Friday, July 24, 2015

Fri Jul 24th Todays News

They say it is a sign of insanity to do something that failed the last time the same way again, hoping it will be different. In 2014, a Scientific Research vessel hoping to measure thinning of Antarctic Ice got trapped in said ice which was much thicker than expected. The ice breaker needed rescuing. In 2015, a similar expedition was diverted to break other ships free of ice. Sadly, the scientists couldn't measure the thinning either time as there was too much ice. Maybe there isn't less ice? 

Schoolboy preaches jihad for ISIL at Sydney school. National security hotline was given an anonymous call of his activity. The student had apparently acted within a school program opposing Islamophobia. One wonders how preaching jihad opposes Islamophobia. It is important for students to hear how jihadism is discredited. But one feels maybe that is not the message schools are delivering. Adults aren't doing it well either. Charlie Hebdo has decided to self censor rather than be used as targets by jihadis, or people with no specific goal acting as lone wolves. If there was less self censoring then the jihadis would not be able to target the isolated group. Instead we have the new lesson that jihadism is effective. There are leftist memes which hate America which are easily spread and which are wrong. It is ok for schools to discuss them, but such memes, in a balanced discussion, are lampooned. One issue school communities debate poorly is the so called Palestinian state. Why should schools promote terrorism to statehood status? 

Alleged sex offender released by immigration after miscommunication. The Korean national was on an expired visa and given a bridging visa, and released. He has been captured again, by police. Maybe now the government knows the number of sex offenders in the public, as 'capture/recapture' is a statistical method for counting.

Bill Shorten backflips two ways. To the right, Shorten says he is willing to consider stopping boats of people smugglers and turning them back. There is collective outrage from many who feel it is more compassionate to drown some of them. To the left, Shorten is promising to outrageously raise the percentage of renewables for energy to fifty percent. That is an environment killing and industry crippling figure which doesn't achieve an environmental end. Naturally the left loves it because it feeds their fantasy. Promised from opposition, it can make their supporters feel good about opposing the government while not harming anyone by voting in someone irresponsible. Until someone irresponsible gets voted in, as happened in 2007. It is worth remembering that Gillard lied in '02 about having a better, more compassionate policy than the Pacific Solution. She implemented her failure and so Australia lost over $12 billion and many drowned. Shorten characterises skepticism of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) as a scare campaign. He calls Carbon Dioxide a cancer on the world. In fact, Carbon Dioxide is plant food, and calling it a cancer is itself a scare. Rudd used to say Mr Howard was lucky to have governed in a time of growth. Although Rudd had higher growth and income from mineral exports than Mr Howard ever had, Rudd had lifted spending which absorbed that. Australia now needs growth to be high to get out of debt. And it isn't happening at the moment. Bill Shorten was booed promising everything to everyone at the ALP conference. But he would struggle to deliver anything to anyone. 

Bolt is still writing about political expenses, because there are reports circulating now that Mr Abbott has said it is important the government does not make poorly founded expense claims, moving forward. Naturally the press are pointing to historical items which were within the rules. Are you now, or have you ever, claimed an expense from an expense account? 

In 1132, Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. 1148, Louis VII of France laid siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade. 1411, Battle of Harlaw, one of the bloodiest battles in Scotland, took place. 1487, Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands went on strike against a ban on foreign beer. 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier planted a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula and took possession of the territory in the name of Francis I of France. 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate and replaced by her 1-year-old son James VI. 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded the trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later became the city of Detroit, Michigan. 1783, the Kingdom of Georgia and the Russian Empire signed the Treaty of Georgievsk.

In 1814, War of 1812: General Phineas Riall advanced toward the Niagara River to halt Jacob Brown's American invaders. 1823, Slavery was abolished in Chile. Also 1823, in Maracaibo, Venezuela the naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo took place, where Admiral José Prudencio Padilla, defeated the Spanish Navy, thus culminating the independence for the Gran Colombia. 1847, after 17 months of travel, Brigham Young led 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City. Celebrations of this event include the Pioneer Day Utah state holiday and the Days of '47 Parade. 1864, American Civil War: Battle of Kernstown: Confederate General Jubal Early defeated Union troops led by General George Crook in an effort to keep them out of the Shenandoah Valley. 1866, Reconstruction: Tennessee became the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.

In 1901, O. Henry was released from prison in Columbus, Ohio after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank. 1910, the Ottoman Empire captured the city of Shkodër, putting down the Albanian Revolt of 1910. 1911, Hiram Bingham III re-discovered Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas". 1915, the passenger ship S.S. Eastland capsized while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes. 1922, the draft of the British Mandate of Palestine was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations; it came into effect on 26 September 1923. 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne, settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, was signed in Switzerland by Greece, Bulgaria and other countries that fought in World War I. 1924, Archeologist Themistoklis Sofoulis became Prime Minister of Greece. 1927, the Menin Gate war memorial was unveiled at Ypres. 1929, the Kellogg–Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy, went into effect (it was first signed in Paris on August 27, 1928 by most leading world powers).

In 1931, a fire at a home for the elderly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania killed 48 people. 1935, the Dust Bowl heat wave reached its peak, sending temperatures to 109°F (43°C) in Chicago, Illinois and 104°F (40°C) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 1937, Alabama dropped rape charges against the so-called "Scottsboro Boys". 1938, first ascent of the Eiger north face. 1943, World War II: Operation Gomorrah began: British and Canadian aeroplanes bombed Hamburg by night, and American planes by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives had killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.

In 1950, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station began operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket. 1959, at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet PremierNikita Khrushchev had a "Kitchen Debate". 1963, the iconic Bluenose II was launched in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The schooner was a major Canadian symbol. 1966, Michael Pelkey made the first BASE jump from El Capitan along with Brian Schubert. Both came out with broken bones. BASE jumping has now been banned from El Cap. 1967, during an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declared to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! ("Long live free Quebec!"). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delighted many Quebecers but angered the Canadian government and many English Canadians. 1969, Apollo program: Apollo 11 splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1972, Bugojno group was caught by Yugoslav security forces. 1974, Watergate scandal: The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they ordered him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor. 1977, end of a four day long Libyan–Egyptian War. 1980, the Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia won the Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the event at Olympic level. 1982, heavy rain caused a mudslide that destroyed a bridge at Nagasaki, Japan, killing 299. 1983, the Black July anti-Tamil riots began in Sri Lanka, killing between 400 and 3,000. Black July is generally regarded as the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Also 1983, George Brett batting for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, had a game-winning home run nullified in the "Pine Tar Incident".

In 1990, Iraqi forces start massing on the Kuwait-Iraq border. 1991, Manmohan Singh presented his budget speech to the Indian Parliament which led to economic liberalisation in India 1998, Russell Eugene Weston, Jr. burst into the United States Capitol and opened fire killing two police officers. He was later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial. 2001, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Tsar of Bulgaria when he was a child, was sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office. Also 2001, Bandaranaike Airport attack was carried out by 14 Tamil Tiger commandos, all died in this attack. They destroyed 11 Aircraft (mostly military) and damaged 15, there were no civilian casualties. This incident slowed down Sri Lankan economy. 2002, Democrat James Traficant was expelled from the United States House of Representatives on a vote of 420–1.
2014
How one grieves is related to how they love. Such was the lesson of the women survivors of Birkenau-Belsen who prayed for their jailers to come to know God as opposed to facing secular justice. So in the wake of the tragedy of MH17, a couple who lost three children and their children's grandparents grieve by affirming that their love is stronger than the evil which claimed those lives. Such love is humbling. It is terrorism which claimed these lives, and it is clothed as an accident. It may well be an accident, but an accident that suits the purposes of terrorists. Ukraine has not been asked to address salient points regarding this. For justice to be done, that must happen. Two more military jets of Ukraine have been shot down since the incident. Clearly no civilian craft should have been cleared to fly through that war zone. It is doubtful that Malaysian airways would have ignored a directive to avoid a war zone. Russia is being blamed for supplying the separatists. Ukraine is responsible for the civilian casualties in their war zone. As far as religion is concerned, there is forgiveness. As far as secular administration is concerned, justice is not being served while Ukraine ducks responsibility. 

A counterpoint to the pain and love and loss being experienced over Mh17 is the issue of an Australian woman in Lebanon who has been arrested for adultery. The mother is in her twenties and separated from her husband. She has flown to Lebanon for a vacation with her intended second husband. Her first husband has called Lebanese authorities and the woman now faces jail for adultery. International law is clear, it is up to local law to sort the matter. The woman's family have disowned her. None of the family seem particularly devout in Islam and so it seems inappropriate that Islam should deal with her .. she is no threat to Islamic couples, neither is she an example. I could be wrong. Perhaps all Islamic relationships are so fragile that if that woman got away with it then Islam would be threatened. She would have had a better holiday had she gone to Israel. Even Gaza would have been cheaper. However, the issue of terrorism is important. Australia must take a stand against it, we cannot tolerate Australans being radicalised and threatening Australians. A case could be made regarding the Australian based husband and family in this case .. inciting religious hatred overseas on an Australian is a low act of bastardry. Maybe these people should be deported lest they become a threat to other locals? 

A fur trapper in New France set up a trading post on this day in 1701. It became Detroit years later. The trapper, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, was influential and successful, and so when the corporation Cadillac was begun in the early twentieth century, they chose the name in tribute. In 1487, Dutch peoples went on strike over the issue of a ban on foreign beer. Five centuries on, little has changed in attitude. In 1567, Mary Queen of Scots abdicated her throne in favour of the future king of England, her son. In 1814, the war of 1812 had advanced so far as to become US troops invading British territory. In 1823, Chile abolished slavery. In 1847, Salt Lake City was settled as some Mormons completed an eighteen month journey. In 1901, the brilliant writer O. Henry was released from prison for embezzling from a bank. In 1911, Machu Picchu was rediscovered. In 1922, draft for British Palestine was accepted by the League of Nations. In 1929, League of Nations renounced war as foreign policy. In 1935, global warming meant Chicago reached 43 degrees centigrade. In 1937, Alabama dropped charges against the Scottsboro Boys. In 1943, Operation Gomorrah began with bombing of Hamburg, killing over 30000 people in the months up to November. In 1959 Nixon and Krushchev had a kitchen debate. in 1969, Apollo 11 splashed down. In 1983, riots in Sri Lanka began the civil war. Also in 1983, the Pine Tar incident meant the Yankees won a game they had lost. In 1990, Saddam Hussein committed a delayed suicide by amassing troops on Kuwait. In 1991, Manmohan Singh gave a budget speech which initialised the liberalisation of the Indian economy. In 2001, the last Tsar of Bulgaria became her elected Prime Minister. In 2001, 14 terrorists damaged an airport in Sri Lanka. In 2002, a Democrat was expelled from congress for corruption. 
Historical perspectives on this day
In 1132, Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. 1148, Louis VII of France laid siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade. 1411, Battle of Harlaw, one of the bloodiest battles in Scotland, took place. 1487, Citizens of Leeuwarden, Netherlands went on strike against a ban on foreign beer. 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier planted a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula and took possession of the territory in the name of Francis I of France. 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate and replaced by her 1-year-old son James VI. 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded the trading post at Fort Pontchartrain, which later became the city of Detroit, Michigan. 1783, the Kingdom of Georgia and the Russian Empire signed the Treaty of Georgievsk.

 In 1814, War of 1812: General Phineas Riall advanced toward the Niagara River to halt Jacob Brown's American invaders. 1823, Slavery was abolished in Chile. Also 1823, in Maracaibo, Venezuela the naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo took place, where Admiral José Prudencio Padilla, defeated the Spanish Navy, thus culminating the independence for the Gran Colombia. 1847, after 17 months of travel, Brigham Young led 148 Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, resulting in the establishment of Salt Lake City. Celebrations of this event include the Pioneer Day Utah state holiday and the Days of '47 Parade. 1864, American Civil War: Battle of Kernstown: Confederate General Jubal Early defeated Union troops led by General George Crook in an effort to keep them out of the Shenandoah Valley. 1866, Reconstruction: Tennessee became the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.

 In 1901, O. Henry was released from prison in Columbus, Ohio after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank. 1910, the Ottoman Empire captured the city of Shkodër, putting down the Albanian Revolt of 1910. 1911, Hiram Bingham III re-discovered Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas". 1915, the passenger ship S.S. Eastland capsized while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes. 1922, the draft of the British Mandate of Palestine was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations; it came into effect on 26 September 1923. 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne, settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, was signed in Switzerland by Greece, Bulgaria and other countries that fought in World War I. 1924, Archeologist Themistoklis Sofoulis became Prime Minister of Greece. 1927, the Menin Gate war memorial was unveiled at Ypres. 1929, the Kellogg–Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy, went into effect (it was first signed in Paris on August 27, 1928 by most leading world powers).

 In 1931, a fire at a home for the elderly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania killed 48 people. 1935, the Dust Bowl heat wave reached its peak, sending temperatures to 109°F (43°C) in Chicago, Illinois and 104°F (40°C) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 1937, Alabama dropped rape charges against the so-called "Scottsboro Boys". 1938, first ascent of the Eiger north face. 1943, World War II: Operation Gomorrah began: British and Canadian aeroplanes bombed Hamburg by night, and American planes by day. By the end of the operation in November, 9,000 tons of explosives had killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.

 In 1950, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station began operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket. 1959, at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet PremierNikita Khrushchev had a "Kitchen Debate". 1963, the iconic Bluenose II was launched in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The schooner was a major Canadian symbol. 1966, Michael Pelkey made the first BASE jump from El Capitan along with Brian Schubert. Both came out with broken bones. BASE jumping has now been banned from El Cap. 1967, during an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declared to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! ("Long live free Quebec!"). The statement, interpreted as support for Quebec independence, delighted many Quebecers but angered the Canadian government and many English Canadians. 1969, Apollo program: Apollo 11 splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

 In 1972, Bugojno group was caught by Yugoslav security forces. 1974, Watergate scandal: The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they ordered him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor. 1977, end of a four day long Libyan–Egyptian War. 1980, the Quietly Confident Quartet of Australia won the Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the Moscow Olympics, the only time the United States has not won the event at Olympic level. 1982, heavy rain caused a mudslide that destroyed a bridge at Nagasaki, Japan, killing 299. 1983, the Black July anti-Tamil riots began in Sri Lanka, killing between 400 and 3,000. Black July is generally regarded as the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Also 1983, George Brett batting for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, had a game-winning home run nullified in the "Pine Tar Incident".

 In 1990, Iraqi forces start massing on the Kuwait-Iraq border. 1991, Manmohan Singh presented his budget speech to the Indian Parliament which led to economic liberalisation in India 1998, Russell Eugene Weston, Jr. burst into the United States Capitol and opened fire killing two police officers. He was later ruled to be incompetent to stand trial. 2001, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Tsar of Bulgaria when he was a child, was sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office. Also 2001, Bandaranaike Airport attack was carried out by 14 Tamil Tiger commandos, all died in this attack. They destroyed 11 Aircraft (mostly military) and damaged 15, there were no civilian casualties. This incident slowed down Sri Lankan economy. 2002, Democrat James Traficant was expelled from the United States House of Representatives on a vote of 420–1.
=== 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.
===
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. 
===
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.
===
Happy birthday and many happy returns Angela Vivian-Bolt, Andy Le, Jessica Nortel. Born on the same day, across the years, along with John Newton (1725), Simón Bolívar (1783), Alexandre Dumas (1802), Robert Graves (1895), Amelia Earhart (1897), Anna Paquin (1982), Natalie Tran (1986) and Bindi Irwin (1998). Pioneer Day in Utah (1847)
1411 – Forces of Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles, and Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, fought at the Battle of Harlaw near Inverurie, Scotland.
1783 – The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and the Russian Empire signed the Treaty of Georgievsk, establishing Georgia as a protectorate of Russia.
1943 – Second World War: RAF Bomber Command began Operation Gomorrah, the strategic bombing of Hamburg, Germany, eventually killing at least 50,000 and leaving over a million others homeless.
1963 – Bluenose II, a replica of a major Canadian symbol, was launched in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
1991 – The government of P. V. Narasimha Rao and his finance minister Manmohan Singh introduced reforms that began the ongoing economic liberalisation in India. That decision in 1991 .. over a billion Indian peoples should celebrate. Cheers
Deaths
A crowd of men surrounds Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon as they hold an impromptu debate.
Khrushchev and Nixon debating
We fought the battle. We have a treaty, by George. Roll over, Beethoven. Dick knew how to build. Much is strange in the Arctic Sea. Let's party. 
Matches
Hatches
Despatches
===
2015
===

Bill’s Rocky Horror shocker

Piers Akerman – Thursday, July 23, 2015 (10:04pm)

BILL Shorten has a Rocky Horror problem. He has taken his political compass from the antics of the mad transvestite star Dr Frank N. Furter and hopes to woo the ALP’s national conference with his version of the Time Warp, with “just a jump to the Left and then a step to the Right”.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'Bill’s Rocky Horror shocker'
===

BILLY BOILS

Tim Blair – Friday, July 24, 2015 (4:12am)

Possibly traumatised by hostile left-wing reaction to his stop-the-boats concession, the Labor leader apparently loses his mind: 
Bill Shorten has challenged Tony Abbott to fight the next election on the issue of climate change, declaring: “I’ve got a three-word slogan for him: Bring it on.” 
Forget three words. Abbott could win that election with just one figure: 1.3 per cent. Bring that on, William. 
Describing climate change as “an economic and environmental cancer”, the Labor leader has vowed to build an emissions trading scheme and not be intimidated by “ridiculous scare campaigns”. 
If he’s proposing an emissions trading scheme, it’s obvious that Shorten himself is intimidated by a ridiculous scare campaign. Incidentally, Bill, cancer kills people. By comparison, climate change hasn’t done a damn thing. In fact, comparing alarmist climate predictions to an often-fatal disease equates to a scare campaign far more insidious than anything ever thrown at Shorten and Labor by conservatives.
===

LIVE FROM THE WORLD’S PODCAST CAPITAL

Tim Blair – Friday, July 24, 2015 (3:51am)

This week’s Hilldebrand/Blair podcast features a sultry intro from a surprise female guest.

image

Subjects under discussion include turning back the boats, Chumbawamba’s payment system, the pronunciation of NASA, Brighton shame, polar bear viability, the Northern Territory and Mick Fanning.
===

KNEES APPEASE

Tim Blair – Friday, July 24, 2015 (3:46am)

Mark Steyn on the left’s selective appreciation of free speech: 
The great thing about living on your knees is how quickly you get used to not noticing anything in front of your eyes. 
(Via the must-read Matthew Hayden.)
===

SHIP OF FOOLS II

Tim Blair – Friday, July 24, 2015 (3:25am)

Last year’s ship of fools featured a bunch of stupid Australian scientists and eco-tourists who became trapped by ice during an Antarctic global warming investigation. And now there’s a sequel: 
A carefully planned 115 day expedition to study the effects of global warming was put on hold Wednesday. The reason? Too much ice.
The CCGS Amundsen, a Medium Arctic icebreaker and Arctic research vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard, was to travel throughout Hudson Bay, a body of water in northeastern Canada, but was rerouted to help ships who were stuck in the icy water.
A Coast Guard officer said the conditions were the “worst he’s seen in 20 years,” reports CBC news. 
(Via Roger B.)
===

Bill Shorten lurches to the Left

Andrew Bolt July 24 2015 (4:17pm)

Labor’s policy platform so far for the next election, as outlined by Bill Shorten and his team today:
- double the number of refugees
- no firm promise to turn back any boats
- a new kind of carbon tax
- lots more wind and solar farms at a vast cost Labor hasn’t yet figured out.
- a republic in a decade.
- constitutional recognition of Aborigines, with real change smuggled in.
Er, is this a campaign platform or a suicide pill?
All symbolism, tribalism and eco-worship. All spend, no earn. 
===

The Bolt Report on Sunday, July 26

Andrew Bolt July 24 2015 (2:50pm)

On Channel 10 on Sunday:
Editorial:  Bill Shorten’s boat con.
My guest: Labor’s agriculture spokesman, Right-wing pragmatist Joel Fitzgibbon, on Labor’s national conference. Has Shorten gone too far Left?
The panel: former Labor national president Warren Mundine and Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger.

NewsWatch: Piers Akerman, Daily Telegraph columnist. We have a list of journalist who should apologise for backing Labor’s deadly boat policy mistake.

So much to talk about: Tony Abbott’s GST plans, the idiot Donald Trump, Labor’s mad global warming promise and much more.
The videos of the shows appear here.
WARNING!!!! Thanks to that damn rugby, we have different times for the morning showing.
Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane: 10.30am, or after the rugby finishes. Adelaide and Perth: normal time.
The 3pm encore will be as usual. 
===

A second ship of fools

Andrew Bolt July 24 2015 (7:22am)

Last year’s laugh:
BAD weather yesterday thwarted a planned helicopter evacuation of 42 scientists, tourists and media trapped aboard a Russian ship in Antarctic sea ice in Commonwealth Bay since Christmas…
Cruise organisers yesterday were attempting to downplay the scientific nature of the voyage following a barrage of negative comments online. Many posts had highlighted the irony of climate change scientists being stuck in the ice…
This year’s:
An expedition to study the effects of global warming was put on hold Wednesday. The reason? Too much ice.">An expedition to study the effects of global warming was put on hold Wednesday. The reason? Too much ice.
The CCGS Amundsen, a Medium Arctic icebreaker and Arctic research vessel operated by the Canadian Coast Guard, was to travel throughout Hudson Bay, a body of water in northeastern Canada, but was rerouted to help ships who were stuck in the icy water.
A Coast Guard officer said the conditions were the “worst he’s seen in 20 years,” reports CBC news.
“Obviously it has a large impact on us,” says Martin Fortier, executive director of ArcticNet, which coordinates research on the vessel....
ArcticNet is a network of scientists who study “the impacts of climate change and modernization in the coastal Canadian Arctic.”
(Thanks to readers fulchrum and Old Fellah.) 
===

No, Shorten’s backflip isn’t to save lives

Andrew Bolt July 24 2015 (7:09am)

Boat people policy

BILL Shorten can’t be trusted — or forgiven — when he says Labor should now support turning back boats of illegal immigrants.
After all, for seven years Labor refused to turn back boats from Indonesia and vilified the Liberals who wanted to.
Moreover, the Opposition Leader hasn’t now changed his mind from shame that 1200 people drowned at sea under Labor’s policies.
He hasn’t changed it from guilt that Labor let 50,000 illegal immigrants land, or wasted $12 billion.

No, there’s just one reason Shorten waited until two years after the Government started its Operation Sovereign Borders before conceding its key tactic has worked and Labor should adopt it.
(Read full article here.) 
===

If growth doesn’t come, we’re cactus

Andrew Bolt July 24 2015 (6:57am)

How about governments restrain their social welfare spending until growth actually does recover like they claim?

The budget will never return to surplus if economic growth ­remains stuck around its current level, with deficits over the next decade at least $170 billion bigger than Treasury’s projections.
Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens’ warning on Wednesday that Australia’s potential growth rate may have fallen permanently would have profound implications for personal income tax and company tax revenues…
The budget assumes growth rises from the current 2.3 per cent to what has always been thought of as its long-term trend rate of 3.25 per cent next year and then rockets ahead to 3.5 per cent for five years to bring down ­unemployment.
The projections have been widely criticised as too optimistic…
The PBO modelling shows what would happen to the budget if productivity and economic growth slowed by 0.5 percentage points. Budget deficits would be $10.3bn bigger by 2019-20 and $33.1bn bigger by 2024-25. Across the decade, deficits would be $142bn bigger.
===

This is not a policy to turn back boats

Andrew Bolt July 24 2015 (6:26am)

It’s a con. Bill Shorten does not really want to turn back boats of illegal immigrants.
He just wants to be able to say he’s not ruling it out.
Proof - Labor immigration spokesman Richard Marles on 2GB yesterday:
BEN FORDHAM: If a boat arrives, you will be turning it back, yeah?
RICHARD MARLES: That is an option - that we unreservedly reserve the right to… We just want to make sure that this can be done safely. We want to make sure about how it works with the relationship with Indonesia. But I get it, Ben.
Only an option? Labor must first be sure it’s safe? And be sure Indonesia isn’t upset? And with many Labor MPs already angry about the whole idea? Oh, and with Marles saying he’ll end the policy of not discussing on-sea operations - a policy that has stopped boat returns from becoming a media circus?
Isn’t going to happen.
UPDATE
Shorten is not just leaving the back door open again. To get through his non-policy he’s opening the front door much wider, too:
Mr Marles and Mr Shorten are working to appease the Left with a package that includes doubling the annual humanit­arian intake of refugees and intro­ducing more transparency on turnbacks to Indonesia.
The Australian understands that doubling the nation’s human­itarian intake, which currently stands at 13,750 places a year, would cost an extra $2.7 billion over the forward estimates.
Then there’s the factor few politicians dare discuss. Let me put it this way: how well have we so far integrated refugees from Lebanon, Somalia, Iran and Afghanistan? So well that you think it’s worth doubling the intake?
UPDATE
I hope Albanese is against Shorten’s backroom process rather than turnbacks, but, either way, it’s ominous for the Opposition Leader:
Labor Left heavyweight Anthony Albanese..., the most pragmatic of the Labor Left faction figures, took aim last night at Mr Shorten’s reversal on Tony Abbott­’s contentious turnbacks policy, announced in an interview on ABC’s 7.30 on Wednesday night.
“I think that it is absolutely critical, critical, that we always remember our need for compassion and to not appeal to the darker side,’’ Mr Albanese said at a candidate function in Melbourne.
Mr Albanese, who lost the leadership race to Mr Shorten after the 2013 election, also voiced “real concerns about the way that yesterday was conduct­ed in terms of the announcement on asylum-seekers”.
Anyone yet heard a peep from Tanya Plibersek? Is she for or against?
Mr Shorten’s leadership would be fatally wounded if he lost but multiple sources said Mr Shorten would prevail. Factional bosses and senior members of Mr Shortens shadow ministry, including those from the Left such as Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek and Senator Kim Carr, were among those negotiating behind the scenes on Thursday, sources said.
UPDATE
No, Bill Shorten’s policy isn’t really to turn back boats.
Laura Tingle:
On boats, the headlines tell us Labor is doing a u turn on boat turnbacks. (In reality, that is not quite what is happening. Shorten is proposing the current platform stay unchanged, with no mention of turnbacks. But if a motion was moved to explicitly ban turnbacks, he would push for that to be voted down). 
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 
===

Why does Labor’s Left want to give terrorists a state?

Andrew Bolt July 24 2015 (6:15am)

Senator Joe Bullock, representing a rational kind of Labor now rarely seen:
As I said in [my maiden] speech, a lifetime of representing working people is not easily set aside, nor should it be…
I did not imagine that at its first national conference since the election of the present Liberal government a few obsessives within the ALP would choose to concentrate instead on the Middle East peace process.
Much less did I imagine that these cranks would seek to undermine the bipartisan commitment to a two-state solution with a reckless, poorly thought-out and frankly foolish motion urging the immediate recognition of a state of Palestine…
The advocates of immediate recognition have never answered five key questions about their position.
First, how can a state exist without agreed borders? ...
Second, given the lack of democracy and democratic institutions — including the protection of minority rights — in the Palestinian areas, how can the rights of the people within those states be safeguarded and guaranteed?
Third, given that Hamas (a registered terrorist organisation) controls Gaza while Fatah controls the West Bank, how would the question of leadership be resolved? ...
Fourth, and perhaps most important, what incentives would exist for the Palestinian leadership to renounce terrorism, cease attacks on Israel and negotiate a settled, comprehensive peace if they are recognised as a state without being required to do any of these things?
Finally, why the focus on Israel and Palestine? The peoples of, say, Kurdistan or Assyria are equally if not more deserving of their own states, and in much better shape on the ground to assume the responsibilities of nationhood. Why do we hear not a peep from the Left and their fellow travellers about these issues — but only about the Palestinians, and only when it involves Israel? 
===

Hockey loves Cairns

Andrew Bolt July 24 2015 (6:10am)

Oh dear:
TREASURER Joe Hockey made 13 taxpayer-funded trips to sleepy Cairns — the town where he owns a farm — while in opposition.
The revelations come just a week after it emerged speaker Bronwyn Bishop had billed taxpayers $5227 for an 80km flight from Geelong to Melbourne in a luxury helicopter to a Liberal Party fundraiser.
Details of Mr Hockey’s taxpayer-funded entitlements show he travelled to Cairns as shadow treasurer 13 times and on another two occasions while in government — for a bill of more than $20,000.
Both of Mr Hockey’s trips to the tropical north when in government were for the critical G20 ­finance minister’s summit and he did not go to the farm.
===
Slow roasted lamb finished with rosemary jus, parsnip vanilla purée & yellow capsicum #roastedovernight #succulent #lovecandeloris
Posted by Candelori's Restaurant & Bar on Thursday, 23 July 2015

===
Posted by David Wolfe on Friday, 24 April 2015

===
This totally explains how our perspective determines what we see as "true." Here's to understanding that what is true...
Posted by Join the Coffee Party Movement on Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Why do they want to silence me with their rules?
===
More Home Decor Design Concepts this time Ceramics featuring my artwork and surface pattern designs #ceramicdesign...
Posted by Katz Designer Textiles on Thursday, 23 July 2015

===
Pass this on if you are grateful to have Pres. Obama in the Oval Office instead of this Republican criminal.Thanks to Being Liberal.
Posted by Occupy Democrats on Sunday, 10 August 2014

If you repeat a lie enough times, you become a practiced liar. These are not facts, but are assertions based on hatred. His sobriety began when he became born again. Bill Clinton never became sober. Obama's reckless peace time spending exceeds Bush's necessary war time spending. The former criminals (so called) do not compare with the current ones. The GFC was the result of Carter/Clinton.
===
Daily Telegraph in full flight today.
Posted by Latika M Bourke on Thursday, 23 July 2015

===
No Sharknados here, but my favorite shot of one of a series of funnel clouds that tried to drop at Canadian Texas.  See the cows bunching?  They knew what was to come in another hour.
Posted by Matt Granz on Thursday, 23 July 2015

===
Posted by Damien Marie Athope on Wednesday, 22 July 2015

===
Posted by Australia.com on Tuesday, 21 July 2015

===
See if you can watch this without laughing, i got tears coming out my eyes..
Posted by KeeptheHeat on Monday, 20 July 2015

===
"What was the happiest moment of your life?""When my daughter was born.""Where is she now?""She was raped and...
Posted by Humans of New York on Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Everyone has hope. God has given it. But it is hard to see sometimes.
===
Posted by James Calore on Thursday, 23 July 2015

===
'Fat Cat Art' by Russian artist Svetlana Petrova: fatcatart.ru (Hintmag.com)
Posted by Hint Fashion Magazine on Wednesday, 25 March 2015

===
Posted by Crossworm on Wednesday, 24 June 2015

===
This quote appeared 113 years ago in Funk & Wagnalls 1902 Homiletic Review, Volume 44. It's a sobering word with warning...
Posted by Church of God on Friday, 3 July 2015

===
Posted by Bass Players United on Sunday, 19 July 2015

===
:-)
Posted by 92 KQRS on Wednesday, 3 September 2014

===
9 grammar lessons you can learn from the mistakes made in Fifty Shades of Grey: http://bit.ly/1Kmy3J9
Posted by Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing on Thursday, 23 July 2015

===
Mr. Obama, it's a damned stupid thing that you just did. And if people are upset about what I just said, I really don't care.
Posted by Allen West on Wednesday, 22 July 2015

===
I have one or two every day. In the morning usually.  X
Posted by Jono Coleman on Thursday, 23 July 2015

===

===

===

===

===

===

===

===

===

=== Posts from last year ===

JOYBAT

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 24, 2014 (5:53pm)

Enjoy the therapeutic benefits of wearing a man’s word: 
Yes! You, too, can look this good and feel so happy with a purchase at the frightbat store! 
image
===

SCHOOL OF ROCKETS

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 24, 2014 (5:03am)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency reports: 
Today, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip. As soon as the rockets were discovered, UNRWA staff were withdrawn from the premises, and so we are unable to confirm the precise number of rockets. 
It’s enough that rockets are stored in schools. This yet again confirms the IDF’s view:

image
===

VODKA, TOMATO JUICE … AND CLAMS

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 24, 2014 (3:41am)

This week’s posts are brought to you by the Bloody Caesar – Canada’s oddball shellfish-inclusive version of a Bloody Mary.

image

Above are the key ingredients: Clamato juice, Alaskan Rock* vodka and various vegetable, citrus and condiment additives. Mix them in any proportions you prefer, but please lean heavily on the Clamato – a zesty combination of tomato juice and, seriously, clam broth.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'VODKA, TOMATO JUICE … AND CLAMS'
===

MATE AGAINST STATE

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 24, 2014 (3:27am)

Our friend Jim Treacher has defeated the US State Department. This is basically like … no, it’s exactly like an Indiana boy taking on one of the largest arms of the entire US government and winning.
Jim may visit Australia later this year on a victory tour. Encourage him to do so.
===

FAME IS THE NEW BLACK

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 24, 2014 (3:07am)

Rapper Kanye West gave a 45-minute toast to himself following his marriage to Kim Kardashian. It included a claim that “celebrities [are] being treated like blacks were in the Sixties, having no rights”, which West – who might just have one or two ego issues – now explains: 
“I said that in the toast. And I had to say this in a position where I, from the art world, am marrying Kim. And how we’re going to fight to raise the respect level for celebrities …” 
Kanye West is worth $120 million, by one estimate. Forget moving to the back of the bus. At current prices, West can buy hundreds of them and ride wherever he likes.
===

IT GREW ON HIM

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 24, 2014 (2:11am)

Taking a brief break from answering fan mail, Sydney Morning Herald columnist Mike Carlton discusses his “air hellair” UK radio accent with a British follower: 
If only you knew how much trouble I get into here in Oz for that Brit accent that grew on me... 
It just grew on him. Kind of like the blond hair that grew on Mike a few years ago.
===

“Interfaith harmony” is as fragile as peace in the Middle East

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (5:48pm)

So much for all this “community harmony” guff. Ethnic conflicts cannot be contained even at the top, where, of course, the (now) most numerous win:
Community Relations Commission chairman Vic Alhadeff..., who is also chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, issued an apology on Thursday for offending Sydney’s Muslim community by defending Israel’s actions in the deadly conflict with Gaza… 
Mr Alhadeff’s controversial remarks were contained in an email to the Jewish community two weeks ago…
The apology came just hours before Mr Baird was due to host an Iftar dinner at NSW Parliament House to mark the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which Mr Alhadeff is attending.
Arab and Muslim groups intend to boycott the event, saying they will not “break bread” and celebrate interfaith harmony while Mr Alhadeff remains head of the commission...

Mr Wakim, a former Victorian Multicultural Affairs Commissioner and founder of the Australian Arabic Council, ... claimed Mr Alhadeff had long been “a mouthpiece for the Israeli government, who many regard as an occupying force...” The Australian National Imams Council, which represents Muslim clerics in every state and territory, has also expressed concern over Mr Alhadeff’s “divisive and one-sided comments [that have] incited disharmony and intolerance.” 
I believe “intolerance” means not pleasing Muslim Australia.
Welcome to our future. 
===

Abbott leads. UPDATE: sends in police

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (5:20pm)

Niki Savva:
Abbott has shown all the empathy and strength people look for in a leader at a time of crisis. 
For some it will come as a revelation, especially to those who have been surprised at how surely he has handled foreign policy, much more surely than domestic. It is no surprise to those who know him well, who have known of his long-term interest in foreign affairs, which seems to be the one area where expert advice reaches him unfiltered.
But the Left do not want to credit a Prime Minister they are determined to loathe:
On Monday, I participated in an Insiders presentation with host Barrie Cassidy at the Noosa long-weekend festival. 
The audience showed its approv­al when Malcolm Farr suggested the US might have reacted more forcefully if it had been a US plane which had been shot down or more Americans had been on board. They applauded Dennis Atkins when he said Putin should be treated like a pariah. More muted was the response to my remarks that Abbott had handled the situation extremely well, and this was an opportunity for people to reappraise his leadership.
Greg Sheridan:
TONY Abbott has performed quite remarkably in response to the tragedy of the senseless killing of the innocent passengers and crew on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. His emphasis so far is quite rightly on the bereaved Australian families — securing the remains of the dead, seeking justice for them and whatever comfort can be provided for their families… 
However, his actions have wider strategic consequences for the country as well… US Republican senator John McCain is singing Abbott’s praises. McCain is still the most influential Republican voice on foreign policy....
He has also become a trenchant critic of what he regards as a lack of leadership and serious purpose in the Obama administration…
But the most interesting thing from the Australian point of view is that Abbott is earning similar rave reviews on both sides of politics in the US. Earlier this week I interviewed the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, Danny Russel. He too was full of praise for Abbott, and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and their response to the tragedy in Ukraine.
Russel is of course a non-partisan public servant, but he is the voice of the Obama administration in Asia.
And McCain and Russel, from their differing points of view, both praise the same things in Abbott’s response — its forthright and clear nature, its measured and effective lobbying of international actors, and its sheer energy.
UPDATE
Good move, but it will require protection by Ukrainian forces on what’s rebel-held territory:
TONY Abbott has pre-deployed 50 Australian Federal Police to London, where they’re waiting to join an international team to go and secure the MH17 crash site. 
Mr Abbott announced his plans for Australian police to secure the crash site after he had a private conversation with Russia’s leader Valdimir Putin again.
===

Hamas wants its people to die

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (9:57am)

 THE Hamas Islamists who run Gaza love dead children. Not just dead Jewish children but Palestinian ones.
And it’s working. Media reports keep asking: why are so many Palestinian children dying as Israel now strikes back at Hamas?
The easy and lazy answer is because Israel is firing missiles and tank rounds at targets in the heavily populated Gaza area.

But there are two more relevant answers.
(Read full article here.)
UPDATE
The way some pro-Palestinian protesters behave even on Melbourne’s streets tell us plenty: 
The woman is brave.
In France, pro-Palestinian thugs attack Israeli soccer players:
These thugs don’t seem to want peace, to judge by their actions and the swords. They just think the wrong side is winning:
image
(Thanks to readers Graham and Tom.) 
===

How warmists use the Press Council to hound sceptics

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (9:33am)

The Press Council today unwittingly demonstrates how it is being used to distort the global warming debate.
It rebukes The Australian for not correcting even more prominently an error it made and later corrected in an article claiming the IPCC had admitted that “over the past 60 years the world has in fact been warming at half the rate claimed in the previous IPCC report in 2007”. 

The Council has concluded that the erroneous claim about the revised warming rate was very serious, given the importance of the issue and of the need for accuracy… Given Professor [David] Karoly’s expertise and the importance of the issue, his letter [published, and pointing out the error] should have triggered a prompt and thorough investigation by the publication.
But what the Press Council does not do, to my knowledge, is correct equally mistaken reports which falsely claim unprecedented warming - false reports which haven’t been corrected as fully, either, as The Australian corrected its own. 
Here’s one example, involving the very same David Karoly so praised by the Press Council, whose warmist activism I’ve noted before:
[The ABC’s] AM: 
TONY EASTLEY: For the first time scientists have provided the most complete climate record of the last millennium and they’ve found that the last five decades years in Australia have been the warmest…
MATTHEW CARNEY: Lead author of the report is Dr Joelle Gergis.
JOELLE GERGIS: Well I think it’s significant for a number of reasons - firstly that it does show that the post-1950 warming is unusual in the Australasian region
The paper’s other lead author was ... David Karoly. And it was Karoly who had to admit to critical bloggers they were right - his paper indeed contained errors, requiring it to be “put on hold”: 
An issue has been identified in the processing of the data used in the study, which may affect the results. While the paper states that “both proxy climate and instrumental data were linearly detrended over the 1921–1990 period”, we discovered on Tuesday 5 June that the records used in the final analysis were not detrended for proxy selection, making this statement incorrect. Although this is an unfortunate data processing issue, it is likely to have implications for the results reported in the study. The journal has been contacted and the publication of the study has been put on hold.
The Journal of Climate now says the paper has not just been “put on hold” but withdrawn: 
Due to errors discovered in this paper during the publication process, it was withdrawn by the authors prior to being published in final form.
Mark Hendrickx last year noted how the ABC didn’t correct the record, other than in on-line amendments:

About this time last year the ABC gave two prominent Australian climate researchers almost carte blanche access to its radio, TV and online networks to spruik a paper they had written that claimed recent temperatures in Australia were the warmest in a 1000 years.
David Karoly and Joelle Gergis scored almost blanket coverage on the ABC’s AM, Radio National’s Breakfast program, Radio Australia, ABC TV news and The Science Show. It was even tweeted by ABC Local Radio and was featured on ABC’s online website. None of these articles featured criticism from independent experts. Gergis and Karoly’s paper was short-lived. Online climate sceptics led by Steve McIntyre of Climate Audit found methodological problems with the work, and the paper was withdrawn from publication, to the embarrassment of the authors. Its withdrawal was covered by News Limited and Fairfax press but not the ABC. To my knowledge no formal correction was broadcast on ABC radio or TV, only a brief editorial comment was posted at the end of ABC online articles.
It seems the Press Council is used by warmists to shut down the debates that sceptics are happy to hold. Sceptics are more inclined to defend free speech, it seems - or maybe they know the Press Council’s politics too well. 
===

Chinese partners accused Clive Palmer of ‘fraud’

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (8:49am)

This is rapidly getting serious for Clive Palmer, now wielding so much political power:
CLIVE Palmer is embroiled in claims of “fraud” and “dishonesty” levelled by his estranged Chinese business partners, who have significantly raised the stakes in their legal row with a powerful document that holds him personally responsible for more than $12 million in missing funds. 
The document, filed yesterday in the Queensland Supreme Court in Brisbane, discloses that Mr Palmer personally signed two cheques — for $10m and $2.167m — that drained the Chin­ese funds from a National Australia Bank account shortly before the federal election last September.
The $10m was funnelled into Cosmo Developments, a company controlled by Mr Palmer, in early August while the $2.167m went to a Brisbane agency, Media Circus Network, which placed much of the costly advertising for the Palmer United Party during the election.
Mr Palmer has repeatedly and strenuously denied wrongdoing and insisted that the funds were his to spend, but he has said he could not recall whether he had signed the cheques…
In the detailed legal document filed yesterday, the subsidiary companies of Citic Pacific, which is owned and controlled by the Chinese government, said ... Mr Palmer’s company had not provided any legitimate explanation for the expenditure, despite it being bound to spend China’s funds only on the costs of running a port at Cape Preston, in Western Australia. The Chinese allege Mr Palmer’s company, Mineralogy, “was not in possession of the port, had not budgeted to provide $10m worth of services to the port … and had no plan to incur any such expenditure”. Nor did it have the need “to incur expenses in relation to the port or for port management services at the port in the sum of $2.167m”. 
===

Mr Putin, hand over the murder weapon

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (8:39am)

 WE’VE finally been given back most of the bodies of the MH17 dead. But why hasn’t Russia produced the murder weapon?
Where is the Buk missile system that almost certainly brought down the Malaysian airliner?
In any murder investigation, the weapon is usually second only to the body in the search for physical evidence.
That the Buk has not been produced proves Russia is actually hiding evidence of a crime — one in which it is deeply implicated.
The Buk is so massive it should be the easiest thing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to find. It’s nearly 10 metres long and four metres high. The killers can’t drop it down a drain or toss it in a dumpster.
Moreover, it is an incredibly lethal and expensive weapon that no army would somehow lose.
(Read the full article here.) 
===

What do the Abbott haters say now about Jacqui “are you well-hung” Lambie?

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (8:32am)

Tony Abbott winks back at the mugging ABC host Jon Faine when a hostile caller says she’s a phone sex worker hurt by his budget.
PUP Senator Jackie Lambie asks a caller on radio if he’s “well hung”, because that’s what she looks for in a man.
Now compare:
Disaster! Jane Caro, Crikey, May 28: 

THE budget is not necessarily a disaster for Abbott — but I would argue that his winking while on radio is.
Sympathy! ABC1’s The Drum, Tuesday: 
JANE Caro: Jacqui … speaks absolutely fluent average Australian … It’s also sad, in a way, because it indicates what she’s really been missing, poor woman.
And what will the ever-sanctimonious Sarah Hanson-Young belatedly say of Lambie to match what she said of AbbottAbbottAbbott:
Doorstop, May 21: 

SARAH Hanson-Young: What a creep. What a total creep.
Such hypocrites. Yet more evidence that anti-sexism is just a weapon for partisan political advantage. 
===

A book Hockey should only have helped once he’d actually got a Budget through the Senate

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (8:15am)

I simply cannot understand why Treasurer Joe Hockey has allowed himself this damaging indulgence - other than to announce his leadership ambitions:
His launch this morning of the authorised biography — Hockey: Not Your Average Joe — only confirms colleagues’ concerns and prejudices, reinforces the impression he is not concentrating on selling his first budget and gifts Labor more material to beat an already beaten government. 
That Hockey wanted an even tougher budget with even more pain not only hurts him and the “team” in the eyes of his cabinet colleagues, it is a clear inference that Tony Abbott was not up to the task. That Hockey will never again trust Malcolm Turnbull, in the words of his wife, Melissa Babbage, feeds division and rancour.
I doubt he’s impressed a single one of his colleagues, whose votes he will need.
UPDATE
Hockey is acting like he’s been in office for years, or is looking back on a long record of achievement. But here he is destabilising a government still struggling to find its feet:
Tony Abbott gave media proprietor Rupert Murdoch a detailed briefing on his controversial $5.5 billion paid parental leave scheme before he announced it without consulting his shadow cabinet or MPs. 
The revelation about the scheme ... is in a new biography of Treasurer Joe Hockey. In the book, Mr Hockey claims Mr Abbott only made a vague reference to the plan to him before it was announced in opposition…
The book argues that Mr Abbott “had alerted Joe to the plan, but Joe recalls the subject as a brief add-on in a telephone ­conversation, with no specific date or details attached”.
“Abbott’s recollection is of a slightly more involved conversation,” Ms King writes.
“‘Joe was one of the very few colleagues whom I discussed the paid parental leave proposal with ... I don’t want to verbal Joe but he certainly saw the merit in it – that’s not quite the same as saying he enthusiastically supported it,’ Abbott says. “Joe says he didn’t think too much more about it, believing it was an un-costed proposal, not an Opposition policy. At least, that was until Abbott announced it publicly.”
UPDATE
Reader John notes the obvious error in the first part of this conspiracy story, passed on by the Financial Review’s Laura Tingle:
Tony Abbott’s book Battlelines was published on 17 December 2009....this idea & indeed the framework for a paid parental leave scheme was included in the book...and everyone know that! 
Ms King and Ms Taylor Tingle, I don’t understand that you are not able to grasp that the year 2009 comes before the year 2010.
(Apologies. This post earlier accused Lenore Taylor of something actually done by Laura Tingle.) 
===

Abbott mulls over sending in the troops

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (8:07am)

The Abbott Government has for a few days now pushed Europe to send in a multi-national force:
UP to 100 Australian Federal Police officers and military ­personnel could be sent to help secure the MH17 crash site in Ukraine, under one of a range of options the Abbott government is considering to bring home the bodies of Australian citizens and residents killed in the disaster. 
As Tony Abbott spoke of his deep concern that some of the victims might never be found unless urgent action was taken, he revealed he had instructed military and civil agencies to look at options to protect the crash site as scores of bodies remained missing…
As Foreign Minister Julie Bishop headed to The Netherlands last night, it emerged that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had invited Australia to be part of a peacekeeping force in eastern Ukraine, as part of a multinational effort to secure the crash site.
It could mean a dangerous confrontation, given Russia hasn’t been shamed into cutting off support to the rebels:
TWO Ukrainian fighter jets have been shot down in the rebel-held area where Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed, allegedly by missiles fired from Russian soil. 
“According to preliminary information, the rockets were launched from Russian territory,’’ Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council claimed…
Kiev added that the Su-25 jets were flying at an altitude of 5200 metres. Pro-Russian rebels have insisted on several occasions that they were not equipped with weapons capable of hitting targets above an altitude of 2500 metres. However, a spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said its fighters had shot down the two aircraft… The White House says the downing of the two fighter jets is part of a pattern of Russian-backed separatists using Russian weapons to pose risks to aircraft.
===

Greens hijack Sydney’s Christmas

Andrew Bolt July 24 2014 (7:30am)

Clover Moore and her green believers seem to be blaming immigrants for their own intolerance:
[Sydney] Lord Mayor Clover Moore has more than doubled the budget for this year’s “secular” Christmas celebrations, amid bizarre warnings from shopping centre bosses that decorations could cause offence to non-Christians. 
“Evergreen Sydney, City of Christmas trees,” has been chosen as the theme for this year’s festivities… A council tender document described why the theme was chosen: “Historically secular and recognised by many cultures, the Christmas tree reaches out across communities with a message of inclusion, generosity and celebration — green, global and connected.”
If you want to be “secular”, don’t celebrate Christmas. If immigrants are offended by Christian symbols then stay away.
But what Moore and her anti-Christian minions seem in fact to be doing is turning a Christian celebration into one of their green faith, and deflecting the blame to innocent minorities.  
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===
I like migrants and refugees. The best immigration policy we have had in Australia, imho, was Mr Howard's including the pacific solution but also the expanded program for refugees. The Pacific Solution was fairest because it stopped boats. The boat person migration is dangerous, indiscriminately killing 4% of victims who use it. Victims who have destroyed their own ID papers because of UN migration processing policy. It is at great cost to each victim, some $10k each. Pirates profit from it. Meanwhile refugees in camps wait many years for the opportunity and some 10 millions are waiting .. Some 1400 people have drowned from Rudd's compassion, and that has nothing to do with processing. My sister, Rachel, is vice President of refugee advocates and one of those idiots calling for no detention of boat peoples. That Greens policy hasn't been countenanced by the ALP for a reason .. even those corrupt abusers willing to say anything, promise anything for power know it won't help. It isn't compassionate to kill desperate people. - ed
===
The recent decision by French President Francois Hollande to abolish homework from French schools has reignited the long running debate about homework.This debate has been around for more than a century…
Bad policy is always tempting. There must be a feeling of liberation administrators might feel at implementing such a policy. A feeling almost as good as the satisfaction a student feels at being up to date or ahead. In denying a challenge, we deny the reward. Homework is a real problem for some families. They might not have room at home for study. It might mess up a routine of chaos. Then there are families where homework plays a role, where parents interact with their child in a new setting and meet challenges successfully. But where homework is a problem, it is rarely (I believe never) the root problem. Banning it won't solve the problem struggling families have, but will cause issues for families that successfully incorporate it. - ed

I'm staggered at the lack of general knowledge some kids have these days. I love learning and love to share it. Clearly there is the issue of too much homework, but there is also the issue of no homework. Brains don't switch on at the school gate, neither do they switch off. Could anyone give me a reference to academic researchers advocating no homework? I would like to claim easy credit in savaging them.- ed

Excellent Nicole. I come from a public education background. So I am willing to argue for those who haven't a voice. I think families shouldn't be dysfunctional but many are. In one of my first schools, one surly aggressive child was woken up most morning by his drunken dad hitting him with an iron pole. He couldn't do homework. Is that reason to deny those children who could? As a child I was very arrogant (some things don't change) and learned things I did not care for much through homework. Things my parents did not value. Civic values, stories of peoples I'd no experience .. sometimes adults need to be in charge. Children are motivated to fit in. They resent it when goalposts are shifted to 'make it easier for them' when all they really wanted was to be shown the way up. - ed
===
Obama targeting Marines & Outlawing Christianity ?
===
A unanimous jury found beyond a reasonable doubt, Aafia Siddiqui attempted to murder Americans serving in Afghanistan, as well as their Afghan colleagues. On July 17, 2008, SIDDIQUI was detained by Afghan authorities, who found a number of items in her possession, including handwritten notes that referred to a "mass casualty attack" and that listed various locations in the United States, including Plum Island, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Other notes in SIDDIQUI's possession referred to the construction of "dirty bombs," and discussed various ways to attack "enemies," including by destroying reconnaissance drones, using underwater bombs, and deploying gliders.
===
Larry Pickering
DROWNING IN A KEVIN RUDD MESS

Drowning is a nasty death. You will cling to the last piece of jetsam in the hope it will save you. Desperate others will join you until it soon loses its buoyancy. Pleas for help fall silent as familiar faces, now contorted in fear, sink around you. 

Your mind races for a full three, maybe four, minutes trying to determine what went wrong, how this could have happened.

Just before everything shifts from grey to permanent black you look at the piece of jetsam you are still clutching and glimpse a flash... it’s a full colour image of Kevin Rudd.

Why a drowning ALP chose Kevin Rudd to cling to in a time of crisis is a complete mystery. If anyone was to be saved it would never be by grasping at Kevin. It was he who scuttled the boat in the first place.

Now I’m really angry. Kevin doesn’t fix it, that’s not what he does... Kevin fux it! He always has.

I have always prided myself in political judgment but this time I was so, so wrong. I was certain the ALP would never again turn to a man who had almost destroyed them. “Not even the ALP could be that stupid”, I thought to myself.

Kevin’s return was laced with promises of inclusion, a commitment to embrace the opinions of others, a kinder, gentler Kevin.

But Kevin has only demonstrated a will to cement his own position before immediately reverting to type.

I was right about one thing: Illegal immigration will be the overarching election issue and there is no worse person than Kevin Rudd to attempt to fix it.

Tony Abbott’s statement that he “welcomed” Rudd’s PNG solution was breathtaking and he deserves criticism for an alarming lack of foresight.

If current conditions on Narau, Curtin and Christmas Is. are sufficiently horrific (and they are intended to be) to cause regular riots, sewn lips and unreported murders how can Port Moresby be worse?

PNG could never be more than just another southern processing centre. But being in PNG is a simple matter of rolling up your trouser legs and wading to Australia.

Rudd’s idiotic PNG solution will ensure more women and children get on boats without so much as floaties because they won’t be sent to PNG.

The ALP’s mindset is an addiction to throwing money at problems.

The PNG solution is a worse catastrophe waiting to happen and the man who has never fixed anything is in charge of it.

The solution is not in PNG, nor is it in offshore processing nor TPVs nor even turning boats around. The solution is in Jakarta, it always has been but it takes tweaking a few noses and filling a few pockets of those in high places.

The solution to this illegal boat tragedy lies with the country they are allowed leave from. Is that really too hard to figure out?

Turn off that damned Indonesian tap or stand by and watch thousands more drown.
===
Scouts Australia
If Obama was a scout .. wouldn't there be a record? - ed
Did you know 11 of the 12 people to have walked on the moon were Scouts. Other famous former Scouts include Sir Paul McCartney, Barack Obama, Richard Branson, Taylor Swift, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hillary Clinton, Mariah Carey, Barbara Walters and Nelson Mandela. The Scouts Australia Ambassador is Andrew Lock OAM, Australia's most accomplished mountaineer and Australian business man and entrepreneur Dick Smith said that Scouting was the most fantastic influence on his life!
===
Holly Sarah Nguyen
Dear Lord we take a pause out of our day to just say we love you forever!!!!!!!
===
Nat?
That awkward moment you walk past someone's car & you hear the familiar click of doors locking.
===
Pastor Rick Warren
Always preach tough topics with a loving heart, a humble mind, and a tender voice.
===
A north Italian bar. A visitor to the town sees a customer and strikes up a conversation. "Hi, my name is Mike." he says in a friendly way. "What is yours?" The customer groans. "A name? What is in a name! I will tell you about names if you buy me a drink." A drink is bought and Mike settles to hear the story. The customer is getting elderly, white hair, paunch, farmers clothes. "I was a young man when I first came to this village. I saw the stream, the land with strewn rocks and knew if I moved the rocks, the land would be good for farming. But do they call me 'The Farmer?' .. no!" The customer seems outraged at the snub, but goes on .. "Everyone said that this mountain country is too hard to live on which is why nobody does. But I showed them, I built my house here. But do they call me 'The builder?' No!" The customer was moved, but still gulped his drink, indicating he wanted another. Mike complied, fascinated. "Others saw what I had done. And they came to live here. They prospered, and the town was born. But do they call me the 'Town Planner?' No! Instead, one cold winters evening, I get out of my bath to get some soap from the garage, and the door swings shut and locks me out. I can't get back in. I am dripping wet and it is bitterly cold. A sheep passes nearby, and I hold onto it to stay warm. I fall to sleep, and that is how the town people find me. And do you KNOW WHAT THEY CALL ME? It was only once!"
===
Mark J Jackson
Older & wiser?
Sheila’s grandson and his wife were coming to visit her in her new Florida condo for the first time. She gave them very detailed directions to her apartment: “You come to the front door of the Coral Bay Tower. Near the door, you’ll see a big panel of buttons. I am in apartment number 1408 on the fourteenth floor. With your elbow, push the button for 1408. I will buzz you in. Come inside the lobby; the elevator is on your right. Get in it, and with your elbow, hit the button for the fourteenth floor. When you get out, I am on the left. With your elbow, hit my doorbell.”
“That sounds easy, Grandma,” her grandson said, “but why am I hitting all these buttons with my elbow?”
She snapped, “What, you’re coming empty-handed?”
===
Pastor Rick Warren
"Discipline isn't something you do to someone; it is something you do FOR someone." Coach Lou Holtz
===
Phil Box Remember how the left howled in outrage over Peter Hollingworth. The Hollingworth affair was at best very tenuous and yet when a member of the left's side commits a far more egregious crime they are silent and in fact cover it up and shred evidence after they abort an inquiry into the affair. Just plain and simply evil.
===
The Detroit skyline as seen from Windsor, Ontario
===
“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”” Matthew 19:14 NIV
===
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Even thou wast as one of them."
Obadiah 1:11
Brotherly kindness was due from Edom to Israel in the time of need, but instead thereof, the men of Esau made common cause with Israel's foes. Special stress in the sentence before us is laid upon the word thou; as when Caesar cried to Brutus, "and thou Brutus"; a bad action may be all the worse, because of the person who has committed it. When we sin, who are the chosen favourites of heaven, we sin with an emphasis; ours is a crying offence, because we are so peculiarly indulged. If an angel should lay his hand upon us when we are doing evil, he need not use any other rebuke than the question, "What thou? What dost thou here?" Much forgiven, much delivered, much instructed, much enriched, much blessed, shall we dare to put forth our hand unto evil? God forbid!
A few minutes of confession may be beneficial to thee, gentle reader, this morning. Hast thou never been as the wicked? At an evening party certain men laughed at uncleanness, and the joke was not altogether offensive to thine ear, even thou wast as one of them. When hard things were spoken concerning the ways of God, thou wast bashfully silent; and so, to on-lookers, thou wast as one of them. When worldlings were bartering in the market, and driving hard bargains, wast thou not as one of them? When they were pursuing vanity with a hunter's foot, wert thou not as greedy for gain as they were? Could any difference be discerned between thee and them? Is there any difference? Here we come to close quarters. Be honest with thine own soul, and make sure that thou art a new creature in Christ Jesus; but when this is sure, walk jealously, lest any should again be able to say, "Even thou wast as one of them." Thou wouldst not desire to share their eternal doom, why then be like them here? Come not thou into their secret, lest thou come into their ruin. Side with the afflicted people of God, and not with the world.

Evening

"The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
1 John 1:7
"Cleanseth," says the text--not "shall cleanse." There are multitudes who think that as a dying hope they may look forward to pardon. Oh! how infinitely better to have cleansing now than to depend on the bare possibility of forgiveness when I come to die. Some imagine that a sense of pardon is an attainment only obtainable after many years of Christian experience. But forgiveness of sin is a present thing--a privilege for this day, a joy for this very hour. The moment a sinner trusts Jesus he is fully forgiven. The text, being written in the present tense, also indicates continuance; it was "cleanseth" yesterday, it is "cleanseth" today, it will be "cleanseth" tomorrow: it will be always so with you, Christian, until you cross the river; every hour you may come to this fountain, for it cleanseth still. Notice, likewise, the completeness of the cleansing, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin"--not only from sin, but "from all sin." Reader, I cannot tell you the exceeding sweetness of this word, but I pray God the Holy Ghost to give you a taste of it. Manifold are our sins against God. Whether the bill be little or great, the same receipt can discharge one as the other. The blood of Jesus Christ is as blessed and divine a payment for the transgressions of blaspheming Peter as for the shortcomings of loving John; our iniquity is gone, all gone at once, and all gone forever. Blessed completeness! What a sweet theme to dwell upon as one gives himself to sleep.
"Sins against a holy God;
Sins against his righteous laws;
Sins against his love, his blood;
Sins against his name and cause;
Sins immense as is the sea-
From them all he cleanseth me."
===

Today's reading: Psalm 33-34, Acts 24 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Psalm 33-34

1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm....

Today's New Testament reading: Acts 24

Paul's Trial Before Felix
1 Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: "We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. 3 Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. 4 But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly....
===
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)