Iemma's Metro bullshit

The Iemma government hired a British transportation expert , Jim Steer, to review their Metro trains project. Unsurprisingly he found it a waste of money:

The document, obtained by the Herald , demolishes the metro proposal and the "optimistic" assumptions underpinning it.

It raises serious questions about the key transport commitment on which Morris Iemma has staked his Government's future.

Written by Jim Steer, a world-leading transport consultant and executive with Britain's former Strategic Rail Authority, the Sydney Transport Review report says the planned 38-kilometre Euro-style subway - from Rouse Hill to St James Station - is too long to be viable as a metro, is predicated on a poor business case and will do little to alleviate the CityRail congestion crisis."

As it stands, it would seem that more harm than good would accrue to Sydney and its economy from proceeding with the project," it says....

But of course the government has ignored the review, at least publicly:

Mr Watkins confessed he did not think "Jim Steer knew much about Sydney", despite being paid to conduct the report.

"I have to say I met him in London in December. He had very little knowledge at that time of Sydney's rail network or road network. I actually remember drawing both for him on a piece of paper," he said.

"I think he'd visited Sydney once before."

Then why was he hired Mr Watkins?

From the Premier's office we get:

Justin Kelly, a spokesman for the Premier said: "Mr Steer's work did not adequately address the question of how to deliver on the Government's election commitment to deliver rail services to the north-west by 2015. The Government has a clear commitment to deliver rail services to Castle Hill by 2015 and Rouse Hill by 2017. So when advice was received that took it away from the plan we'd outlined to the people of the north-west, it was never going to be accepted....

Was he ever asked to provide an alternative? I expect the Metro project will last a bit longer but eventually die. Properly when Labor dumps Iemma the Incompetent.

Girlie drinks tax backfires

Rudd increased tax on mixed drinks supposedly to combat binge drinking. The result has been alcop sales have dropped but spirit sales increased.

IT was meant to reduce the amount alcohol being consumed by young people, but it seems Kevin Rudd's tax on alcopops has had the opposite effect.

New figures from the Liquor Merchants Association of Australia show Mr Rudd's 70 per cent tax hike on alcopops has resulted in the more expensive RTDs (ready-to-drink products) being left on shelves, while full-strength bottles of spirits are walking out the door.

The Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia (DSICA) claims the data proves Mr Rudd's plan to tackle binge drinking has backfired. Last month, drinkers bought 30 per cent less alcopops than they did in April - before the RTD tax hike was imposed.

However sales of full-strength bottled spirits rose 46 per cent.

DSICA admits seasonal factors are at play, but is convinced the tax hike has still pushed up consumption.....

Is the CSIRO stuffed?

Andrew Bolt received an interesting e-mail from Art Raiche, former Chief Research Scientist of the CSIRO. Dr Raiche is critical of the CSIRO's GW fear mongering, but what really concerns me is what he says about the CSIRO:

It is my strong belief that CSIRO has passed its use-by date. The organisation that bears the name of CSIRO has very little in common with the organisation that I joined in 1971, one that produced so much of value for Australia during its first seven decades. Of course, one cannot kill off a national icon directly but it can be slowly reduced in size and function. It is anachronistic to have a single organisation operating across so many sectors with sector funding allocations left in the hands of CSIRO’s incompetent management. I suggest that that many of its divisions should be excised with the funding of these divisions to be used to relocate its more competent scientists into relevant universities or government departments. In particular, I suggest excising divisions associated with minerals, IT, human nutrition and medicine because these are largely irrelevant to and lacking the competence of their industry sectors.......

Sadly, over the last decade, CSIRO has transformed itself from a once-respected research institute into a highly centralised, government enterprise (oxymoron?), replete with intersecting layers of expensive management, focused on continual reorganisation. Scientific independence has been lost, with scientists reduced to the status of process workers. Initiative is still permitted provided that it can pass through a complex set of business criteria set by managers who, for the most part, would lack the competence to hold similar jobs in private industry ......

If true (and I have no way to assess his comment) its terrible to see such an Australian institution decay to this level.

Joel Watch 2

The auto electrician is in the news again this time for taking a mate on terrorism tour:

DEFENCE Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has admitted taking a close friend on an official visit to Turkey and war-torn Afghanistan, a move dubbed "terrorism tourism" by the Coalition.

The revelation has sparked immediate calls from the Opposition to explain the security implications of Scott Holmes' inclusion in Mr Fitzgibbon's official party and what additional risks his presence posed to Mr Fitzgibbon's Defence Force detail in Afghanistan.

Mr Fitzgibbon's office has confirmed that Professor Holmes, an academic from the University of Newcastle in Mr Fitzgibbon's electorate of Hunter, accompanied the minister on his official tours in May this year.....

Professor Holmes, who specialises in small business economics, has no expertise in either security or defence issues.

Qld Libs and Nats break down the wall

This will probably lead to a stronger Opposition in Queensland state politics. I hope Mal Brough the man behind Howard's Aboriginal intervention policy, decides to stay in politics. He's to good to lose.

QUEENSLAND Liberal and National parties have voted to merge, creating a new conservative force to be called the Liberal National Party (LNP).

Both parties today held separate conventions in Brisbane's Sofitel Hotel, and both voted overwhelmingly in favour of the merger........

Following the Liberal's vote, State President Mal Brough left the convention.

Mr Brough earlier told delegates he retained serious reservations about the new party's constitution, which he and other senior Liberals say amounts to a takeover by the Nationals.

He earlier said he would officially remain the party's President until the LNP was ratified by the Federal Liberal Party, expected to take about three months.

Mr Brough said he didn't know what his political future held. “There's absolutely a career in politics if I want it, becuse that has been made very clear to me by my colleagues down south,” he said.

“But whether or not I intend to do that or not is another thing all together, that's not a decision I've made.”.......

The parties have symbolically joined by removing the wall between the rooms in which they are holding their meetings.

Electric Mitsubishi coming to Australia

Heres some good news to anyone wanting a real alternative to petrol cars. Mitsubishi have confirmed they will release their electric i MiEV to Australia next year. It a real plug -in electric vehicle not a stupid hybrid too.

AUSTRALIA will have its first plug-in electric car by the end of next year.

The baby Mitsubishi i MiEV has been confirmed for local sales, with a showroom target in the final months of 2009 and a starting price in the $30,000 range.

The company plans to skip the hybrid phase of future car development and go straight to a plug-in, with a claimed top speed of 180km/h and a range of 200km.

"Mitsubishi don't make hybrid cars. They make electric cars. And we will have one here as soon as we possibly can," says the managing director of Mitsubishi Motors Australia, Rob McEniry.

Some reservations: How long will the batteries last? How much will they cost to replace? At $30,000 its expensive for a small car but hopefully it will get reasonable sales. I will add that my proposal to rebate GST for alternative fuel vehicles would knock of $2700 from the price.

Dry Australia

The government's GW ads are now running and we are supposed to be concerned with Australia becoming dry. Well below is a graph from the Bureau of Meteorology, can't see much extra dryness there.

How about the Murry Darling Region? Thats always in the news and the Prime Minister was there a few days ago touting the dryness as an example of global warming. The graph below shows rainfall is now similar to what it was in the 20's and 30's. Overuse is the problem there not GW.

Germany's new Fuhrer

Barack Obama in Germany today.

Hmmm... reminds me of certain historic events....

Lesbian mother loses love

Just what were these two women thinking? Theres nothing all that unusual about parents bringing up twins. IVF or no IVF children are not consumer products.

THE lesbian mothers of IVF twin girls have lost a legal bid to sue their doctor for the cost of raising one of the toddlers. The women, whose names have been suppressed, sued prominent Canberra obstetrician Sydney Robert Armellin for more than $400,000 for implanting two embryos instead of the requested one.

The ACT Supreme Court today ruled in favour of Dr Armellin, and ordered the couple pay his legal costs. ....

The court was told the twins' birth mother had lost her capacity to love and the couple's relationship suffered as they became mired in everyday tasks associated with raising two children.

But Dr Armellin's lawyer said loss of freedom was experienced commonly by parents across Australia.

Iraq has been won

I have been cautious not to confuse winning with won but its becoming increasingly clear that Coalition forces have won in Iraq. Heres Michael Yon.

So I will be very clear what I mean when I say we have won the war. A counterinsurgency is won when the government's legitimacy is no longer threatened by the insurgents, the government is able to protect its own people and the people are participating in the government. In Iraq, all three conditions apply....

And yesterday there was this report:

INTELLIGENCE assessments showing al-Qa'ida was changing its focus from Iraq to Pakistan and Afghanistan were highlighted yesterday by US commander David Petraeus as leaders in Islamabad called a crisis meeting over the jihadi militancy sweeping the country.

General Petraeus said that after intense US assaults in Iraq, al-Qa'ida was looking to shift focus to its original home base in Afghanistan, where American casualties are running higher than in Iraq. "We do think that there is some assessment ongoing as to the continued viability of al-Qa'ida's fight in Iraq," General Petraeus said.....

Good news indeed. The Islamist went to Iraq believing they could terrorize the Iraqi people into preventing an effective government forming and that the American would give up and go home if enough GIs died. Neither happened. Its Al-Qa'da thats retreated all the way to Afghanistan.

So we can expect to see more activity there in the following months. General Petraeus, the man behind the successful Iraqi surge, will soon be commander of American operation in Afghanistan. Joel Fitzgibbon our Defense Minister thinks a surge of troops is also required in Afghanistan. Will he send in more Aussie troops if asked? Or is he just talk?

Zeg's View

The Liberal leadership is back in the news again. The Liberals are so desperate they want to draft Costello in:

FEDERAL Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson has fended off suggestions he's under threat from former treasurer Peter Costello, who he says is a "loyal" supporter.

Amid renewed speculation over Dr Nelson's future, Liberal sources have been quoted as saying a plan to have Mr Costello take over the leadership is gaining traction within the party.

Concerned Liberals across both factions of the party have reportedly discussed Dr Nelson's standing in the polls, as well as options for alternative leaders.

Below is a cartoon comment from Zeg who's blog is worth visiting.

Dogs of War

Picture from the Sun

Beware terrorist! Fido has joined the SAS!

BRITAIN'S SAS has revealed plans to cut down casualty rates in Iraq and Afghanistan by parachuting in German shepherds to spy on rebels. The Sun reports the dogs are being trained to leap from planes at 25,000ft wearing their own oxygen masks and strapped to special forces teams. Once they land, the dogs will lead the way by finding enemy hideouts with cameras fixed to their heads. The images will then be beamed back to the troops, warning of rebel locations and ambushes....

Perhaps the SAS can train pigs to do the same, war pigs dropping from the sky should prove effective against Muslim terrorist.

Public servants revolt

Kevin Rudd was supposed to free the workers from the repressive John Howard and his evil Workchoices. Now the governments own workers are complaining of being over worked by Rudd.

PUBLIC servants are demanding pay rises to compensate for their excessive working hours and limited family time since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd won the election.

They claim some public servants are being forced to work 80 hours a week.

The Commonwealth Public Service Union will launch a public campaign calling for improved work-life balance and increased wages, particularly in the departments carrying out the Rudd Government agenda.

I think public servants should be able to negotiate what ever arrangement they want with their employer. That way they can achieve the right balance between work and family life. But that sounds to much like the evil Workchoices doesn't it?

Whitsunday oil

Australia has huge amounts of non-oil hydrocarbons in the form as coal, gas and shale. current oil prices mean its economically to convert them into synthetic motor fuels. However theres bound to be environmental cost which has to be well managed. I have heard energy minister Martin Ferguson speak favorably about syn fuels in the past but it not going to be an easy issue for the government.

Looks like the fun is about to start:

A PROPOSED $14 billion shale oil mining operation in the Whitsundays is shaping up to be one of Queensland's biggest environmental battles.

The company behind the project says it would produce millions of barrels of oil a year, helping to secure Australia's diesel fuel needs for decades and creating thousands of jobs for the region.

But conservationists say it risks causing devastating environmental damage in a key tourism area just kilometres from some of the country's most prized natural assets.

"This is an incredibly dirty industry on the edge of the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef.

Why anyone would suggest that's a good idea is beyond me," said Suzette Pelt of the local Save Our Foreshore group, which is behind a protest day in Airlie Beach today ....

If it don't work, don't do it

Andrew Bolt tells us what a mess the Liberals are getting themselves into over global warming.

To see how impossible is their present position, watch Tony Abbott on Lateline (from 5:03):

The emissions trading system that Labor is proposing is essentially a carbon copy of what the Howard Government proposed, only we wanted to wait and see what happened until 2012.

So the Liberals are attacking Labor for doing precisely what they say they promised themselves, but doing it without the Liberals’ dithering. This is an argument that makes the Liberals seem not prudent, but weak.

Abbott clearly knows this is stupid, if not insane. The Liberals are throwing away their only chance to win the next election - as well as allying themselves to one of the most irrational and disastrous policies seen in federal politics. It’s like the Liberals saying they’d have sought funds from Khemlani, too.

Emission trading is about politics not science. Theres a perfectly reasonable conservative position for the Liberals to take. ETS should only be introduced in Australia if the other major emmiting countries do so to. Introducing it by ourselves with out the participation of countries like China and India will only hurt our economy without having any effect on any supposed global warming. If the major emitters do not reduce CO2 emissions and GW turns out to be real we will be more able to cope with any downside with a stronger economy.

Salma still available

Good news single gentleman, Salma Hayek is still available:

OSCAR-nominated Mexican actress Salma Hayek and her French billionaire businessman fiance Franois-Henri Pinault have called off their engagement, a spokeswoman has said.

"We are sad to announce the engagement of Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault has been cancelled. There will be no further comment," her representative said....

British surveillance

Whats going on in Britain ? The mother country of the freedom loving Angolosphere is degenerating into a police state:

PLANS for a massive database snooping on the entire population of the UK have been condemned as a "step too far for the British way of life".

The Government has proposed to record every phone call, email, text message, internet search and online purchase in the fight against terrorism and other serious crime.

The privacy watchdog, Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, said the public's traditional freedoms were under serious threat from creeping state surveillance.

Apart from the Government's inability to hold data securely, he said the proposals raised "grave questions".

"Do the risks we face provide justification for such a scheme in the first place? Do we want the state to have details of more and more aspects of our private lives?" he asked. "Whatever the benefits, would such a scheme amount to excessive surveillance? Would this be a step too far for the British way of life?"...

Dear God, I hope we will never see government snooping like that here.

Turbans

Apparently Australians have problems with turban wearers.

A MUSLIM-style turban is seen as a threat by the average Australian, even to those who think they are free from racial prejudice, psychologists have found.

A study of university students playing a computerised shoot 'em up game has revealed strong stereotyped bias against Muslim-looking people.

Innocent figures in the game were more likely to be shot at if they were wearing turbans or hijabs, the University of New South Wales researchers said....

This study was done with a total of 66 people hardly a large sample but what really got me was the photo used in the story. The fellow is clearly a Sikh not a Muslim!


Heres what a Muslim turban looks like:


Thats US Presidential Democratic candidate Barrak Obama visiting Kenya.

UPDATE: Someone at News Limited realized their error and changed the photo.

Liberty wins one

Some good news, the Iemma government stupid don't annoy the Pope laws have been overturned by the Federal Court.

The NoToPope Coalition scored the victory when the Federal Court ruled that legislation that would have prevented its members from handing out leaflets and other items was invalid in law.

The court, comprising Justices French, Branson and Stone, said that part of the World Youth Day Act, passed by the NSW Parliament to keep order during the World Youth Day events, "should not be interpreted as conferring powers that are repugnant to fundamental rights and freedoms at common law in the absence of clear authority from Parliament"...

There was never any need for the laws as the police admit. Now the protesters are free to hand out condoms, stick their tongue out at the Pope and generally prove to the world they are idiots.

V8s beat Prius

Tim Blair makes the point that a good second hand V8 makes far more economic sense then the petrol miserly Prius.

Let’s say -- it’s a big assumption, but stay with me -- that this canny buyer was in our category of potential Prius purchasers. By opting for the unwanted V8, he saved about $31,000 off the list price of a new hybrid.

At current pump prices, that means he’s got enough left in the bank to buy 19,375 litres of petrol—sufficient to propel that Commodore for 161,458km, given its estimated 12l/100k fuel consumption.

Australian motor vehicles are driven an average 14,600km per year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The Commodore buyer has saved enough on purchase price alone compared to the Prius to cover -- get this -- 11 years of driving. Moreover, he’s covered those 11 years while owning something that doesn’t scream “gender reassignment surgery’’ every time he rolls down the street.....

Converting that V8 to LPG would give further savings. We looked at hybrids a while ago and they just make no sense. We purchased a small Jap box instead.

Howevers heres a hybrid vehicle that even Tim Blair may like.

Welcome to Australia your Holiness!

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Australia and we hope he enjoys his stay in Sydney ! I expect the city to be packed tomorrow but I proud we can host such an event.

Joel Watch

Former auto electrician now Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon recently visited the submariners participating in the Rimpac exercises. Just the thing for a photo opportunity.

Have a look at the woman's uniform, she is a medic. No wonder she looks so uncomfortable. she wouldn't normally be anywhere near the controls. The sailors wouldn't be wearing whites either. Thanks to Abraham Gubler for the tip.

Carbon dioxide "pollution"

The Prime Minister has been going around calling carbon dioxide pollution:

"By setting a limit on how much carbon pollution Australian industry and business can emit, the Government will set a limit on the number of pollution permits available to meet that target and let the market decide how they are allocated."..

CO2 is a colorless, orderless gas a natural part of the atmosphere just like water vapor is . Unless inhaled if far greater concentration then what is being discussed in relation to global warming, it will not poison you. Its plant food and the stuff that makes beer bubbles. With out carbon dioxide we would starve.

That he has to resort to such misleading rhetoric shows the problems he is having trying to sell his ETS.

Emmision trading

The governments emission trading policy is getting so much flack that Penny Wong might delay implementation:

CLIMATE Change Minister Penny Wong has hinted the Government may bow to pressure and delay the introduction of an emissions trading scheme (ETS), describing the 2010 start date as an "ambition" only.

Amid rumblings within Labor ranks over the proposed scheme, Ms Wong said: "That's the ambition, we said that before the election, we recognise we have to get moving on this.

However, I agree with Andrew Bolt, it delaying ETS until after the election won't help much.

Still, that gives the Liberals times to devise some catchy election slogans:

Higher petrol prices?

Vote Labor Higher power bills?

Vote Labor More power blackouts?

Vote Labor Close Yallourn?

Vote Labor Want your job sent to China?

Vote Labor No more jobs in Gippsland? Vote Labor

As I expected the state government is concerned what ETS will do to its electricity privatization plan.

I have one question. I will be seeing real money leaving my wallet so, how many degrees cooler will Australia be after ETS is implemented? Numbers please, how many degrees Mr Rudd?

I'm with the populists and red necks

The Liberals have been accused of being populists for their stand on climate change. I should hope so. Populist as apposed to elitist is what the Liberals should be about. They are supposed to be for the ordinary person, the "forgotten people" as Menzies called us. The Libs should take the term as a compliment.

I also get annoyed when people are called red necks. The term refers to people who have red necks because they suffer from sun burn. Farmers, laborers and the like. Watch the news and you will hear politicians, including Labor politicians, call people red necks. They are insulting their own base.

Sick stunt

Look, I had less problems then many people with Bill Henson nude kids pics, but this is no more then a publicity seeking stunt. I just can't understand why a mother would allow her child to be used in this way.

Art Monthly Australia magazine sparked fresh controversy over naked images of children by publishing an image of a six-year-old girl on its cover to protest against the recent furore over similar pictures by artist Bill Henson......

Iemma to go?

According to today's paper the ALP is trying to get rid of Premier Iemma the Incompetent. Please do, but who will replace him? The proposed contenders are:

John Watkins, a man so small minded he could not see any advantage in Sydney hosting a major international event.

Carmel Tebbutt a former Education Minister who did not know why we celebrated Australia Day.

Nathan Rees who has only been in Parliament since the last election, beyond that-blank.

Can't see much improvement there I'm afraid.

Compulsory workouts

The New South Wales government will be putting preschoolers on a strict diet and exercise routine to fight obesity:

CHILDREN as young as three will undergo compulsory exercise regimes of up to two hours every day in preschools.

The New South Wales Government's anti-obesity program also phases out junkfood with kids now drinking watered down juices and low-fat milk and parents receiving a list of recommended foods for their children's lunchboxes.

Star jumps, action-singing songs as well as catching, jumping and running are just some of the exercises included in the roll call of daily activities...

I think the government should show some leadership by example by putting their own members on a similar plan. Some surely need it.

Metropolis rediscovered

This is fantastic news, about an extra hour of footage from Fritz Lang's science fiction classic Metropolis has been discovered in Buenos Aires.

Last Tuesday Paula Félix-Didier travelled on a secret mission to Berlin in order to meet with three film experts and editors from ZEITmagazin. The museum director from Buenos Aires had something special in her luggage: a copy of a long version of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, including scenes believed lost for almost 80 years. After examining the film the three experts are certain: The find from Buenos Aires is a real treasure, a worldwide sensation. Metropolis, the most important silent film in German history, can from this day on be considered to have been rediscovered.......

Garnaut reports

Professor Garnaut has released his global warming report. We will hear a lot more on this over the coming weeks but here are a few thoughts.

What will emission trading do to the State government's electricity privatization plans? It's bound to lower the value of the coal power stations. Carr wanted $35 billion for them, now its down to $8 billion could be a lot less by the time of the sale.

How will nuclear power compare post emission trading? It could very well end up cheaper. I expect we will begin to hear calls for an Australian nuclear power industry.

Kylie awarded

Kylie Minogue, Australian icon, pop superstar and fair dinkum good sort received her OBE today from Prince Charles.

A well deserved award too, she is the anti-Osama, beauty over ugliness, love over hate and happiness over terror. She is an angel sent by God to help us get through these troubled times. Don't believe me? Well see how her enchanted tunes saved a man's life.

Privacy dies at YouTube

I don't like this at all:

YOUTUBE has been ordered to give up records of each clip watched on the popular video-sharing website, along with the date, time and IP address of each person who watched it, to media giant Viacom.

In a ruling that could have major implications for online privacy around the world, US District Court judge Louis Stanton granted Viacom access to the records as part of its ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit against Google and its subsidiary YouTube.

Each time a video is played, YouTube's "Logging" database records the user ID and IP address of the viewer, the date and time of the request and the ID of the clip – and includes details of videos embedded on websites other than YouTube.

I'll be looking closely at installing privacy software such as Torr.

Obama likes alcohol fuels too

BaraK Obama has come out supporting the Zubrin plan too. It looks like who ever the next American president is all new cars sold in the USA will be flex fuel. That will push the rest of the world, including Australia, into the alcohol fuel option. I just hope they get rid of their ethanol subsidy so we can see if it can really compete.

I'm with Charles

Andrew Bolt has been criticizing Prince Charles for converting his Aston-Martin to alcohol. Ethanol made from surplus wine:

In true regal fashion, Charles' beloved Aston Martin is now running on ethanol fuel made from English wine.

"Charles only travelled two or three hundred miles a year in the Aston but he wanted it to be environmentally friendly," the Daily Mail reported the Prince's chief aide Sir Michael Peat as saying.

"It just happened that our bioethanol supplier makes the fuel from surplus English wine."

Considering his overall energy usage claiming a 12.5% reduction in his carbon emissions is a bit much but I'm with the Prince. The surplus wine would have been wasted if not used. Of course theres the question as to why the extra wine was produced in the first place. Europe's agricultural subsidies may be responsible but thats another matter. Prince Charles should be commended for promoting alternative fuels and help break OPEC.