Category: Politics

US politics

Posted on by
On the US political front a new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study of Iraq has said 600,000 died post invasion and Barbara Striesand screams “shut the f***k up to a heckler complaining about a skit during her show that depicted Bush as a bumbling idiot. Maybe if she had stated at the start “This is a free Democrat Party election advertisement” then the heckler would’ve had nothing to complain about. She added “Shut up if you can’t take a joke!” It’s not funny Barbara and you’re not a commedienne, or a believable political commentator for that matter, so just stick to singing. The Iraq deaths, a statistical extrapolation from approximately 40,000 known dead has been gleefully reported by the Tehran Times and is so blatantly released in time for the 7 Nov elections that I’m surprised it gets any oxygen from the general media. Our ABC, of course, are all over it.
US Politics

Democrat’s wish list

Posted on by
Sex scandal threatens to sink Republicans The Times reports
THE iron grip with which Republicans have held the House of Representatives for the past 12 years appears looser by the day with each fresh disclosure in the sex scandal involving Congressman Mark Foley and teenage boys working on Capitol Hill.
and quotes a pollster.
Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, predicted yesterday that the mid-terms are set to mirror those of 1994 when Democrats were swept from power by a wave of voter anger. He said: “I watched something similar happen in 1997 when Tony Blair’s Labour Party won its landslide against the Conservatives. The Republicans are sinking fast.”
I’m not convinced. When the story first broke I surfed around to get some idea of the severity of Foley’s crimes and stumbled across Tim Dunlops “Road to Surfdom Hysteria” I followed a link from this line “The emails are stomach-turning: you can see them here. I followed the link anticipating hot flushes, nausea and the development of a burning desire to kill the nearest paedophile. I was dissapointed. I read them again…well, they are creepy in a “send me a picture of yourself” and “what would you like for a birthday present” sort of way but the hysteria eluded me. Tim Blair quotes Kerry Howley at Reason on Line who says
The Mark Foley pedophilia sex scandal lacks two things: pedophilia and sex.
I would hope that Foley’s’ public office’ days are over, he apparently has a track record of bothering Pages and comes across as creepy and immature, but if it reflects significantly on the Republican vote I’ll be surprised. The “holier than thou” hypocritical reaction of the Democrats lacks substance in the light of actualy having sex with an intern (Clinton); get drunk, crash a car into the water and leave the passenger to drown (Kennedy); and actually having sex with a 17 yr old male page (Studds) to name just a few transgressions. Casualties so far;
Foley’s has resigned,
The chief of staff for Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds, Kirk Fordham, has resigned after questions were raised about his role in the handling of the congressional page scandal, and Speaker of the House Hastert is under pressure but will most probably survive.
One for being stupid and weird and two for keeping the fact under wraps. That should be it and if pundits are predictng the collapse of the Republican Party over one bad apple then they need some history lessons.  People in glass houses…….etc
US Politics

BEAZLEY PUTS UP THE WHITE FLAG

Posted on by
Just in from Defence Media. I’ll quote it in full just to do my small part in alerting the public to the ALP’s lack of considered policy.
Interviewer: “…on day one of a Beazley led government you’d order all of the Australian troops out of Iraq, would you?” Mr Beazley: “The only exception I’d make to that is those guarding Australian diplomats.” (Lateline, 27/9/2006) Kim Beazley’s latest commitment, to cut and run from Iraq, is inconsistent and weak. It would represent a setback for the War on Terror and would put Australian troops at greater risk. For example, Mr Beazley fails to understand that withdrawing all elements other than the Security Detachment in Baghdad, would leave these Security Detachment personnel without the logistics and air support they rely on and, therefore, dangerously exposed. To take another example, he now wants to remove our frigate from the North Arabian Gulf. In January, Mr Beazley acknowledged the critical role played by our frigate when he said: “We support the continued protection of Australian diplomats in Baghdad, and our naval presence in the Gulf fulfils the dual purpose of protecting Iraqi oil terminals and inhibiting the movement of terrorists around the Gulf.” (Sydney Morning Herald, 12/1/2006) His latest irresponsible policy would play directly into the hands of terrorists. Mr Beazley doesn’t appreciate the significant role played by our soldiers based in Tallil. In June this year, the southern province of Al Muthanna became the first of Iraq’s eighteen provinces to transfer to full control by Iraqi Provincial Government, with security presided over by Iraqi security forces. This was in large part attributable to Australia’s efforts in providing security and in training the 2nd Brigade of the Iraqi Army’s 10th Division, who are now taking a key role in providing security. Australia is now playing an overwatch role, including training and mentoring and being on hand to provide security backup, if required, for Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar (the second province to transfer to full Iraqi control). Having come so far, it is important to bed this progress down. Mr Beazley disregards this imperative. In a statement reported by Al-Jazeera on 28 December 2004, bin Laden said that Iraq is where the “third world war…is raging”. On 26 July 2006, in a speech to a joint meeting of Congress, democratically elected Prime Minister of Iraq, al Maliki pledged that “Iraq will be the graveyard of terrorism and terrorists for the good of all humanity.” The stakes in Iraq are high. In the words of Mr Beazley’s former Chief of Staff and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Michael Costello: “to disengage from Iraq now would be the biggest single encouragement the terrorists could get”. (The Australian, 13/1/2006). The Government is determined to ensure the terrorists lose. Mr Beazley proposes walking away and letting them win.
Keep pandering to your left wing Beasley…it just guarantees more conservative government.
Defence, Politics

‘Whatshisname’ Garrett says something

Posted on by

Somebody called Garrett has slammed the Prime Minister and his two right-hand men for being “philistines”, whose obsession with sport comes at the expense of the nation’s art and culture.

Mr Garrett said the country lacked national debate about the health of its creative arts industries where key areas including dance, film and medium-sized theatre were struggling.

Ask yourself why. If dance, film and theatre are struggling then it’s because the public aren’t interested in the offerings. Every time I flick past the ABC or SBS I only stay long enough to witness another ‘struggling’ artist rediculing Howard, religion, America, the military, patriotism, married couples with children or couples wanting to own a house.

Small theatre seldom has a kind word to say about our society. Still fuming at the ignorance of the Australia voter for re-electing Howard they rush to tell us, potential seat warmers at theatres, just how ignorant we are.

MELBOURNE Theatre Company director Simon Phillips finds these disturbing times. “You have to question how far we have come and how low can we go,” he says.

He is too diplomatic to be specific, but the war on terror has seen civil liberties crumble and David Hicks remains detained without rights in Guantanamo Bay.

I see your civil liberties and raise you civil responsibilty…..a winning hand but Garrett, Phillips and that doyen of ‘Putting down Australians, David Williamson just don’t see it.

Up yours, Garrett. Produce something that dwells on the good points of our society and the public will flock to the theatres, maybe even Howard and his ministers might venture forth as well.

General Musings, Politics

ABC on strike

Posted on by
Even Kerry O’Brien and Tony Jones have joined ABC staff on strike for more pay.
Management’s offer in July was for a 3.5 per cent annual wage increase, which unions have said does not keep up with inflation running at 4 per cent.
So the collective has demanded 16 % now plus two additional rises of five per cent. 26%….yep, that sure beats inflation. ABC Staff are hinting at a long strike (months even) so maybe management might consider sacking a few extreme left wingers to force some balance into the ABCs reporting with new blood. Just a thought. P.P.McGuiness supports the strike.
But not many people will miss these programs anyway. If Lateline does not go to air on television, for example, who cares? Certainly not any of the politicians who are its usual targets. After all, Lateline plays the role of a radio program of an earlier era which went out at about the same time, as Humphrey McQueen described it, of providing intelligent conversation to a tiny audience by that time too drunk or too stoned to make their own. So let the strikes roll on, with – one can only hope – a lockout not far down the line. And if the ABC’s new chief should surrender, does it matter? The Government doesn’t have to give them more tax dollars to pay for any wage increases. The only effect would be a further decline in quality of programs.
Filling in with BBC programming whilst on strike will only help to underline the ABC’s mediocrity as the Beebs is clearly more stylish in their pursuit of the dreams of the dark side. I note their campaign to undermine western efforts to combat terrorism has entered a new phase as they tell the world the Israelis are training the Kurds. This mornings mail brings this report from Opinion Journal who put the report in perspective.
“The BBC has obtained evidence that Israelis have been giving military training to Kurds in northern Iraq,” according to an online piece by Magdi Abdelhadi, the Beeb’s “Arab affairs analyst”:
A report on the BBC TV programme Newsnight showed Israeli experts in northern Iraq, drilling Kurdish militias in shooting techniques. . . . The revelation is set to cause enormous problems for the Kurds, not only in Iraq but also in the wider region. Israel is seen as an enemy of Arabs and Muslims, both inside Iraq and elsewhere in Arab and Muslim countries. Kurdish politicians will most likely come under pressure to explain what their semi-autonomous government has been up to. . . . The news will most probably increase tension between the Kurds and Iraq’s Arab population, both Sunnis and Shias, reinforcing fears that the Kurds are pursuing a secessionist agenda. This would be a serious blow to efforts for national reconciliation at a time when hundreds of Iraqis are killed every month in inter-communal violence. Iraq’s neighbours, too, will be outraged. Iran and Syria, which have long accused the Kurds of allowing the Israelis to operate on Iraqi territory, will most likely demand an explanation from the government in Baghdad. . . . The BBC report will be like the smoking gun the Arab media has spent years looking for.
The New York Sun’s Daniel Freedman, noting that “BBC reports need often to be taken with a block of salt,” says that even if true, he doesn’t “see what the big deal is. The Kurds have been victimized and betrayed by almost everyone. We’d be happy that Israel is teaching them how to protect themselves.” Here’s the big deal: The BBC is announcing that its reporting “is set to cause serious problems for the Kurds,” will deal “a serious blow to efforts for national reconciliation” in Iraq, and “will be like the smoking gun the Arab media has spent years looking for.” It certainly sounds to us as though the BBC, far from merely reporting the facts, is pandering to Arab anti-Semitism and making an active effort to promote discord in Iraq and retribution against the long-persecuted Kurds. Such despicable behavior doesn’t deserve the label “journalism.” As reader and blogger Cav says, Journalists are the new used car salespersons……
Politics

From the left corner only

Posted on by
Tram Town always make an interesting read so last week when he linked to an article by Jennifer Marohasy and her post titled Déjà Vu on the ABC: Roger Underwood I duly went off and read it…most illuminating.
Just over a month ago, a Four Corners program on forestry in Tasmania was found by the The Australian Communications and Media Authority to be bias and inaccurate. This prompted Roger Underwood* to remember back 16 years when Four Corners, a program which claims to represent investigative TV journalism at its best, did a job on forestry in Western Australia:
Roger goes on to explain why he never watches Four Corners since his exposure to the bias of the ABC . Go read…it’s worth it.
Politics

Freehold land rights thrown out

Posted on by
A DECISION to ban development in the World Heritage-listed Daintree rainforest has outraged landowners, who castigated Peter Beattie on talk-back radio yesterday during his visit to Cairns.
On Monday, the Douglas Shire Council passed a planning scheme to prevent people who bought freehold blocks in the Daintree 20 years ago from developing the land, bringing to an end two years of political wrangling over the rainforest’s future.
So much for freehold title. Less than 20 years ago the Daintree was a hippy colony and any talk of roads or any other development was shouted down. Roads brought civilization…civilization brought police….police frowned on and locked up drug users. In 1982 I did a recce of the area looking for sufficient room to conduct an infantry exercise for 1RAR. We stopped in at the Cooktown Police station and introduced ourselves to the local Sergeant. He had just taken over the area and when we announced our intention to look at the Daintree his eyes opened wide. He was too scared to go down there as he had it on good intelligence that the drug runners were armed with M16 A2s and wisely he figured his .38 S&W pistol wasn’t up to the job. He fantasised about a battalion of infantry with associated M16s, GPMG M60s, SLRs, rocket launchers and the likes adding some balance to the equation but we had to disappoint him. We explained we were career officers and slaughtering civilians, even if they were drug runners and maybe deserved such summary justice, would be a poor career move. He knew this of course but it does reflect the aura of the Daintree. These days thousands of civilians cross the Daintree river every year and ooh and ah at the local rainforests but I wouldn’t be surprised that if they stopped and lived there for awhile they would smell the undercurrent of alternative people. The issue is not a small one and could tip the scales against the government. We are talking about a 100 blocks spread over a huge area currently controlled by local mayor Mike Berrick who my Cairns contact tells me is the quintessential greenie; a watermelon, red on the inside and green on the outside and typically anti-development. The freehold land owners have a case for compensation and the Premier has agreed to land valuation plus 10% and well he should as the valuation they are using is based on the value of the land without development rights. The land was brought freehold and should be valued as such – with development rights. Unfair but that’s what happens when you have a labour government. To keep the factions quite the greenies need to be appeased and thrown regular swill to keep them onside and so the people suffer financially. Still in the north residents of Charters Towers are under siege from flying foxes, and hope an election will finally prompt action from the politicians in Brisbane. Good luck guys. Residents have invited Premier Peter Beattie and Environment Minister Desley Boyle to stay in their houses overnight so they can hear the screeching of up to 20,000 black and red flying foxes themselves.
“(The noise goes on) all day and all night . . . the minister has said the bats sleep during the day,” said Kaye Jackson at 10am yesterday as she shouted to be heard above hundreds of flying foxes. She said: “We can’t have a barbecue, we can’t sell our house, we can’t do anything.”
It is illegal to kill them and harassing the flying foxes with loud noise is only allowed from 5am to 7am and after 5pm. Yep, another Greenie places bats above humans in the feed chain. I’d harrass the foxes with a loud noise being the detonation of the percussion cap and propellant of a 12 bore. The answer? We are looking into a chemical deterrant.
But a spokesman for Ms Boyle said the Environmental Protection Agency was researching whether a chemical deterrent could move the bats away without killing them.
Flying foxes have been a problem in towns for hundreds of years and the EPA is looking at answers now! What the spokesman really meant was we don’t think we will loose votes over this issue so I’ll say just throw a platitude their way to settle down the rednecks and the problem will be buried. As I said Good luck the Towers. You may be outnumbered almost three to one by the bats but Greenies don’t count people.
Politics

Environment issues vital to poll

Posted on by
Queensland Poll date announced. The Premier has called us Queenslanders together to vote on 9 Spetember and the Greens PR machine swings into gear. I acknowledge that environmental issues are important to a few greenies but the rest of us would like too see something done about water and health. The Greens want us to stop mining that actually is understaking the state’s development and of course the lungfish has been hoisted up the evolutionary feed chain to take on more importance than us humans. Can’t build a dam here..It’s a lungfish habitat they say and I say…can’t the lungfish simply swim on over to the edge of a dam and go walkabout like all good lungfish do? It is so predictable – government announces a plan to construct something, almost anything, and the greenies trip over themselves finding some small animal, insect or fish in the vicinity.
“We need to understand that increasing our reliance on coal and building more dams (such as the proposed Traveston Dam), is simply killing Queensland.”
How?
Politics

Leadership

Posted on by
Stuart Hastings from Robina, Qld puts the leadership furore into perspective with his letter to the Australian
If Ian McLachlan can keep a scrap of paper, legible and uncreased in his wallet for 12 years, you would not want to be in his group when it was his turn to buy the next round of drinks.
I’m reasonably confident that in all my days I have never heard of such a weak trigger to a leadership debate. Costello’s PR agent, Glen Milne, has been nibbling away at the edge of the PM’s power for a long time now and must feel rather smug at the moment – he has ignited a maelstrom of debate based on comments made over a decade ago as if they were written in bloood. It’s as if time has stood still over all those years and nothing has changed. It is long past the time when Howard has had to have conciliatory conversations with the likes of Costello and Downer and it will be a while yet before he has to again. Nevertheless some are aghast at Howard, accusing him of being a liar. I guess it’s true to some extent but it is at the level of my promising to take the kids to Sizzler’s and then renegging. I heard some chap talking to John Laws who come across as a reasonable and experienced type but he was beside himself with grief at ‘all the lying” There is just too much and although he has voted Liberal in the past he can’t see himself doing it again. A bit precious really because if he applied that across the board he’d have to stay home on polling day. A wave of apprehension washes over me every time I think of Costello as leader. He has been a great Treasurer and I don’t mind his debating style but competancy and style are but two aspects of sucessful leadership and I have yet to see little evidence of other characteristics. His political judgement and loyalty to the party may well have been brought to question with his current campaign. I don’t feel, hear or read any call for a leadership change other than in the Howard hating forums and it is not as if the machine is broken and ‘I’m the man to fix it‘…the machine is humming along quiet nicely, thank you. Howard say he wont be stampeded into any premature decision and I’m with him there. The only lightning bolts around are those being thrown by the media and are striking too far away to cause any stampede. It’s when the voters start thowing the lightning bolts that it will be time to act and the skies look all azure blue to me at the moment.
Politics

Unions may be brought to heel

Posted on by
THE decision by Perth rail workers to strike illegally earlier this year could cost them and their militant union $11.4 million in fines, not including court costs. Good! In April this year I drove past the Perth Mandurah rail link project with interest. The people of WA, particularly those who live south and commute (my sister and BIL included) are looking forward to this communication link upgrade. It will impact heavily on the metropolis of Greater Perth and will bring additional commerce and dormitory suburbs with all it’s associated infrastructure to the southern extremities of the city. All is good except the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) sees the project as more of a milking cow rather than one of great benefit to the state. The project is reportedly five months behind schedule and $200m above budget. The wildcat strike has been costed at $14m and it’s the ratepayers who are already paying for the miltant unions excesses yet the CFMEU WA secretary, Dave Robinson, said yesterday that churches would be invited to contribute to a “community and union defence fund”. Up yours, Dave. You and your members incurred the likely costs, not the community and certainly not the poor WA taxpayers. The West Australian has more; The legal action stems from the workers’ 12-day strike, which contractor Leighton Kumagai said cost it $200,000 a day.
The Mandurah railway has at times been paralysed by industrial action, which is partly to blame for the project now running five months behind schedule and forms part of the $200 million in cost overrun claims from Leighton Kumagai against the State Government. Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union secretary Kevin Reynolds warned in June last year that the project would be targeted by unions because some contracts had been awarded to a non-unionised firm. The project has also been hit by “blue-flu?, the name given to periods when workers take mass sickies.
It’s this type of union militancy that gets punters offside and Kim Beasley will get few points by siding with the CFMEU hardliners on this one.
Politics
1 … 64 65 66 67 68 … 85