Congratulations Mr Nelson

Mr Nelson is the best choice for Liberal leader. He is hard working, capable and very presentable. Malcolm Turnbull is brilliant and energetic but his recent comments made him appear far too leftest. The election was not a victory for the left. Kevin Rudd won because he moved the ALP to the conservative centre. He sold himself as a young John Howard with fresh ideas and opposed Work Choices. I'm beginning to think Turnbull is the Liberal's Mark Latham. Anyway he is now Shadow Treasurer there plenty of scope there for Malcolm to prove himself.

Brendan Nelson must know that his chances of victory at the next election are slim. History is against him. All he can really do is make the party strong enough to avoid going backwards. He will properly be turfed out after the next election (assuming he survives that long) but theres always a chance of a come back, John Howard did after all.

In my view Nelson should accept the Rudd does have a mandate to govern. He should allow the Senate to pass the major legislation Labor promised. Give Rudd the rope to hang himself with. Six years down the track some of those promises are going to explode in Rudd's face.

Nelson wants to to concentrate more on social issues, good idea, the Libs are perceived as hard economic rationalist, and weak on issues like health and education. There plenty of room there for some free market policies that would appeal to the public. I'll present a few soon.

One more thought, he is a former Labor Party member who swapped to the Libs in the early 90's. So how long will it take for the left to point and cry EVIL NEOCON!?

He was interviewed on the 7.30 Report and was just excellent.

The Horror of the Rudd Regime Begins

The evil Rudd has began his reign of boredom.

THANKFULLY, it wasn't in Mandarin.

Prime minister-elect Kevin Rudd spoke uninterrupted today for a staggering 30 minutes in a frightening sign of what may be to come in a Labor-ruled Australia.

Announcing his front bench, Mr Rudd almost finished after 25 minutes but remembered he had forgotten to speak about a minister - and started talking again.

Journalists' tape recorders began clicking off in exhaustion as Mr Rudd then took questions for another 20 minutes.

Mr Rudd took the hint and wound up the press conference, saying: "I really need to go, and because two of your tape recorders have already gone off I would suggest that’s been a pretty long discussion we’ve all had this morning.”

The performance from Mr Rudd, who became a household name through chatty appearances on breakfast television while in opposition, follows his lengthy and unremarkable acceptance speech on Saturday when he was elected.....

2006 Women Driver Award

Top 10 Contestants For
The 2006 Women Drivers Award
10th Place Goes to:


9th Place Goes To:


8th Place Goes To:


7th Place Goes To:


6th Place Goes To:


5th Place Goes To:


4th Place Goes To:


The Bronze Medal Winner:


The Silver Medal Winner:

Her helmet is being worn backwards
..... and finally, here is our 2006 Women Drivers Awards
*** Gold Medal Winner ***

WOW ! ! How the heck...?!?
Oh never mind... CONGRATULATIONS ! !

Bigots

I'm glad I don't live in Camden, what a bunch of bigots:

TWO pigs' heads have been dumped at the controversial site of a proposed Islamic school in Sydney's southwest.

The pigs' heads, planted on wooden stakes on the Camden site, with the Australian flag draped between them, are believed to be in protest of the Muslim school proposal.

The proposed school, for up to Muslim 1200 students on 15ha and wedged between market gardens and pastures, has been highly controversial.

A public meeting held in Camden earlier this month attracted more than 2000 people opposed to the development.

The local council also received several thousand written objections during the planning approval process.

The chairman of the Community Relations Commission, Stepan Kerkyasharian, said today's "outrage" revealed what lay behind the opposition to the school.

"This insult and display of hatred is not something any fair-minded Australian would approve of," Mr Kerkyasharian said.

Bad news for the Libs

So Turnbull's contribution to Aboriginal welfare is going to be meaningless symbolism. Thats a big help Malcolm. How about leaving that to Rudd and coming up with practical policies.

Turnbull to say sorry

Updated: 13:52, Wednesday November 28, 2007

The contenders for the Liberal leadership are continuing to jettison policies from 'the Howard era', with Malcolm Turnbull vowing to say sorry for Australia's 'stolen generation'.

Outgoing Prime Minister John Howard refused to give a formal national apology, focussing instead on so-called 'practical reconciliation'.

But Mr Turnbull says that was a mistake, arguing that symbolism does matter.

'I say this about a friend, John Howard. That was an error,' Mr Turnbull said.

'Clearly, we should have said sorry then. John got himself into a bit of semantic tangle there.'

He says if he's successful, the Liberal party under his leadership would support a formal apology to the indigenous people of Australia....

Good news for the Libs

Good to see that boofhead Abbott will not be standing for the Liberal leadership.

OUTGOING health minister Tony Abbott has announced he has pulled out of the Liberal Party leadership race, leaving frontrunner Malcolm Turnbull and outgoing defence minister Brendan Nelson and the only contenders.

Mr Abbott is reported to have come to the decision after talking with other Liberal MPs and determining that he did not have the numbers to win a leadership ballot.

However he has said his decision does not prevent him from standing for the leadership in the future.

Mr Turnbull, the outgoing environment minister, is widely expected to be elected Opposition Leader when the Liberal party room meets tomorrow in Canberra.

Why Liberals will not win next state elections

Get your act together people!

THE Queensland Liberals are expected to meet tomorrow to thrash out a possible new leadership team after two MPs officially launched a challenge.

Tim Nicholls is challenging Dr Bruce Flegg for the party leadership and colleague John-Paul Langbroek is seeking deputy leader Mark McArdle's role.

Mr Nicholls has scheduled a party room meeting to discuss the challenge at 10am (AEST) tomorrow.

Dr Flegg called a snap meeting this afternoon, but it was snubbed by both Mr Nicholls and Mr Langbroek.

Only four of the Liberals' eight MPs showed up – all who support Dr Flegg.....

Why Liberals will win next state elections

One of Lazy Lemma's ministers:

NEW South Wales Health Minister Reba Meagher has been forced into an embarrassing apology to the couple who waited five months to be told how their daughter died.

The parents of Sharon Holloway today attended question time in the lower house of the NSW Parliament, after telling reporters they were upset and disturbed as to why they had not been told how the 39-year-old died.

But when Ms Meagher rose to explain their daughter had suffered cardiac arrest, she repeatedly called the woman Karen, forcing her to later issue a statement apologising to the Holloways.

Sharon was 37 weeks pregnant with a baby boy in June when she had trouble breathing and was taken by ambulance to Campbelltown Hospital, in Sydney's southwest.

When her mother Bess called the hospital, she was told her daughter had died and the unborn child had not survived.

In the months since, Bess and Sharon's father Allen said they had made repeated calls to Westmead morgue, hoping to discover how their seemingly healthy daughter, who also had a two-year-old son, had passed away.....

Bernie Banton dies

Bernie was a fine Australian who bravely fought for the rights of workers. I hope other asbestos victims have an easier time getting fair compensation.

ASBESTOS campaigner Bernie Banton has died.

Phil Davey, a family friend, said Mr Banton died peacefully in his sleep.

Bernie Banton died peacefully in his sleep this morning at around 1am (AEDT).
"He was at home and was surrounded by his family.

Bernie's family has asked me to thank the Australian community on their behalf for their support for Bernie."

Mr Davey said the family requests privacy in this difficult time.

Mr Banton was most recently praised by prime-minister-elect Kevin Rudd in the Labor leader's election victory speech on Saturday night.

Mr Rudd lauded Mr Banton and the unions that had supported him in his fight for compensation for asbestos disease sufferers.

"Mate, you are not going to be forgotten in this place," Mr Rudd said.

"When so many were prepared to cast you to one side, Bernie Banton, you have been a beacon and clarion call for what is decent and necessary in life and I salute you."

What now for the Liberals?

The ALP are going to be in power for a long time. Labor are in government in all States and the Liberals have lost the resources that only a government can have. Expect the opposition to start fighting among each other , oppositions usually do , look at the recent history of the Labor party and the previous years of Liberal opposition, remember the "Wet" vrs "Dry" battles of the 1980's ? Theres going to be more such battles during their time in opposition. In fact, I doubt the party will survive in its present form, there has been talk of the Nationals and Liberals combining into one party for years. The Nats are down to only 10 seats, so I wouldn't be surprised if it happens.

Its going to be a thankless task for the next Liberal leader. He knows he will probably loss the next election which will mean he will be replaced afterwards. Yet he must unite the party and develop the policies required to form government. His best hope is to do enough of an impressive job that the party will come back to him in the future as they did with Howard.

With Costello not contesting the only serious contenders in my view are Malcolm Turnbull and Brendan Nelson. Fortunately both are highly capable men. Turnbull is a self made millionaire, parliaments richest man, and gets on well with the free marketeers at the Centre for Independent Studies.. Nelson was the best Defense minister we had in years. He cut through the red tape and quickly ordered the C-17s and Super Hornets and came up with the gap idea to increase army numbers. I just hope they don't pick Tony Abbott, the sooner they get rid of that clown the better, surely theres a more capable candidate for his safe seat. Having said that, Abbott may be a useful deputy, his social conservatism could balance out a more liberal leader.

However every cloud has a silver lining. The Rudd victory gives the state libs the best chance they have had in years.. No longer will Labor governments be able to blame their problems on Howard. Nor will they have an unpopular federal Liberal party policy to beat the opposition with. Having wall to wall Labor is unstable and I expect to see change after Rudd's honeymoon is over.

Update: I wrote most of the above on Sunday. Since then Turnbull, Nelson and Abbott have all thrown their hat in the leadership ring.

Congratulations Mr Rudd

Congratulations Mr Rudd on your victory today. I was hoping for a different result but you ran an excellent campaign and won fair and square. As our democratically elected leader you deserve a fair go and you will get one from me. I'm just going to relax and see how you perform in your new job.

Mr Howard, thank you for 11 years of prosperity and magnificent leadership. Hope you enjoy your retirement.

ASUS eee PC

I really liked the look of the OLPC little computer and would love to see a generally available adult version. However others have seen the obvious market potential of a small cheap PC. ASUS have released the eee PC which has been selling overseas like hotcakes. With the these specifications and a low price I'm not surprised. Runs Linux but will have a Windows version soon. It will come to Australia in a week or two and Meyer will have it. I expect them to be sold out very quickly. I would love to have one but have another gadget in mind this Christmas, theres a second generation coming out in the middle of next year anyway so I'll wait for that.

Twits

What a bunch of dickheads:

THE husband of Liberal candidate Karen Chijoff has quit the party after admitting his role in distributing a bogus leaflet in the marginal Sydney seat of Lindsay.

Greg Chijoff has written to New South Wales Liberal Party state director Graham Jaeschke apologising for the flyer, which purported to be from an Islamic group and claimed Labor supported the Bali bombers.

Mr Chijoff said his wife did not know about the leaflet and was ``absolutely outraged'' when she heard about it.

"I can confirm that my wife Karen nor you were aware of this offensive pamphlet or were any way involved in the production and the distribution,'' Mr Chijoff wrote.

Earlier the husband of retiring Sydney Liberal MP Jackie Kelly had also admitted making and distributing the bogus campaign leaflets, and said sorry to the party and to Muslims.

Gary Clark, in a letter to Mr Jaeschke, said neither his wife nor the Liberal candidate for her western Sydney seat of Lindsay had any advance knowledge of "this matter".

Mr Clark and other Liberal Party supporters were caught by Labor officials letter-boxing the leaflet in St Marys, in the Lindsay electorate, on Tuesday night.

Mr Clark asked the Liberal Party to accept his "sincere apology ... for the damage done by my actions in preparing and distributing a pamphlet in St Mary's on Tuesday night," his letter says....

Cannibal likes Greens

So the German cannibal is now a vegetarian and supports the Greens.... Why am I not surprised?

A GERMAN man who sliced up an internet penpal and ate him has become a vegetarian in prison because he can't stand the idea of factory-formed meat.

A Bavarian radio station reported that 45-year-old Armin Meiwes, serving 8-½ years for manslaughter, was now a vegetarian.

“He finds the idea of factory farming as distasteful as his crime was,” a fellow inmate told Radio Bavaria.

“He now sticks to vegetarian dishes.”

Meiwes had also been elected as his prison’s Green Party leader, the Daily Mail reported.

The party within the maximum security prison in Kassel, central Germany, consisted of murderers, pedophiles and drug dealers who met every Tuesday to discuss policies, the newspaper said.

Ferals

Stories like this make me think we should consider bringing back corporal punishment- for the parents.

AN 11-year-old NSW boy showed "no regard for human life" as he brutally battered an off-duty policeman and his girlfriend, a court was told today.

The Tweed Heads boy has been charged alongside a 16-year-old over the horrific incident, in which the couple were surrounded by up to 20 youths then subjected to a hideous assault.

Several of the youths - including at least one girl - faced court today, some in handcuffs; and supporters abused onlookers and media outside.

Meanwhile police today slammed the parents of the youths for letting them run wild.

The 27-year-old police officer and his 26-year-old girlfriend were walking on East Dutton Street, Coolangatta, Queensland, about 12.45am Saturday when about the yobs allegedly began kicking and punching them.

One youth smashed the policeman's head so hard that it cracked against a fence and made the structure move, Southport Children's Court heard today.

The unarmed officer was allegedly beaten to the ground before having his head stomped on and his wallet stolen. His girlfriend was also hurt.

The 11-year-old boy, who cannot be named, from West Tweed Heads, on the NSW-Queensland border, today appeared in Southport Children's Court charged with robbery with violence in company, assault occasioning bodily harm in company, affray and possession of a utensil.

He was bailed under strict conditions.....

Australian Special Operations Command

Fifty years of the world's finest soldiers.

Liberals big nuke

If its a close call on Saturday expect several seats to end up in court.

THE Liberal Party has claimed 13 Labor candidates are ineligible to stand in Saturday's federal election, including the man whom polls suggest could knock Malcolm Turnbull out of Parliament.

Labor called the claims "baseless".

According to Liberal Party headquarters, the 13 hopefuls are all ineligible because they failed to resign from Commonwealth jobs before nominating for parliament.

Liberal campaign spokesman Andrew Robb has said his party may challenge election results in court if candidate they believe were ineligible won seats on Saturday.

Legal advice provided to the Liberal Party suggests the ALP candidate for Mr Turnbull's seat Wentworth, George Newhouse, may be ineligible for Parliament and has compounded the problem by refusing to release relevant documentation.

"There would be a need for a by-election if Mr Newhouse is elected for the federal seat of Wentworth," Liberal campaign spokesman Andrew Robb has said.

"In other words Mr Newhouse is not eligible to be elected."

Labor said all 13 resigned from their positions in accordance with electoral guidelines.......

...

The knives are out

The election isn't over yet but the Liberals are already infighting. I expect it to get pretty bloody in a couple of weeks.

Earlier today Treasurer Peter Costello refused to be drawn on his plans to make a bid for the Liberal Party leadership - win or lose this election - several ministers criticised "silly mistakes" made by senior figures, including Health Minister Tony Abbott.

High-profile Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has also been singled out, amid concerns he privately has written off the Government's prospects.

Nationals maverick Barnaby Joyce has slammed the Government's campaign as dull, labelling it "dry and complicated", a description backed by some of his colleagues yesterday.

The sniping comes as Prime Minister John Howard enters the final days of the campaign, battling to hold back a tide of public support for Kevin Rudd.

Costello today wouldn't say if he would seek to become opposition leader should the coalition lose the federal election on Saturday.

Larger breasts grown

This happened under the rule of the Coalition government. I blame it on Howard.

THE nation's breasts have had a growth spurt.

Australian women, who fitted a petite 12B a decade ago, are a shapely 14C.

Julie Malandin, general manager of bra maker Berlei, which conducted a study, said women were "bigger".

Fitters measured more than 2000 women throughout Australia and found 80 per cent wore the wrong size bra.

"Women should get measured once a year or every two years at most," Ms Malandin said.

Hope for Howard?

If this poll is correct the election is turning into a cliffhanger, a major turn around from a week ago.I still think the government will lose the election badly but theres this poll must give Howard hope.

PRIME Minister John Howard is still in the race to win a fifth term, but a new poll predicts Kevin Rudd's challenge will narrowly succeed in Saturday's election.

An exclusive Galaxy poll conducted for the Sunday Herald Sun in the campaign's fifth week showed a tighter race for The Lodge.

Labor would win 18 seats -- two more than it needed -- with a 5.5 per cent swing in 20 of nation's key marginal seats, the poll found.

The surprising poll results emerged as the Opposition Leader revealed he would take advice from Mr Howard were he to become prime minister.

"If I believed in office, if we were elected, that Mr Howard had some expertise in a particular area, I would consider consulting him," he said.

Labor was still short of sufficient support to pick up five key Coalition marginal seats in Victoria -- Deakin, McMillan, Corangamite, La Trobe and McEwen, the poll showed.

"The problem for Kevin Rudd in Victoria is that the Labor Party holds more than half the federal seats," Galaxy pollster David Briggs said.

If Labor won, it would be NSW that delivered victory, the poll found. Labor could gain up to 10 seats in NSW, including Mr Howard's seat of Bennelong and Malcolm Turnbull's of Wentworth.

Support for Mr Rudd was highest in NSW, where the swing to him was 7.5 per cent.

Just a country girl

Heres something to take our minds off the election:

SHE might have just starred in one of the biggest fashion shows in the world but don't call Gunnedah girl Miranda Kerr a top model.

"I'm not a supermodel, I'm just a country girl who ended up on the catwalk,'' Kerr told fashion editor Jen Melocco from behind-the-scenes yesterday.

However that's not the impression the rest of the world had when she strutted down the Victoria's Secret catwalk before an A-list audience in Los Angeles.

The runway extravaganza, which featured the annual lingerie parade and a performance by the Spice Girls, is considered one of the top gigs for models in the world.

The lust-have ticket of the year for fans of the US lingerie giant and retail chain, which inspires much of its $US10billion in sales each year.

The parade spectacular is also a top rater, taking Kerr prime time in the US next month.

The sexy show is also broadcast simultaneously on giant TV screens in Times Square, New York, where Kerr is based.

"What they've told me they like is that I like to have a good time and have fun and don't take all this too seriously,'' she said.

"I like to interact with the audience and give a little more,'' she said.

"I'm a people person and I like to give a little wave to everyone in the audience,'' she said.

Aren't we lucky to have public hospitals

Remember we are stuck with lethargic Lemma for at least four years.

SENIOR surgeons are threatening to resign if the Government does not restore Royal North Shore Hospital to its former glory.

Their warning came as the couple who sparked the latest inquiry, Mark Dreyer and Jana Horska, broke down as they relived their ordeal of her miscarrying in the hospital's toilet.

Silence fell over the room as Mr Dreyer detailed the night his wife lost their unborn child on September 25, when Ms Horska was 14weeks pregnant.

"There is no deadline to our ongoing grief and suffering," Mr Dreyer said.

"It has cost both of us terrible grief and we will always be wondering if the outcome would have been different if we had been treated as a priority."

Christian Democrats' leader Fred Nile, the parliamentary inquiry committee's chairman, promised the couple "the inquiry won't fail you".

Mr Dreyer said he had no faith in the Government for implementing change.

"I think people would have had a lot more respect for (Premier) Morris Iemma to come out and take the politics out of it, take away the political spin which has been very hurtful for us," he said.

"The insensitivity has just been unbelievable, they don't understand the pain they cause with this rubbish they peddle."

There is only one more day of public hearings, on Monday, before the committee retires to consider its recommendations. But it has been swamped with damning complaints which doctors from the hospital have said are an embarrassment.....

Howard enjoys comedy shows

Its good to see the old boy enjoys comedy TV shows, he going to have lots of time in a couple of weeks to watch TV.

PM Howard finds Chaser pranks funny

It's all part of the pageantry of an election campaign, he says.

The ABC TV Chaser team joined Mr Howard twice on his customary early walk today, first posing as bodyguards in the media entourage and then in a stunt with a hospital bed as they approached the Harbour Bridge.

Later, at a media doorstop at a car dealership at Windsor in Sydney's north-west, a journalist asked him whether he minded stunts like the Chasers'.

"I take the view that the early morning walks are part of the amusing wallpaper of the campaign," Mr Howard said.

He said he did find them funny, but he didn't like their Eulogy song a few weeks ago which poked fun at several dead Australian celebrities.

"When they had a go at Belinda Emmett, Steve Irwin and Don Bradman, I thought they went over the top," Mr Howard said.

"They are far more amusing when they have a go at people that are alive, like me."

On this morning's walk, Mr Howard came upon a hospital bed containing one of the Chaser team, who said: "You give money to sick orang utans. What about us."

The heckling is all part of the campaign, says Mr Howard.

"You have to take the good with the bad in an election campaign," he said.

Australian Special Forces

What it takes to join the world's toughest military force.

Blaming the victim Saudi style

Two hundred lashes for being in a car with an unrelated male. F^%&*$ barbarians. Don't forget we subsidize these medieval throwbacks through the OPEC oil monopoly.

A COURT in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia is punishing a female victim of gang rape with 200 lashes and six months in jail.

The 19-year-old woman - whose six armed attackers have been sentenced to jail terms - was initially ordered to undergo 90 lashes for "being in the car of an unrelated male at the time of the rape,'' the Arab News reported.

But in a new verdict issued after Saudi Arabia's Higher Judicial Council ordered a retrial, the court in the eastern town of Al-Qatif more than doubled the number of lashes to 200.

A court source told the English-language Arab News that the judges had decided to punish the woman further for "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media.''

Saudi Arabia enforces a strict Islamic doctrine known as Wahhabism and forbids unrelated men and women from associating with each other, bans women from driving and forces them to cover head-to-toe in public.

Last year, the court sentenced six Saudi men to between one and five years in jail for the rape as well as ordering lashes for the victim, a member of the minority Shi'ite community.....

Excitement missed

We had lunch at Scruffy Murphys today. Looks like it became more exciting after we left. The 5 dollars fish & chips was nice.

A Sydney pub has been closed down for the weekend because police believe it is too violent to drink in.

Scruffy Murphy's, an Irish-themed pub on George Street in the CBD, was closed from 6pm tonight, following a court order.

Staff at the pub, initially unaware of the police ban, were preparing for the after-work rush when contacted by the Herald at 5.30pm.

Police decided to push for the temporary closure of the pub after "a number of brawls" last night, said Acting City Central Local Area Commander, Detective Chief Inspector Jon Alt.

"A man was charged with malicious wounding in relation to the first incident which occurred shortly after he left the licensed premises," he said.

"It's alleged the man bit the neck of the victim, causing a serious wound. The male was well affected by liquor. A number of other people were injured in the incident. The man was granted conditional bail at Central Local Court today."

"The second incident relates to a female who collapsed at the hotel and was sent from the premises in a taxi with her friend. Police are investigating whether her drink was spiked."

Other incidents, including alleged sexual assaults, assaults and other violence were connected to the bar, police said......

More Abbott stuff ups

What annoys me is that this clown is in a safe seat yet someone like Malcolm Turnbull gets stuck in a marginal.

Abbott gaffe puts Coalition on back foot again

Prime Minister John Howard was today forced to defend Tony Abbott after the gaffe-prone health minister admitted workers were worse off under Work Choices.

Mr Abbott claims his comments were taken out of context after the Labor Party released a video which shows him saying workers have lost protections under the coalition’s industrial relations reforms.

The amateur footage shows him talking about the Coalition’s unpopular workplace reforms at a local electorate function earlier this week.

Mr Abbott is seen saying: “I accept that certain protections, in inverted commas, are not what they were.

“I accept that that has largely gone. I accept that.”

In an audio file of the speech, released by his office, the comments appear accurate.

But Mr Abbott accused Labor of doctoring the video and says his comments were taken out of context.

During the speech, he goes on to say that the best protection for a worker who felt they were under pressure in their job was the chance of another job.

“That is the best protection,” he told the audience.

“Not going off to some judge or industrial commission that might order your employer, who you don’t like and he doesn’t like you, to keep you in an unhappy partnership forever.”

Mr Abbott maintained he has been the victim of a cut-and-paste job.

“I have been outrageously verballed by the Australian Labor Party,” Mr Abbott said today.

“The footage that they released ...last night was a cut-and-paste job which completely distorts what I said.”.......

I'm with Howard

The Liberty and Democracy Party will get my Senate vote but I'm voting for the Libs for the House of Representatives. I expect Howard to be thrown out and probably loss his seat but it won't be because of my vote. The video below explains why:

Eco-terrorists

Typical leftist behaviour, all about hate and power to control.

FIFTEEN Greenpeace protesters who stormed a NSW coal-fired power plant and chained themselves to conveyor belts have been arrested.

Police said they expected to lay charges of trespass and malicious damage against the seven men and eight women who entered the Munmorah power plant on the Central Coast about 5am (AEDT) today.

Public order and riot squad officers were among the police called to the plant.

Protest organiser Stephen Campbell described the protest as non-violent action.

"We think we've done very well to get the message out to the political parties and general community that Australia is not pulling its weight ... and and we demonstrated what this country needs to do - close these coal-fired power stations and use cleaner energy," Mr Campbell said.

Plant operators Delta Energy and police said power generation was not affected during the protest.

Radical global warming policy proposed.

Solutions to the problem of climate change requires new ideas and bold leadership. My contribution is to propose a radical new policy thats guranteed to produce results.

I propose requiring government programs that are meant to reduce global warming to ….well…. emmm, actually reduce global warming!

This unique plan calls for the government to announces what Australia’s ideal temperature should be and why. Once that has been settled politicians should tell us how many degree cooler Australia would be if their policies are implemented. and in what time frame. Numbers and dates please. Global warming reduction programes should be costed and a cost for each degree lowered should be provided. A well, the benefits of warmer weather, not just the costs should be given.

I have made this policy proposal to the Liberty Democracy Party but any political party is free to use it, they can take the credit as well. Consider it by contribution to humanity.

Harry Potter transforms British schools

As a fan of the Harry Potter books I was delighted to read the following:

HARRY Potter has magically transformed a struggling British school into a thriving institution, with students exceeding expectations.

Students at Robert Mellors Primary and Nursery School in Arnold, Nottingham, are casting mathematical “spells” to solve subtraction “riddles” and English lessons can involve writing scripts based on the popular character.

According to figures from the British Government, the school has gone from being in the lowest 25 per cent of institutions to being just outside the top 5 per cent in just three years.

The Daily Mail reported the sudden jump in the results of the school’s students, between seven and 11, came about because children began dictating the teaching methods that would be used each term.

The newspaper said year groups were now defined as Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, like the different houses at Hogwarts described in JK Rowlings’ popular Harry Potter series.

According to an inspection report published by the Government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, students excelled in their mathematics lessons because of the unique teaching method.

“(Students) commented that mathematics is fun because they are always challenged and their teachers link it to the work they are doing in other subjects,” the report said.

“Lessons observed were taught through the topic being covered in literacy… for example, subtraction was seen as a spell by ‘Harry Potter’.”

The Daily Mail said that before a student told the class how a mathematical problem was solved, they first had to say “numeras subtracticus” – a “spell” the children created.

Students also got on and off “imaginary broomsticks” in physical education, and science classes are filled with “magical” experiments.

Cockroaches at the operating table

Gee Whizz...ain't socialised medicine wonderful. Why you even get free cockroaches!

A FORMER senior doctor at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) says complaints that he had to kill cockroaches on operating theatre tables during surgery were ignored by management.

It has also been confirmed that an anaesthetist at the hospital was forced to catch an unconscious patient after an operating table broke in half.

The revelations are contained in a submission by Dr Jeffery Sleye Hughes, who worked at the hospital between 1981-86 and 1995-2007, to a parliamentary inquiry into the running of RNSH.

The inquiry heard the growing list of complaints about the hospital have been having an effect on staff, with reports of nurses being spat on and abused in the street.

Dr Sleye Hughes said he was forced to resign because of an "endless procession of events" that highlighted the "bureaucratic negligence" and "medical indifference" at the hospital.

His submission contains reports on nine incidents, which include instances of patients being lied to about the delay in their surgery and inadequate surgical instruments being used to undertake day-to-day surgery.

He said he had forwarded the complaints to administration, only to have them "ignored or shelved".

"(The incidents included) killing live cockroaches on operating theatre tables during operations and no response when I forwarded a written complaint and response requested," his submission said.....

Gay Goose

I have as much contempt for this Burns fellow as I have for that Liberal bible basher. If anything I expect his antics will only help Malcolm.

LABOR has been forced to ask a volunteer to apologise to Malcolm Turnbull's wife Lucy after physically intimidating her in the street, calling her a "fag hag" and launching a gay jihad on the Coalition.

In a heated battle over the pink vote for the seat of Wentworth, Labor candidate George Newhouse is facing threats to call in the police if he doesn't deal with volunteer campaigner and gay activist Gary Burns.

Mr Burns claimed his role in Mr Newhouse's campaign was to "upset MrTurnbull on gay rights matters".

But the gay rights campaigner took it a little too literally at the weekend, launching a tirade of abuse against Ms Turnbull, leaving her shaken.

Mr Burns, famous for taking John Laws to court for using the term "pillow-biter" was unrepentant and yesterday continued with his vitriol.

In an email to Mr Turnbull yesterday Mr Burns said: "You will get more angry homosexuals like me attacking you verbally in public because of your fascist leader John Howard, who treats my community like second-class citizens.

"Your middle-aged well dressed "fag hag" impersonator of a wife will not protect you from the anger my community has stored up for you and your Government come election day on Saturday November 24. You are a weak and pathetic excuse for a human being.".......

NYgirlofmydreams comes from Melbourne

This is just such a lovely story, I hope it goes well for them. I wonder in the inevitable movie version the girl will remain Australian.

AUSTRALIAN Camille Hayton says she usually avoids the New York subway, but after her home burned down she was forced on to Manhattan's No 5 train so she could spend the night on a friend's couch.

It was Sunday night, and romantic Patrick Moberg spotted her on the subway, instantly falling for the 22-year-old from Melbourne.

His extraordinary search to find the mysterious brunette he saw, then lost, on the subway in a crush of commuters led him to set up the http://www.nygirlofmydreams.com website in a bid to locate her.

On Thursday night, Ms Hayton and Mr Moberg, 21, met for the first time.

Twelve hours later, they were still getting to know each other after being mobbed by desperate American media outlets keen to tell their tale.

So far, they've discovered they were both born in March, are creative and like drawing, and their favourite colour is blue.

Mr Moberg, a web designer, said that when he met Ms Hayton, it seemed "like we knew each other".

He added: "It felt very comfortable; neither of us was very nervous.

"I mean, it was a little quirky at first, but we hit it off right away.

"This is the first Australian girl I've ever met.

"She has a lot of really interesting things to talk about."

Ms Hayton said her subway Romeo "seemed really lovely and not insane - not a stalker, or anything like that.

"Patrick seems relatively like an Aussie boy compared to American boys.

"I'd have to say American boys are really different. Patrick doesn't seem like that.

"A lot of American boys are really full on.

"They're like in the movies ... whereas Patrick just seems more laid-back and nice."

Ms Hayton plans to stay in New York for a while.

"I'm going to be here, see what happens. I'll stay for as long as," she said.

Mr Moberg said he believed his search for the New York girl of his dreams had stolen hearts around the world because people "really feel how genuine it is".......

Howard goes for the monkey vote

I'm not sure how many votes he hopes to receive with this:

PRIME Minister John Howard has used YouTube to announce government money to help save orangutans in Indonesia.

Mr Howard has pledged $500,000 over the next four years to save orangutans in Indonesian forests after a chance meeting with a 10-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer.

The Prime Minister met the "inspirational Australian" Daniel Clarke in May this year while in the players' dressing room after a rugby match between Australia and Wales.

During this encounter, Daniel expressed his passionate fears orangutans could become extinct in Indonesia and impressed Mr Howard.

This week the Mr Howard visited Daniel at his family's Terry Hills home in Sydney's northern suburbs to tell him he would commit money to save the Indonesian orangutans.

"I am hopeful the orangutans in Indonesia will have a brighter future," he said.

alcohol fuels

The current high price of oil is good news for the alternative fuel industry. We are seeing the beginning of an ethanol industry in Australia with a major ethanol refinery coming on line next year. However I'm into two minds on the matter.

There are real concerns about ethanol. To me be it makes no sense to convert food crops into fuel, also it takes energy to grow and process the grain so I'm doubtful about any net energy gain. I realise the Brazil has made huge progress with ethanol fuels but they use sugar not grain.

On the other hand we can certainty grow sugar crops. We already do in Queensland of course but we could grow lot more in the Ord and Northern Australia. Also theres cellulosic ethanol, a way to convert virtually any plant material into ethanol. Its still in the early stages but some processing plants are now going into production. Much of the political support for ethanol comes from the rural sector. The NSW government has mandated 2% ethanol in our petrol as a way of helping rural areas.

Now theres another fuel alcohol, methanol, methylated spirits. Its cheap, and can be produced from hydrocarbons like gas or coal as well as biological matter. However it has the great disadvantage of not having a well organised farming lobby behind it. American rocket scientist Robert Zubrin. Makes a strong case for methanol and will have a new book on the subject, Energy Victory, out soon.

I agree with Zubrin, the best reason to replace oil is to stop pouring money into Islamist states like Saudi Arabia. Cut their source of revenue and it would be a major blow to terrorist. I like his proposal, he wants the US government to mandate that all new cars sold be flexi-fuel, capable of running on any mixture of petrol, ethanol or ethanol:

Seventeen million news cars are sold each year in the United States. So within three years of enactment of a flex-fuel mandate, there would be more than 50 million cars on the road in the United States capable of burning high-alcohol fuels. This would unleash market forces that would quickly call into being high-alcohol fuel pumps across the nation, and mobilize large amounts of private capital to support vigorous research programs to develop ever cheaper ways of synthesizing alcohol fuels.

I doubt that such a mandate scheme could be introduced by Australia alone. Our market is only a fraction of the US market, but if the American did we wouldn't be far behind. We would be major methanol exporters too as we could convert our abundant hydrocarbons into the fuel. Zubrin was successful in convincing NASA to adopt his radical Mars Direct scheme for human Mars mission s as their design reference so he has some clout. With a Presidential election happening next year I hope his book has some influence.

Final comment. Australians buy about 1 million new cars a year. How about say, a $2000 government cash back for any new flexi-fuel car sold? That might kick start the industry.

Carmen sues

Oh goody! theres an article in the paper about Carmen Electra. Now I have an excuse to post a Carmen pix.

HOLLYWOOD hottie Carmen Electra is suing the Naked Women's Wrestling League amid claims she is owed cash and had her image used on steamy DVDs without permission.

TMZ.com reports Electra believes the NWWL - a money-spinning competition screened only on pay-per-view in the US - owes her $300,000 on a contract after she hosted several events.

She says she was promised $400,000 and only paid $100,000.

Further, Electra claims some of the NWWL's DVDs - including Operation Naked Storm, Tag Team Dream and Twin Peaks - featured her picture without approval.

Ok, heres another one.

Smoking to be banned in cars

I don't smoke but this is ridiculous.

SMOKING in cars may soon be banned in NSW.

The NSW government flagged such a move after two other states imposed restrictions on lighting up when under-16s are in a vehicle.

Premier Morris Iemma, launching a $1.4 million anti-smoking TV ad, revealed cabinet was considering an in-car smoking ban.

He also revealed his personal revulsion at his father's smoking habit.

"What we're doing at the moment is examining the experience in Tasmania and South Australia that have introduced rules in that area ... it is timely to have a look at it," the premier told reporters at the National Lung Cancer Awareness day.

"The cabinet office has been considering this.".....

Those under 16 kids are the responsibility of the parents not the government. If their parents want to smoke while driving so be it. If the children don't belong to the smokers then their parents still need to take responsibility for them. I'm f&^% sick of the nanny state!

Holy Virgin

What lot of sanctimonious tripe! These eco wowsers can get stuffed. I'm not flying f$&@) Virgin:

TRAVELLERS flying on Virgin Atlantic will soon be offered carbon offsets alongside alcohol and perfume in front of their fellow passengers in an effort to shame them into buying them, The Times reported on today.

The cost of carbon offsetting will depend on the length of the flight and the class of seat – a one-way economy flight from London to New York will cost slightly more than £5 ($11), while a one-way business class flight from London to Sydney would cost about £26 ($59).

A spokesman for the airline said it had decided on the new policy after noticing low participation in schemes offered by competing airlines where customers were presented with the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions of their flight online.

"If the person sitting next to you chooses to offset their flight, it may prick your conscience and you may pay too," the Virgin spokesman was quoted as saying by The Times. .....

Petrol up

Expect to see more alarmist newspaper stories soon. The price of oil is near the $US100 a barrel mark and it looks like petrol will hit $1.30 a liter at the pumps next week. So expect horror stories about the coming crisis of Peak Oil and the end of cheap petrol. Well I'm a skeptic. I remember the energy crisis of the 1970's , that was supposed to bring the end of civilization as we know it but after hitting a peak around 1980 the price of oil went right down as new fields came into production. The current high oil prices are bound to increase oil production as well as encourage conservation. Also its debatable that petrol prices really affordable, at least if you have a modern small car. My wife travels about the same distance to work as me, she drives our Colt, I catch the train, yet my weekly train fare is higher then her petrol cost.

Ronald Bailey at Reason has more.

My Senate Vote

My Senate vote usually goes to a minor party, this time around it will be for the Liberty and Democracy Party. They support lower taxes, free markets, less government interference and personal responsibility. At first I was a bit uncertain as they have no foreign affairs or defense policy, something which is inexcusable for a party standing for federal office. Even more worrying some of them appear to be isolationist with a streak of anti-Americanism. However if by some fluke one of them actually gets elected I can't see them do any real harm. I expect pro- ANZUS Rudd to win and with a similarly pro- American opposition there will be no opportunity for minor parties to damage national security.

Bludgers

I worked for over 20 year in the Commonwealth public service and never heard of anything like this:

WHILE NSW hospitals cry out for more staff, more than 159 public service health bureaucrats are being paid $15 million a year to sit around and do nothing.

The Daily Telegraph has learned that almost half those public servants whose jobs have been made redundant but still remain on the payroll as unregistered displaced employees are from within the health system.

A further 31 are from within the NSW Ambulance Service.

The expense is equivalent of 250 more 4th year registered nurses.

Although the Government claims to have reduced significantly the number of redundant public servants still on its payroll, the total unattached list remains at 628.

Of those, 230 are classified as registered - actively seeking redeployment in the public service.

A Freedom of Information document however has revealed the remainder, which includes all 159 health workers, are on what is known as the unregistered list, which the Government has consistently denied existed.....

Why did it take a newspaper to reveal this rort? We sure didn't hear about it at the last state election. Mr O'Farrell, can we have some opposing please?

Waterboarding

Is waterboarding torture? It seems to be an issue in the USA at the moment. It does no good to confuse interrogation with torture. Neil James is a former Australian army interrogator and wrote about torture for the ADA's journal Defender.

He defines torture this way;

the infliction on an individual of severe physical or mental pain, either for punishment or to extract information.

Interrogation s defined:

The common working definition of interrogation is the systematic extraction of information from an individual, either willing or unwilling, by the use of psychological attack only. It is essentially an intellectual process not a physical one. The subject is convinced to co-operate.

He adds:

It is normal and reasonable for those being questioned in such circumstances to experience degrees of discomfort and annoyance, and that detention and questioning methods that result in discomfort or annoyance are not necessarily abusive of a prisoner’s human rights. Furthermore, measures or conditions of discomfort or annoyance designed to encourage co-operation during questioning, such as the strictly controlled and temporary use of isolation, or sensory or sleep deprivation, are not unreasonable in the circumstances

Now I don't know if waterboarding is a legitimate integration technique. In Australia's case I'm happy to let professional interrogators decide. However here is a video of it be used. Assuming the video is accurate, I would much rather have a dose of waterboarding then go bungee jumping.

Foldable car

Heres one way to solve parking problems:

My Position

The graph below plots my position on the Political Compass graph. I'm in the bottom right sector with ratings of:

Economic Left/Right: 4.38

Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.21

I regard myself as one of those small but strong government types. I'm all for free markets, lower taxes, abhor the nanny state, support individual rights and believe the government has no business telling consenting adults what to do. However I want the government to do its proper job well. I expect it to protect my rights with ruthless efficiency if necessary.

I believe Australia needs a strong and independent defense force and a co-operative but active foreign policy. I'm no isolationist, so have no problems with the ADF helping the Americans secure world order by getting rid of dangerous dictators like Saddam Hussein.

I expect the police and legal systems to enforce the law not just keep the peace. So wouldn't mind a dash of Giuliani style zero tolerance to lock up crims who are getting away with an endless series of property crimes. (Try leaving a car ungaraged overnight and see how long before it gets broken in).

The politician I most admire is President Ronald Reagan who had this to say:

I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals–if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is....

......There is a legitimate need in an orderly society for some government to maintain freedom or we will have tyranny by individuals. The strongest man on the block will run the neighborhood. We have government to insure that we don’t each one of us have to carry a club to defend ourselves. But again, I stand on my statement that I think that libertarianism and conservatism are travelling the same path.

Sounds good to me.

Disney Dreams

These Annie Leibovitz photographs of Disney characters are just gorgeous. High rez versions of the first lot are here.

"Hollywood" Howson annoyed with Libs

John-Michael Howson has good reason to be pissed off that this bozo is in the Liberal Party. Heres what “Hollywood” Howson has to say:

Curtis has described Gays as being diseased perverts. In a very polite way and I do mean “polite” I took him to task on 3AW. He did reply politely but with the usual ignorant nonsense that spouts from the mouths of fundamentalists (of all faiths). However, there has been absolutely no condemnation from anyone in the Liberal Party. There has been nada, zilch, about this creature in Lalor.

Although I am more of a Libertarian who believes in small government and flat taxes I have gone out on a limb to support the LNP coalition and John Howard because, lacking a Libertarian party, it’s a choice between big government and massively bigger government, so I’ll stick with the Libs. I am probably a lone voice in the arts but I do know many Gay men who do vote Lib although the militants are all pro-Labor.

My friends are all boringly middle class, home owners who are too busy having a life and doing what most other Australians do to involve themselves in the radical Gay agenda BUT you can imagine how many feel when this creep says something about “diseased perverts” and there is no reaction by the Liberal heirachy. Are we second or third class citizens? Are they willing to ignore Liberal or potential Liberal voters in favour of a despicable religious bigot and his ilk?

I am now going to have to consider my stand. I could not support Labor but my conscience will not allow me to support a party that allows an ayatollah like Curtis to get pre-selection and also be a delegate to the state council. As you know I am not a militant Gay activist but I refuse to be insulted, demeaned or degraded by people like this Curtis person. It is a matter of human dignity.

Now, the Gay world embraces a lot of people: People who live on the wild side to people who just want to live quiet, unassuming lives. The Mardi Gras crowd are as alien to me as Triffids but I will stand up for their right to be what they are without being targeted with abuse that, in fact, can lead to violence against them. I pointed out to the reverend that I have NEVER met a Gay man who just decided to be Gay. It is not a decision one makes and if this is what nature intended then we must be part of some plan.

The Liberals aren't the only party with homophobic bigots. There this Family First candidate in Queensland.

The Family First candidate in the far north Queensland seat of Leichhardt, Ben Jacobsen, has apologised for trying to make an opponent's sexuality an election issue.

Mr Jacobsen told a newspaper that Liberal candidate Charlie McKillop should tell the electorate if she is a lesbian, because it reflects the kind of values that will guide someone if they are elected to Parliament.

In a statement Mr Jacobsen says he regrets making the comments and he apologises for the hurt and offence they caused. He says they do not reflect the views of Family First.....

Perhaps the Liberty & Democracy Party people might want to send Howson a how to vote card.