Thursday, July 09, 2015

Thu Jul 9th Todays News

At last you can revel in the joys of smaller government on this site for the Bolt Report Supporter's Group on Facebook. If something is broke, you fix it. Or not. There won't be any purges or changes because I've not the time to do much. But if you do something outrageous which I must respond to I will.
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Greece is suffering without credit. Swiss airline Edelweiss is telling their pilots to carry $11k to cover kerosene handling and landing fees. The Greek government is left wing and has lied about options. Leaving the EU and being pariah for decades or cutting costs is the choice. Cutting costs is the only solution that will benefit the Greek peoples most. 

 Carbon dioxide is up, and temperature is down. Great Barrier Reef thriving. The environmental movement has lied about what is happening to the world. In India, Greenpeace has had its assets frozen for damaging state interests in activism in the name of environmentalism. India is achieving greatness.

 Race and racism divides us, or secular humanism unites us. It is appalling when white people use funds allocated to coloured people to help them achieve from disadvantage. But it is understandable as it is money and people are known to steal money for their own benefit. In Australia there are moves to enshrine race within the constitution. It should be resisted. No recognition of race is needed for free and fair people to prosper. 

 Bill Shorten is evasive and untrustworthy in response to Royal Commission questions. Press are spinning wildly, saying that an eight year long failure to declare election funding was a mistake corrected. It was a 'mistake' corrected after eight years. The conflict of interest is so substantial that even ALP senior members of the past are calling on him to resign. 

 Fairfax is bleeding. Even old property is having to be sold for less than commercial return value. Two properties, former printing presses estimated at $70 million are being sold for $55 million. And they didn't have windmills or solar panels. In fact, they weren't environmentally friendly. Fairfax is bleeding, but still spitting poison. 

 455, the Roman military commander Avitus was proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. 491, Odoacer made a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theoderic the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric forced Odoacer back into Ravenna. 660, Battle of Hwangsanbeol: Korean forces under general Kim Yu-shin defeated the army of Baekje at Nonsan (South Korea). 869, a magnitude 8.6Ms earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck the area around Sendai in the northern part of Honshu, Japan. 1357, Emperor Charles IV assisted in laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague. 1386, the Old Swiss Confederacy made great strides in establishing control over its territory by soundly defeating the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Sempach.

 In 1540, King Henry VIII of England annulled his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. 1572, Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorkum. 1609, Bohemia was granted freedom of religion through the Letter of Majesty by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II. 1701, War of the Spanish Succession: Austrians defeated France in the Battle of Carpi. 1745, War of the Austrian Succession: French victory in the Battle of Melle allowed them to capture Ghent in the days after. 1755, French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition: British troops and colonial militiamen were ambushed and suffered a devastating defeat by French and Native American forces. 1776, George Washington ordered the Declaration of Independence to be read out loud to members of the Continental Army in New York, New York, for the first time. 1789, in Versailles, the National Assembly reconstituted itself as the National Constituent Assembly and began preparations for a French constitution. 1790, Russo-Swedish War: Second Battle of Svensksund: In the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captured one third of the Russian fleet. 1793, the Act Against Slavery was passed in Upper Canada and the importation of slaves into Lower Canada was prohibited.

 In 1807, the Treaties of Tilsit were signed by Napoleon I of France and Alexander I of Russia. 1810, Napoleon annexed the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire. 1811, Explorer David Thompson posted a sign at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern Washington state, US), claiming the land for the United Kingdom. 1815, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord became the first Prime Minister of France. 1816, Argentina declared independence from Spain. 1821, Four hundred seventy prominent Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos were executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence 1850, U.S. President Zachary Taylor died; Vice President Millard Fillmore, became President upon Taylor's death. Also 1850, Persian prophet Báb was executed in Tabriz, Persia. 1863, American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ended. 1868, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law. 1875, outbreak of the Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman rule, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans. 1877, the inaugural Wimbledon Championships began. 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivered his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

 In 1900, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom gives Royal Assent to an Act creating Australia thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government. Also 1900, Boxer Rebellion: The Governor of Shanxi province in North China ordered the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children. 1903, future Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was exiled to Siberia for three years. 1918, Great Train Wreck of 1918: In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collided with an outbound express killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history. 1922, Johnny Weissmuller swam the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the 'minute barrier'. 1932, the state of São Paulo revolted against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution. 1937, the silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation were destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.

 In 1943, World War II: Operation Husky: Allied forces performed an amphibious invasion of Sicily. 1944, World War II: Battle of Normandy: British and Canadian forces captured Caen, France. Also 1944, World War II: Battle of Saipan: American forces took Saipan in the Mariana Islands. Also 1944, World War II: Battle of Tali-Ihantala: Finland won the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Red Army withdrew its troops from Ihantala and dug into a defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive. 1955, the Russell–Einstein Manifesto was released by Bertrand Russell in London, England, United Kingdom. 1958, Lituya Bay was hit by a megatsunami. The wave was recorded at 30 to 91 meters high, the largest in recorded history. 1961, Turkish voters approved the Turkish Constitution of 1961 in a referendum. 1962, the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test was conducted by the United States. Also 1962, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans exhibition opened at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.

 In 1972, the Troubles: In Belfast, British Army snipers shot five civilians dead in the Springhill Massacre. 1979, a car bomb destroyed a Renault motor car owned by the famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claimed responsibility. 1981, Donkey Kong, a video game created by Nintendo, was released. The game marked the debut of Nintendo's future mascot, Mario. 1986, the Parliament of New Zealand passed the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand. 1993, the Parliament of Canada passed the Nunavut Act leading to the 1999 creation of Nunavut, dividing the Northwest Territories into arctic (Inuit) and sub-arctic (Dene) lands based on a plebiscite. 1999, Days of student protests began after Iranian police and hardliners attacked a student dormitory at the University of Tehran. 2011, South Sudan gained independence and seceded from Sudan.
2014
Love is a motivating thing. And while one may brag that love motivates them more than another, that is not sufficient to explain how Germany managed to thrash Brazil 7-1. The score had been 7-0 for a time. And the broken hearted supporters of Brazil had no explanation, and attention turned to their defender who was also captain. It is true that the Brazil Captain was caught short for six of the seven goals, but that is soccer. according to scoring theory, 7-1 is better for a losing team than 6-0. But, it is home turf for Brazil. Brazil can't rely on distance from the fans and claim they were robbed. They were outplayed by German precision which was merciless. It will take more than a few steins of the finest lager to make those canary sing joyfully. The next big unanswered question is can Argentina win silver, or will they be denied by the Netherlands? 

The press are cheering anything that might look like a setback to government policy. Ricky Muir in the senate has decided to delay a vote ending the carbon dioxide tax. The High Court has decided to stay a return of victims of people smugglers. The policy program making cuts to spending is quite thin, and if none of those cuts are passed, it will make effective government hard. But the truth is cutting spending is the only way to prosperity, and failing to do so will result in poverty. Remember that when you next hear the ALP leader fail to have a policy that includes cutting spending. 

Words are powerful, they define what we think of, and how we behave. George Washington ordered that the declaration of Independence be read to his troops on this day in 1776. In 1793, Canada passed an act against slavery. In 1868, the fourteenth amendment guaranteed African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the US due process. In 1900, Queen Victoria gave assent to the creation of the state of Australia. In 1922, Johnny Weissmuller heard the word 'minute' and broke it for the 100m by timing 58.6 seconds. The latest world record is 44.94 seconds. 

Bertrand Russell prided himself on his intellect. He was highly lauded. And ridiculed by those that knew him. Like Maynard Keynes. It is an interesting study in personality to think on how Keynes and Russell described each other. Russell said of Keynes he was a moody genius, and all eyes in a room would be drawn to him as he entered it. Keynes said of Russell he was a nice guy, who liked nice things and wondered why not everything around him was nice. On this day in 1955, Russell published the nice thought despairing of the future of humanity in a world with nuclear power. Russell was the Al Gore of his day, a highly lauded imbecile. He got Einstein to sign the declaration in the days before Einstein died. Only it is a scare campaign that opposed nuclear power in major states like the US, but encouraged buttressed expansion among states like the Soviet Union. It was little different than GMO or Global cooling or warming campaigns which followed. In 1958, the largest recorded wave of 524m hit Lituya bay. 1962, Andy Warhol showed his Campbell Soup can picture. 1979, ODESSA claimed responsibility for blowing up a car of Nazi hunters. 1981, Donkey Kong was released, unleashing Mario. Born on this day, 1932, Donald Rumsfeld, 1938 Brian Dennehy (Gorky Park), 1946 Bon Scott (AC/DC), 1947 OJ Simpson, 1956 Tom Hanks, 1957 Tim Kring and 1987 Amanda Knox. 
Historical perspectives on this day
455, the Roman military commander Avitus was proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. 491, Odoacer made a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theoderic the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric forced Odoacer back into Ravenna. 660, Battle of Hwangsanbeol: Korean forces under general Kim Yu-shin defeated the army of Baekje at Nonsan (South Korea). 869, a magnitude 8.6Ms earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck the area around Sendai in the northern part of Honshu, Japan. 1357, Emperor Charles IV assisted in laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague. 1386, the Old Swiss Confederacy made great strides in establishing control over its territory by soundly defeating the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Sempach.

 In 1540, King Henry VIII of England annulled his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. 1572, Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorkum. 1609, Bohemia was granted freedom of religion through the Letter of Majesty by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II. 1701, War of the Spanish Succession: Austrians defeated France in the Battle of Carpi. 1745, War of the Austrian Succession: French victory in the Battle of Melle allowed them to capture Ghent in the days after. 1755, French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition: British troops and colonial militiamen were ambushed and suffered a devastating defeat by French and Native American forces. 1776, George Washington ordered the Declaration of Independence to be read out loud to members of the Continental Army in New York, New York, for the first time. 1789, in Versailles, the National Assembly reconstituted itself as the National Constituent Assembly and began preparations for a French constitution. 1790, Russo-Swedish War: Second Battle of Svensksund: In the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captured one third of the Russian fleet. 1793, the Act Against Slavery was passed in Upper Canada and the importation of slaves into Lower Canada was prohibited.

 In 1807, the Treaties of Tilsit were signed by Napoleon I of France and Alexander I of Russia. 1810, Napoleon annexed the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire. 1811, Explorer David Thompson posted a sign at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern Washington state, US), claiming the land for the United Kingdom. 1815, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord became the first Prime Minister of France. 1816, Argentina declared independence from Spain. 1821, Four hundred seventy prominent Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos were executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence 1850, U.S. President Zachary Taylor died; Vice President Millard Fillmore, became President upon Taylor's death. Also 1850, Persian prophet Báb was executed in Tabriz, Persia. 1863, American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ended. 1868, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law. 1875, outbreak of the Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman rule, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans. 1877, the inaugural Wimbledon Championships began. 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivered his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

 In 1900, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom gives Royal Assent to an Act creating Australia thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government. Also 1900, Boxer Rebellion: The Governor of Shanxi province in North China ordered the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children. 1903, future Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was exiled to Siberia for three years. 1918, Great Train Wreck of 1918: In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collided with an outbound express killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history. 1922, Johnny Weissmuller swam the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the 'minute barrier'. 1932, the state of São Paulo revolted against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution. 1937, the silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation were destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.

 In 1943, World War II: Operation Husky: Allied forces performed an amphibious invasion of Sicily. 1944, World War II: Battle of Normandy: British and Canadian forces captured Caen, France. Also 1944, World War II: Battle of Saipan: American forces took Saipan in the Mariana Islands. Also 1944, World War II: Battle of Tali-Ihantala: Finland won the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Red Army withdrew its troops from Ihantala and dug into a defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive. 1955, the Russell–Einstein Manifesto was released by Bertrand Russell in London, England, United Kingdom. 1958, Lituya Bay was hit by a megatsunami. The wave was recorded at 30 to 91 meters high, the largest in recorded history. 1961, Turkish voters approved the Turkish Constitution of 1961 in a referendum. 1962, the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test was conducted by the United States. Also 1962, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans exhibition opened at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.

 In 1972, the Troubles: In Belfast, British Army snipers shot five civilians dead in the Springhill Massacre. 1979, a car bomb destroyed a Renault motor car owned by the famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claimed responsibility. 1981, Donkey Kong, a video game created by Nintendo, was released. The game marked the debut of Nintendo's future mascot, Mario. 1986, the Parliament of New Zealand passed the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand. 1993, the Parliament of Canada passed the Nunavut Act leading to the 1999 creation of Nunavut, dividing the Northwest Territories into arctic (Inuit) and sub-arctic (Dene) lands based on a plebiscite. 1999, Days of student protests began after Iranian police and hardliners attacked a student dormitory at the University of Tehran. 2011, South Sudan gained independence and seceded from Sudan.
=== Publishing News ===
This column welcomes feedback and criticism. The column is not made up but based on the days events and articles which are then placed in the feed. So they may not have an apparent cohesion they would have had were they made up.
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Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August https://www.createspace.com/4124406, September https://www.createspace.com/5106914, October https://www.createspace.com/5106951, or at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4  The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows the purchase of a kindle version for just $3.99 more. 
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For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball

Or the US President at
https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-change-this-injustice#
or
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/change-injustice-faced-david-daniel-ball-after-he-reported-bungled-pedophile-investigation-and/b8mxPWtJ or http://wh.gov/ilXYR
Douglas Sutherland-Bruce via David Daniel Ball
Mr Ball, I will not sign your petition as it will do no good, but I will share your message and ask as many of friends who read it, to share it also. Let us see if we cannot use the power of the internet to spread the word of these infamous killings. As a father and a former soldier, I cannot, could not, justify ignoring this appalling action by the perpetrators, whoever they may; I thank you Douglas. You are wrong about the petition. Signing it is as worthless and meaningless an act as voting. A stand up guy would know that. - ed

Lorraine Allen Hider I signed the petition ages ago David, with pleasure, nobody knows what it's like until they've been there. Keep heart David take care.

I have begun a bulletin board (http://theconservativevoice.freeforums.net) which will allow greater latitude for members to post and interact. It is not subject to FB policy and so greater range is allowed in posts. Also there are private members rooms in which nothing is censored, except abuse. All welcome, registration is free.
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Happy birthday and many happy returns Andrew Bollom and Whiskey Tees. Argentina Independence Day. In 1572, Nineteen Catholic friars and clerics were hanged in Gorkum during the 16th century religious wars in the Low Countries. In 1745, War of the Austrian Succession: The French victory in the Battle of Melle made their subsequent capture of Ghent possible. In 1868, The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, including the Citizenship Clause and the Equal Protection Clause, was ratified by the minimum required twenty-eight U.S. states. In 1943, World War II: The Allies began their invasion of Sicily, a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. In 1981, Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong, which featured the debut of Mario, one of the most famous characters in video game history. Celebrate your independence, but avoid Gorkum. You will get Ghent. Be confident, the minimum is still sufficient. If the US hadn't taken Sicily, we might not now have Catch - 22. Today, you are Mario.
Despatches
Johnny Weissmuller
The earth moved. We hang with our friends. We are fleet and rushing. We have the nod. The minute barrier was broken. A church is not a place for weapons. Let's party. 
Matches
Hatches
Despatches
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2015
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EMISSIONS UP, TEMPERATURES DOWN

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 09, 2015 (3:00pm)

Oh no! More carbon dioxide in the air: 
Electricity emissions have jumped since the repeal of the carbon tax, the Climate Council says.
The council cites new data by consultants Pitt & Sherry, showing carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity grid went up 6.4m tonnes in the last financial year since the tax was axed. 
This means we’ll all be incinerated by the Great Warming, right? Wrong: 
The most powerful cold front to cross Australia’s southeast in years will hit this weekend with forecasters warning of freezing conditions.
Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and the ACT are bracing for the coldest spell in at least two years, and more than five years in some places. 
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Bill Shorten in the royal commission - about that $300,000 donation

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (10:15am)

Bill Shorten today is being asked about why he got Theiss John Holland to pay his Australian Workers Union $100,000 a year for three years in a deal over the East Link project in Victoria.
Says doesn’t recollect specific figures, but wanted bosses to pay for things like health safety training.
Shorten says it’s not his recollection to have asked for that $100,000 a year.
Shorten is filibustering here and refusing to give direct answers to the questions of counsel assisting, Jeremy Stoljar.
Shorten is asked about whether the union actually provided the $33,000 of health and safety training mentioned in one invoice. Shorten refuses to give a yes or no answer, but says was no longer state secretary and suggests the union would have delivered such training. “No reason” to believe the training would not have been done. Is asked whether this isn’t part of the $100,000-a-year deal Shorten actually negotiated. Repeats that he would not have been party to issuing invoices for services not delivered.
UPDATE
Shorten says he was publisher of the Australian Worker magazine as national secretary and says cannot understand why the Victorian branch was charging for advertising to it. He is shown invoices from 2006 and is told can’t find advertisements that the Victorian branch charged for. Shorten says he was not Victorian secretary any more and does not have an explanation for it. Shorten then gives his third or fourth speech of the morning. Adds that he would not have been party to issuing false invoices.
Shorten is grilled over the union being paid by John Holland for ads that didn’t appear in the union magazine and training that John Holland had itself paid for, as Stoljar says, just to reach the $110,000 a year (including GST) John Holland had agreed to pay under the deal Shorten had negotiated.  Shorten’s answer? The invoices were issued after his time. And the workplace deal was good.
UPDATE
Stoljar: I don’t think it addresses my question. My question was to your knowledge did the joint venture agree to pay the AWU $100,000 a year plus GST for the three-year life of the (Eastlink) project.
Shorten: I don’t believe that was the case…
Stoljar: Isn’t the position this, that invoices were being issued simply to make up amounts of a yearly instalment, $100,000, and regard was given as to whether - in many cases - the services for which payments were claimed had actually been provided?
Shorten: In my case, completely untrue. I do not believe that. 
UPDATE
Whack. Royal commissioner Dyson Heydon has had enough of Shorten’s filibustering and evasions. “What I’m concerned about is your credibility as a witness.” Warns Shorten that his “credibility as a witness” is at stake. “a lot of your answers are non-responsive”.  or introduce “extraneous” material, Shorten is making progress slow and it would be in his “best interests” to give more direct answers, even though Heydon understands from newspaper reports the pressure on Shorten to vindicate himself.
Brutal.
The lecture triggers some more direct answers at last. Shorten says it may well be that there would have been discussion about training and the like in discussions with John Holland. It could have involved delivering services to members. Doesn’t recall these discussions being in writing. Doesn’t recall a specific amount of $100,000 a year plus GST. Stoljar notes wasn’t declared in EBA. Shorten says wouldn’t be.
Is asked if there is a perception of conflict of interests. Avoids yes or no.
UPDATE
More deals. Why did Shorten negotiate a workplace deal that had ACI later pay nearly $500,000 to the union? Why make a deal with Chiquita Mushrooms which cut permanent jobs and saved the company millions - yet also won the AWU monthly payments of $4000 for “education”.
Stoljar: The problem is where you’re negotiating an EBA which contemplates a drastic reductions of the numbers of workers and other changes to those workers. Do you accept that there is a major conflict of interest when the union at the same time negotiates a secret deal pursuant to which payments will be made to the union?
Shorten just can’t see it. 
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Bob Hogg tells Bill Shorten to quit over gift

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (10:05am)

A former Labor national secretary gets what many journalists of the Left refuse to:

A former national secretary of the Australian Labor Party, Bob Hogg, has called for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to resign, accusing him of failing to understand the concept of conflict of interest.
Mr Hogg attacked Mr Shorten after the Labor leader on Wednesday admitted he had failed for eight years to reveal that a labour hire company had paid the salary of his campaign director in the 2007 election campaign.
The company had been involved at the time in negotiations with the Australian Workers Union for a new enterprise bargaining agreement for its workers, the royal commission into trade unions was told.
Mr Shorten told the royal commission he had not been involved in the enterprise bargaining negotiations with the company, Unibilt, as it had been handled by the Victorian branch of the AWU…
But Mr Hogg, in an angry open letter to Mr Shorten on social media, wrote: “Dear Bill - is the concept of conflict of interest beyond your understanding?"…
“Really?” he wrote. “His campaign director was paid for by a company whose employees were covered by Bill’s AWU, and therefore, as union members, deserved their interest to be protected to the maximum.
“The payment wasn’t declared until Bill was reminded eight years later: a real lapse of memory, sloppy book-keeping or a hope no-one would notice. Take your pick."…
“Let’s call a halt to defending the indefesible,” Mr Hogg said…
“Bill, do something for the ALP. It’s simple.
“Just go.”
===

What is the difference between Hockey’s “gaffe” and Shorten’s boast?

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (9:54am)

Treasurer Joe Hockey last month:
The starting point for a first homebuyer us to get a good job that pays good money… If you’ve got a good job that pays good money and you have security in relation to that job then you can go to the bank and you can borrow money. 
Bill Shorten:
As if Joe Hockey hasn’t insulted families enough, he’s at it once more… This is ‘poor people don’t drive cars’ all over again. This isn’t just another Joe Hockey gaffe - this is proof he just doesn’t get the pressure families are facing.
Bill Shorten in the royal commission yesterday:
My aim always in any EBA was to try and provide more work and more regular remuneration so that people could have certainty of an income. Once you’ve got regular income, then you can get a car loan, then you can even dream of getting a house loan.
(Thanks to reader Mike.) 
===

No credit to Greece

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (9:45am)

How broke is Greece?

Swiss airline Edelweiss is taking extra precautions when flying to the crisis-hit nation. Pilots have been told to carry more than $11,000 to cover costs, as the nation is largely operating on a cash-only basis.
The cash is used to pay for “kerosene, handling or landing fees"…
(Thanks to reader Low Profile.) 
===

“Indian” academic Andrea Smith left without a feather to fly

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (9:35am)



None of these farcical stories would surface if we treated “race” as irrelevant, and ethnic identity as no passport to academic promotion or authority.
But in another sign of our sinking into the intellectual swamp of identity politics:
Just a few weeks after Rachel Dolezal transfixed the nation with her bogus claims to black heritage, yet another professor stands accused of falsely claiming a different racial identity to advance her career.
Andrea Smith, a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California at Riverside, has started to draw attention in the wake of the Dolezal incident from those who say she has for years falsely claimed to have Cherokee blood. The case is arguably much more significant, though, because while Dolezal was a relatively undistinguished academic at Eastern Washington University, Smith is recognized as a significant scholar in her field. She routinely appears as a featured scholar at major events and has written books that were well-received by her colleagues (though others may question the broader worth of works like Conquest: Sexual Violence And American Indian Genocide).
Her career has largely been defined by her supposed American Indian identity. Besides her academic work, she also helped create the organization INCITE!, which describes itself as a collection of “radical feminists of color.” She’s also been active in the Indian group Women of All Red Nations (WARN).
But according to many, Smith’s Cherokee identity is a complete sham. Much of the attack on Smith is coming from an anonymous, but well-sourced, Tumblr blog, Andrea Smith Is Not A Cherokee.
(Thanks to reader observa.  Notes that these debates are much more legally dangerous here, although are of great public importance.) 
===

Shielding Shorten

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (8:44am)

Paul Murray demolishes the media Left spin that there were “no smoking gun” against Bill Shorten in the royal commission yesterday. Watch here.
Why did an employer donate to Bill Shorten’s personal advantage? Did the employer’s workers know about this deal when Shorten’s union was negotiating a workplace deal for them? Why was the donation disguised? What was it not declared?
UPDATE
The Sydney Morning Herald’s website isn’t keen to report on Bill Shorten’s horror day at the royal commission:
image
And even then you get a who-cares report that starts like this:

Bill Shorten isn’t the first politician to be embarrassed by a late campaign declaration, and he won’t be the last.
UPDATE
Jeffrey Phillips SC says this is serious:
The fundamental or more dangerous question which is being hinted at is whether the Unibilt contribution to Shorten’s campaign had any connection to the negotiations for the EBA?
Was it a secret or was the contribution fully disclosed to the ­employees to be or covered by the EBA? Could the employees have done better in the negotiations?
Would they have voted to ­approve the EBA’s terms had it been transparently revealed that the employer had made or would make a substantial contribution to the union’s most senior official’s political campaign?
Should it have been a secret contribution — and it is not for me to decide whether it was or not — prosecutors may be asked to consider whether any other law may have been breached.
A prosecutor may be asked to consider the provisions of section 176 of the Victorian Crimes Act. That section renders the receipt of any favour to an agent for the doing or not doing of any act in ­relation to the principal’s business without the knowledge of the principal as unlawful. One would have to ask the question: who is the principal? Was it the union or was it the employees to be covered by the EBA?…
Unless there is a cache of documents or emails pointing to a ­secret commission, or someone ­involved in the negotiations comes forward to reveal their ­nature, there would be no credible material to launch a prosecution.
(Thanks to readers Paul and Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 
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Shorten’s gift stinks

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (8:31am)

BILL Shorten had a terrible day at the royal commission on Wednesday that didn’t just leave the Labor leader looking shifty. 

It also turned the torch on the new breed of union bosses that infests Labor — careerists using union muscle and union cash to get themselves into Parliament.
And isn’t that the rap on Shorten? That this former Australian Workers Union boss is all ambition for himself?
Most obviously, of course, Shorten on Wednesday got caught out pocketing a disguised $40,000 gift from an employer that he did not disclose until four days ago.
That was a gift that stinks.
(Read full article here.) 
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Green alarmists and journalists marooned on Reef

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (8:30am)

Shouldn’t green groups have praised the Abbott Government for looking after the Great Barrier Reef so well? Shouldn’t they have apologised for their own hysterical scares?
Greg Sheridan on the dishonesty of the green alarmists:

In fact, the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has given the Great Barrier Reef a clean bill of health and indeed lavished praise on the Abbott government for its management pro­gram for the reef… Far from being “on probation”, Canberra was returned to the normal five-year reporting cycle for World Heritage areas…
Yet driving along in suburban Melbourne last week, when I heard the first radio reports of the outcome, the distinct impression I got was that Australia had just barely avoided the ignominy of having the reef declared to be “in danger” ...
The World Wildlife Fund put out a statement saying Australia was “on probation”. This is just wrong. Greenpeace put out similar statements. Given that some time ago Greenpeace was caught red-handed using photographs of a damaged reef in The Philippines to illustrate what it claimed was damage to the Great Barrier Reef, you might have thought savvy media organisations would have been sceptical about such green organisation claims.
One of the real disabilities of the environment debate in Australia is that the ABC and Fairfax Media tend to simply report the claims of green activist groups as though they were incontestable facts, when often they are at the very least highly tendentious interpretations, or misinterpretations. This was especially the case all through the climate change and carbon tax debates.
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One of the reasons Fairfax is bleeding

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (8:22am)

Hubris sold:

Property funds manager Charter Hall Group has swooped on Fairfax Media’s two printing plants in Sydney and Melbourne in a deal worth about $55 million. 

Fairfax had originally hoped to reap almost $70m from the combined sales of Tullamarine site in Melbourne’s northwest and the larger Chullora facility in Sydney…
Fairfax paid $220m for the Tullamarine facility, which opened only nine years ago. It spent another $70m to upgrade the Chullora plant in 2001, which was built for $315m in 1996.
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Q&A too Left-wing even for Labor

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (8:09am)

The ABC’s Q&A is too Left-wing even for a Labor MP, parliamentary secretary Michael Danby:

“The problem is ... TV producers with hardline political agendas, operating in the shadows, distorting the public debate, and shifting it in a direction that only the ‘enlightened vanguard’ like them appreciate…
“The desire for sensa­tionalism is worry enough. But equally worry­ing is the political paradigm in which Q&A’s senior staff operate. Their agenda is anti-Labor leftist, anti-Israel, even sometimes anti-democratic...”
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Turnbull’s terror attack on Abbott

Andrew Bolt July 09 2015 (5:34am)

MALCOLM Turnbull just cannot resist kicking against Tony Abbott or drilling holes in the Liberals’ boat. 

And he especially cannot resist when Abbott’s political recovery has stalled.
Turnbull is actually the Communications Minister but on Tuesday gave a speech on national security instead — and deliberately gave the Prime Minister a whack.
(Read full article here.) 
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After two days and hundreds of questions at Tony Abbott’s $80 million royal commission, I’m happy to talk about my record of standing up for working people, good jobs and safe workplaces.
Posted by Bill Shorten MP on Wednesday, 8 July 2015

It is like hearing Obama without a teleprompter. It's that bad
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Pescadero on the Rocks A little daytime long exposure while the fog was high and the tide was going out.Dedicated to Marcus Gutierrez who was a great help during my storm chase this year..
Posted by Matt Granz on Wednesday, 8 July 2015

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Why do advocates of free speech oppose it? We need to end 18c
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=== Posts from last year ===

Bob Carr: no danger in sending back the Tamils

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (4:43pm)

Will Labor at least hear it from their former foreign minister?
LABOR’S last foreign minister, Bob Carr, has ridiculed refugee advocates’ “urban mythology” about endemic persecution of Tamils in Sri Lanka, saying the previous government “couldn’t find a single case” of returned asylum-seekers being abused by authorities. 

Mr Carr ... rejected former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser’s likening of the Abbott government’s policy to returning Jews to Nazi Germany… 
“The idea that there is entrenched apartheid in the country like old South Africa or the West Bank just cannot be sustained.
“You’ve got 12 per cent of the population of Sri Lanka of Tamil background and they are heavily represented in the leadership of the country. You’ve got Tamil political parties sitting in the parliament, Tamil judges, Tamil doctors and engineers, a Tamil business leadership.
“There’s a great danger in this that we accept one side in this narrative … It’s not just a Tamil Tigers’ narrative; it’s a narrative about a complex society rebuilding itself after 35 years of vicious violence and not doing badly.” ...
Mr Carr said the Labor government returned a boatload of Sri Lankan asylum-seekers about August 2012, none of whom were treated inhumanely…

“This is a country that recovered from three-and-a-half decades of the most vicious civil war. If the Tamil Tigers had won, if they’d carved out their own republic in the north of Sri Lanka, there are good reasons for thinking … it would have ended up being very similar to Pol Pot’s regime in Cambodia. It would have been bloodthirsty… “The country is recovering from three-and-a-half decades of a vicious civil war and it’s not going to be a perfect exercise, and it isn’t, and we should keep our eye on human rights abuses. But I’ve got to say a lot of progress has been made.”
In fact, Labor once boasted how it sent back Tamils, too. From last June:
Australia announced the return of 22 more Sri Lankan irregular maritime arrivals who had failed to meet the country’s international obligations… 
Their return takes the number of Sri Lankans sent home to 1,270 – 1,057 of them involuntarily since August 2012. Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Brendan O’Connor, said returning the group to Sri Lankans sends a powerful message.
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This Senate can’t stop spending

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (4:32pm)

More holes blown in the Budget by a Senate that seems unable to save:
Rookie senator Ricky Muir has hammered out a deal with the Palmer United Party senators that will save the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. 
The $2.5 billion agency, which was set up to fund emerging renewable energy technology and research, was to be axed as part of the federal budget…
But the PUP has agreed to back Senator Muir’s call to retain the agency even as the carbon tax is dissolved.
The senators will vote against abolishing the agency, however funding cuts contained in the carbon tax repeal bills will go through…
As a result, the carbon tax repeal will cut the agency’s budget by $435 million and will enact a previously announced deferral of $370 million in funding by the former Labor government It will leave the ARENA with only about $100 million over the next four years for new projects, but blows a $1.3 billion dollar hole in the government’s savings attempts with that money due to be committed to ARENA beyond the forward estimates. 
And this:

THE Senate has punched another $2 billion hole in Tony Abbott’s budget by rejecting a bid to repeal a second round of income tax cuts linked to the carbon tax.  

NSW Senator David Leyonhjelm led the move to block the repeal. 
Labor in government had wanted to scrap the second round of tax cuts but supported Senator Leyonhjelm’s move to block the repeal… The cuts, which will raise the tax free threshold from $18,200 to $19,400 from July 1 next year, were planned to compensate for a carbon price of $29. 
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Muir splits from Palmer on vote

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (11:42am)

Already a fracture in the Palmer vote, and - predictably - against the national interest:
THE Coalition has lost a bid to force the fast-tracking of a vote on its carbon tax repeal bills in the Senate. 

The government this morning moved an urgency motion which would have brought on the debate. 
However the vote tied 36-36 when Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party senator Ricky Muir split from the Palmer United Party to vote against the motion.
Under the Senate rules, a tied vote on a procedural motion is lost… Unless the government moves again to gag debate it faces the prospect of the issue dragging on at least into tomorrow.
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The Internet lures The Age into a far-Left alley

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (11:32am)

Media

How the Internet is turning The Age into a niche publication, pitched at Abbott haters and inner-city moral preeners of the far Left:
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Tax rises to come, thanks to Labor, Greens and Palmer

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (7:50am)

Terry McCrann says the Budget didn’t cut much spending to start with, so it’s not a disaster - yet - that the Senate is blocking what cuts there are:
WHATEVER the Senate does to Joe Hockey’s Budget might be of huge political significance, but quite frankly the economic impact won’t be that large.… 
The one big thing the Government does not have to ask the Senate to approve is the huge increase in personal income tax that is going to take place over the next four years, hitting people earning roughly $50,000 and higher, as a consequence of “bracket creep"…
If the Senate gave Hockey everything he asked for back in May, the mix of legislated tax rises and spending cuts would shave $37 billion off the total budget deficit over the four years to 2017-18.
But the great bulk of those savings — $28 billion — only come in the last two years; and indeed nearly half of the four-year total, or $17 billion, is in the furthest year, 2017-18…
What these numbers also mean is that if Hockey got everything he wanted, the total of deficits over those four years would be reduced from around $98 billion to $61 billion. And again, note that most of the cut is in the last year.
Equally, if Hockey gets nothing, we would enter the 2018-19 year with net debt of a little over $300 billion and still rising, instead of the $264 billion and falling that the Budget projects…
But the direction and the build-up of savings is critical to the longer-term state of play. The Government is aiming to basically balance the budget in 2017-18; it would make a huge — negative — difference if instead it was still $20 billion in deficit. 
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The people we sent back speak: after jobs, not safety

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (7:28am)

Boat people policy

The Greens say the 41 Sri Lankan boat people returned this week by the Abbott Government were “persecuted”:
CHRISTINE MILNE: Sri Lankan asylum seekers have been returned to Sri Lanka: the persecuted to the persecutor.
Milne is deceiving the public.
In fact, every passenger I’ve seen interviewed so far say nothing about having been “persecuted”, with just one vague exception. All have said they were on their way to Australia or New Zealand to search for work:
Anthony Fernando: 
“Australian authorities have ill-treated us. They have given expired food, which had a date of May 22,” a tearful Anthony Fernando, 38, told the Anadolu Agency, joining the queue outside the court. “I have gone to Australia by boat to find employment, and later take my family to join me.” 
Manushika Sandamali, wife of passenger:
“My husband went to Australia to get a job. He was a driver before he embarked on a boat journey. We have lost the savings, and dignity,” Manushika Sandamali told the Anadolu Agency...
Punchi Banda Podinilame, speaking for 11 passengers:
Another man, Punchi Banda Podinilame, said he had one son, two sons-in-law and seven other relatives on the boat. He said they had all gone to Australia to find employment. 
Unidentified passengers interviewed by AFP:
Some of the migrants, most of whom were from Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese community, told AFP they had been trying to get to New Zealand rather than Australia where they hoped they could find work.
Bhamith Caldera:

Migrant Bhamith Caldera said he would “complain to the UN” over his treatment and denied that he had been screened as a possible asylum seeker. 
“They never asked any questions. They just wanted us to go back,” he said, declining to answer if he believed he had a case for asylum. 
Unidentified passengers, interviewed by the ABC:
This man says his son and other relatives were just trying to get work. 
Sujeewa Saparamadu:
Sujeewa Saparamadu told Fairfax Media that it was her husband Rajnith who was accused by Sri Lankan authorities of masterminding the whole enterprise, and that the Special Task Force commando was a man named Mahesh Indika… When asked why Mr Indika was fleeing Sri Lanka, she said: “He has a political problem."… 
Mrs Saparamadu said that after she gave an interview to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2012 or 2013, she said she was harassed by Sri Lankan authorities and that her family had decided that their best option was to go to another country like New Zealand that offered better economic circumstances.
M.G. Sumanadasa:
Another passenger, M.G. Sumanadasa, 59, a stonemason, said he was told he was going to New Zealand. 
“I got on board to earn more money and to have a family house in New Zealand. I didn’t pay any money, I was told I could pay it back after I got to New Zealand.”
Kasun Hemantha Jayasekara:

One of Mr Fernando’s friends was 21-year-old Kasun Hemantha Jayasekara, also a driver. “I’m very happy to be back in Sri Lanka, because we were told that the alternative was an island prison,” Mr Jayasekara said. 
And what of that interview with the ABC in 2012 or 2013 that Sujeewa Saparamadu suggests created political problems for her family? Here it is - an interview given after the then Gillard Government returned her husband’s four brothers to Sri Lanka, and suggesting that they tried to leave for economic reasons, not political:
CHRIS UHLMANN, PRESENTER: ... But this year boat arrivals from Sri Lanka spiked to more than a thousand a month and many are from the majority Sinhalese community coming in search of jobs and money… 
MICHAEL EDWARDS, REPORTER: These are the men who didn’t make it. On the day 7.30 went to Negombo Prison, 40 kilometres north of Colombo, 41 Sri Lankans long had been sent home from Christmas Island…
23-year-old Ranjith Saparamadu has four brothers inside the jail. All have been sent back after paying people smugglers thousands of dollars to get to Australia.
RANJITH SAPARAMADU (voiceover translation): They went there almost one month and they said actually they need a human right or (inaudible) a lawyer or Red Cross. But Australian Immigration said they don’t want to give and they say they will give back - they ask them to wait, but they never. My mother and my sister, my niece all are there, but my brothers all they sent back.
MICHAEL EDWARDS: These people represent an emerging trend in asylum seekers coming to Australia. They’re from Sri Lanka’s majority Singhalese community.
In Singhalese towns and villages the people smugglers’ sales pitch is simple: go to Australia and you’ll get jobs and money.
Pocus Fernando, a Singhalese fishermen from a small village just north of Negombo, believed the promises.
POCUS FERNANDO (voiceover translation): I wanted to go to Australia for a job to earn money. I have a wife and three daughters to look after. I heard the Australian Government was giving people jobs…
DAYANI HINDAWITARANA (voiceover translation): My husband is a fisherman. Fishing did not give us sufficient income. We have three children. The Australian Government is known to be generous and to look after people… JUDE (voiceover translation): There’s nothing much to do here in Sri Lanka. Therefore I thought of going to Australia to find a job. 
UPDATE
These were refugees? The very poor? The oppressed? The grateful?
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Hamas fires rockets at Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (6:58am)

Hamas has vowed to destroy Israel and kill the Jews. It now has rockets which can reach Tel Aviv:
For second time on Tuesday evening, Gaza terrorists launch rocket at central Israel; air raid sirens sounds in Jerusalem, central Israel; Tel Aviv opens public bomb shelters; no injuries reported. More than 40 rockets were fired into Israel in the biggest ever salvo of long-range fire from Gaza… 
During the salvo of rockets from Gaza, Iron Dome battery intercepted a projectile over the greater Tel Aviv area for the second time on Tuesday evening… According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld none of the rockets fired from Gaza landed directly in the city of Jerusalem, although two rockets likely landed just outside the city. 
Hamas is fast becoming a mortal threat to Israel - the kind of threat no country could tolerate. 
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Don’t reform the Senate. Do you really want the Greens, not Palmer?

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (6:57am)

Clive Palmer is a joke, but still safer than the Greens, says Terry McCrann. So say no to Senate reform:
...a Senate in which Labor and the Greens do not have a majority, or a Senate in which the Greens do not hold the balance of power on their own, is immeasurably better for the Government and for the Prime Minister in particular, and better for the country… 
At the most basic level, as this crazy quilt of eight assorted odds and sods enables Tony Abbott to abolish the carbon tax either this week or next, he should be asking himself: why on earth would I trade this for the certainty of continuous rejection from a Labor-Green Senate majority?
That would be the consequence of “reforming” the Senate voting method to end the chances of people like Ricky Muir, David Leyonhjelm, Bob Day and John Madigan being elected through complex preference deals and above-the-line voting, after starting with a handful of first-preference votes....
A Labor-Greens majority is disastrous when Labor is in government; it ticks through bad and irresponsible policy. Indeed, exactly such a majority after the 2010 election gave us this very, disastrous, carbon tax.
Similarly and just as disastrously, a Labor-Greens Senate majority operates as a roadblock to good policy when the Coalition is in government. As we have been seeing right now and will continue to see with Clive’s three+one PUPpets… Now sure, the best thing that can be said about Palmer — whose three+one PUPpets hold the ultimate balance of power in the Senate so far as Abbott is concerned — is that he is populist, completely unprincipled and totally unpredictable. He’s certainly no reliable ally of the Government, far less the PM. But at least he’s not the completely cynical, irresponsible Opposition or the Greens with their proprietary mix of absolutism, stupidity and hypocrisy. 
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Palmer promised not to do what he did with the missing $12 million

Andrew Bolt July 09 2014 (5:11am)

It is hard for me to accept the unsupported word of Clive Palmer on anything to do with his business activities, which seem to be troubled, to say the least:

CLIVE Palmer personally signed off on documents that explicitly state that money in an administrative fund could only be used in the administration of a port, contradicting his claim that the money in the account was his to use as he pleased. 

Mr Palmer told the National Press Club on Monday that some $2.167 million paid to Brisbane-based Media Circus Network from an administrative account funded by China’s Citic Pacific was probably spent on advertising during the Palmer United Party’s federal election campaign, but claimed his private company Mineralogy had “got the right to do that”. 
But a facilities deed signed by Mr Palmer on behalf of his company Mineralogy over the development of a port at Cape Preston in Western Australia clearly spells out that the administrative fund could only be used by Mineralogy for “the day-to-day expenses of operating, maintaining and repairing” the port.
The agreement is part of documents submitted to the Federal Court by Citic as it attempts to determine whether Mr Palmer wrongfully siphoned more than $12m of its money out of the port administrative fund to help fund his election campaign.
The dispute over the funds is at the heart of an ongoing arbitration process in Queensland between Citic and Mineralogy led by retired Supreme Court judge Richard Chesterman QC. Asked by reporters on Monday whether he was authorised to spend the money in the administrative fund, Mr Palmer said “of course I was”. “It was my money. The money was paid to our companies,” he said.
UPDATE
In fact, I wouldn’t trust Palmer’s unsupported word on anything:
CLIVE Palmer on April 21:  
WE can’t see any reason to vote for “direct action”. We think it’s hopeless. It’s goodbye direct action. It’s gone.
Palmer media statement, June 25: 
DIRECT action is a waste of money at a time when families, pensioners, young Australians, stay at home mums, single parents and our indigenous communities are facing unfair measures in the budget.
Clive Palmer on Lateline, June 25: 
TONY Jones: You very clearly said today you reject the direct action policies of the government. 
Palmer: That’s — absolutely. 
Jones: So you won’t make your repeal of the carbon tax bill in any way contingent on that? 
Palmer: No.
Palmer at the National Press Club yesterday. 
PALMER: Our support for direct action is contingent upon the ETS being introduced. 
Phil Coorey: It is? So I just want to clarify … If the government comes at the ETS, your ETS, you’ll support direct action? 
Palmer: That’s correct, yeah. Yes.
Palmer on ABC News 24 yesterday:
LYNDALL Curtis: If the government does not support your ETS, will you vote direct action down?
Palmer: Well, I think there’s a high likelihood of that. 
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if you missed the first half of the game, this is what happened
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=== Posts from last year ===
The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the politicians spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases. 

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959. 

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. 

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion Dollars ago was only 13 hours and 12 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it!

Stamp Duty
Tobacco Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Income Tax
Council Tax
Unemployment Tax
Fishing License Tax
Petrol/Diesel Tax
Inheritance Tax
(tax on top of tax)
Alcohol Tax
G.S.T.
Property Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Vehicle License / Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Carbon Dioxide Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 60 years ago and our nation was one of the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt. We had the largest middle class in the world. Mum stayed home to raise the kids. Dad and teachers were allowed to discipline kids. A criminals life was uncomfortable. Boat people were simply kids sailing on the harbour.

What the hell happened?

Political Correctness or Politicians or both?
You can't tax your way to prosperity - ed
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The top 12 ways Israel Feeds the World
From drip irrigation to natural pesticides, Israeli innovations are helping to fill hungry bellies everywhere, but particularly in the developing world.
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The top 12 ways Israel Feeds the World
From drip irrigation to natural pesticides, Israeli innovations are helping to fill hungry bellies everywhere, but particularly in the developing world.
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It is my birthday and I had to let go my secretary .. It started off well .. I woke early feeling great. My wife was tired and sleepy and the children had a late start, so I left for work without disturbing them. But I felt a little let down .. they might have said something. Still, off to work! My young secretary seemed really happy to see me. "Boss! Happy birthday!" and she got me my papers and a cup of coffee that I really like. A few work issues arose which made things really tight, but my secretary was a trooper, working through lunch. An hour before work was to finish, and no one else seemed to be coming into the business for the day. My secretary pointed out we had skipped lunch and deserved an early mark. I called home, but no one answered. My secretary said "Boss, it is your birthday .. I know this really nice place .. I think we should go there." I agreed. She said she needed to change, and her home was on the way. She said she wouldn't take long, and invited me in. So I went into her unit with her. I seated myself on her couch while she said something about freshening up. It took a few minutes, but finally she came back to the room. With her were my wife and children, carrying a cake with lit candles for each year of my life. And I was seated on the couch. Naked. - ed
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"The death toll from clashes in Cairo between Egyptian security forces and supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood has risen to 51, with 435 others injured, according to Health Ministry official Khaled al Khatib.

It is unclear if this death toll includes two security personnel whose deaths were reported on state television.

Witnesses said the military and police fired as protesters took a break from holding a vigil at the Republican Guard headquarters to say their dawn prayers. Morsy was reportedly detained in the building after his arrest Wednesday. But Interior Ministry spokesman Hani Abdel-Latif and army spokesman Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said security forces were under attack. Ali said "an armed group" used bombs, rocks and bullets to attack the area and the people safeguarding the headquarters building." - CNN Breaking News
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C. H. Spurgeon
Idle people tempt the devil to tempt them.
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William Jennings Bryan
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“I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame.” Psalm 138:2 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Tell me I pray thee wherein thy great strength lieth."
Judges 16:6
Where lies the secret strength of faith? It lies in the food it feeds on; for faith studies what the promise is--an emanation of divine grace, an overflowing of the great heart of God; and faith says, "My God could not have given this promise, except from love and grace; therefore it is quite certain his Word will be fulfilled." Then faith thinketh, "Who gave this promise?" It considereth not so much its greatness, as, "Who is the author of it?" She remembers that it is God who cannot lie--God omnipotent, God immutable; and therefore concludeth that the promise must be fulfilled; and forward she advances in this firm conviction. She remembereth,why the promise was given,--namely, for God's glory, and she feels perfectly sure that God's glory is safe, that he will never stain his own escutcheon, nor mar the lustre of his own crown; and therefore the promise must and will stand. Then faith also considereth the amazing work of Christ as being a clear proof of the Father's intention to fulfil his word. "He that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Moreover faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage. She remembers that God never has failed her; nay, that he never did once fail any of his children. She recollecteth times of great peril, when deliverance came; hours of awful need, when as her day her strength was found, and she cries, "No, I never will be led to think that he can change and leave his servant now. Hitherto the Lord hath helped me, and he will help me still." Thus faith views each promise in its connection with the promise-giver, and, because she does so, can with assurance say, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!"

Evening

"Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."
Psalm 25:5
When the believer has begun with trembling feet to walk in the way of the Lord, he asks to be still led onward like a little child upheld by its parent's helping hand, and he craves to be further instructed in the alphabet of truth. Experimental teaching is the burden of this prayer. David knew much, but he felt his ignorance, and desired to be still in the Lord's school: four times over in two verses he applies for a scholarship in the college of grace. It were well for many professors if instead of following their own devices, and cutting out new paths of thought for themselves, they would enquire for the good old ways of God's own truth, and beseech the Holy Ghost to give them sanctified understandings and teachable spirits. "For thou art the God of my salvation." The Three-One Jehovah is the Author and Perfecter of salvation to his people. Reader, is he the God of your salvation? Do you find in the Father's election, in the Son's atonement, and in the Spirit's quickening, all the grounds of your eternal hopes? If so, you may use this as an argument for obtaining further blessings; if the Lord has ordained to save you, surely he will not refuse to instruct you in his ways. It is a happy thing when we can address the Lord with the confidence which David here manifests, it gives us great power in prayer, and comfort in trial. "On thee do I wait all the day." Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we are certain that we shall not wait in vain. It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life. Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding. We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously he once waited for us.
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Today's reading: Job 36-37, Acts 15:22-41 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Job 36-37

1 Elihu continued:
2 "Bear with me a little longer and I will show you
that there is more to be said in God's behalf.
3 I get my knowledge from afar;
I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
4 Be assured that my words are not false;
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.
5 "God is mighty, but despises no one;
he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive
but gives the afflicted their rights.
7 He does not take his eyes off the righteous;
he enthrones them with kings
and exalts them forever....

Today's New Testament reading: Acts 15:22-41

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-- 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ....
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Jeremiah, Jeremy, Jeremias

[Jĕre mī'ah] - jehovah is high orexalted of god.
  1. An inhabitant of Libnah whose daughter, Hamutal, was the wife of Josiah and mother of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31; 24:18; Jer. 52:1).
  2. A Manassehite and head of a family (1 Chron. 5:24).
  3. A Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chron. 12:4)
  4. A Gadite who also joined David (1 Chron. 12:10).
  5. Another Gadite who did the same (1 Chron. 12:13).
  6. Son of Hilkiah, the prophet from Anathoth in the days of Josiah and who was of the line of Abiathar (2 Chron. 35:25; 36:12, 21, 22; Jer. 1:1).

The Man of Inconsolable Grief

This man who was born a priest but became a prophet by the divine call of God comes before us as one of the grandest men of Old Testament history. He was called to the prophetic office through a vision (Jer. 1:1, 4-16) and labored for some forty years. The book Jeremiah wrote gives us more details of his life, methods and work, as an Old Testament prophet, than of any other prophet. He is referred to as a son of Hilkiah, not only to distinguish him from others of the same name, but to prove that he was of priestly origin. He came from the priestly town of Anathoth, a name meaning, "answered prayers."
His call antedated his birth ( Jer. 1:5), and he was consecrated to God before his birth. He was distinguished by his humility and native modesty. He felt he was a child and not mature enough to function as a prophet. With Browning he could say:
I was not born
Informed and fearless from the first, but shrank
From aught which marked me out apart from men:
I would have lived their life, and died their death
Lost in their ranks, eluding destiny.
But Jeremiah could not elude destiny. So we have:
I. His equipment for a God-appointed task (Jer. 1:7-9).
II. His sufferings. What sorrow and anguish were his (Lam. 1:12; 3:1). He was not permitted to marry (Jer. 16:2). Solitude was at once his penalty and greatness. Then we have his sad antagonisms (Jer. 1:18; 15:16, 17, 20; 20:1-18).
III. His persecutions. These came to him from many quarters (Jer. 11:18-20; 12:6; 20:6; 26; 37; 38:13-28; 43:6). Bitter, however, were his denunciations of his foes (Jer. 11:20; 15:18; 17:18; 18:21-23).
IV. His death. Tradition has it that he was stoned to death in Egypt by the Jews, and that when Alexander entered Egypt he rescued his bones from obscurity and buried them in Alexandria. See Hebrews 11:37.
Jeremiah's ministry was an intensely sad one and his song is in the minor key. His was a divine melancholy that made his head "waters" and his eyes a fountain of tears. The truths he had to proclaim were unwelcome and brought him enemies, but he carried out his task without fear or favor. In these days of national apostasy and international strife, the preacher could not do better than live near the Book of Jeremiah, which has, as its dominant note, true religion in heart and life, in church and nation.
7. A priest who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah (Neh. 10:2; 12:1, 12, 34).
8. A descendant of Jonadab , son of Rechab (Jer. 35:3).
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