Follow Your Heart

Self-aggrandising, morally superior Swedish advertising agency (an ad agency, for goodness sake) protests with teddy bears:

...a small Swedish plane entered (Belarus) airspace July 4, dropping hundreds of teddy bears on tiny black parachutes, the Belta news agency reports. The teddy bears carried signs reading, "freedom" and "We support the Belarus struggle for free speech." In a note it called a "legal warning and disclaimer" on its website, Studio Total acknowledges that violating military space "of a dictatorship" involves "real danger." It says: The entire campaign was paid for by Studio Total. The airplane we flew in was our own, and we piloted it ourself. We DO NOT support breaking of international law. But when it really comes down to it, the only law you should follow is your heart. (emphasis added)

You don't support breaking the law? But you just did.

Oh well, never mind, it's ok because the only law you should follow is your heart.

So if you want to abandon your children or expose yourself to minors or have sex with your sister, just do it.

-- Nick

Pointing The Bone

"I think the Indigenous people of Australia can be very proud of the respect in which they are held with every Australian."

That sounds pretty reasonable doesn't it?

No. It's apparently excuse for a riot.

Disgraceful.

-- Nora

Happy Australia Day

Here's our ubiquitous cocktail for our national day:

Aussie Beach Blond Cocktail Ingredients

1 1/2 oz White Rum
1 1/4 oz Orange Liqueur
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1 1/4 oz Orange Juice
1 passion-fruit pulp

Combine the rum, Cointreau, lime juice, orange juice, sugar and passion-fruit pulp in a blender with 1/4 cup of crushed ice. Blend and add further crushed ice where needed until slushy consistancy is achieved. Pour into a hurricane glass.

-- Nora

Everyone Who Ever Lived Was Pro-Gay

It's taking a bit of a liberty to assume what a dead man's views on a subject would have been.

Here, gay activists on the staff of Bloomberg chide Martin Luther King for forgetting to think of them while he was fighting for racial civil rights but then allow King the kind of 'open-mindedness' that he would have seen him on their side:

Even Martin Luther King Jr., the man the U.S. honors today, had his blind spots. The circle of human rights he gave his life to expand didn’t include everyone. Left out, for instance, were gay men and lesbians. One of King’s most laudable attributes, however, was his ability to evolve and grow, and so we imagine that were he alive today he would endorse the efforts of the Obama administration to help bring basic freedoms and protections to gay people the world over.

The fact is that King might very well have not seen gay rights as analogous to racial rights. There are good reasons to assume he would not have done and that he may have opposed many of the demands of today's homosexual lobby.

But it has been a tactic of the homosexual movement to co-opt the racial rights movement in this way, as well as to portray respected dead people as either supportive of their agenda or as homosexual themselves.

In this case, they've never been able to posthumously 'turn' the civil rights leader - it would bring a world of hurt down on them to attempt to do so as they have attempted with other historical figures.

But there's a whole realm of intellectual dishonesty in claiming he would have wholeheartedly supported them, as Ambra Nykol writes in The New Black Magazine:

A great success of liberal groups has been to disconnect the work of Dr. King with the fact that he was a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. People love to call King "Doctor" but rarely do they refer to him as "Reverend". We don't hear a great deal mentioned about King's ministry and his sermonizing from the Bible. There was once a day when "social justice" and politics were closely tied with the "black church".

Based on the fact the King was a Bible-believing Baptist (and assuming he didn't subscribe to the private interpretation methodical, choose-your-own-adventure brand of Christianity), we can deduce that he probably did not condone homosexuality as a lifestyle.

Although, Liberals will point to the fact that one of King's top advisers and organizers for the March on Washington, Bayard Rustin, was an openly homosexual man as proof positive that King was in favor of homosexual marriage. The reality is, this example merely shows us that King was in favor of showing an attitude of love towards all people, regardless of their sexual orientation.

This is simply the cause of Christ. However, the philosophy of King is currently being distorted to support the homosexual agenda.

-- Nick

But Really, There's No Agenda. Honest....

The UK Mail Online reports:

Why men will ALWAYS cheat (even if they love their partners and don't want to leave them)

The headline would be more honest if it read:

Why homosexual men will ALWAYS cheat (even if they love their partners and don't want to leave them)

For the statistically flawed and intellectually dishonest 'survey' on which the story is based was conducted by homosexual activist Eric Gumby Anderson who was 'America’s first openly gay high school coach' and is now an academic in the field of sociology working in England.

On his website, he writes:

Professor Eric Anderson is an American sociologist at the University of Winchester, England. He is known for his research on sport, masculinities, sexualities and homophobia. He has been published in dozens of academic journals and is regularly featured in the popular press. His work shows an increasingly positive relationship between gay male athletes and sport, as well as a growing movement of young heterosexual men’s masculinity becoming softer and more inclusive. Professor Anderson also researches matters related to men’s monogamy and the function of cheating, men's improving recognition of bisexuality, and the increased acceptance of young heterosexual men kissing.

His Wikipedia profile shows, however, that he is no mere studier of social mores but an active participant in the manipulation of society.

With respect to the Mail Online story, Professor Anderson is flogging a book based on a survey of a mere 120 male undergraduates, and he immediately distorts the results in the direct he desires by lumping heterosexual and homosexuals together.

Many independent studies reveal the majority of partnered gay men say they are monogamous but often have other sexual partners. The average is 7 others per year.

They maintain this cognitive dissonance by defining 'monogamy' differently to heterosexuals. Thus, they are emotionally 'faithful' to their partner but have others for sex only.

Thus the picture Anderson paints - and is wilfully supported in by a compliant media that helps him hide from a largely ignorant public that he is a homosexual advocate - is that all men behave in a manner similar to homosexuals.

This is a method proposed by Madsen and Kirk in their 1980s work After The Ball, which advocated the promotion of the concept that gay behaviour was the same as straight, even where it was not, so as to redefine society's normal to the homosexual norm.

-- Nick

What a post-Christian Society Looks Like

A callous thief stole a man’s bike as he lay dying in a canal just yards away.

‘Despicable’ Adam Lowther, 22, took the bicycle belonging to Michael Houghton, 51, without stopping to help the cyclist who was lying face down in the stretch of water, an inquest heard.

The hearing was told Lowther didn’t call for help because he had run out of battery charge on his phone.

He also claimed that as he thought the man was already dead there was little point in trying to help.

Instead he simply rode off on the bike before selling it for £20.

-- Nora

Tropical Storm

It's storm season in Queensland, but we've not seen much climatic action and that's probably just as well.

Tropical Storm (serves 8)
Ingredients

* 2 cups fresh pineapple juice
* 2 cups orange juice
* 1 cup white rum
* 3/4 cup high-proof dark rum
* 3 tablespoons Campari
* Orange wedges and maraschino cherries, for garnish

Preparation

* Mix ingredients in a pitcher. Cover; chill for 4–12 hours.
* Divide among ice-filled glasses. Garnish with orange wedges and maraschino cherries.

-- Nora

Paper Tigers

It's been back to work this week at the Charles' household and we see that our local newspaper is also back to its usual tricks after its reporting staff have (more or less) sobered up from New Years celebrations.

The first story that look our eye was the piece headlined today Council bleeding Coast ratepayers dry.

According to the article, any revenue stream employed by the Gold Coast City Council is an impost on the poor benighted citizen of the city.

THE Gold Coast City Council is bleeding ratepayers dry with fees and charges that have become an almost $100 million cash cow.

The revenue grab is revealed in the council's 2010-11 annual report, which the council removed from its website after goldcoast.com.au scrutiny.

Why would the council's annual report be removed from the web site?

Consider the Bulletin's story as exhibit A.

More than $10.5 million was collected through fines, $7.2 million through parking fees, $6 million for dumping waste at the tip and almost $17 million in building and development fees.

In addition it collected $32 million in charges for jobs it was doing on behalf of water authority Allconnex.

While the council pulled in $460 million in rates, it scored another $97 million through fees and charges.

Well yes. The Gold Coast City Council serves a population of just over 593,000 people. It needs revenue form a variety of sources, not just ratepayers.

Pejorative words like 'bleeding', 'cash cow' and 'scored' put the lie to the the Bully's claims of applying 'scrutiny' to the council on behalf of Gold Coasters. It is not.

The article today is part of a concerted 'kick the council campaign' ahead of the upcoming Local Government elections locked in for late March.

If the paper wants to see an improved Gold Coast then it needs to do a little soul searching.

Over the past 10 years it has had three editors and three masthead changes, reduced its staff by a rumoured 30% and experience a real numbers fall in circulation. Back in 2001, when the population of the Gold Coast was 423,700, the paper's average circulation was 45,000.

Today, circulation can't even keep up with population growth, dropping in real terms to a paltry average circulation of just 40,593 based on News Limited's own advertiser's page.

As a matter of disclosure, Nicky and I do not work for the Gold Coast City Council although, as long-term, semi-prominent citizenry we have met all of the current councillors, senior bureaucrats and most of the mayoral aspirants.

There is nothing wrong with the Fourth Estate ensuring our elected officials are held to account, but under the current malignant malaise which afflicts modern journalism - its all about 'the mix-master', manufacturing outrage with every interview a 'gotcha' - is it any wonder that even Anna Bligh (in the only defence of her government you will see on this site) looks to deliver her message direct to the people rather than through the filter of the 'professional' media.

Thanks to the Internet and social media - a phenomenon that most journalists (and certainly Rupert Murdoch) don't understand - people don't need the reach of media outlets anymore. Every man is his own publisher.

The Gold Coast Bulletin's dwindling circulation is evidence that the rest of us consider the 'news' they bring to be of even less and less importance.

It's not too late for the mainstream media to learn the lesson, but one questions whether they can.

-- Nora

UPDATE: I found a calculator and did some sums.

In 2001 when the Gold Coast's population was 423,700 and the average circulation was 45,000, the Bulletin was bought by 10.62% of the population

In 2011 when the Gold Coast's population is 593,000 and the average circulation is 40,593, the Bulletin was bought by only 6.84% of the population.

In real terms the Bulletin's reach has gone down by almost 40%.

Solomon's Decision Made Easy

Take the child away from both of them and raise it with a heterosexual family.

Who IS the mom? Lesbians in child custody battle after one woman donated egg and the other had it implanted into womb

-- Nora

Egypt Is Next

Inch by inch:

Thousands of honeymoons will never be the same again after Islamists put pressure on the Maldives government to close them down.

The Islamists indulge in kitman:

However, former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's opposition coalition Progressive Party of Maldives said the government move was aimed at leisure business owned by some opposition members. 'We never asked for the ban,' PPM spokesman Ahamed Mahloof said. 'We wanted the liquor and massage clinics banned in inhabited islands to prevent prostitution and spread of drugs and alcohol to locals'.

Inhabited islands?

-- Nick

When Animals Attack

David Williamson is one of those playwrights beloved of high school English teachers.

His writing is workman-like, his observations of Australian society once sharp and amusing, now seem flabby, shrill, depressing.

Most likely this is because he has lost touch with his audience falling foul, as many TV scriptwriters and playwrights do, of the snobbery that treats those whose patronage provides his income with contempt.

Williamson was featured here nearly five years ago when he bemoaned in print that he had to spend time with the ignorant money-fixated hoi polloi on cruise ship holiday.

Today Williamson is at the centre of another literary slap-down with fellow foul-mouthed, leftist snob Bob Ellis whose writings lurch from arts reviews, politics and social commentary with all the finesse of a man drunk on his own ego.

Professor Bunyip (a bunyip whose turn of phrase is a bubbling wellspring of sharp social observation and quick wit compared with the stagnancy of thought from the likes of Williamson, Ellis, FitzSimons and Hardy) has the background here:

WHAT with the spigot of mates’ moolah turned off, elderly onanist Bob Ellis must have a bit too much time on his hands these days, as he has stepped up those exercises in automatic writing which The Drum finds so agreeable. And since that humble vessel is insufficient to the outpourings of such a cascading ego, Bob also has been alerting the world to his continued presence via a recently launched blog. Things are going well for Blogger Bob, who has not yet learned to link, but who nevertheless celebrated 1000-or-so daily page views by noting his site “just might attract some advertising, from cinemas and theatres, for instance.”

Idle hands are said to do the devil’s work, and Bob’s stubby digits would seem to be the proof of that. Where once Mrs Palm’s ten daughters were able to occupy their few empty moments extracting cheques from a Palm Beach letterbox – cheques drawn against the taxpayers’ account and authorised by NSW Labor pals and his crow-eating cobber, ousted SA Premier Mike Rann – their secondary joy just lately would seem to be the needling of another august presence in the pantheon of Australia’s artistic elite, the fantastically revered playwright David Williamson. Oh, and his missus, Kristin Williamson, is just a bit peeved as well, which is entirely understandable. Even without reference to that billiard table, what respectable matron could tolerate in silence assertions by her hubby’s critic that she and he once fused themselves into a three-day lump of sweaty, socially aware, artistic flesh?

Although the good professor warns against rubber necking at the train wreck to come one is compelled to trawl through the wreckage to see if it is as bad as it appears.

It is.

-- Nora

Happy New Year

Enjoy this champagne cocktail at the Charles'

Cube of sugar
dash of brandy
Dash of bitters
Fill flute with champagne

And then join us for our favourite New Year's film After The Thin Man.

Watch the trailer here:



-- Nora

The Power of Forgiveness

After we spoke, I no longer felt any anger towards him — all of that had been worked through in preparation for the meeting. I didn’t want him to carry the burden of guilt for ever. As I left, I turned to him and said: ‘A lot of people won’t understand this, but I forgive you.’ He simply stared at me, his eyes full of tears.

I hadn’t planned to forgive Sean right then, but on the spur of the moment I did, and it came from my heart. I feel liberated by forgiving him, but it’s not unconditional. If my mother had been attacked instead of me, there would have been no forgiveness. Sean won’t die in prison and I wouldn’t want him to. Enough of his life has been wasted. I was chosen at random; simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. But forgiving Sean has helped to heal me. I am no longer a victim, I am a survivor.

-- Nora

Crime Support

That generous public-funded welfare leads to crime has been well established but even now statistics like this surprise and dismay:

One in three people claiming unemployment benefit is a convicted criminal, figures show.

Taxpayers are funding around £2billion a year in out-of-work payments to nearly 1.3million people with criminal records, including £1.2billion to those on Jobseeker’s Allowance.

I wonder what that figure would be in Australia.

-- Nora

Growing Up The Hard Way

Here's an idea: Wouldn't it have been easier to work on the marriage and stay together?

Admittedly, it’s never easy for an ex-partner to be relegated to visitor status in the former family home, especially when new partners are thrown into the mix.

To make matters worse, these days many families are rambling networks of current and ex-partners, children and step-children, which can make for ever more complicated arrangements.

Another friend, Patrick, is a prime example of this — last year he spent December 25 with his ex-wife, her new husband and her new husband’s ex-wife . . . not to mention their various offspring.

‘It’s all very “modern”, but I hate it,’ he says. ‘I do it to keep the children happy. If I’m honest, there is also a bit of envy involved, because their house is much nicer and more Christmassy than my flat.’

-- Nora

Merry Christmas

Berry merry
* 1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
* 50ml boiling water
* 250g boysenberries or blackberries
* 1/2 cup (125ml) vanilla vodka
* 1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice
* 4 cups crushed ice
* 1 (750ml) bottle chilled rose sparkling wine

1. Combine sugar and water in a small bowl and stir until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
2. Place sugar syrup, boysenberries, vodka and lime juice in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug and discard seeds and pulp.
3. Place half the ice and half the berry mixture in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth. Spoon evenly among half the serving glasses and top with sparkling wine. Repeat with remaining ice, berry mixture and sparkling wine.

-- Nora

Who's Filled With Loneliness And Despair On Halloween?

It's antithetical, but loss, unhappiness and hardship are what produce a feel-good film. It's no surprise that A Christmas Carol remains so popular and is so regularly adapted. A proper Christmas film needs to have a dark heart buried within, one that pumps out bleak visions of the future populated by sinister characters.

-- Nora

Better Late Than Never

THE federal government will work with Nauru to re-establish offshore processing, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says.

It's only taken hundreds of deaths over the past three years to restore a little commonsense.

So much for 'compassion'. Hundreds of men, women and children needlessly dead because of the Labor-Green Government decision to create uncertainly and ambiguity in our immigration system.

At least this is the beginning. Perhaps the reintroduction of the temporary protection visas and turning the boats away will also be part of the mix. We can only hope.

Kudos to Robert Manne who can admit that he was wrong in congratulating the Rudd Government on abolishing Howard's Pacific Solution.

Yet how many lives might have been saved had those on the left and the soft hearted, but easily manipulated general public thought about this issue logically and with a real world focus?

-- Nora

Empty Minds, Empty Spirits, Empty Words

Congratulations Britain - the first so-called Christian country to celebrate Christmas without Christ:

The worst offender overall was Asda, which had just four Christian cards out of 2,638 sold individually across all the stores visited – 0.15 per cent.

It also had the lowest proportion among multi-packs, with 13 out of 427, or 3 per cent.

Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said: ‘I can’t believe this is being led by consumer demand.

'I believe there is anti-Christian prejudice in the buying departments involved.

‘There’s too much of this multicultural indoctrination and too much of an idea that if they put out Christian cards they will alienate or discriminate against or offend other faiths.

‘There’s a kind of militant atheism and nasty secularism at work in this country which is completely opposed to Christianity.’

Furthermore:

Christmas cards emblazoned with obscenities are on sale across Britain’s High Streets.

One card showing a quintessential 50s family inside a wreath reads ‘Merry Christmas W*****’, while another depicts a pair of carol singers with the words ‘Merry F****** Christmas.’ A third says: ‘Merry Christmas You F****** F*****.’

Charming.

-- Nora

Release The Hounds, Kill The Monster

Brisbane's Courier Mail whips up a baying mob to sell newspapers and page views:

Pedophile in top Queensland Health job as more failed checks on public servants revealed (by) Alison Sandy and Josh Robertson From: The Courier-Mail December 21, 2011 12:00AM

... and not only reveals his work unit and position but also names the man who

... was convicted in the Brisbane District Court in 1994 and sentenced to 18 months jail, of which he served six, for indecently dealing with a child under 16.

The man was convicted almost 20 years ago and the story admits - several paragraphs in - that Queensland Health were aware of his conviction, that he appears to have been a problem-free employee for 11 years, has not reoffended and that his case had been examined and cleared by the CMC. Furthermore, he does not have any contact with children in his work.

Besides, what exactly did this man do 18 years ago? How old was he at the time? The Courier Mail isn't saying though it surely knows.

But the newspaper and its 'journalists' eagerly whip up the slavering knee-jerkers who believe that certain classes of offender should be punished first by the law in court, secondly by other criminals in prison and thirdly by them on the street with mobs and 'vigils', and who show their bared teeth and drooling mouths in comments.

However, scattered among them are those who 'get it'. From just the first page of comments:

Michelle of Mt Gravatt Posted at 12:33 AM Today
So? He probably does a great job. He also has zero contact with children. Besides I'd lay bets that peadophiles (you dont need a conviction to be classed as one) work for the Courier Mail and many other media vehicles who make a buck from this hysteria to. More scaremongering and sensationalising from a bored media outlet desperate for some explosive news events. Thanks..

Comment 9 of 228



Disgusted in our media Posted at 4:00 AM Today
What a terrible witch hunt you've embarked on here Courier Mail. Without any context at all you have now marked this man with a huge red "P". Shame on you. If he isn't dealing with children, isn't in a role that requires a blue card, and his situation is being monitored and has been advised on by the CMC, what possible harm can he do? Again, shame on you. People who have served their time can be rehabilitated, can be productive members of society and deserve to be given the chance. I think this is the last straw. I've had enough of the filth and propoganda published on an almost daily basis. I'm finished with the Courier.

Comment 18 of 228

ST of Bris Posted at 5:55 AM Today
No chance of going striaght in this state, I urge all public servants to check wardrobe for any skeletons as the CM is on the hunt

Comment 29 of 228

Unsure of the correlation Posted at 5:59 AM Today
So the guy committed a crime, served his time, and has not re-affended. In addition, he disclosed his record to his employer and is in a position which is not in direct contact with kids anyway. I'd say this is a good news story for the State's penal rehabilitation system. Bad form CM.

Comment 32 of 228

Sharon Posted at 6:04 AM Today
The media is disgusting Mr Austin has done his time ,he is getting on with his life and helping others .This is witch hunt by the media shame on the CM shame .

Comment 34 of 228

Moral Crusader Posted at 6:14 AM Today
I think your tabloid style reporting and fear mongering is treading a fine line here CM, particularly by naming the bloke. The idea behind our justice system, as frail as it is, is that a person is convicted and sentenced and when they finished that sentence, considered to have paid they're debt to society. The cirumstances of his crime are not known and nor should they.

Comment 38 of 228

Gleemonex Posted at 6:45 AM Today
Nice work Courier Mail! For cheap political point scoring and your daily vendetta against Queensland Health, you have exposed someone's almost 20 year old criminal conviction, despite your story indicating that Queensland Health was well and truly aware of this employee's past. This is not news. And, was there any need to name this person? Even better, why are you promoting a public website for people to find the details, including a picture? Anything to satisfy the uneducated, angry masses baying for political blood, right!? No, just poor, trashy, tabloid journalism yet again from the Courier Mail. I hope you get sued for loss of income and damages as no doubt this article will cause.

Comment 52 of 228

Callie of Bundy Posted at 7:01 AM Today
Sick to death of the Courier Mail and this type of gutter journalism. Mr Austin has served his time and is now a productive person helping those in need . But the Courier Mail would rather conduct a witch hunt . I certainly hope hope the whistle blower gets what they deserve.

Comment 58 of 228

Get tougher on crime of Brisbane Posted at 7:04 AM Today
Conviction 1994, judged and sentenced, did the crime, did the time. At what point is he free to move on with his life. Sounds like the whisle blower may be a disgruntle employee or internal Govt employee seeking to further damage the govt.

Comment 59 of 228

Brian Posted at 7:06 AM Today
Witch hunt by this disgusting rag the Courier Mail. Alison Sandy and Josh Robertson you missed the pedophiles under the rocks and behind those bushes. Congratulations on destroying a person who has done their time and is now helping mentally ill people in need.

Comment 60 of 228

Barry of Brisbane Posted at 7:08 AM Today
I hope the whistle blower get what she deserves , this person was jailed and did his time, he now help others in need , what a great lot we are ,the media should be ashamed of itself.

Comment 63 of 228

Labor Dude of LaborLand Posted at 7:32 AM Today
This guy makes a mistake 20 odd years ago pays for his crime doesn't seem to have re-offended and you want to make a story of it. Should have just shot him back then and be done with it. I'm sure if you went through the CM employee list you'd find a few shady characters in there as well. Keep digging though, I'm sure you'll find a cleaner who ran a red light back in the 80's.

Comment 78 of 228

Alice H of Kedron Posted at 7:39 AM Today
If this man was to have direct interaction with children, the law requires he hold a Blue Card. Since he's not in contact with children he doesn't need a Blue Card, a fact confirmed by the independant watchdog, the CMC. The man's conviction was in 1994 - 17 years ago. Is it responsible for this newspaper to publically name this person after so much time has passed and no further laws have been broken? Is it in the public interest? I doubt it. Is it in the selfish interest of boosting newspaper sales? You'd better believe it!

Comment 82 of 228

Windsor Neighbour of Kelvin Grove Posted at 7:45 AM Today
So the CM wish to ruin a person life who has obviously learnt from their mistake and has now demonstrated over a number of years they con contribute to society in a productive way. The position is not dealing directly with children so what's the problem?

Comment 84 of 228

Ironic of Brisbane Posted at 8:21 AM Today
It would be interesting to see how many Couriermail journalists would be left to write stories if News Ltd did police background checks?

Comment 97 of 228

It would be interesting indeed.

Perhaps it's time to start introducing the pot to the kettle and outing journalists for their sins.

There must be plenty of people out there who know of journalists who have, say, just for argument's sake, been 'spoken to' by the police regarding having had sexual intercourse with a 15 year old girl.

Which could be very alike 'indecently dealing with a child under 16'.

Only worse.

-- Nick

Postscript: No link to the Courier Mail story so as not to compound the newspaper's offence.