy. 
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Collier: now for the AWU to be exposed. UPDATE: the witness list

Andrew Bolt June 07 2014 (9:00am)

Big call from former union official Grace Collier:
NEXT week, the tide could turn for Tony Abbott. The royal commission into unions kicks off in earnest… 
Explosive testimony about the Australian Workers Union will be heard… These stories will go through the Labor Party like a bowling ball. Further, the Australian community will finally see the AWU for what it really is, the ­entity regarded by those in the know as the most corrupt union in Australia…
The AWU is not so much a union; it is more a business that uses the legal structure of a union to fund its core activity, which is putting people it can control into parliament. The AWU is the union ­employers clamour to deal with and they will pay for the privilege. In return, the AWU sells ­itself to employers, doing deals that leave workers worse off.
The AWU’s brand is this: it trades on simply not being the CFMEU… The truth is this: industrial peace is paid for when a corrupt employer pays a wad of cash to a union official from a weak union for his presence. 
I certainly have no greater insight into the AWU than Collier, but I seriously doubt Bill Shorten is so stupid or immoral as to have himself been corrupt or knowingly connived at corruption. He may be singed by the inquiry but I would not bank on him being destroyed by it. That said, Collier follows these things closer than do I.
This call from Collier, though, seems right, even if Sinodinos is as decent a man as many tell me:
Thirteen days ago, Joe Hockey said Arthur Sinodinos would return to the frontbench. If this happens, Abbott will destroy much of the political advantage the royal commission will bring… 
Sinodinos was a cloak of respectability [at Australian Water Holdings who] a bunch of grubs used to disguise their activity. Sinodinos heard nothing, saw nothing and said nothing. Either he is a blithering idiot, or he sold his presence for a fee. If he is an idiot he should not be reinstated...
UPDATE
But to back up Collier, the witness list issued by the royal commission into union corruption contains some serious names, and go straight to allegations involving Julia Gillard:

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Ian Cambridge used to be a joint national secretary of the AWU:
Ian Cambridge, a former Australian Workers Union national secretary and a current Fair Work commissioner, told The Australian it was vitally important for witnesses to help an escalating investigation [into the AWU slush fund scandal] by detectives from Victoria Police’s fraud and extortion squad. 
Mr Cambridge named his former AWU boss, federal president Bill Ludwig, among the people who should help police investigating the fraud allegedly committed in the 1990s by former union official Bruce Wilson [then boyfriend of Julia Gillard].
“I want it put on the record that I will fully co-operate with police investigations and I will provide police with all the information that I have,” Mr Cambridge said yesterday in Sydney…
In the mid-1990s, Mr Ludwig wanted Mr Wilson, then an AWU official in Victoria, prosecuted for the alleged fraud involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr Wilson, who at the time was Ms Gillard’s boyfriend and client at the law firm Slater & Gordon, has denied wrongdoing. Mr Cambridge publicly urged a royal commission into the corruption in 1995 and asked the then federal industrial relations minister, Laurie Brereton, to set up a far-reaching public inquiry. Mr Cambridge said yesterday he still stood by “what I said at the time”.
Wayne Hem is a former AWU official:
A UNION employee who was concerned about wrongdoing told the national head of the Australian Workers Union in June 1996 that he deposited about $5000 cash into Julia Gillard’s bank account at the request of her then boyfriend Bruce Wilson. 

The disclosure by Wayne Hem forms part of a contemporaneous and confidential 150-plus-page diary that was kept by the then AWU joint national secretary, Ian Cambridge, now a Fair Work Australia commissioner.
Athol James is a woodworker who Gillard told Slater & Gorden she’d hired herself to work on her renovations:
JG:  ...  I originally got glasswork and paving work done; that was because the way in which the glasswork and the paving were done at that time was causing water to go into the foundations. I contracted with a glassworker/ woodworker person called Athol James, who I found in the local newspaper, and contracted with a paving place that I got from the local newspaper after getting, I got three quotes and then picked the lowest one of them, so that got done first. 
I then, I then got the floors done and I got Athol back to do that, so the front of the house, the old part was the original baltic pine floorboards…
PG: Right, and I take it the inquiry over the weekend may have extended to this work as well, the Athol James work, the glasswork, the paving, the floors and the sanding. JG: Yes, I’ve got, I recall, I recall particularly dealing with Athol because he came back more than once and sort of lived at my place for a substantial period of time whilst he did the floors, I don’t specifically recall whether I’ve got a receipt from him, I think I do. I’ve certainly got his number and stuff in my address book from having used him.
Nick Jukes is a former executive at building giant Thiess :
Bruce Wilson’s brother-in-law [Thiess executive Joe Trio] admits he authorised $300,000 in construction company payments that bankrolled the secret slush fund at the heart of the Australian Workers Union fraud scandal. 
But ... Trio ... maintains he knew nothing of the fraud committed under his nose by Mr Wilson and his bagman, fellow AWU official Ralph Blewitt, until told by the West Australian police fraud squad…
When the fraud came to light in 1995, Mr Trio and his boss at Thiess, Nick Jukes, refused direct requests from the West Australian Fraud Squad and the AWU to press charges against Mr Wilson and Mr Blewitt. Mr Trio and Mr Jukes ... told police that they did not wish to press charges because the union had, in fact, provided all the training services that Thiess had paid for.
Bob Kernohan is a former AWU official:
UNION whistleblower Bob Kernohan has spoken publicly of his final conversation with former protege Bill Shorten, in which the now Opposition Leader allegedly told him to “move on” from the AWU slush fund scandal… 
Mr Kernohan - the former Australian Workers Union Victorian president said he was disappointed with the way Mr Shorten had reacted [in the mid-1990s] when details of the slush fund were starting to emerge…
“I called for an open audit of the Victorian branch books, Bill was part of all of that,” Mr Kernohan said. “When I asked Bill to support me, he looked at me and said, ‘Look mate, think of your future ... everybody else has swept this all under the carpet, move on’. ...”
A spokesman for Mr Shorten last night referred The Australian to a 2012 television interview in which Mr Shorten said his recollection of the conversation did not match Mr Kernohan’s. “Mr Shorten denied this claim in 2012 - it is untrue,” the spokesman said.
Olivia Palmer used to work for Julia Gillard at Slater & Gordon:
Olivia Palmer, is a highly regarded former legal secretary who worked with Ms Gillard at Melbourne-based firm Slater & Gordon lawyers when the fraud involving the Australian Workers Union unfolded… 
Ms Palmer - formerly Olivia Brosnahan - also provided evidence to detectives in Melbourne last week about her recollection of the firm’s role in the funding and conveyancing of a $230,000 terrace house in Fitzroy, in the city’s inner northeast. The Kerr Street property was bought with cash from the AWU Workplace Reform Association by Ms Gillard’s then boyfriend, Bruce Wilson, in 1993. Ms Gillard, who had provided legal advice to Mr Wilson to set up the association, attended the auction.
Konstantinos Spyridis is a builder who worked on Julia Gillard’s Abbottsford house and first claimed she’d paid him for it:
[Former Labor Minister Martin] Ferguson said Mr Spyridis, a constituent in the parliamentarian’s Melbourne electorate of Batman until his retirement at the last election, had recently disclosed information about the work he had performed for the AWU and Ms Gillard. There is no allegation of wrongdoing by Mr Spyridis… 
“He did raise with me the question of his previous involvement with the AWU and he indicated to me that he was being upfront about it, having done work on the AWU’s offices and some private work (at Ms Gillard’s house).
“I am not prepared to go into these details now. They are his interpretation of events. I would take seriously my obligations to talk to the inquiry if asked....’’ Ms Gillard has told journalists she paid for the renovations. However, in a tape-recorded 1995 interview during an internal investigation by her then employer, law firm Slater & Gordon, she said she could not rule out whether union money or slush fund money went into the cottage, saying “but I can’t see how it’s happened’’.
NOTE VERY WELL: Gillard says she did nothing wrong. She advised her boyfriend Wilson on setting up the slush fund but says she did not know how he used it. She says she did not benefit from any of his scams and has no memory of receiving $5000 from him. She says she paid for her renovations herself. Wilson says he did not do anything wrong. The royal commission is merely investigating claims and this does not mean those claims are true.
(Thanks to reader Bowlsy.) 
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Another HSU scandal

Andrew Bolt June 07 2014 (8:48am)

Just when you think the poor HSU members couldn’t have been gouged any more:

FORMER Health Services Union boss Kathy Jackson claimed expenses for a deluxe room at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, bar tabs worth thousands of dollars and bottles of Moet, according to union documents. 
HSU documents provided to the royal commission into union corruption show a litany of suspicious expense claims, dating back almost a decade, during Ms Jackson’s reign as a branch secretary.
The commission will investigate whether these transactions occurred and were authorised by the union…
HSU3 branch secretary Craig McGregor - elected in 2012 to clean out the scandal-ridden union - said Ms Jackson needed to answer serious questions about spending while she was at the helm ... adding unapproved expenditures ­included:
MORE than $143,000 of members’ funds moved into the National Health Development Account ­between 2004 and 2010;
THOUSANDS of dollars paid to companies connected to ­employees, including Neranto Consulting, of which, according to company records, Ms Jackson and her former husband were then listed as directors;
A DELUXE room at luxury hotel the Bellagio booked under her name for $986.
THOUSANDS spent on bar tabs at top restaurants like the Ivy, including for bottles of Moet, gin and Veuve Clicquot… Ms Jackson is being chased by the HSU for about $700,000 the union claims was transferred to an external ­unauthorised fund.
Jackson may argue that some of these were private expenses she later reimbursed. But if she did charge them to the union the questions are: were they authorised? And of what possible advantage is it to health workers to send their union boss to Vegas and buy her Moet? 
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Journalists find me guilty of charges trumped up by Turnbull

Andrew Bolt June 07 2014 (8:00am)

Malcolm Turnbull knows that in attacking media figures seen as friends of Tony Abbott he can reckon on the support of many journalists.
And that means journalists eagerly repeat Turnbull’s misrepresentations of the column I wrote that he made the excuse for his look-at-me media blitz this week
What the Sydney Morning Herald’s  James Massola claims I said:
The comments came despite Mr Bolt accusing Mr Turnbull of destabilising Mr Abbott...
What I actually wrote:
I’m sure Turnbull isn’t contemplating any imminent challenge or is fostering destabilisation.
What the Sydney Morning Herald’s  Peter Hartcher claims I said:
[He] claimed the dinner was Turnbull’s way of strutting his stuff as a potential rival to Tony Abbott… It was based on fiction. Turnbull is not preparing a leadership challenge. If he were to attempt one now, he would be crushed.
What I actually wrote:
This is Turnbull, on the far Left of the Liberal Party, charming a constituency that hates Abbott and which would back Turnbull to replace him — even if it still wouldn’t vote Liberal. 
If only Turnbull had spent half this charm fighting for Abbott’s Budget…
That said, a disclaimer: I’m sure Turnbull isn’t contemplating any imminent challenge or is fostering destabilisation. Nor do I think the Liberals are considering any such switch at the moment, especially not to a man whose strategic nous is so lousy that he last led the Liberals into the toilet.
What The Age’s Michael Gordon claims:
The central grievance is Turnbull should have nothing to do with Palmer, but even Bolt now concedes that someone in the Coalition will have to court the Queenslander if the government is to get its budget through the Senate. Who better to start this process than someone Palmer respects and trusts? 
What I actually said from the very start:
Palmer now opposes everything controversial in Abbott’s Budget… And if Abbott or his ministers want to negotiate, forget it. Palmer has banned any talks… 
Yet there he was this week dining in Canberra with Turnbull, his mate, in a very public restaurant on Turnbull’s invitation and without Abbott’s knowledge.
Pure coincidence, Turnbull protested. Yet this sent an unmistakable message to Liberal MPs — replace Abbott with Turnbull as prime minister and maybe Palmer will play ball.
Turnbull underlined it on Channel 9 on Friday. “...we ought to be talking to him, engaging with him...” 
What The Australian’s Peter van Onselen claims:
Abbott’s government is doing what it believes it must to fix the budget, but this also opens it up to populist attacks… Palmer’s ambition to take advantage of this may well dictate the approach his senators take to government legislation, making Senate gridlock the most likely outcome. 
The question then becomes does Abbott tolerate his first-term agenda being thwarted, or does he stand up to Palmer…
Malcolm Turnbull came under deeply unfair attack from conservative commentators Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones… Bolt and Jones did a significant disservice to the PM by lashing out at Turnbull, creating leadership tensions when none existed, distracting from the budget sales pitch. Abbott is unpopular, the Liberals’ vote is depressed, and Turnbull has a popularity among the commentariat (not the conservative commentariat, of course). These are facts, but Turnbull’s colleagues aren’t considering him for a return to the leadership, and with the Liberal Party having morphed into a conservative party, they are never likely to.
What I actually wrote (and, Peter, I have no duty to help the government’s sales pitch):
Palmer has the power to cripple the Abbott Government and destroy Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Turnbull’s rival… Abbott now faces a ghastly dilemma.  Does he stake everything on making a deal with Palmer, selling his soul as Julia Gillard disastrously did with the Greens?… 
... replace Abbott with Turnbull as prime minister and maybe Palmer will play ball… [But] nor do I think the Liberals are considering any such switch at the moment...
It strikes me that commentators are endorsing the analysis I offered but shooting me on charges trumped up by Turnbull. 
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Conjugating freedom

Andrew Bolt June 07 2014 (7:55am)

Cassandra Wilkinson:
FREEDOM is a bit like one of those pesky irregular verbs. I ­deserve liberty; you deserve a balance of rights and responsibilities; that bloke ought to be locked up. I am a rational autonomous adult; you are subject to external influence; that bloke doesn’t know what’s good for him. 
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Palmer’s meeting over his mine under scrutiny

Andrew Bolt June 07 2014 (7:42am)

Tony Abbott’s strategy of keeping his distance from Clive Palmer may prove to be wiser than yukking it up with the man and calling him a “friend”:
CLIVE Palmer is at risk of being formally investigated by Queensland’s anti-corruption agency, the Crime and Misconduct Commission, as a result of allegations that he tried to use the lure of his political funds to “buy” the state’s ruling political party to advance his coal interests in the Galilee Basin. 

The CMC began studying late yesterday a key Supreme Court document after The Weekend Australian asked why the serious allegations by Premier Campbell Newman and Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney had not been brought to its attention. 
Mr Seeney said yesterday he regretted not alerting the CMC two years ago… “I can see now that we should have reported it to the CMC at the time,’’ he said…
Section 87 of the Queensland Criminal Code states: “Any person who corruptly … offers to give or confer, or to procure or attempt to procure, to, upon, or for, any person employed in the public service, or being the holder of any public office, or to, upon, or for, any other person, any property or benefit of any kind on account of any such act or omission on the part of the person so employed or holding such office is guilty of a crime …”
Mr Palmer, who has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, has previously accused the Newman government and several of its cabinet ministers of corruption....
Mr Palmer launched defamation proceedings against Mr Newman last month after the Premier ... accused Mr Palmer of attempting to buy politicians across Australia.
In a legal document filed in the Queensland Supreme Court on Wednesday in response to the defamation proceedings, Mr Newman provided details of Mr Palmer’s alleged conduct in a key meeting on April 13, 2012…
Mr Palmer allegedly claimed in the meeting that he had prepared his own draft legislation for development of the Galilee Basin’s coal reserves and he wanted Mr Seeney to ensure this framework was adopted, rather than relying on the normal machinery of government, according to the Supreme Court document.
The document says Mr Palmer “explained to Mr Seeney that the proposed legislation would give him exclusive rights to develop ‘Port Palmer’ at Abbot Point and a railway in an exclusive rail corridor between the port and the Galilee Basin”.
Mr Newman’s document also states that when Mr Seeney told the tycoon there were processes to follow, Mr Palmer replied that “he had paid substantial sums to the Liberal National Party to have the LNP elected and that he had a lot more money to support the LNP in the future”. According to the Supreme Court document, Mr Palmer said to Mr Seeney “words to the effect that he had supported individual candidates in the past and liked to support candidates that understood how business works”. 
UPDATE
Palmer reacts:
Clive Palmer has called Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney a “f---ing liar” after being referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission over allegations he tried to convince the Queensland Government to act in a “corrupt” manner.
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“Screen Guide for Americans”: Ayn Rand, Walt Disney, & Ronald Reagan tried to warn America

http://independentfilmnewsandmedia.com/screen-guide-for-americans-ayn-rand-walt-disney-ronald-reagan-tried-to-warn-america/

Conservatives in Hollywood are very difficult to find as most projects that have messages outlined in Ayn Rand’s Screen Guide for Americans will never get the “green light.” Many financial backers in the motion picture industry have an “agenda” driven by political ideology shaped by Cultural Marxism.
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We're in for a helluva' ride, America. Obama just named Susan Rice as his National Security Adviser and nominated Samantha Power to replace Rice as our U.N. ambassador. Samantha Power is married to Cass Sunstein, the very, very strange Obama pick for an early "czar" position who wowed us with his numerous bizarre claims including the wacko belief that animals should have the right to sue in court, that hunting should be banned as genocide, and that pet ownership is akin to “slavery.” But Mrs. Cass Sunstein’s character judgment in choosing her life partner is the least of America's worries. Information about Obama's new picks will be revealed in coming days. Pay attention to who they are; what they stand for; and what their records, associations, and statements reveal about them and their intentions. Especially consider Obama's chosen ones as evidence of his skewed thinking as he "fundamentally transforms" our great nation.

Here's just a taste, as summarized by The Daily Caller:

"In 2002, President Barack Obama’s new nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, proposed imposing a peace deal on Israelis and Palestinians militarily, even if such a policy alienated wealthy pro-Israel American Jews. 'I actually think in the Palestine-Israeli situation there is an abundance of information, and what we don’t need is some kind of early warning mechanism there,' Power said in an interview. 'What we need is a willingness to actually put something on the line in sort of helping the situation. And putting something on the line might mean alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import,' she added laughing, clearly referring to American Jews and suggesting they were a great obstacle to moving toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”

"Isn't that lovely. Not only is she condescending toward American Jews, but her analysis also happens to be utterly wrong. The failure to achieve peace in the Middle East is not because wealthy American Jews have somehow manipulated America's leaders into thwarting peace, but rather because Palestinian leaders have consistently rejected generous Israeli peace offers for a state of their own. In fact, the wealthy American Jews that Power haughtily dismisses in the interview as obstacles to peace are very often staunch advocates of a two state solution. On another note, Power also once compared actions abroad to those of Nazi Germany. As the Washington Examiner's Philip Klein wryly noted on Twitter, 'Samantha Power is the UN Ambassador, who is supposed to represent US interests at the UN?'"

http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/06/thedc-morning-samantha-power-is-unsuited-for-the-job/

And these articles by TheBlaze, Breitbart.com, and Townhall should help wake up Obama supporters who naively and blindly (despite failure after failure and scandal after scandal) continue to give him the benefit of the doubt:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06/05/who-exactly-is-samantha-power-obamas-new-u-n-ambassador-pick-everything-you-need-to-know/

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/06/05/Samantha-Power-Pushed-For-Apology-Tour

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/06/05/a-look-at-obamas-new-un-ambassador-radical-samantha-power-n1613587

Nah, America... I shouldn't have prefaced this post with a warning to hang on because "we're in for a helluva' ride." Sorry. That was crass and inaccurate. I should have just said about Obama's judgment and unchecked power, "America, we are so screwed."

- Sarah Palin
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Windows included Solitaire in Windows to teach people how to drag and drop.
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Peace by Phillip Jensen
Phillip has posted the fact that "Most murders are committed by family members in the same household."
I would have preferred it for you to address the cultural asset of our faith, rather than the faux pillar of atheism that islamo fascism is faith. The lives of those who commit atrocities, when the public becomes privy to them, is of extreme secular humanism. Osama Bin Laden's compound had substantial amounts of porn, drugs and alcohol. These people are not living faithful lives, and to lift their actions to that status is a mistake and a straw dog, imho. But, those of faith who resist such evil .. some have died, some wounded, some lucky to escape, they have been blessed. Their faith speaks. In the fight between the IRA and UDL, God is not part. But his love, his healing, his hope .. shines clearly in those who resisted the murderous druggies. Embrace faith. Serve God and resist the devil. If you fight the devil you might end up merely dancing his tune. But if you resist him, you can be assured that the Lord has won. Our cultural asset is God. - ed
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June 7: Sette Giugno in Malta; Journalist Day in Argentina
Graceland
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“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Behold, I am vile."
Job 40:4
One cheering word, poor lost sinner, for thee! You think you must not come to God because you are vile. Now, there is not a saint living on earth but has been made to feel that he is vile. If Job, and Isaiah, and Paul were all obliged to say "I am vile," oh, poor sinner, wilt thou be ashamed to join in the same confession? If divine grace does not eradicate all sin from the believer, how dost thou hope to do it thyself? and if God loves his people while they are yet vile, dost thou think thy vileness will prevent his loving thee? Believe on Jesus, thou outcast of the world's society! Jesus calls thee, and such as thou art.
"Not the righteous, not the righteous;
Sinners, Jesus came to call."
Even now say, "Thou hast died for sinners; I am a sinner, Lord Jesus, sprinkle thy blood on me;" if thou wilt confess thy sin thou shalt find pardon. If, now, with all thy heart, thou wilt say, "I am vile, wash me," thou shalt be washed now. If the Holy Spirit shall enable thee from thy heart to cry
"Just as I am, without one plea
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidd'st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!"
thou shalt rise from reading this morning's portion with all thy sins pardoned; and though thou didst wake this morning with every sin that man hath ever committed on thy head, thou shalt rest tonight accepted in the Beloved; though once degraded with the rags of sin, thou shalt be adorned with a robe of righteousness, and appear white as the angels are. For "now," mark it, "Now is the accepted time." If thou "believest on him who justifieth the ungodly thou art saved." Oh! may the Holy Spirit give thee saving faith in him who receives the vilest.

Evening

"Are they Israelites? so am I."
2 Corinthians 11:22
We have here a personal claim, and one that needs proof. The apostle knew that his claim was indisputable, but there are many persons who have no right to the title who yet claim to belong to the Israel of God. If we are with confidence declaring, "So am I also an Israelite," let us only say it after having searched our heart as in the presence of God. But if we can give proof that we are following Jesus, if we can from the heart say, "I trust him wholly, trust him only, trust him simply, trust him now, and trust him ever," then the position which the saints of God hold belongs to us--all their enjoyments are our possessions; we may be the very least in Israel, "less than the least of all saints," yet since the mercies of God belong to the saints as saints, and not as advanced saints, or well-taught saints, we may put in our plea, and say, "Are they Israelites? so am I; therefore the promises are mine, grace is mine, glory will be mine." The claim, rightfully made, is one which will yield untold comfort. When God's people are rejoicing that they are his, what a happiness if they can say, "So am I !" When they speak of being pardoned, and justified, and accepted in the Beloved, how joyful to respond, "Through the grace of God, so am I." But this claim not only has its enjoyments and privileges, but also its conditions and duties. We must share with God's people in cloud as well as in sunshine. When we hear them spoken of with contempt and ridicule for being Christians, we must come boldly forward and say, "So am I." When we see them working for Christ, giving their time, their talent, their whole heart to Jesus, we must be able to say, "So do I." O let us prove our gratitude by our devotion, and live as those who, having claimed a privilege, are willing to take the responsibility connected with it.
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Hagar

The Woman Who Lost a Bottle But Found a Well
Scripture References - Genesis 16; 21:9-17; 25:12; Galatians 4:24, 25
Name Meaning - Hagar, an Egyptian name, closely resembles the root of the Arabic, flight, familiar to us as the history of Mohammed, descendant of Hagar. It may be taken as an adaptation of her original name to the principal circumstances of her life, and understood to mean, fugitive orimmigrant, which Hagar became.
Family Connections - While the Bible gives us no record of Hagar's genealogy, legend has supplied her pedigree, as being the daughter of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, the same who coveted the possession of Sarah in vain. This legendary source affirms that the Egyptian princess became so attached to Sarah that she told her royal father that she would accompany her when she returned to Abraham.
"What!" cried the king, "thou wilt be no more than a handmaid to her!"
"Better to be a handmaid in the tents of Abraham than a princess in this palace," the daughter replied.
Hagar would not stay behind and join again in the idolatrous rites of her home, so when Abraham and Sarah moved on, she went with them. Sarah was an active missionary of the faith of Jehovah among women, as Abraham was among men, and so Hagar became a convert to the worship of the true God. While this is a pleasing tradition, the likelihood is that Hagar was an Egyptian girl-slave whom Sarah secured for her household while she and Abraham were in Egypt. Hagar bore Abraham his first son, Ishmael, and thus became the foundress of the Ishmaelites and Arab peoples.
If Hagar was a slave girl then her mistress was legally entitled to do as she pleased with her. Knowing that it was humanly impossible for her to have children by Abraham, she gave her handmaid to him, that she might have children by her - a custom consistent with moral standards prevailing at that time. Abraham reminded Sarah that her word was law to her own slave and that he had no choice in the matter. Under Sumero-Babylonian law there is this clause in Hammurabi's Code -
If she has given a maid to her husband and she has borne children and afterwards that maid has made herself equal with her mistress, because she has borne children her mistress shall not sell her for money, she shall reduce her to bondage and count her among the female slaves.
But Sarah ran ahead of God in giving a Gentile idolater from a pagan country to Abraham to bear the promised seed. Poor Hagar - she became the helpless victim of Sarah's scheming! The whole affair was a sin before God - a sin all three were guilty of. Sarah distrusted God when she resorted to such a wicked expedient. As a child of faith, did she not know that God was able to raise up children out of stones unto Abraham? As for this "friend of God," in spite of current custom, he should have stoutly refused Sarah's scheme and obeyed the law of God, and believed the divine promise made to him. The attempt to secure the Child of Promise by Hagar was the result of a lack of faith in God's omnipotence. Then, Hagar, although the least free and the least responsible, should not have yielded to such an unholy alliance merely to gratify any ambition she may have had. What sorrow, anguish and loneliness Hagar reaped for her compliance in such a plan to forestall God's promise of an heir for Abraham (Genesis 15:4, 5).
Although the chapter recording the unworthy method of trying to fulfill a divine purpose is only a short one, yet like the shortest verse in the Bible, it is saturated with tears. Genesis 16 is made up of only sixteen verses and with such we have these three features -
The Folly of Sarah
We have already seen that Sarah's folly had its root in unbelief. She was impatient, and wanted the promised child without delay. Her unbelief became contagious for "Abraham hearkened unto her voice." The pious phrases she uttered were worthless. "The Lord judge" (16:5). She should have appealed for judgment to the Lord before she took the wrong step. She was a godly woman (Hebrews 11:11 ), but fell into the meshes of unbelief. With distrust there came dishonor. She confessed "my wrong," but Hagar was the real sufferer, and Sarah's sin bore bitter fruit, for when she gave Hagar to Abraham, she originated a rivalry which has run in the keenest animosity through the ages, and which oceans of blood have not quenched.
The Flight of Hagar
Strife quickly followed the human arrangement which Sarah had made. Having conceived by Abraham, Hagar chides the childless Sarah, and the jealousy begotten between these two women was transplanted to their maternal hearts and penetrated even their children. Ishmael came to tease and vex Isaac, and discord arose between Abraham and Sarah. The ill treatment accorded to Hagar by Sarah was not only cruel, but also irrational. Had Sarah not instigated the wrongdoing that was the cause of her jealousy? Therefore it was unreasonable for her to lay the blame upon another. As things were, mistress and maid could scarcely dwell together, so Hagar fled. Better a flight than a fight! Being compelled to flee was a thing forbidden to a bondwoman.
Far from home in "the way to Shur," the appearance of a calm and gracious angelic messenger from God must have been a relief to the poor, pregnant fugitive. As Hagar traveled further from her jealous mistress the Lord was at her heels, and said to her in her distress, "Return to thy mistress." Hagar had left her position as handmaid without notice and without permission, so she must return. Sarah had wronged her, but she was not permitted to retaliate by doing wrong herself. Two wrongs do not make a right. It was no easy matter for Hagar to return and submit herself to Sarah, but it was the only right course, and a divine revelation helped her to pursue it.
At that renowned well Hagar met God, and in awe cried, "Thou God seest me." He had given her counsel, and although not pleasing to flesh and blood, Hagar took it and went back to Sarah. Had she persisted in remaining in the desert she might have died in it. God gave her a promise that although the wrongdoing of her master and mistress had led her into a false position, yet His favor would rest upon her and she would have a son who would be the progenitor of a great multitude. The soothing promise of God was a balm for the wounded spirit of the poor and lowly handmaid. Though Ishmael, the name God gave Hagar for her coming son, might not be the Child of Promise as Isaac would be, yet he would be the child of a promise made to her.
Is it to be wondered at that she called the well where God spoke to her and revealed the future of her son "Beth-lahairoi," meaning, "The well of Him that liveth and seeth me"? It was there that the veil fell from Hagar's eyes, and she received the assurance that she was the object of God's special care. Dr. Alexander Whyte extols Hagar for her submission to God in this glowing fashion -
Hagar, by reason of the extremity of her sorrow; by reason of the utter desolateness and brokenness of her heart; and by reason of the sovereign grace and abounding mercy of God - Hagar, I say, stands out before us in the very foremost rank of faith, and trust, and experience, and assurance. Hagar, to me, stands out among God's very electest saints. Hagar has only one or two who can stand beside her in her discovery of God, in her nearness to God, in her face-to-face fellowship with God, in the instructiveness, in the comfort, and in the hopefulness of her so close communion with God.... The best and the most blessed of them all was not more or better blessed than was Hagar the polluted outcast on her weeping way to Shur. The pure in heart shall see God.
The Forecast Concerning Ishmael
In the strength of the revelation of God received in the desert, Hagar returned to her mistress and bore Abraham his child. Abraham was 86 years of age (Genesis 16:16) and then, when he reached his 100th year (Genesis 21:5 ), Sarah bore him Isaac. This means that for over 14 years Hagar and her son lived in the patriarch's home with all the tension and feeling there must have been as Sarah daily looked upon the son of her husband by another woman. After Isaac was born Hagar and Ishmael began to manifest their jealousy, and when Ishmael began to maltreat Isaac, Sarah could stand it no longer, and compelled Abraham to cast out the bondwoman and her child. As Bible names often set forth some feature of the character or history of those who bore them, so Ishmael meaning "God shall hear," was fully understood by Hagar when in the wilderness ( Genesis 21:9-21) God heard the moaning of her broken heart.
How painters and poets have seized upon this pathetic incident of the poor woman and her boy in the wilderness, thirst-ridden and ready to die! Take the painting called Hagar in the Wilderness - cold is the heart that can gaze upon it without deep emotion. The boy is pictured on his back, dying with thirst, while his poor but beautiful mother in an agonizing prayer, "lifted up her voice and wept," saying, "Let me not see the death of the child." Could anything be more poignant? True, Hagar had "despised Sarah" and "mocked Isaac," but surely she had not deserved such cruel treatment as this - death from hunger and thirst in a barren land!
But how Hagar's extremity became God's opportunity. When the last drop of water had gone, and Hagar tenderly places her almost dead boy under the shrubs, God heard the dying cry of the lad, and also the wail of Hagar's broken heart, for out of heaven came His voice, "What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not." Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water, and both she and her boy were saved from death. Abraham had given Hagar a bottle, but it was soon empty. God gave her a well, and the lad drank and God was with him, and he grew and became an archer in the wilderness. The last glimpse we have of Hagar is of her securing a wife for her son, out of the land of Egypt, her own land ( Genesis 21:21) - the land of idols and worldliness. Untaught by the piety and instruction of Abraham, and by God's mercy to herself, Hagar failed Him in the choice of such a wife for the boy whom He had blessed.
The practical lessons to be learned from the history of Hagar have been fittingly summarized by Dr. James Crichton in his article on Hagar in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia -
The life and experience of Hagar teach, among other truths, the temptations incident to a new position; the foolishness of hasty action in times of trial and difficulty; the care exercised over the lonely by the all-seeing God; the Divine purpose in the life of everyone, however obscure and friendless; how God works out His gracious purposes by seemingly harsh methods; and the strength, comfort and encouragement that ever accompany the hardest experiences of His children.
It only remains to be said that Paul uses the story of Hagar as an allegory to distinguish law from grace (Galatians 4:21-31 ). Hagar the bondwoman is contrasted with Sarah the freewoman, and Ishmael "born after the flesh" with Isaac "born through promise"; thence freedom and grace appear as the characteristic qualities of Christianity. Hagar represents the Old Covenant and Sarah the New Covenant which is superior to the Old with its ordinances. Under grace all within the household of faith live by faith, and Sarah represents "the Jerusalem that is above" - "our mother" (rv), which is the free spiritual city to which all children of the promise even now belong ( Philippians 3:21).
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Alphaeus

[Ălphē'us] - transient, chief or a thousand.
  1. The father of Levi or Matthew the Apostle (Mark 2:14).
  2. The father of James, one of the twelve apostles (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). Sometimes identified as the same person in No. 1 and also as Cleophas.
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Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 25-27, John 16 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: 2 Chronicles 25-27

Amaziah King of Judah
1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly. 3After the kingdom was firmly in his control, he executed the officials who had murdered his father the king. 4 Yet he did not put their children to death, but acted in accordance with what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: "Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children be put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin...."

Today's New Testament reading: John 16

1 "All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things...."
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