Political Dodos!

2006-07-03T13:31:00.000+08:00

Liberty. As attractive as ever...

How much of human life should be assigned to individuality, and how much to society? - John Stuart Mill.

2006-06-23T23:32:00.000+08:00

Familiar Tune.

Australia is in another war for oil (and gas). Yep, human rights mean everything until someone decides to actually act.

2006-06-02T23:12:00.000+08:00

Posting.

We’ve been a bit lax with our posting- primarily due to our coming exams.

But at least the Muscular Lib’s in the motherland have an … um… interesting story…

2006-05-22T23:02:00.000+08:00

Antony Loewenstein, Being Gay.

Loewenstein recently posted the following (his links not included, far too lazy):

The State Department recently released its annual list of gay-hating nations:

1) Uganda

2) Iran

3) Egypt

4) Saudi Arabia

5) Nigeria

6) United Arab Emirates

7) Cameroon

8) Poland

9) Nepal

10) India

Homophobic violence is on the rise in many nations, not least in Poland. The story of Krystian Legierski, a Polish-born black gay activist, is a source of both inspiration and concern. Is Poland’s anti-Semitic past now being supplanted by rampant homophobia?

I tried to post at his site but, as always, it is still “awaiting moderation”:

I've also emailed the boy, to ask why he would not publish the comment...

And yes- it is rather humorous that the page title reads;
Being gay >> Antony Loewenstein. Especially so with those little arrows.

Update: Ooops. Lowy's links are included. My bad.

2006-05-19T14:31:00.000+08:00

Guantanamo Playtime.

The problem with suicide-homicide bombers is the homicide bit. It wouldn’t worry many in Israel if Muslim terrorists decided to head out to the Jezreel Valley and ‘protest’ the presence of the Jews on Allah’s soil by blowing themselves up. It’s when they take other lives that this form of ‘protest’ becomes a problem, a threat, to the Western world.

But what happens when you remove any potential for terrorists to kill others?

Unfortunately, US policy steps in.

2006-05-10T23:43:00.000+08:00

Still having trouble with them-there fancy words, Ant?

Antony Loewenstein, apparently, hasn’t taken notice of advice dispensed by James Waterton not too long ago.

Lowy, the failed SMH book-reviewing trainee cadet apprentice thing’o, still doesn’t see a distinction between ‘censor’, and ‘censure’ after all this time, and seriously believes RWDB’s are out to put a stop to crazy US lefties voicing rubbish opinions, rather than simply point them out.

Super dodo!

2006-05-09T15:17:00.000+08:00

Hobart shooting.

This story will greatly upset members and families of the Tasmanian police service, and the public in general.

A Hobart shooting has left a sergeant in a critical condition and revealed just how useless the Port Arthur-inspired gun laws are. Take comfort in the fact that a suspect has been detained, and the new building (when completed) at Risdon should hold the bastard.

For Tasmanians, the shooting is a sad contrast to the freeing of miners Todd Russel and Brant Webb- whose story has captivated much of Australia- including the Tasmanian Times, which apparently offers a “challenge to the mass media's obsession with popularity, superficiality and celebrity”.

Let's hope Sgt. Cooper recovers fully, and his attacker gets what he deserves.

2006-05-08T21:56:00.000+08:00

Controversial Nancy Boy.

As someone who only started reading the Herald Sun’s Andrew Bolt recently (over the last few months), I thought it prudent to invest in a copy of The Best of Andrew Bolt.

Having only flicked through it, I already believe that I spent $25.00 well.

I could have picked up and downed a cheap, nasty, bottle of vodka.

I could have put the $25 into my printing account and printed a bunch of copies of this to leave around the Uni’s Arts building.

I could have picked up margonaut’s door-stop to burn in front of Socialist Alliance/Green dodo’s next time they congregate outside the Morris Miller library to protest Australian democracy, eh, the hoWARd Government.

But I didn’t. And I’m sure none of the above would be as good as reading some classic Bolt- although I must admit, a combination of all three would have been fun.

UPDATE: 7/10 Guerrilla conservatives recommend The Best of Andrew Bolt:

2006-05-07T22:45:00.000+08:00

Absolute fool.

Either this comment is a poor parody of a Marxist, or Glenn Condell is a dodo.

As we noted earlier, Venezuela is controlled by a deplorable leftist hell bent on destroying the individual’s liberty (but hey, aren’t they all?)

Condell doesn’t care for real political rights though, because that might make him appear to be an imperialist.

2006-05-05T23:23:00.000+08:00

Addicts and General Scum.

Another reason to privatise the health-care system.

See the ANCD publication here (PDF).

2006-04-26T17:32:00.000+08:00

When a blog is just a blog.

Intimidation of the media, conspiracies, vested interests, ‘zee Germans, cover-ups and deception. See here.

The Tasmanian Times truly is a “challenge to the mass media's obsession with popularity, superficiality and celebrity.”

"Balance is appeasement. Fairness is truth."

2006-04-24T16:49:00.000+08:00

Port Arthur Victims.

Below are the names of the victims of the Port Arthur Massacre, who we will all be remembering this Friday.

Winifred Joyce Aplin, 58, Banksia Park, South Australia
Walter John Bennett, 66, Diamond Creek, Victoria
Nicole Louise Burgess, 17, Koonya, Tasmania
Sou Leng Chung, 32, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Elva Rhonda Gaylard, 48, Hamlyn Heights, Victoria
Zoe Anne Hall, 28, Sylvania, NSW
Elizabeth Jayne Howard, 27 Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania
Mary Elizabeth Howard, 57, Dunnstown, Victoria
Mervyn John Howard, 55, Dunnstown, Victoria
Ronald Noel Jary, 71, Redcliffs, Victoria
Tony Vadivelu Kistan, 51, Summer Hill, NSW
Leslie Dennis Lever, 53, Redcliffs, Victoria
Sarah Kate Loughton, 15, Ferntree Gully, Victoria
David Martin, 72, Port Arthur, Tasmania
Noelene Joyce (Sally) Martin, 69, Port Arthur, Tasmania
Pauline Virjeana Masters, 49, West Ivanhoe, Victoria
Alannah Louise Mikac, 6, Nubeena, Tasmania
Madeline Grace Mikac, 3, Nubeena, Tasmania
Nanette Patricia Mikac, 36, Nubeena, Tasmania
Andrew Bruce Mills, 49, Mornington, Tasmania
Peter Brenton Nash, 32, Hoppers Crossing, Victoria
Gwenda Joan Neander, 67, Parafield Gardens, South Australia
Mo Yee William Ng, 48, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Anthony Nightingale, 44, Keysborough, Victoria
Mary Rose Nixon, 60, Crabtree, Tasmania
Glenn Roy Pears, 35, Neutral Bay, NSW
Russell James Pollard, 72, Brunswick Heads, NSW
Janette Quin, 50, Bicheno, Tasmania
Helene Maria Salzmann, 50, Ocean Shores, NSW
Robert Salzmann, 58, Ocean Shores, NSW
Kate Elizabeth Scott, 21, Balga, Western Australia
Kevin Vincent Sharp, 68, Kilmore, Victoria
Raymond John Sharp, 67, Kilmore, Victoria
Royce William Thompson, 59, Kingston Beach, Tasmania
Jason Bernard Winter, 29, New Town, Tasmania

2006-04-16T21:15:00.000+08:00

Society’s Rightly Ostracised Scum Want Pizza.

After the last prison riot in Hobart ended ‘peacefully’, with the State turning over pizza to convicted criminals, the Tasmanian prison system was put back into fine form, right?

Wrong.

Another 'protest' has broken out at Risdon Prison over ‘substandard conditions’

Despite the fact that the prisoners are locked down, and have no hostages- staff or otherwise- “negotiations” are already underway.

What is to negotiate?

These people are convicted criminals- society’s rightly ostracised scum and vermin. The only negotiation should be between custodial officers and State police, to decide who will storm the cons, and beat the living s*** out of them.

The real (ALP controlled) State, however, has no doubt decided already to appease these criminals. A spokesman had this to say:

"All that [the Criminal scum have] got with them are the contents of their cells. I believe they have asked for some takeaway food, I think it was pizza."

This shouldn’t have even had time to get into the news before someone took control of the situation.

For more on the previous siege, see here.

UPDATE: WMD’s used to put down Risdon scum.

“The inmates had been making demands involving nutrition and the packaging of food, exercise activity and dental treatment”, according to a spokesman.

The state of dental care in Tasmania is dismal. Convicted criminals should be the lowest priority.

We’ll (try and remember to) post on the letters to the editor section of tomorrow’s Mercury.

‘Dickensian’ Prison.

‘Prisoners rebelling’.

UPDATE II:

UTAS’ Dr Caroline Evans notes that Risdon Prison is “very uncomfortable”, and not at all suited to the local Tasmanian climate (beautiful one day, stormy the next).

The little inmate Intifida must be a result of the weather, eh?

2006-04-15T00:45:00.000+08:00

Holly Valance Fashion statement.

(Yes, I edited- poorly- the bottom picture.)

Insert leftist babble here: blah, blah, the hammer and sickle is a symbol of the working class or some such, comparing it to the swastika is wrong- besides, the swastika doesn’t belong to the Nazis, blah blah...

Both the swastika and the soviet- and Chinese- hammer and sickle have come to represent the most deplorable regimes ever to have existed, despite their origins. Valance knows this.

Fuck you, Holly.

2006-04-14T01:04:00.000+08:00

Hugo Chavez- darling of the left.

While Chavez scores political points every time he has a piss and a moan about George Bush or Tony Blair, his country is suffering under a media crackdown, with the mainstream left turning a blind eye (a b-grade example is Antony Loewenstein. The failed trainee, who tries to represent himself as some kind of media expert, conveniently ignores the true Chavez government to avoid de-legitimising his anti-American ally).

Pasted below are a few highlights (rather- lowlights) from an article by Roger Atwood, recently published in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, showing the extent to which Chavez is ruining press freedom in his country. If you’d like a PDF copy, send us an email (preferably to Stewie, at his ‘new_student1986’ address).

New, so-called insult laws (...) have already blunted some of the harshest criticisms of the government among opinion writers (and) created a pernicious climate of self-censorship among reporters that has begun to affect the quality of coverage and public debate”. Page 26.

The new restrictions have come into force in a context of growing intolerance of dissent by the government (…) Page 26.

Virtually every prominent public official in Venezuela is now legally entitled to seek redress for any speech or text deemed offensive or disrespectful, whether true or not. Page 27.

By enshrining the ability to challenge opinion in court with heavy fines for offenders, the law seems aimed at creating a climate inimical to the airing of any critical opinion. Page 27.

The Supreme Court is dominated by Chavez appointees. Page 27.

New legislation, introduced by the Chavez government, threatens jail (sic) of up to ten years for any public act that raises the ‘danger of a serious accident (siniestro), a vague and completely subjective definition that could include causing traffic jams. Page 27.

If the goal (of the Chavez government) was to encourage news organizations to silence anti-government rhetoric without resorting to the unpalatable task of taking them to court, it would seem to be succeeding. Page 28.

Hector Faundez, a media law expert at the Universidad Central in Caracas, points out that the kinds of attacks that Tony Blair faced daily during his campaign for reelection as British prime minister would be illegal in Venezuela. A televised debate between Chavez and his election opponents seems impossible because television stations would be liable for any offensive statements uttered by the challengers about Chavez. The reverse, however, would not be true. Pages 28 to 29.

One journalist was charged with violating state secrecy laws by reporting on documents given to her by a source, while an investigative reporter for El Universal was arrested on what appeared to be trumped-up charges of financial fraud. In addition, a television news channel, Globovision (…), has been hit with huge fines from the national telecommunications authority, CONATEL, for a variety of supposed infractions since 2002. Given these examples, it is reasonable to conclude that the government has embarked on a systematic campaign of legal harassment against media whose coverage it does not like. Page 29.

Another arrow in the government’s fast growing quiver of ways to manipulate news coverage is its frequent use of mandatory national broadcasts (…). On an almost daily basis, the government requires all stations, public and private, to break into their regular programming and transmit information as ordered by the government. This happens often while private stations are showing prime-time news broadcasts. Sometimes the information has news value, such as a speech by Chavez, but more often it is simply a commercial for a government initiative or event (one such superfluous broadcast was of Chavez attending Fidel Castro’s birthday party, the two presidents looking like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza as they toasted each other.) Page 30.

State-run television channels (…) remain abject propaganda services for the Chavez government, regularly attacking the president’s designated enemies and opposition figures in news reporting while excluding dissenting opinions. Page 31.

Chavez supporters are nothing more than a leftist flock of dodos, singing a pro-socialist, anti-American tune. Atwood’s, brave, full article puts it best (heh, heh), however, rather than these snippets we’ve offered.

2006-04-10T23:24:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi looks to have lost his job.

(The opposition) prevailed after a vitriolic election campaign in which he highlighted unemployment, crime, the economy and the war in Iraq, blaming Mr Berlusconi for involving Italy in the US-led coalition.

Two thieving little shits were tortured by a “porn king”. Not sure if he taped it.

Greg Phillips beat one of the thieves with a bat, put a plastic bag over his head, and used bolt cutters to bash another of the men. The Porn king then dumped the thieves at a police station, leaving his details. If they take anything away from this, apart from scars, lets hope it's respect for private property.

“Let the bragging rights battle begin”

The Muslim jihad against cars has fired up again- this time in Israel.

[...] three Palestinian youths from the Issawiya, north of Jerusalem, were arrested on suspicion of throwing 70 firebombs at Israeli vehicles.

2006-04-06T16:59:00.000+08:00

Spot the Difference.

“We (Jews) believe in life. No matter how diverse we are in observance, we observe the ancient ban and don’t sacrifice our children to Moloch. We love them and hope to bring them up, as is recited at the circumcision ceremony: to good deeds and to the wedding canopy, in hopeful expectation of life. Of grandchildren.”

Zoltan and Adi Schwartz – Survivors.

2006-04-05T01:16:00.000+08:00

Tassie bloggers.

Tasmanian bloggers seem pretty difficult to hunt down. I’m guessing because of decades of harassment by our mainland counterparts, some have become ashamed of our birthplace and try and hide it. Apparently we have a lot to be ashamed of- incest usually tops the list, then a well-worn joke about having two heads, which I’m sorry to say only gets less funny each time it's used.

There is also the more political issue, that is- the accusation that colonial Tasmania (Van Diemen’s Land, for the uninitiated) saw the ‘genocide’, or ‘slaughter’ of peaceful, defenceless Aborigines or some such. As with the copious amounts of incest and our additional heads, this is not the case.

The point of this post, though, is simply to link to a few of my betters in the blogosphere- not discuss colonial history.

Bug and Cecilia

I have no idea what this blog is about. It is, however, Tasmanian- and that’s what counts.

Little Mr Square Eyes

He’s a Hobart blogger with a focus on the idiot box.

Jaisen

Jaisen is based in Burnie. His profile confesses he is an Arts student.

Georgie Weston

As the URL suggests, Weston’s blog centres around food. Oddly enough, for a Hobart blogger, Weston also seems fond of the North.

If you’re a Tassie blogger, send me your site details and I’ll put them on this post (linked at the sidebar).

Apologies to the above people as well, I didn’t give them a choice in the matter (and you still don’t have one)!

2006-04-04T23:26:00.000+08:00

Vote for me, or you’re a testicle.

Silvio Berlusconi branded anyone who would vote for his “centre-left” opponents “coglioni”.

"I have too much esteem for the intelligence of Italians to think that they could be such 'coglioni' to vote against their own interests," he said.

"Excuse my rough but efficient language."

Apparently, coglioni means ‘testicles’ in Italian. The word is often used figuratively to label someone a fool, cretin, moron or idiot.

Below is a basic list of Australian coglioni.

Andrew Bartlett

Bob Brown

Pegg Putt

(Hobart Mayor) Rob Valentine

(historian) Henry Reynolds

Thom Lyons

Just about everyone here

... But especially Liam Hogan- what a little turd

Antony Loewenstein

Margo Kingston

Make sure you use coglioni in a sentence at least once this week, and repeating this story doesn’t count.

Example:

I’m really sick of the Socialist Alliance coglioni that gather around the campus like a bad smell.

2006-04-02T20:23:00.000+08:00

Rational Argument.

What happens when you go searching for rational argument at Crazy Ant’s blog?

You get this response:

Oh no! You're looking for something which just isn't here! […]

Heh heh.

2006-03-31T20:02:00.000+08:00

ONA Info Session, 3rd April.

In case you missed the UTAS-circulated email, the Office of National Assessments will be holding an information session for prospective applicants. Salary for ONA employees is usually around $50,000, and gets past $80,000, often with "irregular hours" promised!

Here’s a copy and paste job:

The Federal Office of National Assessments will be presenting an information session on their 2007 Graduate Program next Monday (3rd April) in the Centenary Lecture Theatre between 1:10-2pm.The Office of National Assessments (ONA) analyses international political, strategic and economic issues for the Prime Minister, senior ministers and government departments, and coordinates the national intelligence effort. ONA, which is an autonomous Commonwealth agency, is a small organisation - about 60 people, of whom two-thirds are involved in analytic work. Working under the authority of its own Act of Parliament, ONA is concerned only with international issues and has no responsibility for domestic Australian affairs. They are recruiting from a wide range of disciplines.

The ONA’s site is here.

2006-03-30T23:22:00.000+08:00

The Occupied Territories.

Australia occupies over six million square kilometres of land on the continent of Antarctica, historically owned and farmed by Muslims.

The area was originally claimed in the name of the motherland- Britain, before being handed to Australia in 1933.

The Territories are occupied by Christian settlers under the guise of ‘science’, traditional Muslim owners still hold the keys to research stations they built and operated for centuries. Those who have not been forced into exile, live under a brutal occupation, which is ignored by the mainstream media, and supported by the Murdoch Press and successive United States administrations.

For an example of the mainstream media's refusal to recognise the Antarctic Muslims, see this article. Christian zealots have omitted the unique history and culture of the Muslims.

Please consider these facts, and support divestment from Australia until an independent state is established for the Antarctic Muslims, their identity recognised, and those in exile repatriated at the expense of Australia and the US.

2006-03-28T23:25:00.000+08:00

Israeli Election.

Tim Blair’s link to Israelly Cool (an ‘Ozraeli site’), which is covering the country’s election, is an excellent place to follow the ongoing action.

No doubt, it will also be ‘interesting’ to see Crazy Ant’s response when a coalition including Kadima takes control of the Knesset.

Included will be the words, ‘racist’ and ‘neo-conservative’ (or similar). The failed journalist will also put it to his limited (in both a numerical and intellectual sense) readership that the Jewish state harbours the desire to exile, massacre, and generally destroy the Palestinians for being on Zionist turf or whatnot. Expect a link to some-such site as Counterpunch, and a mention of his book.

There will be a diatribe on the Jewish voters, on a much more scathing level than Little Lowy has ever heaped on Hamas supporters.

Lowy may also try out a new word, with poor results.

In any case, may the Israeli election produce a Government willing to take a Sharon-like stand against terrorist scum threatening the world’s only Jewish state, and the Western world.

2006-03-27T12:09:00.000+08:00

Palestinians in the media.

“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” William Shakespeare.

2006-03-23T15:14:00.000+08:00

Snippets.

An Australian journalist is responsible for the destruction of ancient statues in Taliban ruled Afghanistan.

THE TALIBAN TOOK [the journalist] TO BE AN UNDERCOVER AGENT SO ORDERED HIM ARRESTED AND THE STATUES DESTROYED

Phew, I’m glad that’s cleared up- all this time I thought the Taliban were just intolerant terrorist-sponsoring murderers.

The National Australia Bank has offered $1million to assist Queenslanders.

[The] NAB has already suspended home loan repayments and waived fees on new personal loans and early withdrawal of deposits.

Thankfully, Cyclone Lazza has been relatively merciful to the State. Although I’m sure this is some kind of punishment from Allah for Australia’s involvement in the taking back of Spain from Muslim rule…

... Speaking of Allah's wrath, take a look at cruelty in the Koran:

Unbelievers will be tormented forever with fire. When their skin is burned off, a fresh skin will be provided.

Heh heh, those zany Muslims…

2006-03-23T14:31:00.000+08:00

What has power-hungry Crazy Ant been drinking?

"The reabsorption of semen by the blood is the strongest nourishment and, perhaps more than any other factor, it prompts the stimulus of power, the unrest of all forces toward the overcoming of resistances, the thirst for contradiction and resistance", Friedrich Nietzsche.

2006-03-22T22:27:00.000+08:00

Stoopid Comment.

This one from smiths, over at Crazy Ant’s blog:

“murdoch himself sits with [Bush and Howard] to craft the lies that his machine then distributes"

... No.

I’ve (thankfully) been told, via email, that MS IE may be having some trouble with this page. Get Firefox, that’ll fix everything from your dog’s cancer to your girlfriend’s undersized breasts.

2006-03-22T20:28:00.000+08:00

Fulbright Tasmanian Scholarship Program.

Looking to study in the land of the brave and the free? Tasmanian students will now have more opportunities to do so, with a $40,000 scholarship on offer. Here’s a copy and paste job from UniTas (PDF):

The Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania have joined forces to create an award to allow talented Tasmanians to undertake study or research in the United States for up to twelve months. Minister for Economic Development, Lara Giddings and the Vice-Chancellor Professor Daryl Le Grew, have announced their joint support in establishing a prestigious Fulbright Tasmanian Award, valued at up to A$40,000 a year. US Consul General to Melbourne, Earl Irving said this is the first state-based Fulbright Award to be established in the fifty-six year history of the Fulbright program in Australia. “I congratulate the Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania for their initiative. It demonstrates Tasmania’s vision for the future through the support of research and development, and the development of long-term international relations.” The Fulbright Tasmanian Award is open to Tasmanian residents to undertake 3- 12 months research or study in the USA. Projects undertaken in the US will add-value and contribute to Tasmania’s economic development and further research opportunities. Ms Giddings said the award will bring benefits to both sides of the Pacific. “This award will assist in building long-term linkages between Tasmania and the United States in the mutually beneficial areas of research and development. “It’s about recognising and encouraging the substantial talent we have in the State and building international partnerships. “In the same way the Rhodes Scholarship program develops ties between Australia and the United Kingdom, the Fulbright will complement and enhance our relationship with the United States,” she said. Professor Le Grew said the award will bring lasting outcomes for Tasmania. “Fulbright Awards are internationally recognised and certainly ‘open doors’ in the United States. “Tasmanians have won Fulbright Awards in the past, but this initiative of the Fulbright Tasmanian Award ensures greater opportunities for Tasmanians. “We are pleased to partner with the Tasmanian Government in establishing this award and we will seek donations to ensure its endowment for the future,” he said. The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it currently operates between the US and 150 other countries. It annually grants up to twenty Fulbright Awards for Australians to the US and a similar number for Americans to Australia. See www.fulbright.com.au for more details. Applications for the first Fulbright Tasmanian Award will open in June for the inaugural Fulbright Tasmanian Scholar to commence a program of study or research from mid 2007.

2006-03-21T22:08:00.000+08:00

Got Mail?

“A letter is an unannounced visit; the mail-man, the mediator of impolite incursions. One ought to have one hour in every eight days for receiving letters, and then take a bath”, Friedrich Nietzsche.

2006-03-20T14:32:00.000+08:00

Iran Freedom Concert.

A rather odd coalition recently showed its support for Iranians- sorry Crazy Ant, that’s support for Iranians and Iranian students, not the Iranian regime, on the 18^th.

Included were Harvard Democrats and Republicans who’ve put their rather infamous, mutual disdain aside to recognise “that because we live in freedom, we have a responsibility to help echo the call of Iranians our own age demanding freedom,” without taking a stand on issues such as appropriate intervention programs.

It’s rather unfortunate that media coverage of the concert proved to be pitiful (at least here), but the effort put in by students across the US is an important sign, that regardless of the left-right divide, those who are still sane see the need to support Iranian students living in an intolerable regime.

Here is a statement from the concert’s planning committee:

CAMBRIDGE – On Saturday, March 18, Harvard University will host the
Iran Freedom Concert, a rally organized by Harvard students to support
their counterparts in Iran. Prominent Iranian student leader Akbar
Atri and Harvard's Undergraduate Council president John Haddock will
address the crowd.

"As tensions rise over nuclear issues, our diverse student coalition
wants to spotlight the human side of the Iran crisis," said
co-organizer Adam Scheuer, a senior and editor at the Harvard Middle
East Review.

"Iranian students are denied basic rights Americans take advantage of
every day. But there is a brave student movement in Iran working for
change, and we need to support them." Widespread student protests in
Iran have broken out in recent years, despite a brutal crackdown by
the regime's security forces.

The concert, which begins at 9 p.m. at Leverett House, features
leading campus musicians and speakers from campus groups exposing
repression in Iran. Nine organizations are co-sponsoring, including an
unusual alliance of campus Democrats and Republicans.

"The coalition doesn't take a stand on policy debates like foreign
intervention," explained freshman co-organizer Alex McLeese. "But we
agree that the fundamental rights of Iranians cannot be held hostage
to diplomatic maneuverings over Iran's nuclear program."

The Iran Freedom Concert takes place just before the traditional
Persian new year of Norouz – reflecting the students' hope for a new
day for freedom in Iran.

"Iranian students are arrested for what they write on their blogs and
have to take their exams in handcuffs," noted freshman co-organizer
Nick Manske. "In fact, the essential elements of this concert are
illegal in Iran: live singing, mixed dancing, and discussing social
messages. Not to mention the restrictions on women, minorities, and
journalists."

That message is being echoed on campuses across the country, with
simultaneous rallies planned at Georgetown, UPenn, Duke, and other
schools. Prominent Iranian dissidents, as well as the American Islamic
Congress, are sending statements of support.

"This is a critical moment for Iran," Scheuer said. "Iranian activists
need to know that American students are ready to help them hold the
Iranian regime accountable. We want to help our counterparts in Iran
seize the moment and advance their civil rights movement."

(Apologies to Manny for not posting on the concert before.)

See the website here.

2006-03-20T12:19:00.000+08:00

Bye-Bye...

"We accept that we will not be in a position to form government after this election and I as leader of the parliamentary Liberal party accept full and total responsibility for the result and all the tactical decisions relating to our election strategies” - Rene Hidding.

2006-03-19T20:42:00.000+08:00

*sigh*

An upsetting but mostly satisfactory result in the Tasmanian election.

What can we really say? The Liberals did not put in a good campaign, it took the work of non-party folk to get the Greens’ policies out there- which of course had the desired effect. Peg Putt bitched about how everyone is against her and the Greens (lets bloody well hope so), and Lennon will be picking a new moustache-wielding Deputy.

Life goes on.

2006-03-17T13:38:00.000+08:00

The Greens on that pamphlet.

The Greens have decided; “members of religious group Exclusive Brethren have been […] the silent force behind campaigns attacking Greens gay policies.”

Homosexual-rights ‘activist’ Rodney Croome stated:

"The overwhelming majority of Tasmanian Liberal and Labor MPs support same-sex couple adoption and fostering, the formal recognition of same-sex relationships and the ability to legally change gender to match personal identity,"

But didn’t justify, in any way, why tax-dollars should fund gender change “to match personal identity”.

The fact is, the policy cannot be justified, and is completely illiberal. If an individual wants to change the sex he or she was born with- it isn’t an issue for Church groups; unless, of course, they are forced to foot the bill. It certainly won't be the largely unemployed student left, the Greens' prime market for gathering voters, who will pay for Croome et al to slice and snip their way to happiness.

The Greens have also taken the group they believe to be behind the pamphlets to the AEC. Clearly, they are afraid of the potential effects their non-environmental policies will have on voters. They should be.

Don't forget to vote, this Saturday, for a party that wont bugger you over like the Greens, or reward poor performance and crime like the Labor Party.

2006-03-15T19:48:00.000+08:00

Election.

Here is a brief summary of the election campaign so far, in the lead up to the vote this Saturday.

We’re hoping for a Liberal victory, but also tossing up the advantages to the nation in a Green win (i.e., their devastating policies unleashed against their simpleton voters). Realistically, though, the outcome is grim- the Greens holding the balance of power.

Of course, most voters have probably heard of or read the pamphlet released by a 'group of Tasmanian families', which make the Greens’ policies- that is, their theories, not practices- clear for all to see, including the use of tax-dollars to fund sex change operations (a policy the Liberals should have pointed out). With Tasmanians finally exposed to the real Greens, though, Peg Putt’s propaganda drive over environmentalism and so-called ‘honest government’, is much less effective.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that ‘honest Greens’ is a laughable concept. If the party were so 'honest', they would not have altered their drug policies in the lead up to the election campaign- a deliberate manoeuvre to appear less extreme- a cover that will not last.

Good luck to all the candidates, except for the Greens’. Quit while you are ahead Peg Putt et al, and save the State some money you old socialist fools.

2006-03-14T16:20:00.000+08:00

Dodos lacking the ability to engage in real debate.

Take a look at the comment section on one of Crazy Ant’s posts.

Ant Lowy's leftist buddies are trying (among other things) to defend the little man from legitimate, accurate criticism that his appointment to a publicly funded position is disgusting and wrong.

Is it funny, or is it sad, that while pro-Israel commenter Captain keeps her or his posts calm, logical, intelligent and coherent, Crazy Ant’s supporters respond with gems like this:

Darryl Mason (his blog) :

“…why would you even visit here, let alone bother commenting?”

Weezil:

“…captain is a troll. Popping around blog comments to vex and annoy is a troll’s main job.”

Addamo:

"Captain,

I actually thought you had something to contribute to this forum, but you have proven by this post that you are a complete and utter moron – a Troll in fact [ed: blah blah blah ad hominem, etc]. How dare you come to this forum and direct such insults to the moderator? [ed: insults, my arse] If you don’t like it, go forth and multiply. No one is forcing you to post or read theses threads. What are you here for? To try and slay a dragon so that you can run back to your Zionists [ed: later 'Zionazis', from Addamo] wing nut fellow travelers and get a pat on your head from your handlers as you boast of your great adventure? [ed: incidentally, Captain does deserve a to be congratulated for putting up with these blatantly ignorant anti-Zionist dodos. It’s hardly an adventure though; it’s a nightmare trying to speak rationally to anyone at Crazy Ant’s blog.]

You’re have made a pathetic attempt to trivialize Ant’s credentials [ed: what credentials?], and insisted that his success is purely the result of him exploiting his Jewish heritage. Who gives a damn whether Ant represents Jews or anyone else [ed: many Jews would care, a lot. Having Ant represent the Jewish community would be similar to having Forest Gump represent, say, Christians]. His appointment was not about politics, but academic inquiry [ed: But Ant accepts he is not an academic]. His pos8ition would be compromised if he were to be representing anyone [ed: HA HA! As if Ant is neutral in any way, as implied by Addamo!]– but for wingnuts like yourself, not being an Israeli apologist must make you biased against Jews., What utter BS.

[…]

Who gives a damn as to whether you think ant is qualified for his position? You have not been endowed with the responsibility of making that decision [ed: As a tax-payer, I sure as hell give a damn, make the lazy shit get a real job]."

It really is no coincidence that the left have such poor form when it comes to debate based on reason, and facts. They certainly cannot rely on these traits, and they cannot be consistent. It is an often funny, but usually sad state of affairs.

For now, let's all have a laugh at little Lowenstein, who seems to think he is a journalist, and not a failed trainee.

Make sure you also see A Western Heart’s recent post on the left and free speech, here.

2006-03-12T22:02:00.000+08:00

Stoopid Comment.

Another silly comment so soon? Indeed.

This one is from a clearly disturbed individual calling himself ‘fatnigger’. Make what you will of her or his name. The individual’s post is first up at Wally’s Boltwatch.

“Obviously, abortion is a 'wedge' issue, mainly used by conservative governments to distract people from issues like war, economy, etc.”

Google it.

Iraq war. Nearly three million hits.

Economy. Nearly ten million hits.

Abortion. Just over two-hundred thousand hits.

Even accounting for non-news pages (and loads of porn), clearly society is focussed on the former issues. At the very least, we can conclude that abortion isn’t doing very well as a wedgy distraction.

2006-03-11T23:55:00.000+08:00

Stoopid comment.

We should make this a regular thing. There are plenty of stupid comments waiting to be pointed out...

Addamo, over at Crazy Ant's blog.

“…what is seems is that the Iranians just want to be left alone.”

"Just leave us alone will you... with them Jooz!"

2006-03-11T23:00:00.000+08:00

Labor's Little Protege:

“Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assaults of thought on the unthinking.”
John Maynard Keynes.

2006-03-08T12:49:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

An interesting poll at news.com.au, asking readers whom they most prefer to play Prime Minister out of John Howard, Kim Beazley, and Julia Gillard:

Out of 3327 votes (so far), Kimmy has 208- 6%.

Unfortunately, Julia Gillard has 49%.

Thankfully, the poll is about as useful as the ALP’s leftist factions, and subject to change.

Former US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage underestimates the strength of middle powers in an otherwise accurate and interesting interview with the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (email us for a copy) :

GJIA: What is Iraq’s place on the world stage and what can we do to support it?

Armitage: Well, I don’t think Iraq has a place on the world stage. It’s hard for me to see a country of twenty-three million people having the necessary gravity, the necessary weight to be a world player. Clearly, we’re involved in a war of ideas, and the idea that countries should be able to pick their leaders is a worthy one […] but Iraq is a regional player, and doesn’t have a place on the global stage.

See this story on the gang-rape of Western women by Muslim criminals (may they choke on an old shoe) :

Aside from the usual bombing "protest" against Western "arrogance" and "unbelieving morals", the current rape wave is the vital expression of an ongoing jihad against women who under Western influence may drift slowly out of the grip of male Muslim hands.

The war character of this behaviour may become clearer from its archaic punishment perspective that has come out of use generally but survived in Islam until present times. During the Algerian independence war the freedom fighters used to publicly sodomize French officers in order to achieve the enemy's maximum degradation. The same applies to the woman as a possible internal enemy containing even a double danger: her alleged disobedience is a bio-political security risk for the Islamic entirety and her independent "devilish" sexuality represents a religious blasphemy, contaminating male purity. Both have to be dealt with accordingly: beating, raping, torturing, stoning, killing.

2006-03-05T17:32:00.000+08:00

It is Cricket!

Not to sound cocky, but we Australians often prove better at sport than the Yanks, which is why I found this story so welcoming.

We can only win so many yacht races before the US simply say 'enough is enough' and give up completely. If the Americans take up cricket though, and it looks like it might catch on between our leaders, we'll have something else to beat 'em at!

Useless Bush! Take a look at a real player:

And just what kind of ball should be used in a match between prominent Western leaders?
Only the best, of course:

Yes- it is packed full of diamondy goodness...

2006-03-03T22:46:00.000+08:00

Rational Fear.

I spent an hour today searching for a baby huntsman that I wasn’t sure even existed. I’d only just gotten home, and the light was off. Something did move, I knew that much.

I gave my place a good cleaning, throwing clothes that have been waiting in queue for a wash into the basket, and put some scattered papers and articles away- so as the huntsman couldn’t slip under them, hide for a month and emerge- bigger and more bloodthirsty- to bite my precious wannabe banker fingers.

I then went onto beating the absolute shit out of the floorboards with a broom- to scare it away if it had slipped under and out of my sight.

Anyway, to the point:

Is my fear of the global Islamofascist movement based on the same assumptions as my fear of this baby huntsman in the dark? Is the left correct to say that Bush’s War on Terror is a Republican grab for money, oil, and power? Is The Howard just an arse licker following Bushnik neo-conservative domestic and foreign policies?

Hmm. No.

Firstly, I reminded myself that calling anyone an arse-licker is a form of ad hominem argument that should only stiffen my opposition to the left.

Secondly, and quite simply, there are cheaper ways for the Republicans to grab money, oil and power.

Thirdly, the international neo-conservative movement hasn’t exactly made any long-lasting changes to Western societies. Our kids are still not studying Christianity as an absolute truth in public schools. Creationism has proven itself irrelevant.

And lastly, in any light, the Islamofascist movement clearly isn’t RWDB fiction.

I did kill the huntsman, by the way. Absolutely crushed him- and my room is clean!

* This post was submitted by an old college mate, currently studying at Ballarat and working at a local credit union. Yes- this individual is a little crazy.

** If you would like to submit a post to be published, feel free to send us an email. We do discriminate though, you have to be right wing, and preferably Tasmanian. Lefties can go here.

2006-03-02T22:05:00.000+08:00

Standing Against the new Totalitarianism.

In support of the statements presented in this manifesto, and the document's signatories, I’m reproducing it here.

Thanks to Ben Ze'ev at Six Days for bringing it to my attention. I strongly recommend reading it and posting it on your site, unless… you’re too dhimmi? Dhimmi, dhimmi, dhimmi, dhimmi!

(Also note the Fiskian repetition I’m using- great technique)

After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new totalitarian global threat: Islamism.

We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all.

The recent events, which occurred after the publication of drawings of Muhammed in European newspapers, have revealed the necessity of the struggle for these universal values. This struggle will not be won by arms, but in the ideological field. It is not a clash of civilisations nor an antagonism of West and East that we are witnessing, but a global struggle that confronts democrats and theocrats.

Like all totalitarianisms, Islamism is nurtured by fears and frustrations. The hate preachers bet on these feelings in order to form battalions destined to impose a liberticidal and unegalitarian world. But we clearly and firmly state: nothing, not even despair, justifies the choice of obscurantism, totalitarianism and hatred. Islamism is a reactionary ideology which kills equality, freedom and secularism wherever it is present. Its success can only lead to a world of domination: man's domination of woman, the Islamists' domination of all the others. To counter this, we must assure universal rights to oppressed or discriminated people.

We reject « cultural relativism », which consists in accepting that men and women of Muslim culture should be deprived of the right to equality, freedom and secular values in the name of respect for cultures and traditions. We refuse to renounce our critical spirit out of fear of being accused of "Islamophobia", an unfortunate concept which confuses criticism of Islam as a religion with stigmatisation of its believers.

We plead for the universality of freedom of expression, so that a critical spirit may be exercised on all continents, against all abuses and all dogmas.

We appeal to democrats and free spirits of all countries that our century should be one of Enlightenment, not of obscurantism.

12 signatures

Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Chahla Chafiq
Caroline Fourest
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Irshad Manji
Mehdi Mozaffari
Maryam Namazie
Taslima Nasreen
Salman Rushdie
Antoine Sfeir
Philippe Val
Ibn Warraq

Presentations:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, from somilian origin, is member of Dutch parliement, member of the liberal party VVD. Writter of the film Submission which caused the assasination of Theo Van Gogh by an islamist in november 2004, she lives under police protection.

Chahla Chafiq
Chahla Chafiq, writer from iranian origin, exiled in France is a novelist and an essayist. She's the author of "Le nouvel homme islamiste , la prison politique en Iran " (2002). She also wrote novels such as "Chemins et brouillard" (2005).

Caroline Fourest
Essayist, editor in chief of Prochoix (a review who defend liberties against dogmatic and integrist ideologies), author of several reference books on « laicité » and fanatism : Tirs Croisés : la laïcité à l'épreuve des intégrismes juif, chrétien et musulman (with Fiammetta Venner), Frère Tariq : discours, stratégie et méthode de Tariq Ramadan, et la Tentation obscurantiste (Grasset, 2005). She receieved the National prize of laicité in 2005.

Bernard-Henri Lévy
French philosoph, born in Algeria, engaged against all the XXth century « ism » (Fascism, antisemitism, totalitarism, terrorism), he is the author of La Barbarie à visage humain, L'Idéologie française, La Pureté dangereuse, and more recently American Vertigo.

Irshad Manji
Irshad Manji is a Fellow at Yale University and the internationally best-selling author of "The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith" (en francais: "Musulmane Mais Libre"). She speaks out for free expression based on the Koran itself. Née en Ouganda, elle a fui ce pays avec sa famille musulmane d'origine indienne à l'âge de quatre ans et vit maintenant au Canada, où ses émissions et ses livres connaissent un énorme succès.

Mehdi Mozaffari
Mehdi Mozaffari, professor from iranian origin and exiled in Denmark, is the author of several articles and books on islam and islamism such as : Authority in Islam: From Muhammad to Khomeini, Fatwa: Violence and Discourtesy and Glaobalization and Civilizations.

Maryam Namazie
Writer, TV International English producer; Director of the Worker-communist Party of Iran's International Relations; and 2005 winner of the National Secular Society's Secularist of the Year award.

Taslima Nasreen
Taslima Nasreen is born in Bangladesh. Doctor, her positions defending women and minorities brought her in trouble with a comittee of integrist called « Destroy Taslima » and to be persecuted as « apostate »

Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie is the author of nine novels, including Midnight's Children, The Satanic Verses and, most recently, Shalimar the Clown. He has received many literary awards, including the Booker Prize, the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel, Germany's Author of the Year Award, the European Union's Aristeion Prize, the Budapest Grand Prize for Literature, the Premio Mantova, and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature. He is a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres, an Honorary Professor in the Humanities at M.I.T., and the president of PEN American Center. His books have been translated into over 40 languages.

Philippe Val
Director of publication of Charlie Hebdo (Leftwing french newspaper who have republished the cartoons on the prophet Muhammad by solidarity with the danish citizens targeted by islamists).

Ibn Warraq
Ibn Warraq , author notably of Why I am Not a Muslim ; Leaving Islam : Apostates Speak Out ; and The Origins of the Koran , is at present Research Fellow at a New York Institute conducting philological and historical research into the Origins of Islam and its Holy Book.

Antoine Sfeir :
Born in Lebanon, christian, Antoine Sfeir choosed french nationality to live in an universalist and « laïc » (real secular) country. He is the director of Les cahiers de l'Orient and has published several reference books on islamism such as Les réseaux d'Allah (2001) et Liberté, égalité, Islam : la République face au communautarisme (2005).

2006-03-02T19:05:00.000+08:00

Happy Anniversary!

There’s some bitching by Bob Brown in this story on John Howard’s 10th Anniversary as Prime Minister.

Interestingly Bobby claims that;

“[Howard] is able to dig a little bit below the surface to play on fears that people have and to be able to assure people that he will look after those concerns, even if they are figments”

So John Howard exploits fear, irrational fear at that? No doubt Bob is referring to terrorism, or what he probably thinks is the legitimate struggle against the West’s tide of secularism, and free-market liberal democracies.

If Islamic terrorists win, Senator, homosexuals like you will be the second to die. It should be obvious who is at the front of the queue. Need a hint? The Koran demands Muslims kill them, wherever they find them...

The idea that John Howard is playing on ‘irrational fear’ is laughable. The Western World has experienced Islamic terrorism firsthand- the US and Britain certainly know that fears over security are well justified. A number of Australians who travelled to Bali, and no doubt our Indonesian embassy staff, must also realise that fears over terrorism are not ‘figments’.

Bob Brown's claim is ironic, when noting that the Green’s successes stem from the Party’s ability to convince the electorate that global warming is as sure as death and taxes (it’s not)- and that they alone can fix the problem through their dark green philosophy (they cannot- nothing can).

And for the record, Bob himself was busy scaremongering before the last federal election. Here’s what he said;

"On Saturday a vote for the Coalition will be a vote for the chainsaws in some of the most magnificent forests on Earth and I hope every undecided voter has this in mind.

"Two-thirds of Tasmania's iconic forests that could be protected will go to the chainsaws under John Howard."

Oh, deary! Two-thirds of Tasmanian’s ‘iconic’ forests? Bob Brown is like a dictator who claims 99% support in a rigged election. He offers figures that mean absolutely nothing. What exactly is iconic to Bobby and the Greens? Everything! No parking lots, ever, because that is always at the expense of someone’s paradise.

With any luck, we'll get another 10 years of the Coalition, at the very worst- that's 10 years without the Greens.

Happy Anniversary, John.

2006-02-27T22:08:00.000+08:00

Letter to Elise.

Elise Archer,

We would like to wish the Liberal party, all the State candidates, and especially you, good luck in the coming election.

As Denison residents, we have been especially pleased with the obvious, and climbing, support for the Liberals coming from South Hobart.

One criticism we do have, however, is that the Liberal party is ineffectively exposing the Greens’ illiberal, morally repugnant, and economically dangerous policies.

Perhaps the most prominent examples of this are the Greens’ aim of funding sex-change operations through Medicare, the party’s refusal to exploit virtually any natural resources under the banner of ‘preserving’ such assets for ‘future generations’, and the party’s long-term goal of pouring tax-dollars into the arts, irrespective of artists’ abilities and deliberately closed to consumer choice, while sheltering Australians from any international competition in the field.

Peg Putt should be challenged to explain why it is she supports a party which would see such policies implemented, and why Tasmanians should allow the Greens’ to get any closer to reaching their devastating long-term goals, as well as the short-term economic effects of their far-left policies.

2006-02-27T13:38:00.000+08:00

PETA Challenges J. S. Mill's philosophy.

"We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavouring to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still."

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty.

2006-02-26T18:14:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

According to some, post-Soviet Russia is still a dangerous place to invest. This is especially upsetting when noting the vast oil resources that lay untapped, or inefficiently drilled.

“Nothing is ever safe in today’s Russia. The authorities can take away property whenever they like […]”

Economic interests and Egyptian culture are being ignored by the Commonwealth, following what the producers no doubt thought was a wonderful ‘exposé’ from 60 minutes.

The Irish have less serious issues concerning ‘animal welfare’- including five-pound poodle licences.

Semester one classes at the University of Tasmania start Monday. For first year students- see here. What the UTAS site doesn’t say, though, is that you should avoid walking past the Morris Miller Library, lest you have to go near Socialist Alliance supporters who congregate like zombies hunting for flesh (or various mind-altering drugs). The Socialist Alliance is packed with dodos who need to get a job and pay their way in society.

2006-02-23T18:49:00.000+08:00

Elitist Greens, breeding Tasmanians.

Too busy to post anything special on the Tasmanian election. About the only thing I can mention is that I spotted Elise Archer shopping today, if she wasn’t so damn fast, I would have stopped her for a chat!

I was going to comment in depth on how the Greens are aiming for the youth vote with their pod casts (it was in The Mercury not long ago)- I was going to mention that it is interesting a party which moans about mass poverty and the plight of the ‘underpaid’ working class etc. etc., will rely on a $200-600 iPod to get their message across. The word ‘elitist’ comes to mind. Subsequently, the term ‘dickheads’ pops up, when I think of the things that disgusting party would do with the tax I pay (last week; a whopping $140 out of a gross $500)...

Rant aside, take a look at this in The Mercury:

Tasmanian women have an above-average birth rate -- 1.9 children for each woman of child-bearing age compared with a national rate of 1.6.

Come on Aussie, come on- catch up!

As The Mercury points out- that’s what happens when you offer a $4000 handout to anyone who breeds.

2006-02-21T18:55:00.000+08:00

Antony Green.

Analyst Antony Green points out, in the comments section of the Tasmanian Times website (fourth post), that the ABC will be covering the election from Hobart- and it “thinks it has found enough tin cans and string to cover both [the Tas and SA] elections adequately.”

(Hopefully such coverage will not be enough to end Elise Archer's skirmish with the ABC.)

See Green's well-written and detailed site, thanks to the Tasmanian Times.

Commenter Greg Barns (I can’t confirm he is the well-known journo) points out that the O'Connor interview was actually a poorly hidden 'advertorial' (again, fourth post).

Weekbyweek takes issue with the skanky Denison Green candidate.

I can certainly say that I am upset at the prospect of having Dodo O’Connor representing me as a MHA for Denison.

Also see this. What Professor Richard Herr (from the University of Tasmania’s School of Government) called an empty threat, may be a very real possibility.

Should Gunns move offshore in the event of a hung-Parliament, or- shudder- Green Government, Tasmanian timber workers and contractors will be mightily pissed off, and Tasmanian’s will have only themselves to blame- the real owners of Gunns have every right to make such a move.

Of course, socialist-utopian visionaries like the Greens’ will fix the problem by returning ‘the factories to the workers’, so to speak. Or- more likely- the Commonwealth will take care of the unemployed at the expense of mainland tax-payers.

2006-02-20T22:29:00.000+08:00

Outbid by the Greens. WTF?!?

The Liberals have been outbid by the Greens. Will Hodgman announced $800,000 to go towards upgrading ambulances, the Greens claimed they would give an extra $2million to the ambulance service.

This follows the poor state of healthcare being, again, exposed.

The Liberal’s offer of under a million dollars is clearly insufficient. Given the fact the price of a defibrillator is $2,000 to $4,500 (US), not to mention other assorted equipment, and Tasmania has a fleet of 105 Ambulances- the cost to fully upgrade and fit out vehicles will well-exceed the $800,000 offer- it may indeed exceed the Greens' $2million offer, noting their wage-related promises. The Liberal’s clearly can, and need to, budget much more for the Tasmanian Ambulance Service.

In other health news related to the Tasmanian election, Sue Napier (MHA, Bass) has challenged David Llewellyn to a debate:

"I'm not sure if the minister even understands the extent of the crisis in his own department, let alone have any idea what his incompetent Labor government is going to do to fix it," Ms Napier said (added to the Notable Quotes page).

In education news, Hidding is doing well- especially in his party’s attempt to address the skill shortage. Labor simply ignores the problem, while the Greens would have us important shoddy foreign doctors (if they could control immigration), or force people to study medicine under Stalinist-like force.

2006-02-19T14:08:00.000+08:00

Denison Libs out and about.

The Tasmanian election campaign continues!

Tomorrow (February 20) the Denison Liberal team will be visiting North Hobart Businesses, while the Greens try and scrounge up some money in Bass- they’ll be at 174 Charles Street if you feel the urge to spit on them.

If you’re not in Launceston that day though, and find yourself bored, give Karen Brown a call- (03) 6236 9334, and ask her what she’s wearing, why it is your tax dollars should go towards paying for sex change operations (3.59), or why a Green Government will force school children to learn Aboriginal dialects (1.11). If you hate the Greens as much as myself, you could also put Karen’s name and number on a cubicle wall at your local pub.

2006-02-18T14:02:00.000+08:00

Donate, or Perish.

Only a month to go until E-Day, donate what you can and help the Tasmanian Liberal Party oust the Lennonists, and beat back the threat of a Green controlled State.

If you cannot send your support in dollar form, write a letter to the editor condemning the ALP and/or Green Dodos.

The Mercury, letters to the editor via:

mercuryedletter[at]dbl.newsltd.com.au

2006-02-18T12:49:00.000+08:00

Your State, Your Voice- The Mercury, February 18, 2006.

I read with interest the proposed scheme by the Tasmanian Greens that would see higher income Tasmanians pay dearer traffic infringement fines than lower-income earners.

This type of scheme also seems to have the support of the Tasmanian Council of Social Service chief Mat Rowell who said in the article “TasCoss would campaign for an income-based fine and punishment system”. I thought the responsibility of groups like the Tasmanian Greens and Social Service organisations would be to support the current roar safety messages and other programs directed at the drivers on our roads.

The Greens’ scheme is not focussing on drivers within the law, but tells drivers to keep going the way they are now because you, the higher income Tasmanians, can afford any fine you may get and for you, the lower-income earners, we will reduce your fine to one you can pay.

Is this a scheme that is going to prevent accidents and save lives? I don’t think so.

We should be looking at ways to prevent these traffic infringements in the first place and not just work on a scheme of how much you can pay when you break the law.

I was taught when growing up, laws were made for a reason and if you break one of them you pay the penalty.

Tony Scott, Liberal Candidate for Franklin.

2006-02-18T12:09:00.000+08:00

Labor Linkage.

ALP- Tasmania Branch, is here.

View the Members of the House of Assembly.

The Lennon Cabinet.

If you're going to look at ALP MHA's, start with former Miss Australia, Kat Hay. That's about all she's good for.

ALP key players: Lennon, Llewellyn, Cox, Giddings, Green, Jackson.

2006-02-18T11:56:00.000+08:00

Liberal Linkage.

Tas Lib's site. And another.

See the Liberals' sitting members.

Key players: Hidding, Napier, Big Hodgman, Little Hodgman. Bio's on each.

Candidate Elise Archer (Denison) has gone to the trouble of setting up her own site.

See the other candidates, arranged in their electoral teams- Bass, Braddon, Denison, Franklin, Lyons.

2006-02-18T11:42:00.000+08:00

Quotes:

- “I intend being the premier of Tasmania shortly after March 18,” Rene Hidding, MHA, Lyons.

- "Premier Paul Lennon has no vision and no plan." Rene Hidding, MHA, Lyons.

- “We have an exciting and visionary plan to put to the people of Tasmania during the next four weeks,” Paul Lennon, MHA, Franklin.

- “I make mistakes […]” Paul Lennon, MHA, Franklin.

- “I just love election campaigns and am rearing to go,” Michael Hodgman, MHA, Denison.

- "I'm one of the most recognisable members of the State Parliament and that's because I visit parts of my Denison electorate where most Liberals don't go." Michael Hodgman, MHA, Denison.

- “It is very unlikely Labor will get 12 seats,” Tony Hocking, EMRS.

(From The Mercury, Feb. 18, 2006)

- "I'm not sure if [David Llewellyn] even understands the extent of the crisis in his own department, let alone [has] any idea what his incompetent Labor government is going to do to fix it," Sue Napier, MHA, Bass.

(From The Mercury, Feb. 20, 2006)

- “Labor expected its good record on the economy to be its trump card, yet it does not have any traction with the public,” Dr. Richard Herr (UTAS).

(From The Mercury, Feb. 25, 2006)

- “It is unacceptable that half of our medical graduates leave the state,” Sue Napier, MHA, Bass.

- "For the Liberals to suggest -- in the middle of a $50 million redevelopment of the hospital -- that they would walk away from the site is a wasteful and ridiculous policy," Lara Giddings, MHA, Franklin.

- “Over the next four years we will make the best of what we've got,” Rene Hidding, MHA, Lyons.

(From The Mercury, Feb. 27, 2006)

- “My position is clear -- only Paul Lennon or Rene Hidding can be premier of this state after March 18,” Paul Lennon, MHA, Franklin.

(From The Mercury, Mar. 04, 2006)

2006-02-17T23:39:00.000+08:00

Why did the Liberals lose the 2002 election?

I’ve been reading through an article ('The Tasmanian Election of 20 July 2002', Australian Journal of Political Science- email us for a PDF copy) by UTAS lecturers Marcus Haward and Tony McCall, which explains:

- Leadership challenges within the State Liberal party, since 1998, gave the image of insecurity (Bob Cheek, Denison, v. former teacher Sue Napier, Bass).

- Labor had a credible record in job creation, had developed major infrastructure projects such as Gas from Victoria and the proposed ‘Basslink’ underground power cable across Bass Strait that would allow Tasmanian’s renewable energy capacity to enter the national grid.

- Incumbent Labor threw money at the so-called ‘twin’ ferries for the Bass Strait crossing.

- The Liberal Party was simply not a credible alternative.

- The Lib’s proposition for the Southwood forestry project in Franklin was poorly managed.

For the coming election, however, Rene Hidding has secured the party leadership, Labor’s Bass Strait ferries have soaked up millions of dollars in Government money, and the Liberals are- arguably- looking much better in general. Labor’s record in job creation may indeed stand (much of which is no doubt a result of Federal policy), but Basslink has been plagued with problems. In short, there are fewer obstacles in the Liberals way, and more opportunities.

The Liberal’s can easily take much-needed seats in Franklin, if they can capitalise on the fallout from the last Federal election. That is, the ALP’s decision to screw over their Tasmanian constituents, to secure support from latté-sipping voters on the mainland. It was the Howard Government that secured a much appreciated and balanced forestry package, and even got applause from Labor’s traditional Union mates. See the bad press the deal got from the SMH, here.

Hopefully Tasmanian’s will recognise the Green’s obvious scare-mongering on environmental issues, such as Bob Brown’s claim during the last Federal election that under Howard, "Two-thirds of Tasmania's iconic forests that could be protected will go to the chainsaws […]"

The Liberal’s will easily capitalise on Labor’s general mismanagement of the state, especially the Risdon Prison project’s budget blow-out, numerous issues with unruly detainees, and the retention of Graeme Barber. Hopefully voters will remember that the Lennon Government responded to rioters in 2005 with friendly smiles and pizza.

One of the greatest problems though, is the massive support for the Green’s, and the rather good images of Peg Putt and Nick McKim.

Hopefully the Liberals can gain greater support in Franklin, by emphasising environmentally friendly projects guaranteed to bring in jobs- that is, a revitalised Southwood project.

Through such projects, the Liberals have an advantage over Labor. The potential for greater cooperation between the State and the Commonwealth with Liberals in power at both levels is massive, not to mention the funding the Howard Government will be willing to throw at the state to get a Liberal victory.

The Liberal’s need to focus on the Green’s policies, including their devotion to forcing tax payers to fund so-called gender awareness programs, and even sex change operations. Conservative or not, such a waste of money is bound to cost the Green’s votes, as is their recent back flip on the issue of drugs.

If the election game is played right, perhaps the Liberal Party can come out the winner.

2006-02-17T09:30:00.000+08:00

Quick News with a dose of Optimism.

I can smell an election... I can taste Lennon's tears.. I can see the Green's comin' out black and blue... Bwhaa ha ha ha!

But, lacking a clear Liberal Majority in the State election, I'll accept a Green victory, in order to show just how big a disaster will result from giving any power to a bunch of enviro-dodos, and teach a valuable lesson to Green voters across the country.

[Linkage]

2006-02-17T09:01:00.000+08:00

Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi and George Clooney.

I don't know if anyone else sees it, but I think ol' G. Clooney (who many remember for causing the defeat of Kerry in 2004) looks like a younger version of Hamas terrorist, and homemaker, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. Now I'm just trying to figure out which of the two hate the Western world more...

2006-02-16T14:35:00.000+08:00

Union clearly hates children, workers.

Bus drivers are on strike- with support from State Infrastructure Minister Bryan Green (ALP). Thankfully, it’s only a fifteen-minute walk to work for me, but dozens of parents now have to get their children to school without Metro. For many of the State’s young’ens, that’s probably a blessing, but for Tasmanian businesses (and Government departments), chances are productivity will drop- if only a little. Parents will be arriving late for work, and any employees using public transport will be forced to walk or catch a taxi.

So why the protest? Deep down, it's because the Union hates children, and workers. On top of this, there is also the issue of money. Metro bus drivers want more of the stuff, and perhaps rightly so. The folks over at the ‘Rail, Bus and Tram Union’ argue that; interstate drivers [are] paid between $19 and $25 an hour, with the current Metro rate of $16.39 well below that.

Pay rates, however, should be looked at on an individual basis, to ensure efficient and hard working employees are given greater rewards, rather than allowing consumers and the State to fork out extra cash for workers who are below standards (assuming Metro have any standards).

Still, I could accept the strike- although with much rage- if Metro were a private company dealing with their employees. But life is never so simple. Metro is a publicly owned company, and thus has a duty to the public. This includes ensuring Tasmanian children get to school, and employees get to work. If Metro employees don't like it- start your own goddamn bus company at your expense, not mine.

The Tas Lib’s said that school transport chaos could have been avoided had the State Government become more involved in the dispute earlier.

Given the public ownership of Metro, such intervention is well justified- despite Labor's claims this would have been ‘meddling’. It's odd how Labor will happily get involved in private businesses and dealings, but not with any public companies- unless to throw bags of tax-dollars at a pet project.

Thankfully the strike ends Friday.

2006-02-11T18:26:00.000+08:00

Mohammad Will Not Limit My Free Speech.

"The individual must not merely wait and criticize, he must defend the cause the best he can. The fate of the world will be such as the world deserves."

Albert Einstein

2006-02-09T10:37:00.000+08:00

Snippets.

63 Year old Harrison Ford is still willing to play Indiana (named after the family dog, remember?) Jones yet again.

No word yet on when a final script will be approved for Indiana Jones 4, but Ford is committed to making the movie.

Honest Reporting on the Danish cartoons that stirred Muslims to the point they just had to kill something:

We wonder why no similar outcry and apologies have come after viciously anti-Semitic and anti-Israel cartoons are published on an almost daily basis throughout the Arab world.

Andrew Bolt mentions UTAS! Unfortunately he’s not complimenting my wee Tasmanian University on its Antarctic research program.

Instead- Bolt points out the fallacy that is affirmative action.

He also mentions Macquarie’s demands that; "Applicants must be Aboriginal and/or a Torres Strait Islander."

2006-02-06T22:59:00.000+08:00

Mohammad Jokes.

In honour of the events of the past week or so, which have showed Islam to be as friendly as its ever going to get- I’ve decided to produce a few of my favourite jokes- with the basic gist changed from whatever was there before, to Mohammad and his lifestyle.

Chuckle away- but be warned, some are a bit sick.

What do you do if you see Mohammad with half a face?

Stop laughing and reload.

What do you say to an Islamic Prophet with two black eyes?

Nothing Jesus hasn’t already told him twice.

Why does Mohammad like fucking twenty one year olds?

Because there’s twenty of them.

What’s the difference between Mohammad’s shaved head and a bowling ball?

You can’t pick up bowling balls with a pitch fork.

How many Islamic Prophets does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Two. One to screw the bulb and the other to suck my cock.

What does Mohammad prefer, eight year old girls or eight year old boys?

Eight year old girls. Because when he’s done fucking them like girls, he can turn them over and fuck them like boys.

More to come...

2006-02-05T21:13:00.000+08:00

Bwha ha ha! Get buggered you intolerant sacks of shit.

"In Islam, the one who insults the messenger should be killed."

Abu Ibrahwm, of Luton (here).

2006-02-04T21:07:00.000+08:00

No beer, no Jenny- the world of Islam.

A Western Heart recently reminded readers of the dangers of Islam.

Following the furore over the publication of 'unattractive' cartoons of Mohammad (see here), Muslims took to the street calling Europe a cancer and generally bitching. Perhaps it is just me, being a Tasmanian instilled with outdated Western traditions- but why should Europe allow anti-free speech protests from those who accept a paedophile as their Prophet?

AWH’s post also made me wonder why Westerners occasionally convert to the religion, sometimes with worrying consequences- Jack ‘Jihad Jack’ Roche and his mate David ‘lets kill infidels my daddy will protect us’ Hicks are two prominent examples that come to mind.

It’s a mystery that any modern, educated individual could see the Saudi-dominated cult of Islam as morally righteous. Aside from Islam’s instructions to clean your hands- with dirt if you must- if you touch a woman before prayer, a religion that claims Jihad as the second most import deed a Muslim can do is naturally sick. The excuse that Jihad is supposed to be an internal struggle is- of course- crap.

Furthermore, who really wants to go to Mecca at least once in their lifetime (take a look at the shit hole that is- and has been for centuries- the Middle East), abandon drinking, ensure that all women look like they’re marching off to a KKK meeting, pray five times a day- and other assorted procedures that have to be done throughout the year?

Westerners who convert to Islam should instead make tax filing their religion- we could call it Taxlam. At least then Taxlam’s adherents would fulfil a useful purpose- and if they have to sacrifice themselves in Jihad, I’m not worried at the prospect of having dozens of ATO and/or IRS buildings destroyed in a Taxlam’s struggle against oppressive income and labour theft.

2006-02-02T19:02:00.000+08:00

Snippets.

Andrew Bolt is back!

See his post on Hamas.

Antony 'Crazy Ant' Loewenstein is still a dodo:

A new poll provides clarity for the Palestinian-haters […] 84% of Palestinians support a peace deal with Israel.

Forget the fact that the poll is from a PA controlled newspaper, which may or may not have surveyed only 863 West Bank and Gaza residents- this is a clear sign that; Most Palestinians want peace with their neighbours. Uh-huh...

The International Atomic Energy Agency gets off its arse:

THE UN nuclear watchdog has opened an emergency meeting at which it was expected to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

Frontpage on ‘Queer’ supporters of Palestine:

Today’s example is Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT). As the name suggests, these people imagine themselves to be much more liberated and fashionable by their naughty embrace of the epithet “queer” and their incredibly selective outrage against the only nation in the Middle East that offers a shred of liberty.

2006-02-01T21:01:00.000+08:00

World Of Warcraft, somewhere near Lake Everstill.

"The only way to discover the limits of the possible, is to go beyond them into the impossible"

Arthur C. Clarke.

2006-01-30T15:26:00.000+08:00

Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre’s claims are libel.

Tasmanian Governor Will Cox’s Australia Day address focused on the racist actions of a tiny few (I’d venture to say just one isolated, bogan family) in Invermay, Launceston. Cox told Tasmanians to ‘remember’ to be tolerant to refugees and immigrants, and compared the Invermay attack on the Sudanese family to the Cronulla Beach riots. Certainly Launcestonians do not need to be reminded to not act like wankers, nor- for that matter- do Tasmanians more generally.

Cox is clearly not leading the ‘Australia/Tassie is racist’ bandwagon, however, and only another prominent figure to jump into the theme- another happy participant being the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, following the illegal removal of a sign reading ‘Australia Day Yes, let’s celebrate: Murder, Invasion, Rape, Theft’. The TAC claims that the country is becoming ‘openly xenophobic’ under, of course, the Howard Government.

I accept that Aborigines were indeed raped and killed, inter alia, but it’s sad that anyone would need to point out to the Aboriginal community and their self-loathing Western mates that the TAC is wrong. Unless, of course, the Centre can prove the libellous claim that, indeed, each year on the 26^th of January, Anglo-Saxon/Celtic Australians collectively celebrate any such offences.

Cox is verging on being a dodo, and the TAC breeds 'em.

2006-01-26T12:24:00.000+08:00

Australia Day- Our Home is Girt by a Dodo Infested Sea.

Given the fact that it’s Australia Day, and drinking has made me lazy, I thought I would post what some of the bloggers out there are saying:

There are lots of activities going on around the country today to celebrate the beginning of the slaughter of the Aboriginal people who once lived here happily and in harmony with the land and with nature. Our forefathers sure put a stop to that idyllic lifestyle and stamped on them the British way.

Here.

Yes, of course, all Australians are today celebrating the conflict (much more complex than a ‘simple slaughter’) between white settlers and the native inhabitants, and other effects involved in settling a nation during an era of colonisation, rather than the Australian nation and its people. I’ll label that women a dodo.

Re-enactments of Phillip's landing continued to be an accepted part of Australia Day ceremonies around the country and it wasn't until the Bicentennial in 1988 that the New South Wales government refused to condone a re-enactment as part of their official proceedings.

Here.

Pelican Dreaming's Australia Day post has an assortment of such facts.

As a marking of this day known to others as "Australia Day" I have decided to reproduce a poem and words to a song that represent what this day means to me and will continue to do so until our leaders recognise the way this land was originally settled and its problems that our PM says "Weren't our fault". We need to apologise to the original peoples for our treatment of them in the begining and continuing till this very day. […] The first words reproduced here are from a song by our Indigenous singer/songwriter Archie Roach.

Here

Alison focuses on the stolen generation (ignoring a *certain* federal court ruling). She labels anyone who dare question the consensus that a generation of Aboriginals were ‘stolen’ from their always loving and thoughtful parents- as opposed to rescued from often-abusive families- as “right wing apologists”. Another dodo for Australia Day.

Australia Day is a national public holiday. For some years the holiday was held on the closest Monday, to provide a long weekend. It is now held on the actual anniversary, however should this happen to fall on a weekend, a public holiday is still held on the following Monday.

Here

A lesbian blogger. Can you go wrong?

My husband and I are always celebrating our wedding aniversaries on Australia Day. I was on my honeymoon on my 21st birthday. My husband had arrived in this country only 18 months earlier. We both survived the second world war as children, but then, while still a teenager, he went on to fight for his people's survival in Israel's War of Independence, together with his family. All the Arab armies together could not overrun the tiny newly declared State but as soon as those armies were defeated by the rag-tag army of untrained soldiers, mostly survivors of death camps,- my husband decided to see the world and got stuck with me in Oz! 48 years later we still call marvellous Australia home,- but we also love our spiritual homeland of Israel.
HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY TO US ALL! […]Remember: January 27th is the UN-World Holocaust Memorial Day!

Here

I have to confess, not much on Australia Day or Australia itself, but a refreshing post anyway, and a reminder of what Israel and its nation of fighters has been put through, and continue to be put through by the feral-left. And, ashamedly, I have to admit I did not know tomorrow is the UN Holocaust Memorial Day. Cheers to Miriam and her blog.

25 years ago I was preparing to pack up and settle in beautiful Tasmania, Australia's island idyll. Cruel realities of life killed that particular dream; a dream that I return to from time to time with fond nostalgic memories of delight as I remember moments of joy I spent there in earlier years with my great Australian chums Rod and Annabelle [… Australia] I raise my bubbling glass to you!

Here

This one I liked simply because beautiful Tassie gets a mention (as we do below, actually).

The term "Un-Australian" has become one of the most overused adjectives of the last twelve months, and will probably continue its rise to prominance throughout 2006 […] "I think associating with a terrorist organisation demonstrates that you are un-Australian" Tasmanian MP Michael Ferguson.

Here

If anything is un-Australian, I think its fair to say it's associating with terrorists. Dodo. At least readers get a “Happy Australia Day” at the end.

Make sure you get a copy of a certain lamb ad from The Asylum, and give thanks to Tiberius for putting the download back up (just for this special day). Now use his bandwidth!

Happy Australia Day! Remember our past, as well as celebrate what makes Australia a brilliant country and what will get us through the difficult years that are no doubt ahead- our ability to survive and to struggle on in a world of shit and dodos.

2006-01-24T20:43:00.000+08:00

Senator Abetz movin’ on up?

From memory, Senator Eric Abetz has been involved with the Liberal Party since his youthful days at the University of Tasmania (I’ve convinced myself he had an afro, enjoyed disco dancing, and had many women hanging from his arms), and a Senator since the mid-1990s. Hopefully the sign of an advancing career, Abetz has been shuffled from his position as Special Minister of State to the 'junior' portfolio of Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation.

For a Tasmanian Senator, Forestry and Conservation is a media-rich position, and will hopefully offer Abetz a chance to develop federal policy on issues of concern for the State. Unfortunately, I think it's unwise to hold my breath and wait for the Liberal's to address the Labor Party’s betrayal of Tasmania in 1983- that is, its use of the Commonwealth external affairs power to put its disgusting, traitorous, Hawke-Government foot, in Tasmanian affairs and damn this State to the fiery hell that is perpetual welfare and enviro-vote buying.

Despite his loyalty to the Liberal's, Abetz may very well be undeserving of his new portfolio. After all, while he had responsibility (not yet updated) over the Film Finance Corporation, inter alia, The President v. David Hicks somehow managed to get $400,000+ in taxpayers’ dollars! It’s highly doubtful that the documentary, a propaganda piece claiming that anal intercourse lover, Dave was a good Aussie boy travelling around (and not an enemy of the West), even needed such funding. A fool and his money are easily parted, a maxim Michael Moore has ensured will live on for some time.

Take a look at the full reshuffle here. No doubt the ALS will be pissed off that Costello is still Treasurer.

2006-01-23T19:57:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

A fire-fighter has died in Victoria, and fires continue to break out across much of the country.

As firefighters struggled to contain at least six fires in the state's north, west and east, there were ominous warnings of searing temperatures across Victoria on Australia Day.

More than 136,000ha of land across the state have burned in the past five days.

Tassie’s fires are hammering the West Coast and threatening Zeehan.

Robert Hill retires.

The South Australian senator is understood to have accepted a move to New York to become Australia's ambassador to the United Nations, News Ltd newspapers reported.

His replacement could be Nick Minchin.

Russian democracy not good enough for the G8, according to Rice.

Since Vladimir Putin became Russian president in 2000, his government has established a firm grip over all national broadcasters, the parliament has become a rubber-stamp for the Kremlin and popularly elected provincial governors have been replaced with Putin appointees.

Women and IT, and middle aged folk and SMS.

(A little bit late, but…) A conference being hosted by UTAS will (did) address the lack of women entering the area of computer science, as well as middle aged folk and SMSing.

Over 250 delegates from around the world will be in Hobart to attend the premier forum for Australasian computer science academics and associated professionals being hosted by UTAS. The international multi-conference comprises seven interconnected conferences under the same roof dealing with everything from supercomputers to ipods.

The event will be (was) hosted at Wrest Point from the 16^th to the 19^th.

Take a look at some UTAS art.

The Academy Gallery represents the high profile public face of the School of Visual and Performing Arts, University of Tasmania.

Hmm...

2006-01-22T00:55:00.000+08:00

Contemplating the future of our Arts edu-mac-ation.

.

“Cynics [regard] everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists [regard] everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves."
Robert Anton Wilson

2006-01-20T20:49:00.000+08:00

Counterpunch is a load of horse-shit.
I recently finished reading Dr. Ariel Cohen’s article, War of Ideas: Combating Militant Islamist Ideology, which was published in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs last year (5;1, pp.113-121).

Cohen is a Fellow at the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies.

Here’s some more info on the man.

Afterwards, I went Googling for some of his work, and instead got distracted by this on Cohen at that rather unreliable site, Counterpunch.org.

The article's author, Anthony Gancarski, doesn’t bother engaging, effectively, with any of Cohen’s major arguments and instead goes on a rampage of snide, contemptuous and irrelevant comments:

It is perhaps fitting that America, having dumped its manufacturing base in favor of importing cheap and shoddy goods from foreign lands, has opted to do the same for its intellectual class.

Gancarski certainly doesn’t offer any solid reason as to why Cohen is a ‘shoddy’ intellectual, all he gives the reader is a continuation of such irrelevant personal attacks amidst ineffective and worn claims.

At one point Gancarski states that pre-War Iraq’s poverty was due to UN sanctions, simply labelling Cohen’s argument that Hussein ruined the Iraqi economy though nationalisation and warring against Iran and Kuwait as; “blatantly disingenuous” and a “re-writing [of] history”. Gancarski would have readers believe that Hussein did not run an economy geared for war, nor one which rewarded Saddam's buddies in Tikrit:

To hear Cohen tell it, there never were economic sanctions or repeated bombing runs over what passes for Iraq's sovereign territory. The implication is that "nationalization" and "central planning" were the chief causes of Iraq's current condition.

Interestingly, Gancarski leaves out the fact that such "bombing runs over […] Iraq’s sovereign territory" protected the Iraqi Kurds from genocide.

Gancarski continues his spree of personal attacks:

[…] Cohen is a war hawk. As long as he doesn't have to do the fighting, of course […] Ariel Cohen can write such dispassionate words about American wars precisely because he has no innate love for Americans […] Ariel Cohen loves neither God, man, nor country in any meaningful sense.

Imagine my surprise? An article *paid* for by those leftists at counterpunch, essentially labelling Cohen as 'un-American' (isn’t that the job of inbred, ignorant Republicans contra Democrats and anti-War protesters?), and using the same old, tired argument that because Cohen isn’t a soldier, he has no right to comment on the military aspect of US foreign policy. Still, no doubt the Counterpunch editors were proud of the work he rushed through.

The story behind the author, though, is a lot more interesting that either Gancarski’s article, or Counterpunch itself.

Gancarski doesn’t seem to believe even half of the content he writes, and is not of the far-left. Apparently he was but was not, and no longer is, or something along those lines. Instead, he describes himself as a ‘creative writer’.

Since his ‘discussion’ on Cohen, Gancarski has left Counterpunch, where he was paid $25 an article, and back to the 'other side'. See here, and here.

Ttruth really is stranger than fiction- although probably not stranger than the fiction Gancarski wrote while at Counterpunch.

2006-01-20T19:12:00.000+08:00

Iranian Dodo Ahmadinejad with Syrian Counterpart, Assad.

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”
Margaret Thatcher.

2006-01-19T23:29:00.000+08:00

Ramallah Lynching, October 2000.

"Peace for us means the destruction of Israel. We are preparing for an all-out war, a war which will last for generations."
Yasser Arafat.

Inhonor.net

2006-01-17T19:38:00.000+08:00

Margo reunion talk of the town.

I don’t normally get into all this celebrity gossip that a lot of fan-cum-stalker people seem to love so much. Who’s dating Jessica Alba matters none at all to me, seeing as I’m not dating her. Who the guy from 24 beats up in a pub doesn’t matter- because I'll never get a shot at old Jack Bauer. The last time I remember being into the celeb scene was when John Ritter carked it, bless his soul. I always liked him- up until his death he was a less funny, but living, Chris Farley.

One event that is no doubt exciting all celebrity-gossip editors out there is the recent decision by Margo Kingston to meet up with a few of her old mates from Uni (I think it was a French one, where they let anyone in... or the University of Tasmania).

I’m told that Margo had a wonderful time re-establishing her relationship with Master Bates, among other celebrities. Saddam Hussein even applied for bail for the occasion and in fact turned up to the event in order to let Margo know how much her support has meant to him over the last few years.

The celebrations were spoiled only when up-and-coming celebrity Regan vomited excessively throughout the Bates’ estate. Interestingly, her excuse was that she is "possessed by a demon of great evil". Mental health experts I’ve spoken to, however, believe that this ‘great demon’ is actually alcoholism, something the rising star shares in common with Margo.

Here’s a picture a photographer friend of mine took at the reunion, with the backdrop being the familiar Bates’ Estate:

Left to Right: Karl Marx, Master Bates, Damien, Margo Kingston, Old School Dracula, Michael Jackson, Saddam Hussein, Regan.

2006-01-16T22:12:00.000+08:00

School of Government.

I’ve just been looking at the referencing guide for the University’s School of Government (the cool kids say SOG, but not to be confused with Tassie's Special Operations Group)

Here are some highlights:

It is imperative, when writing your essay, that you answer the essay question.

Or, if you’re a filthy Greenie, just bitch and moan about whatever you like.

There are no ‘correct’ essays in the social sciences.

This rule, of course, applies at virtually all Uni’s. Note that while there are no correct essays in the social sciences, no matter what the set question, the incorrect essay justifies a ‘Liberal’, ‘Conservative’, or ‘Market-Oriented’ world-view.

It is not sufficient merely to recite the views of others or to make assertions that lack accompanying evidence and reasoning. The marker is primarily interested in how well you bring together evidence, data and reasoned argument to establish a case. [emphasis added]

Hell, no wonder the country’s most hated Tasmanian (eh.. perhaps) had to go to the University of Sydney to graduate.

Avoid the use of ‘man’ as a verb. For example, instead of writing ‘to man the desk,’ you could write ‘to staff the desk’.
Avoid the use of sex-specific pronouns (‘he/him/her’) as generic pronouns. For example, instead of using ‘he,’ use ‘he/she,’ ‘she/he’ or ‘he or she.’ In many instances, it is possible to recast the sentence in the plural (so that a generic pronoun such as ‘they’ can be used), or to use ‘you’ or ‘one’ as the pronoun. It may be possible to eliminate the pronoun altogether.

To staff the desk? Oooook…

Aside from rediscovering the SOG’s referencing (oh, and essay) guide, I’ve also noticed my link to a certain Great Australian Yobbo is to an archive, no wonder I thought he- sorry, the individual in question- was inactive!

Worth a read.

On another note: while I've been working, ever-so Brave, Antony ‘Crazy Ant’ Loewenstein ‘discovered’ my letter to Tony Abbott. His reaction was to call me a hack and claim I want to see academia and the (Goverment-funded) media stacked with Liberals. That's not exactly what I said, but I'll settle for it. He can have (or continue to have, I should say) the ABC and SBS stacked with leftists when Australians vote Green at a Federal level. But the man himself puts it best:

Isn't it healthy to see a Liberal party voter supporting the idea of stacking academic and media boards with cronies? It's just not cricket, this man writes, that such "inflammatory" views are expressed in polite society.

Aaaah, isn’t it healthy to see a ‘journalist’ lacking in comprehension skills?

I'll make sure I post Abbott's reply, assuming I get one.

2006-01-14T13:04:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

Tasmania is no longer the Welfare State, or the Apple Isle, but the Crash State. Blame is given to those who actually deserve it:

TASMANIA has the second- highest road fatality rate in the nation and dangerous driving is to blame, new statistics show.

Europe has gas.

Putin began the news conference by praising the deal, under which Ukraine will pay an average of $95 per 1,000 cubic meters for gas in 2006, nearly double the price it paid last year. Gazprom had demanded that Ukraine pay $230 instead.

(Oh, and Putin’s tie is much better than Yushchenko’s.)

Muscular Liberals recommend some good reading on a bad writer:

It's hard to believe that publishers are still willing to print books consisting of such long discredited arguments and even harder to understand how they keep selling. As Cushman says, once you've read one you've read them all.

2006-01-14T11:16:00.000+08:00

Senator Bob Brown (Greens).

"Universal poverty establishes there universal equality"
Adam Smith

2006-01-12T12:30:00.000+08:00

Letter to Tony.

(Edited for greater bloginess)

To the Honourable Tony Abbott, Member for Warringah:

I have noted with great concern the recent appointment of journalist Antony Loewenstein as a member of Macquarie University’s Centre for Middle East and North African Studies, and I am writing to you partly in protest.

While I respect the right of the Centre to conduct its affairs without censorship or arbitrary Government interference in its academic conduct, I do believe that as a Patron of the board, a prominent figure in the Liberal Party, a member for the people of Warringah, and as an Australian- you have a responsibility to censure the boards’ appointment of Mr. Loewenstein.

Mr. Loewenstein regularly makes highly offensive or simply inflammatory comments, although I recognise that this in itself is little reason to decry his association with the Centre. One particular statement, however, has stuck with me for some time, which will offer you an insight into the ideological nature of this particular Journalist:

The defeat of America and its allies in Iraq is vital to ensure similiar [sic] acts are not carried out again.

While Loewenstein denies calling for the murder of Australian, and American, soldiers, a defeat of the Howard Government’s aims in Iraq will mean not only a defeat for democracy and human rights, but the strengthening of the terrorist movement in Iraq- at the expense of Western forces serving in the country- something he wants to happen in order to change the direction of Australian foreign policy.

I would like to point out, again, that I agree with the right of Mr. Loewenstein to make any statements in our free and open society- but it is nonetheless upsetting that this journalist has been given such prominence by the Centre, noting his attitudes as well as his lack of formal qualifications- indeed, while he himself states he worked as a Journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, it has been suggested he merely reviewed books at the paper.

Furthermore, I would like to remind the Liberal Party that while maintaining power at a Federal level since 1996 and introducing widespread reforms, it has had little achievement in gaining the appointment of either moral conservatives or free-market liberals to prominent positions in Australian academia, or- for that matter- at the ABC and SBS television networks, funded largely by the same tax-payers who have, in droves, supported the Liberal Party and the Howard Government in its elections since (before) 1996. To put it simply, I for one would like to see further returns for my vote, with the Federal Government using its funding power to influence appointments in the academic community, and certainly at the ABC and SBS. For you, Mr. Abbott, to rightly censure Mr. Loewenstein’s appointment, would be an excellent start (or you could try instead to justify it).

I await your reply, but would be upset to hear the common excuse that ‘diversity’ is required within the ABC, SBS and academic community, and the Liberal Party worries about smothering opposing views, as I believe the current situation goes far beyond a diversity of views, and is no doubt strangling to any individual who would dare support the Howard Government, or share the Liberal Party’s values.

2006-01-06T23:49:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

Early March may very well see an election, with the Tas Lib's off to a quick start.

The launch of the first phase of the Liberal campaign has sparked the inevitable rumours that the Government might call an early election this Friday for a Saturday, February 11, polling date.

An election must be announced at least 34 days prior to the chosen polling date.

Conscription for all (kudos, anthony).

Aspiring journalist and general dodo, Antony Loewenstein (Tim Blair readers probably know him better as Crazy Ant), agrees with Labor's latest policy and states that;

“conscription is the most effective way to end rising militarism within Australia. Support for imperial wars would virtually disappear. I therefore support the move.”

Rising militarism in Australia?

Taking away the individuals' right to live without fear of being thrown in a barracks for six months will not have positive results at all- add this policy to a declining labour market and an ageing Australia- and you have another reason to avoid the ALP.

Fox has this timeline on Israel’s (possibly dead) anti-hero Ariel Sharon.

1971

Sharon is placed in charge of curbing terrorism in Gaza Strip. More than 100 suspected militants killed and hundreds detained. Attacks by Palestinians go from 34 in June to one in December.

2006-01-05T13:33:00.000+08:00

Aaaah, Paint Shop Pro.

“I ask the rhetorical question on many occasions, where would this country now be, facing the difficulties we do, if we hadn’t paid off about $58 billion of that $96 billion of debt we inherited five and a half years ago. Where would we now be if we hadn’t reformed the Australian Taxation system? Where would we now be if we had 17 or 20 per cent interest rates which were a common feature of life only a few years ago? How would people be able to pay off their mortgages, they’d be paying at least $350 a month more for their average mortgage than what they are paying now? How would you run a small business again in that kind of economic environment? How would you if you were a farmer- and the rural community remains incredibly important to this country- where would you be in relation to the bill rates that many of the Australian farmers had to pay?”

John Howard (2001, at Brisbane).

2006-01-04T12:22:00.000+08:00

Iranian nuclear aims.

Iran’s chief of the oligarchy, Ahmadinejad, expressed his desire to end the existence of the Jewish state not too long ago.

Now, European intelligence suggests that Iran’s nuclear program is not simply a figment of ‘US paranoia’, but a very real danger to Israel, the West, and any states that defy the fundamentalist Iranian regime.

“The 55-page report, dated July 1, 2005, draws on material gathered by British, French, German and Belgian agencies […]. It also says Syria, Pakistan and North Korea are part of a global black market in illicit weapons parts.”

“The document says Iran has built a web of front companies, middlemen and academics whose job is to find the information and materials needed for nuclear, biological and chemical arsenals, according to the Guardian.”

“According to The Guardian, the document details Tehran's attempts to build a missile capable of reaching Israel and southern Europe.”

Iran remains publicly defiant in its intention to develop nuclear capabilities.

Clearly, Israel is now under a greater threat from Iran and its supposedly ‘peaceful program’, than from its day-to-day absorption of suicide-homicide bombings and assorted attacks by Palestinian terrorists since (before) the formation of the world’s only Jewish state.

While the US has hinted it will introduce sanctions, and perhaps make the UN Security Council do something, this is simply an inadequate response to Iran’s clear aims- as is continued appeasement.

The world must take note of the example set by Israel in the 1980s (see, here), and take all measures to stop the development of Iran’s nuclear missile capability. In the hands of a regime that has publicly called for the destruction of Israel, has no respect for human rights, and denies the Holocaust (but wants one anew), it is not simply Israel which is threatened, but all Western states.

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

- Niemöller

2006-01-02T01:03:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

Costello has promised not to cut funding for fertility treatment in 2006.

Medicare continues to subsidise IVF treatment, even for women aged in their forties.

This is despite the added complications involved in pregnancies for those over thirty-five, including a greater chance a baby will develop down syndrome, and a 25% chance of a miscarriage for those over 40.

Sir. Winston Churchill wanted to see Hitler fry (perhaps; “on lend-lease”), had the Brits captured him.

Official documents declassified at the turn of the year reveal that Churchill was opposed to Allied plans for war crimes trials and wanted to summarily execute leading Nazi figures including Hitler, whom he regarded as "the mainspring of evil" and a "gangster".

Jawad Anani examines the future of the Middle East for the next fives years.

A mostly predictable 1103 word-article:

In short, the dollar is now on the rise, which enables the US economy to partly regain its international hegemony despite the successive upheavals that have shaken Bush Jr. administration. [sic]

[…] countries in North Africa including Egypt are increasingly emerging at the international scene.

If the current trends remain unreversed, the United States will certainly succeed, in the next five years, in re-dominating the world.

Such a ‘re-domination’ of the world, according to Anani, will come despite competition from China, the European Union, and India emerging as economic powers.

Those animal liberators at PETA have recognised Dr. Nigel Binns for his work in developing a ‘more humane mousetrap,’ and preventing unnecessary mouse deaths. Are biologist's running out of work, or something?

2006-01-01T18:20:00.000+08:00

G8 Summit, Scotland, July 2005.

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."
Sir. Winston Churchill.

2005-12-31T12:40:00.000+08:00

Unimportant polling (today’s top story in the Mercury)

The results:

In my seat of Denison (essentially Hobart), Greens are now preferred over the Liberals.

Conclusion: my neighbours need to be spoon-fed on a steady diet of welfare and Government funded jobs, enjoy the idea of a massively over-taxed State, want to bring ruin to our agriculture industry, and think that Gunns is somehow the cause of Tasmania’s problems, when in fact it is our largest private sector employer.

In Braddon (in the north-west), the Liberals score higher than Labor.

Conclusion: at least a few people in this State have been ignoring the Greens propaganda drive, and are sick of ALP.

One poll shows that the Greens total vote scores as high as 20%.

Conclusion: 80% of Tasmanian’s prefer another party to the Greens.

Support for the Liberals has risen by 4%.

Conclusion: the State liberals are putting in a piss-weak effort.

Labor took its greatest bitch slapping in Denison, the seat of the former- much respected- Jim Bacon.

Conclusion: Paul Lennon can't lead the ALP- and he sure as hell can't lead this State.

"Had the election been held in mid-December and The Mercury TasPoll results been returned by Tasmania's voters, the Government majority in the House would have been lost," Prof Herr said.

Conclusion: good, but…

"The election campaign will crystallise opinion and much can change during this period but the most likely outcome (is) a minority government.”

None of the three major political parties is likely to win a majority share of Tasmania's 332,000 votes at the election tipped for late March.

Conclusion: a Labor/Liberal Coalition is needed. The Liberals have, thankfully, rejected entering into a coalition with the Greens. State Labor has not- yet- done so, and in the past actually entered into an unsuccessful pact with the Greens- without warning voters before the election. Even so, Governor Bennet dismissed the Liberal Premier, and gave power to the ALP/Green coalition, despite justified calls for a new election. See Wikipedia’s nice little article here, and its links, for more on the interesting period.

It is not in the interests of this State to have the Greens in any Government, as we’ve seen in the past. A coalition between the major parties, although there are few positions to go around and would inevitably lead to massive internal problems, would satisfy a good many Tasmanians.

2005-12-28T14:40:00.000+08:00

At least you've got Senator Joyce (Qld)...

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.”
Harold Geneen

2005-12-27T23:56:00.000+08:00

Islamododos.

I Stumbled across an ageing article at AIJAC tonight, on the preaching and literature of Islamododos in Sydney:

In both New South Wales and Victoria, seemingly innocent bookstores which purport to purvey knowledge and spiritual guidance to their patrons have been shown to be distributors of hate literature which has a clearly violent intent. In both capital cities, calls for Jihad and endorsements of martyrdom appear in everything from books to audio compact discs and elaborate DVD presentations

Worryingly, the material reviewed was only that which was available in English.

The article’s author, Naomi Peled, notes the ‘discovery’ of “material that preaches a religious obligation to fight against the kuffar (infidels)” provided by the Islamic Information and Support Centre of Australia- headed by Sheikh Abu Ayman, with the more prominent Sheikh Mohammed Omran serving as a spiritual leader in the organisation.

The material itself is nothing particularly original or creative from these Islamododos, just the usual ‘Allah hates Jews’, ‘Christians and Jews are inferior to the Muslim people’, the West must be crushed, non-Muslims must pay a tax, aaarrgh! assorted Sheikh muscle flexing, etc., etc.

More interesting, although not much of a surprise, is the fact that this material is widespread in Lakemba- a main 'battleground' in the recent, appalling, riots. Peled predicted last August the danger in allowing Australian Muslim leaders to abuse the liberties we in the West enjoy so much, especially our freedom of speech, association, and lax (perhaps too lax) censorship laws:

As the global community continues to try and comprehend the impact of the latest terrorist attack, it has become obvious the world over that terror has taken on a new face. It is the face of ‘home-grown’ bombers, removed by generations and physical distance from the traditional epicentres of terror and instead converted to radical Islam by provocative firebrand preachers and incendiary texts. From citing classic racist literature to making radical interpretations of religious texts, the extremism arising in the hearts of Brunswick and Lakemba and poisoning inter-faith relations is a prime example of provocative hate speech, and we need only look to London to see where such speech, gone unchecked, can lead. The threat of radical Islam has indeed arrived on the shores of Australia, and it is the public’s responsibility, ironically enough, to espouse one of the theologian’s very own teachings, "we should all take heed, for ourselves and for those who are with us" for hate is within our midst.

Sheikh Mohammed Omran is a complete nutter, and a dodo.

2005-12-27T14:56:00.000+08:00

Clear policy failure.
As usual, and like most of Australia, Tasmania's health system is again failing to ensure adequate bloodstocks.

One in three Australians will need a blood donation during their lives, but only one in 30 Australians give blood.

While the Red Cross points out the seasonal decline in blood donors, the fact is- there is a year-round shortage of donors and stocks.

Although synthetic blood has been developed and successfully tested in the United States, its widespread use is still far off and marred by an unwillingness to use animal blood as the base product- so-called ‘ethical concerns’- instead relying solely on human blood. The chances are, someone who doesn’t want to milk blood from a primate, is letting humans go without.

While the artificial product can be stored much longer, donors are still required.

Government may be willing to ask the question- ‘why the shortage of such donors?’, but is unwilling to hear the answer- Government policy restricting the right to sell one’s blood. In the United States, most blood comes from paid donors. Even with blood treated as a commodity, as it should be, the country is plagued with shortages. It is only logical then, that the individual should be allowed to negotiate the price of her/his blood on an open market. With only 5% of the eligible population of the United States donating blood- suppliers will inevitably be paid very well. In the long-term, this will also lead to more Americans selling their blood, and more stocks.

2005-12-26T15:03:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

FEE has this:

[T]he communitarians would do well to learn more free-market economics. I don’t mean the arid exercises of graduate-school economics. Rather, I mean Adam Smith and his true intellectual progeny. The communitarians should give more consideration to the Invisible Hand, that is, to the beneficial decentralized processes whereby individuals and families choose voluntarily for themselves

Take a squiz at this over at Front Page.

FP: Tell us about the persecution of Palestinian Christians and why their persecution became so much worse since the Oslo peace process began.

Weiner: These are acutely trying times for the Christian remnant residing in areas ‘governed’ by the Palestinian Authority. Tens of thousands have abandoned their holy sites and ancestral properties to live abroad, while those that remain do so as a beleaguered and dwindling minority. They have faced virtually uninterrupted persecution during the decade since the Oslo peace process began, living amidst a Muslim population that is increasingly xenophobic and restless. Chaos, nepotism, and corruption are endemic. Their plight is, in part, attributable to the influence of Muslim religious law (Shari) on the inner workings of the Palestinian Authority. Moreover, the Christians have been abandoned by their religious leaders who, instead of protecting them, have chosen to curry favor with the Palestinian leadership.

'Aceh remembers its dead'

"May they rest in peace by God's sight. The moment of silence begins."

2005-12-26T14:36:00.000+08:00

Election campaign (2).

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
(Unknown)

2005-12-23T19:03:00.001+08:00

Whale meat.

The furore over whaling continues, but the real issues are being ignored.

While Greenpeace has been in the media for its commitment to preserve the whale species, their true goal is not widely known. Rather than legitimately fight for a temporary end to whaling to ensure the recovery of the species, Greenpeace demands a permanent end to commercial whaling.

The long-time campaign is based on the belief that eco-tourism will better support the Japanese and Icelandic economies, and the feelings of animal rights activists that animals are not for exploitation.

The latter idea is unacceptable at both a moral and economic level. Greenpeace is completely selective in the animals it wishes to preserve- and would certainly not oppose a complete ban on cattle farming (although many on the fringe of society and in the organisation do). The 'moral dilemma' is only considered by the most adamant ivory-tower philosophy student, and can be resolved by pointing out the very natural habitats such people would want preserved- an animal society based on the slaughter and consumption of other, less-able animals.

The eco-tourist industry has indeed proven itself to be profitable, as Greenpeace will be the first to squawk to anyone listening. It is only logical then, that ecotourism in conjunction with controlled whaling will add to the profits available from this giant seafood.

Tasmania has received much public attention concerning whales, specifically regarding their mass strandings. Again, the focus is inevitably on ‘saving the animals’, and any other considerations are secondary.

The Tasmanian Government, however, should auction-off contracts, for set periods of time, allowing the successful bidder to exploit the natural, although unpredictable, event of a whale stranding.

Local Aboriginal communities often ignored territorial issues and divides in favour of sharing in the available meat following such an event (which is now said to be the fault mankind’s modern navies).

Why then, can European Australian’s not accept this gift from the sea, as Aboriginal Tasmanian’s once did?

2005-12-21T18:42:00.000+08:00

Sacrificial voting.

Lately I’ve been thinking of the best way to economise on my single vote- yes, very Anthony Downs of me. Now, rather than voting for the party that best matches my economic beliefs and general ideology, I think at the next State election, I’ll be voting Green (not simply a step in the other direction, but a fucking Neil Armstrong leap).

Why’s this you ask? How can a free market, pro-business fan, and individualist vote for the Greens?

Easy. The brilliant thing about the federal system of government is the ability to use States (or territories) for experimenting, in a controlled, laboratory-like environment. I’m happy to sacrifice my vote to give the Greens power in this State, and then laugh my arse off when they finally show Australia the effects of their policies.

This sacrificial form of voting will, if our other states and territories take note, in the long-term reduce the Green’s support base- especially among those who don’t like a 70%+ tax rate, and moralists who will not fund gays, trans-gender folk, and give uni students a completely free ride.

I also recognise the constitutional limits, mind you. For the most part, however, I’ll be content with seeing the available domestic policies and scary over-taxation implemented by Peg Putt and her flock of dodos, and thus recognition by do-gooders that voting Green is not going to help anybody.

2005-12-21T00:06:00.000+08:00

Election campaign.

“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.”

Samuel Johnson.

2005-12-19T13:55:00.000+08:00

Snippets:
Mises has this:

Durable peace is only possible under perfect capitalism, hitherto never and nowhere completely tried or achieved. In such a Jeffersonian world of unhampered market economy the scope of government activities is limited to the protection of the lives, health, and property of individuals against violence or fraudulent aggression. . . .

All the oratory of the advocates of government omnipotence cannot annul the fact that there is but one system that makes for durable peace: A free market economy. Government control leads to economic nationalism and thus results in conflict.

Yisrael Aumann takes the 2005 Nobel prize for economics.

Arial Sharon has a stroke.

"I've already been at the front (of Israeli politics) for the past 60 years and I definitely plan to continue my job,"

Kangaroo tail soup.

Ingredients:
1 Kangaroo tail
2 pounds Beef
3 Carrots
3 Onions
1 bunch herbs
Pepper and salt
Butter

The Boston Herald has this:

‘Bill and Melinda Gates, Bono named Time’s Persons of the Year’

The Gateses give much to charity, Bono is a bloody dodo (of the third kind).

Time praised the Gateses for building the world’s largest charity - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a $29 billion endowment - and for “giving more money away faster than anyone ever has” in 2005.

2005-12-18T22:45:00.000+08:00

Residents dislike the nightlife...
My flatmate, anthony (lack of uppercase intentional, matching my lack of respect), bitched about this when we were watching the news (scroll down to 'Hobart nightclub closes after complaints').

Thankfully he didn’t claim that pokies are ruining such places, but others have- in NSW Fred Nile claimed that pokies are ruining the live music industry. Perhaps Nile should accept that consumer choice drives such things, and any ‘damage’ is far from permanent.

A neighbour even blamed PM Howard for ‘making Australians more morally conservative’. I explained that the Liberals are pro-enterprise, and when this didn’t work, reminded this neighbour that the ALP controls the Tasmanian Parliament and therefore any regulation of Hobart’s almost non-existent nightlife. I also noted the Tasmanian Government's anti-smoking regulations (somewhere in that link) as an example of such control. What's the saying? You can lead a horse (in this case, ass) to water, but you cant make it drink.

That Fascist, General Howard, gets more cunning and evil every day...

2005-12-18T22:08:00.000+08:00

'Israel's cause is not lost'
Spotted this at LGF.

The comment section is especially interesting:

I might dare to say that the press in the US has, in fact, done a far better job than in Europe and Britain. One need only consider that the coverage of the Jenin "massacre" is rather a good demonstration of the fact that coverage in Europe and Britain is actually rather poor. In the US, no major paper even hinted that there had been a massacre.

---

My bet is that most of the silence regarding Israel has more often to do with avoiding contraversy than conviction. Which is to say, what is needed is an education campaign.

The Israeli cause is not that difficult to explain. A story:

In May of 2004, I visited Europe in order to take a cruise (out of Dover) of Baltic capitals. There were many people from England on the cruise. My wife and I befriended an English couple. The man was a physicist.

We had a discussion regarding nuclear power, as such was the man's specialty. I mentioned that the spread of weapons is much in the news, especially regarding the Middle East. He, out of nowhere, noted that Israel has nuclear weapons. I said that were she to give them up, she would likely be destroyed. He replied (and I recall his exact words because no one had ever before said anything quite like that to me): "Why do they [meaning Israelis] need to be there [meaning in the Middle East] anyway?"

I do not let such things go. Being an American - crass, stupid and all that -, I said rather calmly that the right of oppressed people to migrate where they can find refuge is a basic human right and the right to engage in politics where one lives or migrates to is also a basic human right. I said that Jews did exactly that in the land we now called Israel. I said that they were attacked by local Arabs and, rather than be run out of the area, Jews stood their ground which is how Israel came to be.

The physicist accepted my explanation, told me he had no idea how Jews ended up in what is now Israel and told me that my explanation made sense to him.

Which is to say: Israel's cause is not lost among educated people. It is only lost if people concede that Israel is in the wrong and fail to educate people.

2005-12-18T12:53:00.000+08:00

Lies, Lies, Damned Lies!
Green Left Weekly continues its to show its true colours by publishing emotive slurs against the RSL, implying our former soldiers are, or rather were (past tense) racist bigots, and publishing other blatant lies.

The prejudice on which Pauline Hanson relied has now jumped the generations - from the ex-diggers and grey-haired RSL loyalists, to the testosterone and beer-fuelled youths who are hurting in Howard’s Australia, in and out of work.

‘[H]urting in Howard’s Australia’ ? This can only be described as a complete load of rubbish. Many of the thugs were clearly young, well-off Australians, probably with excellent futures. Look over the images that have appeared in the media- expensive cars, clothes and sunnies. This is not a class issue, as much as the communists at GLW wish it were.

And our prime minister, John Howard, wants to preach calm! Has anyone seen these guys? Should any ethnic community be calm when these thugs are whacked out of their heads, wielding baseball bats and launching bricks and flower pots!

Another blatant misrepresentation from GLW. The thugs ‘whacked out of their heads, wielding baseball bats and launching bricks and flower pots” were in fact the Lebanese-Australian mobs engaging in revenge attacks against Anglo-Saxon-Celtic Australians.

GLW goes on to ignore the violence at the scene of the Lakemba Mosque by Lebanese-Australians:

Those young Lebanese-Australians were right when they gathered to protect their local mosque. They are right to demand an end to the racist scapegoating of their communities. And the trade union movement, anti-war activists and everyone outraged by racism must stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

GLW tries to create an image of Lebanese Australian gangs singing Christmas carols and urging an end to the violence, when in fact, they targeted police.

We should expect nothing less from the toilet rag which sees Che Guevara as the poster child of the left.

2005-12-17T19:39:00.000+08:00

Pure Illiberal Madness.

The Greens haven’t released their new drug policy, which would have been *ahem* interesting to look at following the execution of a certain criminal in Singapore, so instead, here are some highlights from policy that is available:

1.2 The Australian Greens recognise that Indigenous people, as the original owners and custodians, have a specific and unique cultural relationship with this country, which all Australians must respect. [emphasis added]

A ‘Green’ Australia will therefore endorse the tribalism of Aboriginal culture, including corporal punishment, the battering of women, the death penalty, and arranged marriages (based on skin colour). Will the Green’s at least give Australians the ‘good side’ of Aboriginal culture, such as allowing the barbequing of beached whales? Doubtful.

1.8 Indigenous people require, and are entitled to [a], culturally appropriate and fully resourced [welfare sector…]

'Culturally appropriate'? Does this also mean Anglo-Saxon/Celtic Australians will receive welfare that is ‘culturally appropriate’? Will Jewish Australians, who have joined Australian society in a mutually rewarding relationship since before the Holocaust receive ‘culturally appropriate’ services (i.e., less)? This is Green racism, pure and simple.

1.10 The Australian Greens recognise and accept the need for Australia’s history of ‘settlement’ to be revised without prejudice and taught at all levels of education.

One word- Indoctrination. The Greens will obviously ignore the ruling of Federal Court in relation to the ‘stolen generation’, and sideline the history of European settlement- which deserves so much to be taught in our society- at all levels of education.

1.11 The Australian Greens support increased opportunities from birth for programs in which Indigenous languages can be taught.

These are absolutely laughable policies. Such a move is entirely impractical. Indigenous Australians make up 2% of the population- if the Government plans on making Australia bi-lingual, would it not be much more appropriate to teach Mandarin Chinese- which, from memory, is the most spoken language in the world?

---

2.16 provide adequate funding for support groups, rights groups and representative groups for each of the LGBTI communities

2.17 provide adequate funding for research into LGBTI cultural, community, social, health, welfare and safety issues

3.55 the establishment of an adequately funded federal office for the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

3.59 transgender medical procedures being available at both public and private hospitals and under Medicare

The Green’s have so many creative ways to spend the taxpayer’s money, and when they start to run out- they’ll just print more!

This is an attack on liberalism. Australians, such as those with a conservative moral nature, have the right not to fund such operations, in accordance with their religious beliefs, or other viewpoints. If you dont like having a penis, pay for it to be sliced off yourself.

---

2.12 a global ban on the militarisation of space, including the United States of America’s (US) plan for the development of an anti-missile defence capability, and [the Greens] strenuously oppose any Australian involvement

2.15 condemn the US Missile Defense [sic] program, known as ‘son of star wars’, as provocative, potentially belligerent and dangerously destabilising

The development of advanced defence technology is a right every nation has. The US development of an anti-missile shield will bring great benefits to both North America, and Australia, and should in no way harm relations with other states. Both Australia and the US not only have the right to develop such a shield, which is more and more promising with the increasing evolution of modern technology, but also the responsibility to do so in order to protect their people.

2.56 commit Australia to a self-reliant, non-nuclear national security framework with participation in a reformed regional and global collective security framework

Self-reliant? The Greens delude themselves. Australia is a middle-power at best, we will never be truly capable of self-reliance in our defence.

---

2.7 consultation and participation of workers and their unions in decisions on workplace changes

The Greens will allow unelected Union’s to have a massive role in developing policy (for all sectors of the economy) at a federal and state level, but are so anti-business that any Green Government will ruin Australia with over-taxation and over-regulation. The Green’s obvious corporatist goals should give equal, if not greater, participation rights to large businesses and the business community- or risk stunting domestic industry, and forcing away foreign investors.

2.13 the principle of a contribution to be made by non-union members who gain the benefit of union registered agreements.

Yet, non-union members will be hit with this:

3.2 abolish Australian workplace agreements and non-union collective agreements, and encourage the making of multi-employer agreements

Pure, illiberal, madness.

The Greens are a flock of Dodos.

2005-12-16T12:08:00.000+08:00

Snippets:

Target: Google

"[T]he biggest current complaint against Google is that it is just "too big." We hear things like "Google controls 80 percent of the market" for search engines, yet that statement is nonsense. Google does not "control" anything on the Internet. People have to choose to avail themselves of Google's services. No one is forced to use the Internet at all and, thus, can avoid Google altogether if that is their choice."

Andrew Bolt’s RMIT debate, with added dribble from Watts.
The question session following the debate is, unfortunately, difficult to hear.

Cleric ‘discussed killing PM’
Benrika, in the kitchen, with a candle stick?

Name your islands, Indonesia told
All 18,000 of 'em... heh heh...

2005-12-15T17:10:00.000+08:00

Christmas Greetings!
Ah, Christmas! It’s the season not only to be jolly, but also the season of giving (What better way to give than to start a blog)!

For most presents, though, we must wait until Christmas day. But my mate John W. Howard, gave all us students an early gift...

What is it, I hear you ask… It's Voluntary Student Unionism, or VSU for those who don’t like to hear the ‘voluntary’ bit (voluntary implies choice, choice is hated by those who commonly claim to be on the left)!

The savings, the savings! No longer will I pay for the care of other people’s children, nor the boozing of students during O-week! From now on, that fee of around $200 a semester can go towards my textbooks, hell I could even give it to a nice charity, it is Christmas after-all...