Lighter Side, Take II

Who says the BBC is biased??

I especially liked the line: 'Our simple 11-point guide to why you are a racist or discriminatory in some other shameful way'

It's a parody, but as they say, 'Where there's smoke. . .'

Do as I say not as I do

As usual, send the young and dumb to die, tell them some wild stories about virgins and the evil west, flushing toilets and the very sight of women's ankles will send you to hell.
Profess hatred of the west and all its inhabitants, or was that infidels; demand the withdrawal of all infidels from the muslim lands, leave your technology and know how behind though, I'm not quite sure how the electric tooth brush works.

Osama bin Laden sought asylum in Britain even as he was planning the September 11 attacks on the US. The al-Qa'ida leader wanted to abandon his base in Sudan at the end of 1995 and asked some of his followers in London to sound out whether he would be able to move to Britain.

Maybe he thought America would be cowed down into submission, by a grainy video promising murder and blood, brandish an AK; maybe George Bush would learn french or apologise to him or something; and he could move to the UK and enlist the starry eyed socialists and apologists into destroying western civilisation and starting a Islamic socialist utopia.

Slow to anger

It appears Sharon's plan is coming to fruition, some of the jihadists are getting the message.
We will give you the land you lost earlier, you can dance in the streets, shoot your weapons, call us names, label us cowards and say your terror has worked. As long as its all just empty threats and rhetoric, its just water off a ducks back.

Start sending in rockets to kill and we will hunt you relentlessly and cut you down.

A Hamas leader has announced that the organisation will halt its attacks on Israel, after a forceful reaction from Jerusalem to militants launching dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip. Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said: "The movement declares an end to its operations from the Gaza Strip against the Israeli occupation."

He denied the move was prompted by Israel's resumption of assassinations of militants and of air attacks against arms caches and other infrastructure in Gaza. Mr Zahar said the decision was intended to "preserve the atmosphere of celebration at the defeat of the occupation" and to protect the population against Israeli attacks. Egyptian pressure is believed to have played a role in the Hamas announcement.

A senior commander of Islamic Jihad, Sheikh Muhammad Khalil, was killed with his bodyguard when an Israeli helicopter fired a rocket at their car. Israeli sources said Khalil was involved in actions that took 15 Israeli lives, including those of a woman and her four daughters.

Israeli troops yesterday arrested 50 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members in the West Bank. The arrests came 24 hours after a first dragnet resulted in 207 arrests, mostly of Islamic radicals, in various parts of the West Bank.

Air attacks continued against arms workshops and caches around the strip and jets flew low over populated areas. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said his armed forces had been ordered to launch sustained action in order to prevent further missile attacks on Israeli towns.

"There are no restrictions on the use of any measures in order to strike at the terrorists," he said. "The instructions are unequivocal; we do not mean a one-time action here."

Now the Jihadists have to come down from the clouds and start building; and watch their tongues and the gloating; the tanks, hellfires, gunships and shells are just over the fence, oiled and aimed.

Politics quiz

I thought it was interesting. Here were my results:

You are a

Social Moderate
(43% permissive)

and an...

Economic Conservative
(68% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Capitalist




Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid


It'd be nice if all the readers here who have the time could do the quiz.

(Via Patterico, who was a more libertarian version of me, but still in the Capitalist section.)

A bad weekend

For commies, terrorists and leftists.

Elections in Poland
Two centre-right parties are expected to defeat Poland's governing ex-communists in parliamentary elections on Sunday. The polls are Poland's first since joining the European Union in May 2004. It was a Democratic Left Alliance leadership which last year brought Poland successfully into the EU and which backed the Orange Revolution in neighbouring Ukraine.

Nonetheless, the ex-communists now face electoral meltdown. A succession of corruption scandals, the failure to bring down unemployment and suggestions of continuing dubious links with Moscow have appeared to validate opposition claims that, in the end, you cannot trust an old "commie".

From the occupied territories, no wait, didn't they just get freedom and what do they do with it -

Mustafa went for the cheap detonaters and look what happened, never mind blame it on the Jews. At least 15 Palestinians have been killed and scores injured in a blast during a parade by the militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip.

A truck carrying gunmen and home-made weapons blew up during the rally in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Israel has denied involvement, while the ruling Palestinian Fatah faction said it held Hamas responsible. Hamas accused Israel of causing the blast and vowed revenge.

However Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction said it held Hamas "fully responsible for the victims of the military parade [that was held] among civilians".

The anti war movement gathers strength, or is it just steam.
Thousands of anti-war protesters are marching in Washington to demand the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Organisers said they were expecting 100,000 to turn out for the 11-hour rally, march and concert near the White House and Washington Monument.

A few hundred supporters of President Bush's policy in Iraq also gathered in Washington for a counter protest. Anti-war rallies were also being held in other cities across the US as well as in London, Paris and Rome but in many cases the numbers were down on protests in previous years.


Yeah I also heard it would be millions and millions, ok I'm exaggerating there, it seems Cindy Sheehan and Katrina have not rejuvenated the anti Bush movement as they hoped.

Sydney: Premiers 2005

Well I am proud and very happy to admit my prediction about the West Coast Eagles winning the premiership was 100% wrong! Sydney triumphed despite the best efforts of the time keeper to do everything in his power to give it to the Eagles.

Sydney are the champions for 2005 of the best football code in Australia (soccer is soft game for thugs, rugby league is a dog's game, hence only two states playing it, one of which has XXXX beer and Bundberg rum which pretty much explains it all, and Union, while being ok, is still nothing compared to AFL)

I will say good on Chris Judd, as he was the only Eagle who put in four solid quarters of football, but as for the rest of the Eagles - ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Join in with me now!

Cheer, cheer the red and the white,
Honour the name by day and by night,
Lift that noble banner high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky
Whether the odds be great or small,
Swans will go in and win overall
While her loyal sons are marching
Onwards to victory.


To all West Coast Whingers and Wankers - sucks to be you!


YEAH SYDNEY!

EU Grows Some?

EU reports Iran to Security Council

THE European Union tabled a motion at the UN atomic watchdog overnight that finds Iran in violation of international nuclear safeguards, setting the stage for it to be reported to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, diplomats said.
Seems things are still looking a tad lacking on the cods front, unfortunately.

Delaying immediate referral for activities which the United States claims hide covert nuclear weapons work was a compromise to win support on the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board of governors for a tough move that could draw sharp Iranian reaction escalating the crisis.
Escalate the crisis? In what way? By forcing the Iranians to out and out tell us all to go get stuffed, as opposed to the sotto voce ‘get nicked’ they’ve been delivering to date? The usual suspects are preparing to gum up the works, of course:

. . .Russia, China and non-aligned nations that support Iran's claim that its atomic program is peaceful still oppose the text and expressed this vehemently at yesterday's meeting, diplomats said.
It’s no surprise, though. Both China and Russia know damned well it’ll be the US (and others) who will pick up the tab when Iran takes the nuclear nutso route. In the meantime, Russia has lots and lots of wonderful nuclear technology to sell; how can they possibly say ‘no’ to such an eager customer. . .

Just the usual mischief at work. The ultimate mischief, however, will come when and if this ever does finally make it to the Security Council. No bets, I’m afraid, on who’ll be dropping the ‘veto’ card the moment it does.

I hate the West Coast Eagles

Had I written this article a few years ago, I would have clarified that by saying that it was really the fans I hated and not the club itself, but not anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, that fans are still 90% of my hatred towards the club but the club has not done anything to endear itself to me.

Let’s go back in time. Back to when I was a little 5 or 6 year old and I sat down to watch my first game of footy with my Dad on tv. This was prior to the Eagles joining the competition and one of the teams playing wore black and red and so I thought I would go for them during the match. And so my support for Essendon started.

A few years later the Eagles joined the league, and being from WA myself, I was happy to support them in every game except when they played Essendon as I could not bring myself to change my loyalty. In those first few years I would have loved to have seen an Essendon-West Coast grand final as at least one of my teams would win. (I still very much long for an Essendon-West Coast grand final but for a different reason.)

I celebrated in 1992 with the Eagles, celebrated even more in 1993 with Essendon, and celebrated again in 1994 with the Eagles. It was a good period after the disappointment of 1990 and 1991.

But things started taking a turn for the worst as the Eagles form slumped in the ensuing years. People over here had always been amongst the biggest whingers in football always crying and bitching about free kicks, umpires turning a blind eye, unfair treatment at the tribunal etc, but my god, jet engines don’t whine as much as Eagle’s fans did from 95 to... well...to the current day.

Whine. Bitch. Moan. Non-stop. I started to get sick of hearing it – especially when they started turning on Essendon (being the only team that had a better win-loss record against the Eagles during their period of dominance).

"Umpires! Free Kicks! Tribunal!" On and on.

In the mid-late 90’s some stats guy did some work about free kicks over the preceding several seasons. Collingwood came out as having gotten the most free kicks by a substantial margin, surprising exactly nobody who watches football (but the gross bias in Collingwood’s favour is a topic for another day). The team that had gotten the second most free kicks was the West Coast Eagles (for the record the team with the least free kicks was Adelaide and the team with the second least free kicks was Essendon) but that didn’t stop the West Coast whingers crying about not getting free kicks and Essendon getting all the free kicks.

But then what really turned me off the fans was the statement uttered by a great number of them whenever you pointed out their poor form and uncompetitiveness in the finals: “But we made the finals 10 years in a row!”

Just let that sink in. It is important to remember that 8 teams – fully half the league – make the finals. And the West Coast Eagles fans were taking pride in that they were mediocre enough to literally fall into 7th and 8th place those last few years because some other teams had lost their last games.

They played in ten finals series and only won twice. That strikes me as a pretty pisspoor record, but not to these West Coast Wanker fans.

As a comparative case, the Buffalo Bills in the NFL made the Superbowl four years in a row (Superbowls 25-28 if I recall correctly) and lost each time and they were rightfully ridiculed for not being able to win one of them. But not these WCE fans – oh no. A 20% success rate is a champion effort and makes them the best team in history.

And unfortunately is has only gotten worse.

Back in 2003, West Coast destroyed Carlton by 20 goals over here (187-71). At that point, Carlton were dead last, playing their worst footy in recent memory, and had a total of about 4 wins for the whole season (and didn’t win another one for the rest of the season). But from the media and the fans, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Eagles had beaten not the bottom side but a team consisting of the Gods of Olympus themselves.

“Eagles are the best side in the competition!”
”Eagles are now premiership favourites!”
”Eagles are the best side in sport!”
“Best win in the history of the club!”
“Best win in the history of the AFL!”
“Best win in the history of sport!”
“Best win in the history of the universe!”

As I said to some morons at work:

“Yeah. It was a good win but you got to remember that they beat the bottom side who is playing terrible football. This week you are playing Port Adelaide, the top side, in Adelaide. They are a good side and can play both a hard thug-like game or a silky smooth skills games with equal ease. If your players go in believing all this stuff about them being such champions, and start believing their own press, you are going to get hammered.”

And what happened that weekend?

Port Adelaide slaughtered the Eagles by 64 points.

But in recent years, the club itself has also turned me right off. First was the way the club shafted Glen Jackovich for the captaincy. Jackovich was a dead set champion and served the club well for many years. He was nearing the end of his career when the captaincy came up. Would it have been so bad to reward him with the captaincy for the last couple of years of his career? Apparently the Eagles thought so and gave it to a group of young punks to share around. What a disgrace. Jackovich should have spat on them and walked out.

Then there is the way Ken Judge spent his time rebuilding the club after the Malthouse decay (and Ken Judge’s rebuilding is the reason the club is playing in a grand final this year) but rather than recognise his work and understand that you can’t go from an old, depleted side to champions in a couple of seasons, the club drops him as coach without even letting him finish his contract. This is nothing against the current coach John Worsfold, who was another champion player, even if he is far too soft on the players when they play badly.

And perhaps worst of all is the hypocrisy (maybe – tough call between the hypocrisy and the treatment of Jackovich). A couple of years back there was a big uproar about drinking. All this crap going about grown adults having drinks after the game. During this, the club comes out and says “We are so good. We have a zero tolerance policy towards alcohol. Let’s all go and masturbate about how good we are.”

The club is there beating its chest about how good it is not allowing its players to have a drink, while high profile players (whom the club has pushed hard as role models) are out there snorting cocaine, shooting heroin, smoking dope, popping pills, and hanging around with organised crime figures (which these players claim are their “friends” when they are really just their suppliers).

Look, if players are so stupid as to want to do that shit, that’s their business. I am sure the Eagles are not the only club with players doing this, but they are the only club publicly claiming how good they are while pretending, no, blatantly lying to us, that this sort of thing isn’t happening.

So I hate the club for all the hypocrisy and bullshit they spew out. But I still hate the fans more. The latest event which makes me hate them even more is the Barry Hall incident. Take a look at this email going around here:


Sydney forward Barry Hall is free to play in the AFL Grand Final this weekend despite having killed three people before last week's preliminary final against St Kilda.

It has been discovered that Hall stopped off at a 7-11 last Friday night and ruthlessly gunned down three people who were holding him up in the queue by taking too long to pay for a packet of Mentos.

But the AFL Tribunal ruled last night that because Hall had been on his way to the game at the time of the incident, contact could be deemed to be 'in play'.

They further ruled that his conduct could not be considered 'deliberate', only merely 'reckless', insofar as it was reckless how he had pulled the gun from his pocket and fired off about 30 rounds.


Finally, they also ruled that because the bullets struck the victims mainly in the chest, contact was not head-high and should therefore be considered at the lower end of the scale of offences.

This still left Hall with a total of 1,674,265 points, or a total suspension of 12-15 years, with time off for good behaviour. But there was a 25% reduction for Hall's guilty plea, and a further 74.9% reduction because of the AFL's naked determination to give
Sydney the best possible chance of winning the Premiership.

The end result is that Hall will not only lead the Swans onto the field this weekend, but has also been promised several unwarranted free kicks to be taken at a time of his choosing - to compensate him for pain and suffering.

An AFL spokesman said they were happy that justice had prevailed.

"Nobody wants to see a Sydney player ... errrr, sorry, any player miss an AFL Grand Final," the spokesman said. "Unless, of course, it's a Collingwood player, in which case it's just funny.

"But we think in this case it's a good result for football. It's certainly a good result for
Sydney, and therefore a good result for us. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go and help the Swans cheer squad with their banner."

The spokesman did concede, however, that the Hall decision had caused problems for the League.

"Hell yeah, it meant we also had to let Gaspar off for his blatant elbowas a square-off. So don't think we haven't suffered."


Nevermind the fact that both players got off and especially nevermind the fact that Gasper’s incident was MUCH worse, (Hall gave a jab to the stomach, Gasper tried to elbow the guy in the face) this is all just a conspiracy against the Eagles. Both players get treated equally and both players are free to play in the grand final but it is all just the AFL trying to favour Sydney according to West Coast Wankers all over WA.

So yeah, I hate the Eagles fans and hope their team loses just to shut them up, but unfortunately I don’t think it will happen.

My sad, unfortunate, and hopefully dead wrong prediction: Eagles by 26 points.

Why Australian Labor Keeps Losing

Calling all Lefties: some solid clues here for you.

Latham's US views 'not unique'

ONE in five Labor Party candidates at the last federal election believed the United States was a threat to Australian security, a new study has showed.

The research by Australian National University and Queensland University of Technology found 21.9 per cent of ALP candidates said the US was a "very likely" or "fairly likely" threat to Australia, placing it above China, Vietnam or Malaysia, The Australian newspaper reported today.

Yes - proof positive, 21.9 per cent of ALP candidates are as insane as Mark Latham.

Thirty-one per cent of ALP candidates said they had little or no trust in the US coming to Australia's defence. . .
Correction, make that 31%.

Here’s the money quote, though:

. . .one in five said they were either not very proud, or not at all proud, to be Australian.
It’s no wonder the Left and its political representatives hate Australia and its people so much; they saw straight through Latham and the ALP. And all the posturing and propagandising in the world failed to sway them. It seems bald-faced lies just won't cut it anymore. How frustrating!

Give this fellow a medal

Jatendra Chirag, 24, was on his way to work in Melbourne yesterday afternoon when he saw bundles of cash peeping out of an envelope by the side of Dandenong Road in Malvern.

The customer service officer from Malvern picked up the money and took it to work, but he was always clear about what he would do - return the money to police in the hope it would get back to its owner.

"Put it this way - if I had lost 10 grand, how would I feel? I would be devastated. I wouldn't like someone else to be in that situation. I just wanted to return that money to whom it belonged, that was all."

Mr Chirag didn't tell anyone at work about his find. After work, just before midnight, he rushed to Malvern police station. But the lucky finder said the thought of a reward never crossed his mind. "I feel good that I did the right thing ... he must have worked a lot of years for that money," Mr Chirag said.

Meanwhile, an elderly Malvern man had reported to police that he had lost $10,000 he had just withdrawn from the Commonwealth Bank in Carnegie. The money fell out of his pocket when he tripped near the corner of Station Street and Dandenong Road. The man, who is in his 60s and spoke only Russian, was using a walking frame.

Acting Sergeant Andrew Twining of Malvern Police said the cash stash had shocked police. "It's terrific. We don't normally get large sums of money. We get wallets containing small amounts of money handed in. But to have a sum of this quantity handed in just renews your faith in people."

The lighter side

Amidst the tiring rhetoric from mad mullahs, suicide scumbags, regimes brandishing nukes, indignant taxpayers demanding to be rescued, America bashing, defending the right to hate and bowing to terrorists; I thought I'd bring two light hearted stories that may appeal to those of us that, shall we say, admire the female form.

First one, is a home grown story, good on her I say -
Dennae Brunow, 19, was crowned Miss World Australia last night, and has won the right to represent the nation at the Miss World competition in China.
Miss
In a stunning black crystal beaded figure-hugging dress, it was not just her appearance that saw the blonde beauty emerge from 14 other finalists to claim the title.She raised $3000 in three weeks for the Australian Red Cross, sealing her success. "At no point did I expect to win but I believed in myself," Brunow, from Wodonga, Victoria, told a gathering of more than 300 people in black tie at Sydney's Sofitel Wentworth in the city. "I'm a very down to earth person and just being friends with all the other girls helped a lot."


The second story, and I think everyone of us needs to know this -

Tyra Banks underwent a televised sonogram on her new talk show to prove that her breasts aren't fake. ''I'm tired of this rumour. It's something that's followed me forever,'' the supermodel said on The Tyra Banks Show. After Banks asked the men in the audience to leave, Dr Garth Fisher from ABC's Extreme Makeover performed a touch test and then the sonogram.
He concluded: ''Tyra Banks has natural breasts; there are no implants.''
Model and talk show host Tyra Banks.
''By no means am I saying a breast implant is a bad thing, but it's not a choice that I made,'' the 31-year-old model said. ''But it's something that a lot of the public ... think that I have, and that's so frustrating for me.'' Banks, who models for Victoria's Secret, also displayed how her push-up bra exaggerated her body.

I'm sure the good Doctor was only happy to sacrifice his valuable time to solve this great mystery that has plagued/frustrated us for so long.

Never a Truer Word Said.

UK 'sleepwalking' to segregation

British society is "sleepwalking" its way into racial segregation, according to the UK's race equality chief. Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Racial equality, is to give a speech warning some areas of the UK are turning into "fully-fledged ghettos".

He warns of divisions similar to those seen in hurricane-hit New Orleans.

But a member of the Liberal Democrats' Muslim Forum, Mohammed Shafiq, said multi-culturalism was a success and called for Mr Phillips to resign.
From whose perspective, Mohammed? Yours, of course, which sees the creation of a Muslim state within a state as being a more than ideal outcome. The fact is, we don’t agree, and for pretty obvious reasons.

Speaking at the Lib Dems party conference, Mr Shafiq said Mr Phillips' comments were "inflammatory and offensive".
I’m sick to death of language like this. In what way is it 'inflammatory and offensive' to suggest that we risk a divided society, when the evidence of that very thing is all about us? And the immediate fact of the London bombers’ ethnic origins plays no small part in that evidence. A case in point, actually. Their actions spoke louder than words like this ever could. England may have been their home, but it was not their Nation.

That’s precisely why they happily took to blowing parts of it and its people to bits.

Mr Phillips will argue schools are becoming more exclusive and some universities are becoming "colour-coded", according to excerpts leaked to newspapers earlier this week.
He’s right.

He will voice his fears of a "New Orleans-style Britain of passively coexisting ethnic and religious communities, eyeing each other over the fences of our differences".
He’s right again.

The Sunday Times said he will suggest new measures to help to encourage integration - which could include forcing "white" schools to take larger numbers of ethnic minorities.
Which, while the multi-culti school of shrieking, screaming, and bullying still has its voice, will be doomed to failure, I’m afraid.

He will admit that his message is "bleak", but sees Hurricane Katrina as a warning to Britain to avoid complacently believing that it has an integrated society.
Hurricane Katrina? What about the bombing of London? Far more immediately relevant, I’d suggest.

"The fact is we are a society which, almost without noticing it, is becoming more divided by race and religion," he will tell Manchester Council for Community Relations.
And, I predict, they will do precisely nothing.

The Mad Mullahs

An excellent piece by The Daily ‘Cuz goes into even further detail regarding the Hitler/Iran parallels I talked about yesterday.

Timely, I think it just goes to show there are quite a few out there who are able to read, able to read history, and, more importantly, able to draw some very basic and obvious conclusions from the lessons of our past.

We cannot afford to let this go much further. And given what’s going on in Israel right now, I’m not entirely convinced they’ll have the will to pull off another Osirak, either.

This lot are stark raving nuts:




And if Iran gets a bomb, we’re going to be in appalling trouble.

From where I sit, it looks like they’re well on track to do precisely that.

World War Three?

There is one issue looming darker on my horizon than most. It’s Iran. I don’t think there is any doubt about what it is Iran is working towards. Working to achieve the enrichment of nuclear fuel, in a world where existing enrichment technologies make that investment entirely unnecessary, generally suggests one thing: the ability to create bomb-grade material.

So, the mad Mullahs want to be able to bring down the wrath of Allah. And if their words are anything to go by, statements along the lines of wiping Israel off the map, I think that, as in Hitler’s Mien Kampf, where he told us everything he intended to do, we have no reason to believe they intend other than precisely what they have also told us they intend to do.

All they await is the know-how and the pretext to do so. . .

Iran 'six months from the bomb'

IRAN may be as little as six months away from completing the know-how to build a nuclear bomb, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said today.

"The question is not if they are going to hold that bomb in 2009 or 2010 or 2011, the question is when they will have the full knowledge," Shalom told a meeting of US Jewish community leaders in New York. "According to our people, security and intelligence, they are very, very close. It may be only six months before they will have that full knowledge."

Iran insists its nuclear program is purely civilian to make electricity. The United States and Europe suspect Tehran of seeking a weapons capability.
Oh sure – that’s why they need to develop complex and expensive centrifuge technology?

And the first sign we’ll get, if we do nothing? Odds on it’ll be mushroom cloud where Tel Aviv used to be.

‘But,’ the apologists shriek (and I won’t even address the maniacs who argue they should have nuclear weapons for the same reason), ‘why shouldn’t Iran have the nuclear technology Western nations have?’

Simple answer: because we don’t trust them.

So. . . what do we do?

Let him complain

Al-Qaeda's deputy leader has said for the first time the group carried out the 7 July suicide bombings in London, in which 52 people were killed. In a videotaped message aired on Arab television station al-Jazeera, Ayman al-Zawahri said al-Qaeda had the "honour" of carrying out the attacks.

Wait a few months for memories to fade, some local and regional muslim groups will be saying things like, we condemn these terrorist acts BUT, we're not sure it was Al-Qaeda that did it, there isn't any evidence, it needs to be proved in a court of law, who really is defined as an extremist, did you see that email floating around about jews not taking public transport in London.

Osama Bin Laden's lieutenant had previously praised the bombings and blamed them on the UK's foreign policy. On the new tape, he also criticised Afghanistan's parliamentary elections.

Yes the militants were not allowed to bomb and murder their way into power, how undemocratic?

Zawahri, shown wearing a turban and talking to someone off-screen, said the "blessed" London attacks were targeted at "the British Crusader's arrogance and against the American Crusader's aggression on the Islamic nation for 100 years". He also criticised the British government's plans to deport the radical Jordanian cleric Abu Qatada and nine other foreign nationals said to be a threat to UK security.

Yeah whats up with that, what's wrong with preaching hatred against the west? Where are their friends in the left? Its ok for them to ask infidels to leave Arab lands, but it's not ok for us to kick them out.

Plans to toughen the UK's anti-terror laws following the bombings showed "the dreadful colonial face of Britain", he said.

The left, civil libertarians and muslim groups (funny no one else was whining) were quick to point out, that the new laws in Australia would not curb terrorism and only make us a'Police State'. Well chief scumbag here is complaining that the terrorists in our midst will be colonized, enslaved and their freedoms to hate and kill will be curbed, and that is a good thing.

Be careful not to step in that.....

I happened to turn on the TV this morning and Laurie Oakes was interviewing ALP National President and general leftist scumbag, Barry Jones.

Now I wouldn’t have thought it possible but the rate of bullshit spewing from leftists just seems to be constantly increasing. Here are a few extracts from the interview (Full transcript available here)

LAURIE OAKES: Let's talk about the national interest. It's clear now, crystal clear isn't it, that Mark Latham would have been a disastrous Prime Minister.

BARRY JONES: Well you can't absolutely say that. I mean the point is that there's ..

Of course not. Just because he is a head case now, that doesn’t mean he was always a head case does it? Nooooo. All such serious psychological deficiencies develop in a matter of weeks…..

And that extract there isn’t even the first lot of bullshit in the interview. If I quoted all the bullshit spewed out by Jones I would end up quoting the entire article.

LAURIE OAKES: .... I mean, it's obvious — isn't it obvious that he could have gone off the rails as Prime Minister? And what would the party have done then?

BARRY JONES: Well, but we're looking expos facto. The point is if you look in the actual campaign itself — I mean I don't think we should rewrite history too much — if you look at the actual campaign itself, there was a pretty generally held view, for example, that in the one debate that he held with John Howard that he beat Howard, even though Howard was infinitely more experienced in public life, and had been Prime Minister for a long time. But Latham was seen to have done well.

In that early period, he was rating extraordinarily highly. I mean I must say, higher than I'd expected myself, at one point he was actually ahead of Howard as preferred leader.

So now we apparently can’t judge Latham on his outbursts since according to some leftist sycophants, he was polling well and was preferred PM, and so would have been good and nothing like he is now – what a load of horse shit. And as if to drive his horse shit home:

LAURIE OAKES: .... He did quite well in the campaign, there was a point at which people thought he could win the election. And if that had happened, Labor would have foisted this man upon the public as Prime Minister. I mean how can you ever live that down?

BARRY JONES: .... I don't necessarily think that we could learn from the diaries how he would have been, how he would have been as Prime Minister.

Laurie would have needed Wellington boots to walk out after that interview. Do leftists actually believe that shit? Well of course they do. If they didn’t believe bullshit like that, they wouldn’t be leftists in the first place. And a little further on Oakes asks him if the Labor party owes the public an apology and Jones again makes the assertion that “we don't know what kind of government a Latham Government would have been.”

That is why I hate leftists so much. They refuse to see things as they are and simply ignore anything that doesn’t fit their view. That is why there are still leftists I suppose.

After the misery communism inflicted on Russia, leftists were still in full support of it everywhere it spread to. Once it collapsed and the Kremlin archives were opened and it was discovered that communism was even worse than reported, and despite it ending up the same way EVERYWHERE it was inflicted, they still support it and are trying to inflict it upon us today.

LAURIE OAKES: .... But can I ask you, Latham's been criticised for attacking Kim Beazley, but you set the example didn't you? You'd been a Beazley critic saying Labor was a policy vacuum during Beazley's first five years as leader. And you describe Beazley as Labor's most conservative leader. You said Kim Beazley would be closer to John Howard than he would be to you. Do you still hold those views?

BARRY JONES: I think Beazley is becoming very impressive in his second period as Labor leader. You know, we've broken with tradition in a sense. Beazley's the first Labor leader to have been re-elected.

You should have seen the stunned look on Jones’ face before he spewed out that bullshit in reply. BWA HA HA HA HA HA! It was priceless. He was back pedalling so fast it was like he was attempting time travel. And then:

BARRY JONES: .... And when I make criticisms, it's really in the context of making constructive outcomes.

Of course. Likewise when I say all leftists should be tortured and executed for being the treasonous scum they are, I am really only saying it in the context of getting some constructive outcomes.

We obviously know how stupid he considers those on the left are, but how stupid does he think the rest of us are?

(cross-posted at The Asylum)

More bleat from the street

Yet another member of the fourth estate to finally admit that Australian's are fascist bumpkins, destined to wallow in an Orwellian nightmare of our own creation. Let's take at look at Terry Lane of 'The Age', and his disgusting, risible contribution towards political and social commentary in Australia. This is worth a detailed examination. Over to you Tezza.

'Out here in the wishy-washy left, we are optimists where human nature is concerned. We like to think that when we explain to the polloi that their personal liberty is under attack they will be outraged.'

Firstly, I don't need to have the bigger picture explained to me, you sanctimonious prick. Secondly, you over-estimate your level of influence on the 'hoi polloi'.

'You might think, as we like to do, that once people grasp that we now live in a country where the secret police can come calling in the wee hours to take us off for two weeks' interrogation, they will rise up in defence of their freedoms. And when they understand that this is a place where a disciple of Thoreau, Gandhi and King can be seized and deported for criticising a US corporation, they will demand an explanation from the powers that be. So it comes as a sobering shock when the polloi says: "So? Where's the problem?"

Scott Parkin could have been a peace-loving Buddhist, but he breached the terms and conditions of his visa and was actively campaigning to create a public disturbance. That's the sort of tourists we want around here. Not. The polloi couldn't give two bob over your hand-wringing protestations. Speaking of which, has anyone knocked at your door yet Terry?

'The penny drops. The polloi in all places - not just in Italy, Germany and Singapore - are natural fascists. Freedom makes us nervous. We crave order, security and conformity. Obedience is the primary virtue of the polloi, prized above liberty any day. After all, as the German polloi used to say of the Gestapo, "If you've got nothing to hide, then you've got nothing to fear."

Shouldn't that be the Gestapo to the polloi? Why should the Gestapo be worried about the polloi? What a convoluted analogy. As for your assertion that Australians are natural fascists, I counter with the following rebuttal. You sir, are not an Australian. How's your french accent going?

'The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) has published a snapshot of the polloi and it helps us to understand how governments can strip away our civil liberties without running into more than an editorial bleat and an occasional witty placard. When AuSSA asked people which institutions they trust, the defence forces came out on top, with 82 per cent professing confidence in the military. Coming in second in trustworthiness were the police.'

I'm not catching your drift here. You're heading towards insinuating that the Australian public SHOULDN'T trust the ADF or the police, aren't you? Would you prefer to see another profession at the top of the list? Journalists?

'Think about that for a minute. Most people have no contact with the military and know nothing about its operation or its ethos. Presumably, two sentiments are mixed up in this response - the romantic, Gallipoli, military-nationalist myth and the perception of the authoritarian, well-ordered, smartly uniformed, obedient army. It is more a Platonic ideal than a reality and as a concept it is fascist in its implications, whatever the organisational reality of the Australian Defence Force might be.'

Terry, you just stepped into the proverbial philosophical minefield. Do you know anyone in the ADF? Have you ever pulled on the baggy green and a helmet? Nope. Terry is a methodist minister by trade. Perhaps his sour grapes is about the polloi not trusting the clergy. The ADF has a much higher level of integrity, professionalism and sacrifice than most for a reason. The young men and women that join from the polloi, and their willingness to uphold their heritage.

'As for the police, there have been major inquiries into police corruption in three states. Two of those inquiries have resulted in major overhauls of police departments. In Victoria, not a day goes by without there being some new evidence of police corruption, moving Office of Police Integrity director George Brouwer on Thursday to call for harsher penalties for dishonest police. Still, 72 per cent of people trust the cops.'

The polloi need to ignore the police, and start taking matters into their own hands. Shoot the protestors. Arrest the dissidents. Can't trust the cops to do the job. Let us know your address Terry, we'll be around tonight for a 'chat'. Who's gonna stop us? The military? The cops? Can't trust 'em.

'Against the confidence expressed in the police is the low regard for courts and the legal system: 71 per cent of respondents have little or no confidence in the legal system. Putting these two figures together can only lead to the conclusion that the polloi would prefer a police force unrestrained by legal niceties. That is, after all, the definition of a police state - one in which the police are unanswerable to pesky lawyers and judges.'

Do you think it's got something to do with serial rapists having their sentences reduced? Or any number of crimes that are either unpunished or let through to the keeper with notional punishment orders? The convolution of the Family Court? Lawyers getting pay levels associated with Ronny Biggs. Civil libertarians going to outrageous lengths to protect those who would cause harm. No wonder people don't trust the legal system. Still, they believe in it more than journalists. That's a relief.

'Fifty-six per cent of people think the Federal Government has just the right amount of power, but 24 per cent would like it to have more or a lot more power. The survey was conducted in 2003 and since then the polloi's wish has been fulfilled. The Man of Steel now rules as absolute monarch, governing by fiat without need of explanation for his actions.'

The polloi have yet to see you strung up by your thumbs. Terry Lane should probably consider a move to a nation of people willing to rise up against the absolute monarchy as he's not getting too much support here. His heroic band of political knights are self-destructing. It's former leader has shone the glaring light of introspection on it and his activities. So why do the polloi elect the local left at state level but want to leave the running of the big issues to the right? As for where journalists and the clergy ranked on this study, you have to pay for the results, so I don't know. Perhaps Terry could let us know. I've written about Terry before. Go have a look at what other bile has spewed from his traitorous mouth.

Cross posted at Bastards Inc.

Kevin Rudd is eeeeeevil

And here's the conclusive proof:
KEVIN RUDD: Alex, I was very close to my Mum. She brought me up from the age of 11, she died the day before the election, she was buried a few days before.

[emphasis mine]
No, that quote is not taken out of context. You can read the whole thing if you want. Quentin George, the genius who stumbled upon this, says:
Either the incompetent ABC stuffed up a radio transcript, or Rudd just admitted to burying his mother alive....
I'll go with Rudd burying his mother alive, as a simple listen to the audio file shows it's no mistake on the ABC's part.

The true face of Labor and the Left.

As you are all no doubt aware, former Labor Party leader Mark Latham is about to publish his diaries.

His biography, released in June, caused much fuss amongst Latham's former party members for its open and honest description of the Labor party, such as calling the Premier of WA, the communist shitstain Geoff Gallup, a "Grade-A arsehole". His biography was also just a warm up to his diaries, in which he would tell us what he really thinks.

And so it has begun with Latham exposing just what a collection of filth and scum the Labor party really is. Sure there is talk of legal action from some of the Labor scum but it won't go anywhere - you watch. (Though it has been a few years since I took a law unit, I do believe that in slander and defamation cases, the truth is an absolute defence)

But what is more telling (yes - even more than Latham) about the Labor party (and the left in general) is their reaction to Latham and his diaries.

One of the radio news blurbs I have heard had some ALP members labelling him a "sleazy traitor." A former leader of the Labor party, someone whom they had all pinned their hopes on, comes out and tells the Australian voting public some honest truths about his party and they label him a traitor. For speaking the much-needed truth.

That says pretty much everything about the Left in general, doesn't it?

I, for one, am very much looking forward to reading these diaries. And am looking even more forward to witnessing the reactions of all the scum in the Labor Party and the Left in general.

Chrenkoff Bids Farewell

It is done. He told us a few weeks ago that this was going to happen. Happily, he is making the sacrifice because of the rewards of a promotion which unfortunately (for his readers) but understandably prefers that he not continue to blog. It is a relief for many of us, after having lost the Diplomad and, for a time, New Sisyphus.

I wrote the following farewell message to Art:

Art, your blog has been a beacon of hope for those of us who were treading the murky waters of MSM reality. The light you shone helped us see the path between Scylla and Charybdis, and like Odysseus' oarsmen we found our will to fight on.

May your journey continue to be an adventure, and may you keep inspiring those you come into contact with. And we will meet you again someday.

We'll miss you, Art. Don't be a stranger!

[Cross-posted at Between Worlds]

In the name of the holy goat

"Yesterday London and Madrid, tomorrow Los Angeles and Melbourne, Allah willing. And this time don't count on us demonstrating restraint or compassion. We are Muslims, we love peace, but peace on our terms. We love peace, but when the enemy violates that peace or prevents us from achieving it, then we love nothing better than the heat of battle, the echo of explosions and slitting the throats of the infidels."


So sayeth an American Muslim on a tape delivered to the ABC in the US. Timed to prey on those who have the four year anniversary of the airborne terrorist attacks on their minds, this incredibly turgid piece of propoganda serves to remind us of only one thing. These fucking idiots are certifiably insane. You wouldn't let a dog act like this. An academic from a US university had this to say on the matter.

'BERNARD REICH: My guess is this one isn't going to lead to anything, but it was an opportunistic effort because it was just prior to 9/11, and because he may well be trying to build his own credibility. And, to put it bluntly, while I find Los Angeles an appealing target, I haven't figured out what Melbourne is.

EDMOND ROY: Nevertheless, I suppose we have to take these things seriously?

BERNARD REICH: Well, well yes, but, and let me say the 'but' because it's contradictory but it says the same thing. We expected 9/11 credit-takers. We expected others to reference events to 9/11. There are quite a number of security forces worldwide that expected something to happen on 9/11, no matter how minor, to link it to 9/11. I don't find that that unusual. What I find odd is he is a relatively low-placed individual, and out of the mainstream of the leadership, and not given the task of bringing this to the world.You know, we've heard from Zawahiri a number of times this summer, it would've made better sense to hear from him again. So I find this kind of… why send the third-string cricket player if you've got the star of the team, and why… if he can get something to ABC, then why wouldn't the stars be able to do it even more easily and it would have more credibility?'

No credibility, and no point. If you called the bluff, hand-wringers would be castigating you. If you don't,it's seen as a sign of weakness. An accident of alliteration sees Melbourne as a terrorist target? I'd prefer to think that he was thinking about this Melbourne.

Cross posted at Bastards Inc.

Why We Must Stay in Iraq

The Middle East already has a democracy, its called Turkey, which shares borders with Syria and Iran. Arabs also have full access to U.S./European democracy thanks to satellite T.V. like Al Jazeera etc. What is so special about the paper democracy being created in Iraq?

One of many questions posed to Victor David Hanson, by leftists, haters and others who believe democracy is for sale in aisle 10 at the local supermarket, right next to freedom and peace, half price on Saturday afternoons between 2pm and 4pm*.

It's well worth the read.

* Only one per customer.

Pink Sheep, Grey Sheepdogs, and Big Bad Wolves

Bill Whittle has an interesting new way of looking at things in our post-post-modern world: Most people are sheep; some are sheepdogs; and some are wolves. The analogy is one that he received from an old soldier. Furthermore, Bill distinguishes between two main tribes, Pink and Grey:

The Pink Tribe is all about feeling good: feeling good about yourself! Sexually, emotionally, artistically – nothing is off limits, nothing is forbidden, convention is fossilized insanity and everybody gets to do their own thing without regard to consequences, reality, or natural law. We all have our own reality – one small personal reality is called “science,” say – and we Make Our Own Luck and we Visualize Good Things and There Are No Coincidences and Everything Happens for a Reason and You Can Be Whatever You Want to Be and we all have Special Psychic Powers and if something Bad should happen it’s because Someone Bad Made It Happen. A Spell, perhaps.

The Pink Tribe motto, in fact, is the ultimate Zen Koan, the sound of one hand clapping: EVERYBODY IS SPECIAL.

Then, in the other corner, there is the Grey Tribe – the grey of reinforced concrete. This is a Tribe where emotion is repressed because Emotion Clouds Judgment. This is the world of Quadratic Equations and Stress Risers and Loads Torsional, Compressive and Tensile, a place where Reality Can Ruin Your Best Day, the place where Murphy mercilessly picks off the Weak and the Incompetent, where the Speed Limit is 186,282.36 miles per second, where every bridge has a Failure Load and levees come in 50 year, 100 year and 1000 Year Flood Flavors.

The Grey Tribe motto is, near as I can tell, THINGS BREAK SOMETIMES AND PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE MY BRIDGE.

Of course, the world is not so easily categorized. Most of us are a mix of the two tribes. And I think one can take issue with some of Bill's tribe assignations. But the general concept is there, and it seems to make sense.

So the interesting thing is, what happens when you mix both metaphors? What you get are Pink sheep, Grey sheepdogs, and big bad wolves. And this is how they come to view the world:

[T]o say we are responsible for the terrorists in the world is a way to say we can control this wolf. If we believe we made him, then that means we control him. We can unmake him. Such a worldview appeals to the left, because it gives them Godlike Mental Powers. All we have to do is act differently and he will go away. It’s complete moral cowardice, of course – but it’s understandable cowardice. It’s denial, because if all the sins are ours then all we must do is repent and the wolf will go away.

But that’s not what the wolf says. The wolf is not interested in what we do. He does not spare little lambs because they rub up against his leg and make cooing sounds. The wolf wants to swallow us whole. He wants the fight. He wants the war and the conflict. And he will keep on huffing and puffing until one of three things happen: We show him our throat, for him to rip out; or we convert to Islam and become part of his Caliphate; or we head out into the forest with a shotgun and blow his fucking head off.

I made my decision by about 9:30 eastern on September 11th, 2001. I have never regretted it.

Indeed.

[Cross-posted at Between Worlds]

One day in September

Four years ago, terrorists believing they were serving a religious goal, hijacked airliners in the US and crashed them into New York's World Trade Centre buildings, the Pentagon, and into a field in the middle of nowhere. On that fateful day, the world held it's collective breath, wondering what the retaliation would be. For they knew there would be.

I watched the television all night, dumbstruck at the images unfolding in front of me. It was like a dream, and yet I was awake. I knew that my life changed at that point, my view of politics, religion, my employment. It was the ONLY thing in people's lives around the majority of the world for some time. On this anniversary of this attack, Americans will focus on what they have lost and what they have gained over the last four years. They found their mates standing beside them, and found others wanting. Nations that were formerly antagonistic have now realised that an uneasy peace is the most prudent position. No longer will outright hostility be countenanced, the slights go un-noticed.

The Bush doctrine of for or against is anathema to those who seek a more nuanced position, and they are unable to understand the threat that Islam poses to western style societies. Four years ago the Middle Ages climbed aboard an airliner and demanded to be heard. Let's make sure we listen to their message, and be very clear about what it is they want. If the death by a thousand paper cuts is not stopped, within several generations, this too will be the fodder of those who attempt to deny or change history to suit their own goals. As the Japanese refused to admit their culpability to war time aggression, so too does the Muslim world view their more radical adherents.

Make them face the truth. They are against us, and no amount of sematics or nuance will change that fact. Remember what was done in the name of their faith.

Cross posted at Bastards Inc.

Oh - finally!

The leftoid feminists are getting a tad antsy at the idea of a bit of women’s liberation, Islamic style (cop that, she-dog). So how long did it take these twits to work out how nice, kind and tolerant Islamofascism really is?

Sharia move in Canada draws anger

Women's rights activists are to march in 11 cities in Canada and Europe against plans to allow Sharia law tribunals in the province of Ontario. Islamic law could be used to settle civil and marital disputes under a proposal made by former Ontario Attorney General Marion Boyd.
Well, they can protest all they like. But over there in the land of the big red leaf, I wouldn’t hold your breath. Au contraire - I'd get ready for some good old Islamic justice, guys and gals. It appears it’s coming to town square (or similarly suitable venue for public stoning, dismemberment or execution) near you. . .
Opponents of Sharia law say allowing Islamic tribunals could lead to discrimination against women.
Could? Oh, dear God, laughing – choking. . .

A protest march is scheduled for Thursday in Toronto, which is the capital of Canada's most populous and multi-cultural province.

Other Canadian marches are due in Ottawa, Waterloo, Montreal and Victoria, while in Europe there will be rallies in Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Stockholm, Goteborg, London and Paris.

Michele Vianes, president of the Paris-based group Regards de Femmes, says political Islam does not recognise secular law.
Well, you got that right, Michele. Unfortunately for our maple-leafed friends, however, former Ontario Attorney General Marion Boyd is ‘one of those’: a gibbering pencil neck with an eye for a spot of societal self-immolation. So, just for Marion, I’ve decided to have a go at the Canadian national anthem (Ozark’s version; push off Buchan and McCulloch).

Here it is:

O Canada!
O Canada, you’ll take it up the tail
O Canada, O Canada, your freedoms we’ll impale
Not really your home and anyone else’s land
Just shut your gob or you’ll get the back of our hand
O Canada!
O Canada, you’ll take it up the tail (and like it). . .

Reason #459957 why leftists are worthless

I know others have already commented on this but anyway...

Yesterday, there I was working away when I got this CNN Breaking News Brief (something I signed on for Sept 11 news back in 2001 and I just haven't been arsed to unsubscribe)

From: BreakingNews@MAIL.CNN.COM [mailto:BreakingNews@MAIL.CNN.COM]
Subject: CNN Breaking News

-- New Orleans mayor issues order authorizing the forced removal of
people refusing to leave the city.

Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com and watch FREE video.

So what we have here is indisputable proof that the mayor is to blame for the human disaster. If he has the power to order it now, it begs the question why he didn't order it, oh I don't know, say, BEFORE KATRINA HIT?

That is a question for all you leftist wankers out there. Why did he abandon his citizens and allow them to drown and subject them to the violence that followed the flooding (which was adequately enabled by the Democrat governor? Why did he not force them out for their own good? (as leftist scum are always suggesting that things should be forced upon us for our own good)

Apart from the fact he is a typical leftist coward who issues an evac order and then runs away instead of making sure his citizens get to safety, do any leftist scum out there have any answers?

Nagin makes Mayor Quimby look like Rudy Giuliani.

Global Warming, or Global Lying?

This has to be one of the best 'Bush Causes Hurricanes' blow aparts I've read so far:

Hurricane of lies

OF COURSE, it's George Bush's fault. Why miss this chance to blame someone you already hate? So see them line up to kick him over the devastation of New Orleans, and the delays in bringing relief. See some so insane with loathing that they blame him even for Hurricane Katrina itself. . .

Go read the rest of Andrew Bolt's column. As suspected, Mayor Nagin had a hell of a lot more to do with this monumental screw up than Bush ever did.

Fisking Sharon Beder

Yet another university lecturer walks into an argument about tax cuts, claims that Ronald Reagan's tax cuts were all bad, and yet again there are few facts to support this claim.
MALCOLM Turnbull argues that we should lower the top tax rate because it reduces the incentive of high-income earners to work hard and invest in productive activities.
This is a promising start. There are no factually incorrect statements here. However, her good run doesn't continue.
If you thought the argument sounded familiar, you're right: it is a rehash of supply-side economics which has been in disrepute since Ronald Reagan tried it in the 1980s.
When you don't agree with something, it's a rehash. However, I'm sure bringing back free university would be considered a revival.
The results of that experiment discredited the theory once and for all, except among diehards who use it as a convenient rationale for tax cuts for the rich.
It did? That's why there's still a large number of so-called Reagan Democrats, and a huge number of people using forms of supply-side economics - like John Howard, who's continually brought in tax cuts for the rich, and watched the benefits for this country roll in.
Reagan's experiment assumed higher incomes resulting from tax cuts would be spent by entrepreneurs on investment that would increase production and create jobs. As a result more taxes would be collected, despite being paid at a lower rate.
Which is what they did.
This was because profits would be higher and more workers would be paying taxes.
More workers indeed - unemployment peaked at 10.8% in November 1982, just after Reagan's second budget, and by the end of his final budget, it had more than halved at 5.3%.
Supply-siders argued that taxes and regulations raise the cost of entrepreneurship, reducing the returns that can be made from economic ventures.
They don't argue this - this is a fact.
This reduces the willingness of entrepreneurs to take risks, causing the economy to stagnate.
This is the argument. It appears mixing up an argument with the facts is a common tactic of the delusional.
Supply-side arguments did not have much credence among economists but they were politically popular among higher-income earners and businesses for obvious reasons. It was primarily promoted by a group of journalists at The Wall Street Journal. Other advocates included Irving Kristol, editor of the neo-conservative journal The Public Interest, some congressional staffers, a few consulting firms and many conservative think tanks.
But it worked. However, you can just tell who's about to be quoted when it comes to economists that don't agree with Reagan...
Looking back on the supply-side era, The New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has pointed out that supply-side economics had been supported by "a handful of wealthy cranks" and "an impressive-looking array of think tanks, research institutes, foundations, and so on", which are in turn funded by the rich and powerful.
Yes, Krugman's against it. So it must be good. This guy has been listing Krugman's errors for years, and it's a huge, huge bank of errors. Krugman's made some hilarious claims over recent years, including that Donald Luskin stalked him in person once (he didn't), and that a full manual recount in 2000 would have made Gore President (it wouldn't). Even a public editor at Krugman's own paper said that he liked to distort and destroy facts and statistics to suit his agenda.
Similarly, Sidney Blumenthal, in his book The Rise of the Counter-Establishment, argued that supply-side economics "travelled from lunatic panacea to official catechism in a few short years". It had popular appeal because of its "have your cake and eat it too" message. Blumenthal said "the gnostic supply-siders made claims to knowing the secret of endless wealth: the magic of the market place, a theory for the multitude of go-getters, promising that the cornucopia was bottomless".
"Sidney Blumenthal, a former senior adviser to President Clinton, is author of The Clinton Wars". Heh.
This optimism helped Reagan to get elected, despite George Bush snr labelling supply-side theories "voodoo economics" when he was a rival candidate for presidential nomination in the 1980 primaries.
And of course, Reagan's huge landslide had nothing to do with the sheer incompetence of Jimmy Carter. Nope. Not at all. Let's just talk about Reagan peddling eeeeeeeeevil lies to AmeriKKKa.
Reagan's campaign advertisements promised tax cuts that would make everyone better off. The ads said: "Ronald Reagan believes that when you tax something, you get less of it. We're taxing work, savings, and investment like never before. As a result, we have less work, less savings, and less invested."
And people were better off - between 1982 and 1989, the median family income rose 12% in real dollars, and average household income up in across all five quintiles when measured in real dollars. Yet despite the facts, the left-wing lunacy is about to shine through, as the article continues.
Supply-side economics failed to deliver.
Wait for it. Wait for it. This'll be a good explanation, surely.
Reagan's tax cuts did not lead to higher incomes, greater economic growth, increased employment or increased savings. Therefore less taxes were collected and budget deficits increased with a tripling of the national debt.
Where do we start with this one?

1) We've already established that incomes were higher across the board. Wrong on count one.
2) Real economic growth averaged 3.2 per cent under Reagan - higher than during the Ford/Carter period, or the Bush 41/Clinton period. The economy increased in size by almost a third under Reagan, and thus economic growth was greater. Wrong on count two.
3) We've already established that the unemployment rate was cut in half between Reagan's second budget starting and his final budget ending. Wrong on count three.
4) The savings rate actually did fall under Reagan - she got one right!
5) Taxes received in real dollars went up dramatically after the tax cuts were passed. Wrong on count five.
6) Congress controls spending; anyone who has done anything on American politics at high school level should know this. Is this wrong? I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt here.
7) The national debt doubled, not tripled. Wrong on count seven.

So in Beder's "disprove-Reaganomics-super-sentence", she only gets one claim out of six right, and she makes a possible error in her efforts to blame Reagan. Oops?
Reagan's budget director, David Stockman, later told The Atlantic Monthly the 1981 tax cut was a "Trojan Horse to bring down the top [tax] rate" for the wealthy.
Which just so happened to also cut tax rates for everyone else. Amazing that.
Supply-side theory was a reformulated version of the "trickle-down" theory that if the rich are richer they will invest more and the extra wealth created will "trickle down" to the poor. Describing this theory J.K. Galbraith said: "If one feeds the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows."
It's good that she resorts to stating what an idea is all about, and we'll forgive the disparaging remark. But...
However the reality was that 80 per cent of the workforce experienced a decline in real wages after Reagan was elected, while the wealthiest 20 per cent of families had spectacular increases in wealth - 100 per cent increases for the top 1 per cent and 30 per cent increases for the top 5 per cent.
Wrong again. We've already established the errors in the first half of this claim here, but as for the second half, it looks fairly accurate to me. However, when everyone gets richer, that puts the rich getting richer too into perspective.
There is no reason to believe that tax cuts for the wealthy in Australia will benefit anyone but the rich.
Other than the Reagan years, of course.
It is the latest bid to destroy progressive taxation and with it any lingering ideal of Australian egalitarianism, in order to line the pockets of those who already have large incomes.
Yawn. You can't make a grand argument, and then back it up with distorted facts, outright lies and blatant falsehoods. It's very rare that there's a column worse than Alan Ramsey's in the Herald, but this is it.

(Cross-posted to The House Of Wheels.)

Sean Penn: Typical Leftist Shitbag

Just have a read of this:

Sean Penn's rescue bid sinks
From correspondents in New Orleans
05sep05

EFFORTS by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina foundered badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak.

Penn had planned to rescue children waylaid by Katrina's flood waters, but apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch.

The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.

When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded New Orleans street.

Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help."

With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?"



Want to know the kicker in this? Have a look at that last paragraph again....


With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?"


This shows just what self serving pieces of shit leftists really are. They have no interest in helping anybody but themselves, and will only help others when it helps themselves. It was more important for Sean Penn to get a photo of him saving someone than it was to actually save anyone.

As an example, how many families of US troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq has President Bush met with? 50? 100? 500? 1000? I have no idea because he doesn't allow cameras in with him when he meets with them. He is there to talk with them and comfort them. That is a fantastic photo op for some positive publicity. The most powerful man on the planet taking time out from his busy schedule to meet with the families most affected by casualties of war.

But he doesn't exploit their pain for his personal glory, unlike this piece of shit Sean Penn, (and every other leftist on the planet). Meeting with the families, talking with them, and quite possibly giving them an opportunity to vent at him is why he is there. And he let's them do it without shoving a camera in their faces to show everyone what a nice and caring guy he is.

We saw it after 9/11. Ignoring his Secret Service agents and strolling into the rubble, shaking hands with the rescuers, comforting victims, none of it with any regard to the press who were on hand. And this is NOTHING we will EVER see from anybody on the Left.

Sean Penn is one of the most disgusting and vile people on the planet (even more so than the "regular" left) and if there was any sort of justice in this world, he will die in a most horrible way, much like many of the people he is seeking to exploit have seen relatives and friends die.

(cross-posted at The Asylum)

Reap what you sow

There's an important point to be made in this story. Australians trapped in New Orleans are demanding the Australian government fix their problem. Get them out. Of a flooded city in another country, where the local authorities are finding it difficult to do the same. Australian consular staff in other cities in Australia are to drop everything and immediately rescue them because of an accident of birth. This misplaced faith in the omnipotence and responsibility of government is indicative of a wider attitude.

What responsibility DOES the government have over private citizen safety in other countries? At what point is it expected that as free willed adults you can be expected to look after yourself? What do they want to be done from the other side of the world. The Foreign Minister has indicated that authorities in New Orleans have stymied efforts to determine the status of Australian citizens. Admittedly, they do have the little problem of 50,000 plus of their own citizens to be concerned about, why a group of whining tourists believe they should have special privileges reflects an attitude of entitlement endemic in wider society.

"I pay tax. I want help. Now."

"I can't understand why our government didn't come to try and get us out," Brisbane man Anthony "Bud" Hopes told reporters. An unnamed young woman among the group told the Ten Network: "I might just have a crazy imagination but I honestly thought that someone was coming to get us. I really had that much faith in the Australian government."


Either mentally or physically unprepared for this calamity,nonetheless, the attitude of young fit Australian men and women is concerning. I would have reasonably expected Australians to be volunteering their services to the elderly, the young and the frail, not park their asses and whine for help like the rest of the city. The lesson has now been reinforced.

Don't expect governments of any political persuasion to assist you. Help yourselves. Prepare for the worst, expect the best. If they had phones and travel insurance, why didn't they ring a bus company from further away and charter it themselves? Why were they there in the first place? Sitting on your ass while the world comes crashing down around you and complaining that the government didn't save you is not going to cut it. This misplaced faith in the power of politics has let them down, hopefully all they have wounded is their pride. They may not be so lucky next time.

Cross posted at Bastards Inc.

The blame game

Today's must read? A fairly conclusive list of all the parties, groups, people, companies and races blamed for Hurricane Katrina. The best ones include:

Halliburton. Jews. Abortionists. Homosexuals. The Iraq war.

They're all blamed. And no, it's not a joke. There's plenty more at the link.

The difference between the left and right

Hurricane Katrina has shown something that many have known for a long time: any situation, no matter how tragic, horrible or bad, is a reason for lefties to bash Bush, and feel negative about America. The Politburo Diktat has linked to a variety of pieces on the left and right sides of the blogosphere, showing their reactions to Hurricane Katrina. Sadly, it's not overly surprising that the majority of left-wing blogs see the most important issue as bashing Bush, and the majority of right-wing blogs see the most important issue as raising relief money. There's similar comments made at The Right Wing Nuthouse.

But it's not just in the blogs. The mainstream media political leanings can be found by working out how positive or negative their coverage is. Whether it's newspapers in New York, or Fox and CNN, the positive/hopeful coverage is coming from the conservative side. Granted, there's not a lot of positive news in a major disaster, but by only focusing on the negative and complaining about some guy called BusHitler, you're not helping. You're merely turning the victims of Katrina into political pawns, while doing nothing to improve their situation. No wonder the modern left are renowned for their compassion.

But it's not just in the blogs, and in the media. It's average everyday left-wing blog readers who gave the rabidly anti-Bush candidate Paul Hackett over US$400,000 in fundraising in an attempt to win an almost unwinnable seat - yet can't find much over a third of that to support the poor African-Americans that Bush is supposedly neglecting. The Daily Kos gets more readers than Instapundit, Little Green Footballs, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt, Power Line, Polipundit, Captain's Quarters, Tim Blair combined, and raises a lot more money for political campaigns than those blogs, yet is strangely missing here. The conservative side has managed to drum up almost US$700,000 for Katrina relief, but it's not really about who gives more.

It's about priorities. The left seem to think that throwing their money into political campaigns is more valuable than helping disaster victims. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But the left can't say that they care about the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and Bush doesn't, when they put helping the mostly Democrat-voting people of New Orleans down at the bottom of their list of things to do.

(Cross-posted to The House Of Wheels.)

Thank God For The Heroes

A real American hero, twenty year old Jabbar Gibson, who took it upon himself to grab the keys to a school bus and drive a busload of folks 13 hours to safety.

Gibson drove the bus from the flooded Crescent City, picking up stranded people, some of them infants, along the way. Some of those on board had been in the Superdome, among those who were supposed to be evacuated to Houston on more than 400 buses Wednesday and today. They couldn't wait.

The group of mostly teenagers and young adults pooled what little money they had to buy diapers for the babies and fuel for the bus.

. . .

'I feel good to get out of New Orleans,' said Demetrius Henderson, who got off the bus with his wife and three children. Many of those around him alternated between excited, cranky and nervous, clutching suitcases or plastic garbage bags of clothes.

They looked as bedraggled as their grueling ride would suggest: 13 hours on the commandeered bus driven by a 20-year-old man. Watching bodies float by as they tried to escape the drowning city. Picking up people along the way. Three stops for fuel. Chugging into Reliant Park, only to be told initially that they could not spend the night.

. . .

After arriving at the Astrodome at about 10:30 p.m., however, they initially were refused entry by Reliant officials who said the aging landmark was reserved for the 23,000 people being evacuated from the Louisiana Superdome.

'Now, we don't have nowhere to go' Gibson said. 'We heard the Astrodome was open for people from New Orleans. We ain't ate right, we ain't slept right. They don't want to give us no help. They don't want to let us in.'

. . .

After about 20 minutes of confusion and consternation, Red Cross officials announced that the group of about 50 to 70 evacuees would be allowed into the Astrodome.
God bless the man.

From the Houston Chronicle.

Of goats and geiger

The modern age and the middle age have met with startling contrast in Iran. A country with history spanning thousands of years, in todays brief temporal interlude, the theocracy currently pulling the levers appear determined to press ahead with their plans to spin the bejeesus out of some uranium and head on down the radioactive road.

'Iran has failed fully to reveal its secret nuclear programme and has produced tons of chemicals for uranium enrichment in defiance of international demands, the United Nations atomic watchdog said yesterday in a report that could provoke political and economic sanctions. The document issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency said inspectors had been unable to resolve key questions about whether Iran was seeking nuclear weapons.'

The determination of Iran to pursue it's own nuclear defence is of concern to the majority of western nations, not least of which is it's often alarming strategic alliances with forces hostile to democracies. An Iran equipped with nuclear weaponry would be cause for Israel to potentially pre-empt another combined Arab assault. In the words of the great philosopher Damocles, not good. It's not like we haven't heard a similar story about a Middle Eastern nation with visions of nuclear grandeur that hid it's research and development from world view.

'Mohammed ElBaradei, its director general, wrote that since the IAEA "is not yet in a position to clarify some important outstanding issues after two and a half years of intensive inspections and investigation, Iran's full transparency is indispensable and overdue".

Moreover, he said the IAEA was "still not in a position to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran".

Moey, my good man, here's a thought. Just hold up a picture of this and I'm sure you will get their undivided attention. This issue is not far from coming to a head. UN economic sanctions? Piffle. Trade restrictions? Bah! With friends like Russia and China, who needs enemies.

Now, where did I leave that goat?

Cross posted at Bastards Inc

Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day

Over at my blog, annika's journal, i'm participating in the Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day. i've selected Catholic Charities for hurricane relief donation. Here's why i like them.

Louisiana is heavily Roman Catholic and i expect that many victims will rely on the Church for all sorts of help.

The Catholic Church is 2000 years old, it ain't going anywhere.

Catholic Charities emphasizes long term recovery aid, and this disaster recovery will take a long time.
While local agencies along the Gulf Coast anticipate that they will be provide some type of emergency assistance in their communities, Catholic Charities' niche in disaster relief is to provide long-term recovery work. In fact, Catholic Charities agencies in Florida are still providing services to help people recover from last year's devastating hurricanes.

Based on past disasters, possible long-term services that Catholic Charities may provide include temporary and permanent housing, direct assistance beyond food and water to get people back into their homes, job placement counseling, and medical and prescription drug assistance.
i trust Catholic Charities more than the Red Cross or United Way, whom i believe skim off the top worse than a mob run casino.

Finally, Catholic Charities is a separate entity from local Catholic archdioceses here in the U.S., and therefore there's no danger that my money might possibly be skimmed to pay for any scandal settlements. i would be uncomfortable donating through my own local parish's collection basket for that reason.

You don't have to donate to my chosen charity, but i'd encourage you not to wait if you haven't helped out yet. Pick a charity from N.Z. Bear's or Instapundit's list and do what you can today.

Technorati tags: flood aid, Hurricane Katrina