Miserable Pleaders

Another reason why we should plead for the life of Van Tuong Nguyen.

And another.

-- Nick

The Third Leading Cause Of Death

The Australian Medical Association wants to ban Parents and Citizens' Associations around Australia from selling chocolate because some kids are fat.

They also want vending machines in schools to sell only bottled water.

Perhaps someone should tell doctors that kids are fat because (a) they spend too much time sitting on their lard-asses watching TV and playing PlayStation in the middle of the day and (b) because their parents are so duped by media hysteria about a paedophile on every corner/obsessed with indulging their children's every lazy little whim that they won't let/make their obese offspring walk to school.

But would doctors listen? Probably not.

This is the simple-minded bunch whose professional organisation called for a ban on the sale of sharp kitchen knives because people get stabbed with them.

It's the same organisation which counsels law-abiding citizens against owning guns and wants a ban on boxing.

And, doubtless, it lobbied the Queensland Government to stop paying Fly Points on the sale of tobacco products from December this year.

It's also the same organisation whose members kill 14,000 to 18,000 people a year in Australia alone. In the US, these self-righteous killers with a God complex are the third leading cause of death. And from the UK, a doctor may be the worst serial killer in history.

I'd call them murderers but really they're just incompetent fascists.

-- Nick

Nora's Sunday Sermon

While reflecting on familial relationships on my side of the family I was reminded that how out of adverse circumstances God can use the most unlikely people and events to bring about a higher purpose, a greater good.

Early on in the Old Testament there are two examples. Jacob, who along with his mother went out of their way to deceive Jacob's father Isaac and rob older brother Esau of his birthright.

Joseph of the Technicolor dream coat fame was an arrogant little twerp who no doubt deserved the beating his brothers gave him.

Both men triggered events that have resonated for millennia.

Not that they got scot-free for their behaviour - Jacob was left with a pronounced limp after wrestling with God; and Joseph underwent intense character development training in Egypt.

Today we have the story of Van Nguyen a young man who is soon to pay for his life for a decision he made to carry drugs into Singapore, a country which has the death penalty for that crime.

On Friday, December 2 he is to be hung if last minute appeals for clemency are rejected.

On the surface, it seems like a waste of a life. He had no other criminal record, he had smuggled drugs to help his addicted and indebted brother.

What good could possibly come from this?

Just as Jacob's actions established Israel and Joseph's experience allowed both Egypt and Israel to survive a devastating famine, and saving many thousand lives, it seem apparent already that Van Nguyen's story is changing lives already.

It seems that Van Tuong Nguyen's brother Khoa has turned his life around as a result:

"His brother has given him a lot of strength and turned him around and that he now wants to undertake a tertiary course and it's all because of his brother."

Perhaps other people might learn the lesson also and reform their lives.

And what about Van Nguyen himself?

"I am glad and ready to go now. I believe, by then, God's purpose for me will have been achieved," he wrote to a close friend.

"I truly believe God put me here for a reason, and now that his plans for me have almost been achieved, he is preparing for me little baby angels to play with when I return to Him"...

...God and faith are common themes. In a letter to a friend, written before his clemency was rejected, he writes: "The hidden providence of God – your undying support has gone a long way in keeping my pilot light burning; especially during my darkest moments."

Esau forgave Jacob, Joseph and his brothers reconciled and it would seem in this case we have a young man who has acknowledged his error and accepted its consequences.

As for his wish for 'baby angels' to play with, well that's between Van Nguyen and his Creator.

For those elect to focus on the individual rather than the lives wrecked by heroin addiction might ask how a loving God could allow Van Nguyen to die for this crime.

God understands only too well. He watched His only Son brutally tortured and executed. And that was for a crime He didn't commit.

While the death and resurrection of Jesus gives all of humanity hope, I believe in some small way Van Nguyen's death might give us pause to reflect on what it means to live a fulfilled life.

By contrast we have Michelle Leslie.
-- Nora

Stress! Stress! Stress!

It's been one of those weeks folks where Nicky and I are too, too busy at work with is too much to do and too little time to do it - hence the light-on blogging.

In the meantime enjoy this:

Absolut Stress
1 shot(s) Absolut Vodka
1/2 shot(s) Peach Schnapps
1/2 shot(s) Malibu Rum
1 can(s) Pineapple Juice
1 splash(es) Cranberry Juice

Fill glass with ice, add ingredients, shake and serve

-- Nora

... And Act Like A Regular Lady

Wouldn't it be Lover-ly...

Fresh from the firey furnace that is Larvatus Prodeo discussing the hot button topic of rape, I came across this story:

Drunken teenage girls have been blamed for setting the standard in bad behaviour at Schoolies:

Drug Arm Australasia director Caroline Salom told The Sunday Mail: "It's often the behaviour of the girls that can determine things. If they get laddish or loutish, things can get out of control."

Volunteers who worked at last year's event warned girls were making themselves easy targets for predators by getting extremely drunk.

Of course rape is never, ever the victim's fault...

-- Nora

UPDATE: Very remiss of me to have not acknowledged JF Beck for pointing me to such fun. From which it seems, I've now been banned...

UPDATE II: Oh joy. it turned out that I wasn't banned, just a victim of wiggy comment posting. I have been roundedly spanked by Master Robert for not making that immediately clear on this site, although I did correct the record at Evil Pundit's. Sorry Master Robert, please tell me all is forgiven? :-)

Can One Wong Make A Right?

OVERWEIGHT, jobless people could be forced to go on a diet in order to keep the dole under the Government's welfare changes, claims ALP Senator Penny Wong.

Looks good to me...

-- Nora

Big Bother

Queensland Arts Minister Rod Welford admits the TV show Big Brother is "distasteful" (someone tell 'family' theme park Dreamworld, home of Wiggles World) but Welford has chosen to ignore two petitions from his constituents to withdraw Queensland texpayer funding from the sex and sleazefest show.

Jobs are more important.

However, his claim of 260 jobs created over the five years of the program is stretching the truth somewhat. Good friend Jai Normosone and commenter Nilknarf make the point in this regard.

Additionally, 260 over five years is 52 per season - and the fact is not all 52 would be employed at the same time, nor would any of them be full-time positions. Welford's 260 probably translates to a maximum 20 of what the public service refers to as 'FTE's - full-time equivalents.

Not exactly a good return on our 'investment'.

Welford was reported in the Gold Coast Bulletin (not archived so can't link) as saying he shared the approximately 4600 petitioners' concerns but if his government withdrew taxpayer support, we lose the production (and all those jobs) to NSW.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Government continues to spend more taxpayer money on other programs to discourage exactly the same kind of behaviour which Big Brother glorifies.

Guess which 'programs' get the most 'viewers'?

-- Nick

An 'Order' From Caz

A belated cocktail (with an apology to Caz for our tardiness) from an extremely hungover Nick and Nora.

How does it feel to treat me like you do?
When you've your hands upon me
And told me who you are
I thought I was mistaken
I thought I heard your words
Tell me, how do I feel
Tell me now, How do I feel?

Hmmm, how do we feel? Like a Blue Monday!

Blue Monday
1 1/2 oz. Vodka
3/4 oz. Triple Sec
1 drop Blue Food Colouring
Stir all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

-- Nora
We're enjoying one even as we post - of course, we road test all our cocktails ;-)

A Defining Moment

A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.

-- Nora

A Tragedy In Three Acts

This, reported in the Gold Coast Bulletin, was tragic:

"(Four year old) Emma was with her grandfather and there had been a picnic after the football and she just ran across the road to her grandmother," said Mr Sahovic.

Emma was struck by an eastbound car driven by a woman named Rachelle and thrown into the path of a white van heading west.

What followed was disgusting:

After the accident, people at the soccer ground turned on the van driver, attacking him until police intervened.

The driver was in no way at fault, a point emphasised immediately by police.

That such a sickening display of third-world savagery took place on a Gold Coast street was bad enough. But it took six days before anyone apologised for the actions of the family's friends and neighbours:

Mr Sahovic said he and his family wanted to apologise about the actions of those who attacked the driver.

"It shouldn't have happened, but it was just a sudden reaction and they did not know what had happened," he said. "The Bosnian community is a very close one on the Gold Coast and everyone knew Emma and loved her, so that was just their shocked, sudden reaction, but it shouldn't have happened.

"This was not their (the drivers') fault, it was nobody's fault, it was just a terrible tragic thing and we are all in shock."

One feels compelled to point out two things:

1. The attacked driver - reported two days after the accident as being a nervous wreck - was not simply shoved about. He was driving along doing nothing wrong when a child's body was suddenly thrown into the path of his van. He skidded to a halt and his vehicle was immediately surrounded by a baying mob which rocked and kicked the van then dragged him from the driver's seat and commenced beating him. He was seen bloodied and dazed in press photos after the event.

2. His attackers were Bosnian Muslims.

Welcome to Musgrave Avenue, just outside the grounds of the Gold Coast Mustangs, at Labrador, on the Gold Coast, Australia, in November 2005 and a display of multiculturalism at work.

Incidentally:

There was also a large gathering at the funeral and prayer service for Emma at the Gold Coast Mosque on Wednesday.

Mrs Sahovic could not attend, but her husband said the crowd numbers were quite humbling.

'Mrs Sahovic could not attend' her child's funeral. Perhaps she was too distraught.

Or perhaps she wasn't allowed to.

-- Nick

Footnote: One is unable to link to Gold Coast Bulletin news stories as they are deleted from the site after 24 hours. Here's the entire piece (written in the GC Bulletin's own special hysterical style):

Tears for their angel
19Nov05

SHE looked older, was wise beyond her tender years, and everybody whose lives she touched loved her to bits.

This was four-year-old Emma Sahovic, whose life was cut dreadfully short last Monday when she was struck by two vehicles in a tragic accident in Musgrave Avenue, Musgrave Hill.

Speaking publicly for the first time yesterday, her mother Emira said the professional photograph which appears on our front page today was taken 11 days ago.

There was no special reason for the photo shoot and looking at this little cherub, no excuse would have been needed.

"Everybody loved Emma, everybody," said her mother.

"She was bright, happy and very intelligent, ahead of her years and no one who knew her will ever forget her."

Emma is survived by Din, her four-month-old brother.

Neither Emira nor her husband Damir was present at the Musgrave Avenue soccer ground when tragedy occurred about 6pm on Sunday.

"Emma was with her grandfather and there had been a picnic after the football and she just ran across the road to her grandmother," said Mr Sahovic.

Emma was struck by an eastbound car driven by a woman named Rachelle and thrown into the path of a white van heading west.

She was taken to the Gold Coast Hospital with massive injuries, then transferred to Brisbane's Mater Children's Hospital where she lost her battle for life at 4.30am on Monday.

After the accident, people at the soccer ground turned on the van driver, attacking him until police intervened.

Mr Sahovic said he and his family wanted to apologise about the actions of those who attacked the driver.

"It shouldn't have happened, but it was just a sudden reaction and they did not know what had happened," he said. "The Bosnian community is a very close one on the Gold Coast and everyone knew Emma and loved her, so that was just their shocked, sudden reaction, but it shouldn't have happened.

"This was not their (the drivers') fault, it was nobody's fault, it was just a terrible tragic thing and we are all in shock."

He said Rachelle had visited their Southport home with flowers this week. "It must have been very hard for her to do that and we would like to thank her for coming to our home like that," he said.

Mrs Sahovic said the family would also like to thank all police officers, emergency service workers and staff at both hospitals for their help and understanding.

She said the family had been buoyed by the support of their community and friends.

"We have received hundreds of phone calls, including many from Europe and we have had hundreds of people at the home and they have brought a great deal of food, which is our way," she said.

There was also a large gathering at the funeral and prayer service for Emma at the Gold Coast Mosque on Wednesday.

Mrs Sahovic could not attend, but her husband said the crowd numbers were quite humbling.

"There must have been 10 different religions represented and this was most special for a four-year-old girl, whose life was only beginning," he said.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Queen Elizabeth II is an enemy of Islam, according to Ayman al-Zawahri, number two in Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terror network:

Zawahri also warns Muslim leaders in Britain who “work for the pleasure of Elizabeth, the head of the Church of England”.

He said that those who followed her were saying: “We are British citizens, subject to Britain’s crusader laws, and we are proud of our submission.” In a possible dig at the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which had instructed mosques to inform on potential terrorists, he attacked “those who issue fatwas, according to the school of thought of the head of the Church of England”.

It reminds us of what Adolf Hitler had to say about the late Queen Mother:

Asked if she would remove her two young daughters from London during the Blitz, Queen Elizabeth replied: "The girls will not leave unless I do. I will not leave unless the King does. And the King will not leave under any circumstances whatsoever."...

...Her defiance caused Hitler to brand her "the most dangerous woman in Europe."

Now, let's see what we can do about Prince Charles...

-- Nora

Evidence Of Things Not Seen

A few years ago one gent told me that faith in anything was stupid and that science had, or would, explain everything there was to know.

I asked him that if nothing could be taken on 'faith', how he knew all of this to be true.

He said that he'd read books and papers which explained everything he needed to know about the natural world.

I pointed out that even in that statement, he had made an leap of faith. How could he knew that anything was true if he himself had not personally tested the outcome. He was taking it on faith that what he was reading was true.

I was reminded of this after reading Michelle Malkin's post today.

Michelle points out that 9/11 conspiracy theories still abound, perpetrated by people whose academic credentials appear to be no innoculation against stupidity.

Such is the case of Brigham Young University physics professor Steven E. Jones:

"It is quite plausible that explosives were pre-planted in all three buildings and set off after the two plane crashes — which were actually a diversion tactic," he writes. "Muslims are (probably) not to blame for bringing down the WTC buildings after all."

Yes, well I suppose on that basis it's quite 'plausible' that the moon landings were done on a Hollywood soundstage and aliens built the pyramids and Stone Henge.

Jones acknowledges that there have been "junk science" conspiracy theories about what happened on 9/11, but "the explosive demolition hypothesis better satisfies tests of repeatability and parsimony and therefore is not 'junk science.'"

I suppose it is difficult to find two towers and two fully fuelled jet liners to slam into buildings in the interests of repeatability.

Morons like Jones do the world of science and forensic enquiry no good at all by perpetuating flagarant mistruths and indeed it calls into question every thing he does as a scientist. How do we know he isn't lying about his work in Metal-catalysed fusion? More people have been directly involved in investigating the events of 9/11 that will every be peer reviewing his work.

Perhaps Jones would like to leave his ivory tower every now and again and join the real world which already knows definitively what happened on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

Cynicism is not a useful basis at arriving at facts because the enquirier is blinkered by their own perceptions as Jones clearly is.

Am I being cyncial in saying Jones wrote his 9/11 paper because he needed to get his academic publishing quota up for the year?

Tell Jones he's a moron. His phone number and e-mail address details are here.

-- Nora

UPDATE:
To Dr Jones' credit, he does return e-mail. Here it is with my response below:

"Jones, Steven" wrote:
Could I invite you then to actually read my article?

http://www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/htm7.html

Perhaps then you could get back to me.

Dr. Jones

Nora Charles"
Dear Dr Jones,
Have done. Still stand by my comments.

Could I invite you you then to actually read this article?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/defense/1227842.html?page=1&c=y

Perhaps then you could get back to me.

-- Nora

It was similar to a request made by Charles Hueter. I wonder if he and Dr Jones are friends?

All Hail Kofi!

The ABC News online leads this morning with Kofi Annan's heroic visit to Baghdad now the Coalition of the Willing led by America has made it safe for him to show his sorry ass.

Speaking at a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, Mr Annan spoke out in favour of national reconciliation and urged all factions to be allowed to join in the political reform process.

"The idea is that reconciliation is absolutely essential in Iraq - I don't think anyone would argue with that," he said.

"The political transition must be a process that is inclusive and transparent and takes into account the concerns of all groups," he later added.

Mr Annan knows all about 'transparency'.

The ABC also carries this story as its second lead:

Labor wants AWB inquiry to probe Govt role

The Federal Opposition has seized on a report that Iraq has suspended imports of Australian wheat, to demand the broadening of powers of a royal commission into the scandal involving payments by AWB.

A newspaper report says the Iraqi Grain Board has ceased the trade, until AWB repays hundreds of millions of dollars paid to a Jordanian transport company which ended up in the coffers of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd has called for the royal commission's terms of reference to be expanded, so it can investigate whether there was a Federal Government role in the affair.

Further down:

A United Nations investigation concluded money paid by wheat exporter AWB to a trucking company to transport its grain to Iraq went directly to Saddam's regime.

Good on the UN for looking into all this and exposing wrongdoers!

Oh, wait a moment, one forgot - the UN investigation was not into AWB but into the UN's own corrupt 'Oil For Food' program and it had to be forced to do it by the US.

No wonder they were reluctant. Like many mass murdering dictators, 'Saddam appears to have been a stickler for record-keeping' reported Therese Raphael in March 2004 and his records revealed that many high profile figures opposing the US-led liberation were on the take.

But there's no mention of any of this by the ABC or that the investigation found that 'Oil For Food' money was siphoned off to the benefit not just of Saddam and mates of the UN but even to Kofi Annan's own son.

The ABC's sins of omission present Annan and his organisation as white knights and corruption busters.

It's like a '30s Chicago newspaper hailing Al Capone for supporting poor widows without mentioning it was his cronies who widowed them.

-- Nick

No Normality Please, We're Homosexual

There can't be much real news happening because Britain's Telegraph logged this sixth on it's on-line front page.

Nice to know we're concentrating on the important stuff, such as the sensitivities of a pack of self-entitled nascissistic exhibitionists.

-- Nick

Update: While reading a couple of columns by the intensely satirical Professor Mike Adams about lunacy in the US university system, one felt curious to delve into what was going on here in Australia. Here's an 'interesting' link to the University of Queensland website and a school 'outreach' program which uses the promotion of 'safer school communities' to cover an agenda of proselytisation among children. And before anyone suggests that's not what they're trying do, consider their field trips to other university campuses:

Queer bus trip and picnic
Starts: 04.03.05 11:00 AM
Ends: 04.03.05 06:00 PM

The Sodomobile Hits the Streets! Join us @ the Union carpark, for a convoy to far-flung campuses to Queer ‘em up. We have room for 8 in the union van and some of us will be bringing cars along. RSVP to Kris Coonan (Ph: 3377 2214; email kris.coonan@uq.edu.au) by Wednesday 2nd March to make sure we can transport everyone! Picnic @ Toowoomba provided

Your tax dollars at work, your children at an institute of 'learning'.

But, of course, I'm only offended by this because there's something wrong with me.

Nothing Will Save Gough Whitlam

How delightful - a party!

Tim Blair, owner of Australia's best blog, is hosting a party in Sydney to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the day that will live in hilarity - the sacking of the incompetent Whitlam Government.

Unfortunately the party is 1040.96km away and we can't find a designated driver who's willing to go that far.

As regular readers know, Nicky and I like to relax over a cocktail on a Friday night and we thought it would be fitting to find something suitable to celebrate The Dismissal.

By why stop with one? Whitlam's legacy continues (i.e. - we can't get the bugger to leave the limelight) and thus, we felt it important to chronicle the political life and times of (Edward) Gough Whitlam's by cocktail (historical gaps filled in by Wikipedia with much editorialising).

1951

White Commie

1 oz. Cream
1 oz.
Brandy
1 oz. Kahlua
Serve over ice float the cream on top.

When Ben Chifley died in 1951 Dr Herbert Vere Evatt (Doc Evatt - you can blame him for the United Nations...) was elected Labor leader without opposition. He campaigned successfully against Menzies's attempt to amend the Constitution to ban the Communist Party. Many moderates in the Labor Party believed this was both bad politics and bad policy because of the active Communist opposition to Labor within trade unions and because of the threat to national security posed by Communists. They were right.

Whitlam admired Evatt greatly, and was a loyal supporter of his leadership.

1963

Anonymous
1 Part Southern Comfort
1 Part Sweet & Sour
mix
1 Part Chambord
Mix equal amounts into a glass with ice, strain into
another glass.

The ALP, having been founded as a party to represent the working classes (ho-ho-ho), still regarded its parliamentary representatives as servants of the party as a whole, and required them to comply with official party policy. This led to the celebrated Faceless Men picture of 1963, which showed Calwell and Whitlam waiting outside a Canberra hotel for the decision of an ALP Federal Conference. Prime Minister Menzies, in the November 1963 election campaign, used it to great advantage, drawing attention to "the famous outside body, thirty-six 'faceless men' whose qualifications are unknown, who have no electoral responsibility."

1971

Chinese Cocktail
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 tbsp. Cherry Liqueur
1 tbsp. Grenadine
1.5 oz. Rum
1 tbsp. Triple sec
Fill a mixing glass with ice and add all ingredients. Shake and strain into a glass.

In 1971 Whitlam visited the People's Republic of China (PRC), promising to establish diplomatic relations.

1972

Waste of Time
1 oz Midori melon liqueur
1 oz white rum
1/2 oz amaretto almond liqueur
2 oz pineapple juice
Shake, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

On 2 December 1972, Whitlam led the ALP to its first electoral victory since 1946 using TV advertising extensively. Many of Australia's entertainment celebrities took part in the advertisement singing an Age of Aqarius-style anthem called It's Time.

Hairy Man's Ass
1 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1 glass(es) Club Soda
Put vodka, baileys, and lime juice into a mixing glass. Shake and pour into tall glass. Add club soda.

Whitlam just couldn't wait to be Prime Minister so Gough-the-uncouth had himself and Deputy Leader Lance Barnard sworn in as a two-man government, holding all the portfolios between them.

1974

Double Vision
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Malibu Coconut Rum
1 oz Hot Shot
1 splash(es) Orange Juice
1/2 oz Sweet And Sour Mix
1 splash(es) Pineapple Juice
1 splash(es) Cherry Grenadine
Pour it all in, shake, and drink. The Orange Juice is used to balance the taste.

The Senate resolutely opposed six key bills and twice rejected them. The repeated rejection of these bills provided a constitutional trigger for a double dissolution (a simultaneous election for all members in both houses), but Whitlam did not decide to call such an election until May 1974. Instead he expected to hold an election for half the Senate. To improve his chances of winning control of the Senate, Whitlam offered the former DLP Leader, Senator Vince Gair, the post of Ambassador to Ireland, thus creating an extra Senate vacancy in Queensland which Whitlam hoped Labor could win. This manoeuvre backfired, however, when the Queensland Premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, learned of the appointment before it was announced, and had the Governor of Queensland issue the writs for the Queensland Senate election before Gair's resignation from the Senate took effect.

Cane Toad
1 oz. Tequila
1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Cherry Brandy
Fill with Soda Water
Mix in a 10 oz. glass and add a swizzle stick

Bjelke-Petersen refused to appoint the ALP's chosen replacement, Dr Mal Colston, and asked Labor for three alternative nominations. Bjelke-Petersen said he had concerns over Colston's integrity - with good reason.

1975

Sensation
2 sprigs Mint
Juice of 1/4 Lemon
1 1/2 oz. Gin
1 tsp. Maraschino Cherry
Shake all ingredients (except mint sprigs) with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add the sprigs of mint and serve.

So on 11 November 1975, Kerr revoked Whitlam's commission and installed Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister until a federal election could be held. He then immediately accepted Fraser's advice to call a double dissolution election, in an ironic twist using as triggers the same bills that the Coalition had rejected in the Senate.

Queen Bee Recipe
1.0 oz. Coffee Liqueur
0.5 oz. Cream Sherry
1.5 oz. Vodka
Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

On hearing the proclamation dissolving Parliament, which ended with the traditional 'God Save the Queen', Whitlam delivered his famous impromptu address to the crowd that had gathered in front of the steps of Parliament House. During the speech he famously labelled Fraser as "Kerr's cur" and told the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen, well may we say 'God Save the Queen', because nothing will save the Governor-General."

The Legacy

Recession Depression
0.5 oz. Lemon Juice
1.5 oz. Absolut Citron
0.5 oz. Triple Sec
2 dashes Rose's Lime Juice
Shake with ice and
strain into cocktail glass.

Whitlam's critics point to substantial failings in his administration. The economy declined, with balance of payments problems, high unemployment and (by Australian standards) very high inflation.

Loud-Mouth
1 oz. Kahlua
1 oz. Jose Cuervo Tequila
3 oz.Cranberry juice

Even in old age, Whitlam is a larger-than-life figure in Australian politics, with a ferocious intellect, a razor-sharp and often disparaging wit, and a towering ego that he never troubled to camouflage. The Labor historian Bob Ellis has described him as "the self-appointed deity of the Labor Party".

-- Nick and Nora

Paris Car Burning Spreads - To Australia

Copycats.

The three men approached the vehicle and one smashed the front passenger window, before throwing an inflamed device - believed to be a Molotov cocktail - inside...

Police are searching for the men, who they describe as being of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance and aged in their late teens to early twenties.

Original thinkers all round, really.

-- Nick

Paintball Enthusiasts Arrested

God bless the lawyers called upon to defend the indefensible.

As 17 men were arrested today for plotting a terrorist attack on Australian soil, defense solicitors for the men arrested in Melbourne have come up with a novel excuse for the illegal arms they carried:

Defence lawyers suggested the men were paintball enthusiasts and that jihad did not include military action but a spiritual struggle for religious purity.

Ah, that would explain the holy hell their supporters were raising outside the court.

The court was told security officials wanted the Magistrate to know about an incident outside court between a group of the men's supporters and the media where a cameraman was assaulted by four men.

Be warned. The above link is rated M - for violence, coarse language, adult themes and violent Muslims.

-- Nora

Journalists Think Telling Truth Is Good Idea

Journalists across the world have fallen for another hoax - that of the tale of Jimmy Massey, a man claimed to have served in Iraq but quit after all the horrible, horrible things that his fellow troops did.

Except it wasn't true.

News organizations worldwide published or broadcast Massey's claims without any corroboration and in most cases without investigation. Outside of the Marines, almost no one has seriously questioned whether Massey, a 12-year veteran who was honorably discharged, was telling the truth.

He wasn't.

Each of his claims is either demonstrably false or exaggerated - according to his fellow Marines, Massey's own admissions, and the five journalists who were embedded with Massey's unit, including a reporter and photographer from the Post-Dispatch and reporters from The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal.

Now the media is asking 'why?'

Editors at some papers look back at the Massey articles and are surprised that they ran them without examining whether the claims were true or without ever asking the Marine Corps about them.

"I'm looking at the story and going, 'Why, why would we have run this without getting another side of the story?'" said Lois Wilson, managing editor of the Star Gazette in Elmira, N.Y.

The media tries to spin itself straight:

In many cases, journalists covered Massey as he was speaking at public gatherings. Some reporters said that because he was making public statements, they didn't feel an obligation to check his claims. Some editors worried they could be accused of covering up his claims if they didn't report on his speech.

No, the truth is much more simple than that. Take it from Nicky and I who both spent considerable time in the Fourth Estate.

To quote the memorable words of X-Files' Fox Mulder: They're true in the sense that they are believed to be true.

The mainstream media wants to believe bad things about our troops and therefore laps up anything that fits that paradigm. Why should they verify facts when they want to believe what they are being told is the truth?

If anyone has any doubts about this mindset, consider the way US 'memo-gate' producer Mary Mapes still tries to defend her role in Rathergate.

-- Nora

Hat Tip: Leigh's House of Wheels

Bali 9 Mum Indicted As Co-Conspirator

Only kidding.

But she ought to be. According to this news story:

Christine Rush, whose 19-year-old son Scott faces the firing squad if convicted of being a drug mule, said in an affidavit the family had pleaded for assistance with the AFP before (emphasis mine) he left Australia for Indonesia.

"The inaction of not warning our son, contrary to our request in Australia, shows a callous disregard for the life of an immature, untravelled Australian citizen," she said in the affidavit before the Federal Court in Darwin.

"He is now facing charges which carry a maximum penalty of the death sentence because of this inaction and so-called cooperation."

So mum, you knew about your son's drug trafficking habits before he left Australia and all you did was write a letter?

You show a callous disregard for the lives your son's filthy trade would have destroyed had he not been detected.

Shame on you.

-- Nora

Thank You Warrant Officer Russell Nary

It is with great sadness Nicky and I read about the accidential death of Warrant Officer Russell Nary who was killed in an accident in the Middle East.

We extend our most sincerely condolences to WO Nary's family and we wish in our small way to let them know that many, many Australians appreciate the job he did in helping to defend our freedom and to offer the same hope for a brighter, self-determined future to people in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Our troops, in particular the SAS, are acknowledged as amongst the best in the world and rightly lauded for their courage, innovation, sense of humour and unfailing ability to get the job done.

This Friday is 11/11 - Armistace Day in some countries, Remembrance Day in others.

Wear a poppy or a spring of rosemary or if you can, thank a serving member of our military and a veteran of previous wars.

Lest we forget.

-- Nora

Update: In the interests of keeping the record straight, I've just read that Russell Nary's rank may have been sergeant major.

A Pessimistic Little Prediction

When Queensland enacted Australia's first anti-stalking legislation, it was hailed as a victory in protecting women from the evil that men do.

One was wryly amused when the first person to be charged was a woman.

It showed that the people one expects to use a law against aren't necessarily the only ones who get got. But while the anti-stalking legislation is a rather silly example - it simply proved that the law was to be applied equally - there are plenty of other laws on the statutes that don't come out exactly as planned.

Vilification laws have recently been twisted on their heads by the case of Australian pastors found guilty of hate speech simply for quoting the Koran.

So here's a pessimistic little prediction for you - while useful idiots are protesting supression of free speech and the risk of being arrested for incitement, those who are most likely to fall foul first are right-leaning bloggers.

How soon after the passage of the laws before terrorist Muslims and their sympathisers use sections of the legislation against those speaking out against them by complaining that blogs - even those as relatively mild as this one - are inciting violence against them?

Just a thought.

-- Nick

A Michael Moore Moment

A pamphlet calling on Muslims to oppose Western governments was handed out at a major Islamic festival in Melbourne yesterday.

But it's ok, because Melbourne's most senior Muslim cleric says so:

Sheik Fehmi (said:) "We're not terrorists and we're not thinking of terrorist acts, we're not going to do anything in the future - God willing."

That's nice. One feels very reassured.

Meanwhile, read all about taqiyah.

Plus here, here, here and here

-- Nick

Compare and contrast with Christianity

-- Nora

One Word

Morons.

-- Nick

Putting The Finger On Crime

Woo hoo! Go Mayor of Las Vegas Oscar Goodman! He reckons graffiti vandals should have their thumbs cut off:

Goodman said the city has a beautiful highway landscaping project and "these punks come along and deface it."

He also said:

"...whippings should be brought back for children who get into trouble."

Predictably, an education industry representative, state university system regent Howard Rosenberg, appearing of the same episode of the TV show Nevada Newsmakers, insulted Goodman and said 'cutting off the thumbs of taggers won't solve the problem'.

Of course, Rosenberg is right - it might slow you down but you can still hold and operate a spray can with a thumb missing.

You need to cut off their index finger as well.

-- Nick

Is That A Real Name?

The ABC's Sally Neighbour has actually compiled a valuable piece detailing the evidence against terrorism suspects in Australia, the inability of the authorities to take action under weak anti-terrorism laws - and the willful blindness of the useful idiots at the ABC.

Read the whole thing - it's a powerful scenario that couldn't fail to convince a sensible person.

Then see how in the last two paragraphs Neighbour virtually demounces all the evidence by sneering at the as yet unknown nature of '"specific new intelligence" cited by Prime Minister Howard', criticises tougher laws as 'draconian' and sympathises with terrorists who were clearly planning attacks in Australia.

-- Nick

Appeal Quashed

The appeal for a lesser sentence by three Muslim brothers who targeted white Australian girls for gang rape has been quashed.

But while criticising an argument put forward on behalf of one of the rapists, New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal Justice Michael Grove shows he's still concerned about the heinous crime of offending RoP sensibilities:

Justice Grove said it was "inappropriate" for a lawyer to have described MSK as a "cultural time bomb" and blame the rapes on his upbringing in Pakistan...

"The expression 'cultural time bomb' was, to say the least, inappropriate and inapt.

"It would understandably be regarded as offensive by those who fell within the scope of its insult."

(Hat-tip: Nilknarf at Right Wing Death Bogan)

In the Sydney case, the names of the rapists were suppressed to protect the identities of the victims.

But in this Melbourne case, the victim has been outed. Wonder why?

-- Nick

Sign Of The Times

Rupert Murdoch apparently believes it's ok to hit your spouse and split their lip.

Soon after the story broke, Mr Murdoch appeared in The Sun newsroom. Journalists were told that Mr Murdoch was not taking the matter too seriously, and that “they should make light of the situation”.

The situation is that the editor of The Sun, the trash tit and bum tabloid owned by Murdoch's News Limited, was arrested by police following an episode of drunken domestic violence.

Journalists applauded the perpetrator, who 'was greeted with a spontaneous round of applause' on their return to the newsroom after eight hours in custody.

The Times, also owned by Mr Murdoch, then lived up to the boss' advice and made further light of the situation with a mocking headline and repeated references to the actor victim's frequent fictional roles as a self-reliant person better equipped to defend themselves.

But that's ok, the victim was a male and the husband basher has been rewarded with an admiring nickname - Ginger Ninja - and is described simply as 'fiery' rather than a violent drunk.

Meanwhile, the front page of The Times Online bemoans that 'The gender pay gap stretches to 24%' for overpaid company directors, with women being paid 17,000 pounds less than men.

So unfair.

-- Nick

I Tawt I Taw... A Robot?

We're delighted to bring you this good news story - Tweety saved from teetering building

Tweety of course, had to be left behind during the emergency evacuation of the Sydney apartment block which was in danger of collapsing after tunnelling work created a yawning chasm under the building.

The heroic rescue was performed by a bomb disposal robot. How cool is that?

So raise your glasses and toast the rescue of:

Tweety Bird
- 4 oz Malibu Rum
- 2 oz Pineapple Juice
- 2 dash(es) Orange Juice

Mix Malibu, and Pineapple together in a glass, then add few dashes of Orange Juice.

-- Nora

News Limited Doubts Own Reporting

Interesting story on News Limited's web site today: Women find computer games 'big turn-on'.

Despite the double entendre nature of the headline the story reports:

THREE out of four Australian households play computer or video games and 60 per cent of players are women.

According to a survey, the average Australian computer or video game enthusiast is 24-years-old.

I'm a late bloomer - I only started on computer games at the age of 34 with Nick's encouragement.

Neither, it would appear that:

...only young male loners liked video games and they were "not just for kids".

But an editor of the news.com web site begs to disagree and does it in the pointer which I've captured here: Dubious: Women find computer games 'big turn-on'.

Could it be that Sigrid Kirk, Editor-In-Chief is sexist?

The more serious issue is, of course, that if we see such blatant bias and editorialising in such an inconsequential story, what must go on in the 'bigger' stories?

-- Nora

Fancy That

I wouldn't have imagined I'd ever say this, but - words of wisdom from a social worker:

"There's only so much social prevention you can do, then you have to repress," said Marie-Jeanne Sacré...

This after the sixth straight night of riots in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois.

For a place whose name translates as Clichy under Wood, evoking images of a leafy hamlet nestling beneath a verdant hillside, it's ironic that today it is described as:

...a grim suburb of high-rises some 15 miles outside Paris.

-- Nick

UPDATE: Make that seven straight nights, now with guns in use. But Reuters still doesn't want to admit the truth:

Youths rampaged in nine poor suburbs north and east of Paris, home to North African and black African minorities frustrated at their failure to get jobs or recognition in French society, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. (Emphasis added)

Useful excuse.

-- Nick

Physician, Heal Thyself

Britain's Telegraph reports that UK 'hospitals could be killing up to 34,000 patients a year because of mistakes made by staff'.

These are the same people who think we need protecting from ourselves.

-- Nick

The Religion Of Peace

Still got any doubts about the need for stiffer anti-terrorism laws?

-- Nick

Worked To Death

The next time anyone complains to you about the Federal Government's proposed new industrial relations laws - like The Labor Party who has declared war - point them to this story about the worker's rights - Woman dies after 24-hour work shift.

A 30-year-old woman died from exhaustion after working a 24-hour shift at a Chinese handicraft factory, state media reported today.

In a separate incident highlighting the poor conditions that many poor Chinese workers are forced to endure, Xinhua news agency said another six people died when an unlicensed shoe factory caught fire on yesterday.

The China Daily newspaper reported the handicraft worker, He Chunmei, fell into a coma and quickly died on Friday last week after working for 24 straight hours at the Guangzhou Huaxin Handicraft Factory in southern Guangdong province.

The paper quoted He's relatives and co-workers as saying employees had been ordered to work extra-long shifts because the factory was moving to new premises and orders had to completed.

It's hard to defend Communism when workers are treated so appallingly. A free market, free press, free people, provides the best opportunity for better working and living conditions for everyone.

-- Nora