Who Are We Fighting For ?

On March 20th, in Florida. Pastor Terry Jones conducted a mock trail of the Koran "for crimes against humanity" and set it ablaze. Few bothered to notice. But Hamid Karzai did.

On March 24th, this president of Afghanistan, the West's ratbag ally in the war with even worse ratbags, ( al-Qaida and the Taliban ) , condemned this "crime against Islam and the entire Muslim nation," called on the United States to bring Jones to justice and demanded "a satisfactory response to the anger of over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world."

Thus Karzai made sure his countrymen knew what happened 10,000 miles away and after Friday prayers in Mazer-e-Sharif, a mob, further inflamed by imans descended on the U.N. compound. When they left, seven U.N. employees lay dead, two of them beheaded! Not one country told them that to respond with irrational violence against people who were not involved with the burning is just savagery. And here we are sending our troops to fight in a dead-shit country to save medieval dead-shits from another bunch of fanatical dead-shits. Who and what are we fighting for?

These killers are monstrous Muslim scum. They have assassinated innocent people who were in their country to help with protection and support. And yet instead of calling them monstrous bastards and demanding that Islamic leaders stop inciting and approving such behavior, Western governments and media elites are blaming not the murderers and rioters, but the man behind the Koren-burning. This assumed that the Muslims who were rioting and killing had no control over their reactions and this could not be held accountable for them: according to misguided leftists, it is the West's responsibility to make sure the Islamic world behaves in a civilized manner. Oh Please!! How paternalistic and ethnocentric of those most committed to multiculturalism and will appease at any price.

Obama and Ban Ki-Moon found the burning of the Koran distasteful, as I do. But that was why they should have stood up for Terry Jones. Obama could have said: "While I disapprove of this Koren-burning, in America we believe that freedom of expression is a fundamental bulwark against tyranny and the hallmark of a truly FREE SOCIETY, and it requires us to put up with things we don't like without responding with violence, like you assholes." He could, in short, have used Jones' barbecued Koran as a teaching tool to demonstrate why free societies are preferable to archaic Sharia states. But instead, he, Ki-Moon and the "lame-stream" media effectively reinforced the principle that violent intimidation works, instead of telling these "rabid dogs" to grow up and act like civilized people. These Muslims are demanding that free people change to the way they behave so instead of only getting fleas we'll be getting a case of rabies as well! Not likely!

The Way I See it....everyone in the world is so busy condemning Terry Jones that they have forgotten about freedom of expression and why it is so important to reinforce even when we find the expression detestable---indeed, especially in such cases. And so, if we continue down this path, one thing is certain: That which is not understood or valued will not be protected and so it will be lost.

Those who appease and censor themselves today to keep from offending Muslims may wish in the the not-to-distant future that they had stood up more robustly for their freedom of speech when it was threatened. But by then, when they're beheaded, there will be no chance for them to get that word out.

U.S. Pollies See the Light !

How many bureaucrats does it take to screw in a light bulb? None...if that bulb is a traditional incandescent bulb. That's because back in 2007 the government passed a law that effectively bans traditional incandescent light bulbs starting in 2012. This is unfortunately true for Australia as well.

This light bulb-banning law was another one of those good intentions foisted upon us by the "watermelons" that now many people don't think is turning out so good. They don't like the light given off by these compact fluorescent light bulbs. They are annoyed that these bulbs can't be used on a Dimmer Switch. And to add insult-to-injury they cost a lot more, making the idea of saving money a farce. The pie-in-the-sky environmentalists who seem to be against anything that even hints of being poisonous, totally ignore the fact that the amount of mercury in one bulb is enough to contaminate up to 6,000 gallons (22,712 liters) of water beyond safe drinking levels. If you break one, you should rush to open up the windows and keep animals and children out of the room. Wear gloves as you delicately put broken pieces in a separate bag and vacuum carefully or call a HAZMAT crew. Wonderful isn't it?

A political-advocacy group in the United States, called Freedom Action (including some Federal Senators) recently launched a campaign to repeal the ban in the incandescent bulbs. The question they ask is WHY should a select few politicians four years ago be able to tell hundreds of millions of people what light bulbs are best for them? Especially when it's been shown that all this conversion won't make a hell of lot of difference to global warming. They have introduced a bill aptly called the Better Use of Light Bulbs (the BULB Act) that would repeal the 2007 Energy Law that would let the light of incandescent shine brightly once again.

The Way I See It....people should have a choice. I think it's fine if someone wants to fill his home or business with the light from the new bulbs. I also think it is fine if someone wants to buy an old-fashioned bulb because it works better for him or her. If left alone, the best bulb will win its rightful standing in the market place.

Eight Myths of a Carbon Tax

Yesterday I posted the shocking news about Julia Gillard's Labor Government's strong willingness to push a Carbon Tax on Australian businesses thereby negatively affecting all Australians with a sharp rise in the cost of essential goods and services. Today I hope to clarify for the uninformed why the Carbon Tax is punitive and impractical.

Firstly, the greatest Myth, constantly reiterated by Gillard, is that if we lead the world in carbon pricing the rest of the world will follow. Julia's kidding herself. Australia produces 1.5% of the world's CO2, China and America account for 40%. A 5% reduction (as proposed) would be cancelled out by as little as a 0.3% increase in China's emissions.

Secondly, the Myth that we have to lead the world because we are a carbon-based economy and will be more affected when the world introduces carbon pricing. The reality is that our carbon-based economy is one of our main competitive advantages. To lead on a carbon tax puts our industry at a serious disadvantage against our competitors. Besides a carbon tax on imports from countries without CO2 pricing is unworkable.

Another Myth says if we introduce the tax now it will give industry time to adapt. Industry needs years to make the investment to meet the new environmental constraints. Planning approval alone can take four or more years. The logic of starting a carbon tax in barely 12 month's time has not been thought through; five years would barely be enough.

Myth Number 4 is that Big Business should have known a carbon tax was coming and should've been prepared. Well...most of our coal-fired power stations were built and owned by state governments. The taxpayer is the largest single owner with 36% in Victoria, 54% in NSW and 67% in Queensland. The taxpayers and foreign investors virtually will lose equity without substantial compensation. Indeed, CO2 trading in Europe, the obvious precedent scheme, was accompanied by the issue of close to 100% free permits to the power generators for the first decade. Without compensation there will be a dangerous level of risk for long-term investment in Australia. Good-bye economic growth and stability.

Here's Myth Number 5: it says we are morally obligated to lead the way because we generate a larger proportion of CO2 a head of population. Yes...we do, but there are good reasons for this. We have a significant agricultural sector and are a large exporter of beef and lamb, which are CO2 emitters. Given the size of the country, our transport consumption is higher than most of the densely settled economies we ship to. Exports contribute to more than 30% of Australia's carbon emissions. If we want to cut emissions sharply, should we stop exporting?

The sixth Myth that the carbon tax will hit the so called 1000 BIG POLLUTERS and consumers will be protected. In the end the consumer will always pay. The four Bullshit-Artists in the photo above know that if the cost is not passed on, trade exposed industry in particular will either fail to survive (and jobs lost), or move elsewhere (loss of jobs again). The concept of charging the big emitters and passing the proceeds back to the consumer is fatally flawed.

Then there is the Myth #7 that renewable energy can replace coal and gas-fired energy production without substantial cost to the home consumer or businesses. Putting aside the serious issues of reliability, availability and transmission, the cost of all the available renewables, such as wind and solar is far higher than coal. And still nuclear energy is stupidly ignored. I plan on exposing the renewable fairytale in future postings.

And last but not least, Myth Number 8 says that a carbon tax or ETS will force the same BIG POLLUTERS to invest in alternative technologies that will create jobs. The naive expectation that investors who have seen their investment seriously impaired by a carbon tax will race to invest in new high-cost technologies is illogical. Banks won't lend to these impaired incumbents as they have seen a number of European countries enthusiastically embrace renewable installations and found they didn't create the volume of new jobs their millions of Euros were buying. Spain is one example of the false promise of Green technology that lead to bankrupting the country.

The Way I See It....Julia Gillard and her gang-of-four know full well the consequences of allowing the Climate Change fraud to be perpetrated on the Australian people. The general public are beginning to see that with Australia's meager contribution to the so-called rise in "dangerous" CO2 world-wide, any showing off to the world what "good scouts" we are to sacrifice our economic wellbeing and lifestyle is too costly. No...if the Vikings in 900AD could cope with being 3 degrees hotter than we are today I'm sure we and our air conditioning can make a good go of it as well.

Carbon Tax Shock Downunder!

Australians were shocked yesterday to see how the real impact of Prime Minister, Julia Gillard's leaked Carbon Tax proposal will hit their home budgets. This is the same ass-kissing-Greens Laborite who lied when she said she wasn't going to bring in a Carbon Tax during her election campaign and then tried to talk the United State's President Obama, at last month's visit, into joining her in implementing this no-win, tax. Thankfully the US Congress isn't buying it

Australian households face price rises of $863 a year - $16.60 a week - for essentials including electricity, gas, petrol and food under the Federal Government's tax. This doesn't factor in small business people's expenses. Secret Treasury documents revealed that these figures are based on a tax of $30 a tonne and were prepared on February 1. If the tax on petrol is excluded the price for households is ONLY $608 a year - $11.70 a week. For the tax to cut our emissions by the Government's target, petrol and farm emissions will later have to be included and the $30 a tonne must certainly rise, in all likelihood to $80 a tonne!!!

A week ago, before this revelation hit-the-fan, our newly appointed climate commissioner, Warmist-Fanatic-at-Large, Tim Flannery was in a Washington, D.C. newspaper. He tried to sway politicians to see the "logic" in a Carbon Tax. Mr Flannery is only a zoologist and author of a book on climate change and compares skeptics of global warming to "'flat Earth believers." But he made an amazing point that most global warming alarmists gloss over when he threw down this lightening bolt in an interview: "Even if every country in the world cuts emissions today, global temperatures are not likely to drop for about a thousand years because the 'system' is overburdened with CO2 and its absorption only happens slowly." Of course he still ignores that fact that CO2 only comprises .0038% of our atmosphere and that temperatures were 3 degrees WARMER in 900 AD when the Vikings were running around in short pants and enjoying their new found Greenland.

The stunned interviewer said: "That doesn't seem like a good deal...surely someone must have done the sums that for all these billions of dollars we're spending on renewable programs and pushing carbon caps that it's got to have a consequence in terms of cutting the world's temperature by a fair amount...right?'' Flannery responded: "It's going to be slight."

The Way I See It....a thousand years is a long time to wait for results for the economy-killing trillions going to be spent in the next few years. I find it hard to believe that Julia and her idiot Climate Minister Greg Combet continue to give credence to the smug Bob Brown's Greens agenda (see photo) and other warmist non-experts as Flannery and their stuffed-shirt economist (promoted to chief adviser) Ross Garnaut. Australia has three major climate scientists in residence that the Labor government can ask for factual advice but foolishly ignores them, all to the future determent of the Australian people and their economy unless the majority of Parliamentarians come to their senses and stop its passage in its tracks. One wag has suggested there should be an appropriately named "ass-hole tax" for Parliamentarians so they can personally feel the effects of a tax burden. I'm sure Bob Brown and his boyfriend will "end-up" in the higher bracket as excess users.

A Glowing Report on Radiation

With the terrible earthquake and resulting tsunami that have devastated Japan, the resultant damage to an aged Nuclear Power Plant facility (built in 1971) has over-shadowed the human carnage with frightful warnings of released radiation. Being true-to-form, the media are having a field-day drawing unrealistic comparisons with Chernobyl, a China Syndrome or atomic-like explosion. Panic is almost seen in the streets, blah, blah, blah. Even the expert "talking heads" they bring on TV so far haven't mentioned that these Nuclear Plants were old Generation #2 models. The new Generation #5 plants, now being ordered by over 20 countries, are designed to be impervious to tsunamis, earthquakes, missile attacks and loss of coolant (using a no-fail gravity feed system) and yet there is not one word about this. Why kill a good horror story with some real perspective by highlighting many of these marvelous improvements. China has ordered 65 of these new, state-of-the-art reactors. Unfortunately, the demonetization of anything Nuclear has brain-washed the public.

The good news is that anyone exposed to excess radiation from nuclear power plants is now probably much less likely to get cancer. Yes I know this seems counter intuitive because of media hysteria for the past 20 years trying to convince Australians & Americans that ANY dose is bad. There is however, burgeoning evidence that radiation operates as a sort of cancer "vaccine". The scientific name for this phenomenon is called hormesis.

As early as 1983, it was found that an apartment complex in Taiwan was constructed with massive amounts of Cobalt 60 in the concrete. After 16 years, the building's 10,000 occupants developed only five cases of cancer. These people had been exposed to radiation nearly five times the maximum "safe" level, but they ended up with a cancer rate 96% lower than the general population.

In 1991, a $10 million, the U.S. Department of Energy study examined 10 years of research by John Hopkins School of Public Health on 700,000 shipyard workers, some of whom had been exposed to 10 times more radiation than the others from their work on ship's nuclear reactors. The workers exposed to this "excess" radiation had a 25% lower cancer mortality than the non-irradiated workers.

Amazingly, even the Soviet-engineered disaster at Chernobyl in 1986 can be directly blamed for the deaths of no more than 31 people inside the plant who died in the explosion. Although the news media hyped up the death rate to a few thousand, after endless investigations by scientific groups, a report summary stated that, "They have not yet reported any deaths outside of the 31 who died in the plant." Meanwhile, the animals around the Chernobyl reactor, who were not evacuated, are "thriving", according to scientists quoted in the April 28th (2002) edition of the (UK) Sunday Times.

The Way I See It....and although it is hardly a settled scientific fact that radiation can be a health benefit, there's certainly evidence that it decreases the risk of some cancers---and there are plenty of scientists willing to say so. Recently, a Canadian study was mentioned that found tuberculosis patients subjected to multiple chest X-rays had much lower rates of breast cancer than the general population.

I guess good radiation stories are not as exciting as ignorant news anchors warning of mutant humans and exploding nuclear power plants -- news anchors who, by the way, have injected small amounts of poison into their foreheads to stave off wrinkles. Which is to say: The general idea that small amounts of toxins can be healthy is widely accepted -- except in the case of radiation. They'll take the crap poisons in the Flu shot or drink copious amount of diet sodas laced with aspartame without a thought, but are horrified at the minutest amount of that "deadly" radiation. Ignorance is bliss, they say, but coming from the media...it's criminal!

Delusions of Democracy

President Obama made a strong statement in support of the Libyan protesters today condemning Gaddafi's use of violence and affirming that the U.S. "strongly supports the rights of the Libyan people, including the rights of peaceful assembly, free speech and the ability of the people to determine their own destiny." He also spoke with satisfaction about "the peaceful transition to democracy in both Tunisia and Egypt" too and was pleased that "the change that was taking place across the region is being driven by the people of the region. It represents the aspirations of a younger generation seeking a better life." He vowed that "during this time of transition, the United States will continue to stand up for freedom, stand up for justice and stand up for the dignity of all people."

The one thing the President didn't explain was his justification for believing that Libyan, Tunisian and Egyptian people actually care as much as he assumes they do about principles and rights such as freedom of speech and the dignity of all people, both of which are mitigated under Islamic law. Nor did Obama touch on why he assumes that they hold an understanding of freedom and justice that is remotely comparable to that of the American constitutional system and other highly civilized western democracies.

There are numerous signs that they don't. It isn't insignificant that Libyan protesters have marked Gaddafi's picture with the Star of David. Rather, it is an indication of the protesters world view, and of the pervasiveness of Islamic anti-Semitism. Egyptian protesters defaced photos of Mubarak in the same way. When Muslim protesters want to portray someone as a demon, they draw a Star of David on his picture. These Muslim-scum aren't about to change.

The demonstrators in Libya, Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East may be pro-democracy insofar as they want the will of the people to be heard, but given their world view, their frame of reference and their Mohammad poisoned assumptions about the world, if that popular will is heard, it will likely result in huge victories for the Muslim Brotherhood and similar pro-Sharia Law groups. Hence the protesters chant we hear on the TV News, "No GOD but Allah!"

There are also clear indications that the protesters are decidedly anti-western. Covering the protest in crowded Tahrir Square in Cairo for US 60 minutes, CBS reporter, Lara Logan had her clothes ripped off, was kicked and punched and sexually assaulted by a mob of Islamic dead shits chanting, "Jew! Jew!." She went on to say that she would have been raped if a group of Egyptian women hadn't thrown themselves on top of her to protect her until soldiers finally intervened. Two hard-Left journalists from the U.S. who have repeatedly insisted that Islam is a religion of peace and that anyone who says otherwise is bigoted and racist were roughed up and threatened by the crowd. In Islamaland they deservedly ran up against the Buzz Saw of reality.

Also, before Muarak's resignation, one of the biggest crowds of the entire revolution thronged to the Square to hear Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. one of the most influential Muslim clerics in the world. This bastard is a genocidally minded anti-Semite who is barred from most western countries and has given theological justification to suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. He endorses the death penalty for apostasy, cross-religious marriages and has boasted that Islam would soon conquer Europe. The enthusiastic reception Qaradawi received in Cairo that day was an ominous sign that genuine democracy is not in the offing.

The Way I See It....while numerous western analysts praise the "pro-democracy" uprisings in these nations, no secular democratic leadership has yet emerged. The momentum is moving in the opposite direction -- that is toward the Islamic supremacists. I tend to be more realistic than Obama on the Middle Eastern situation and predict that it is quite probable that hard times are ahead, including the arrival of powerful fanatics that will hijack the hope that started these revolutions. This will mean further subservience to the edicts of the Koren and less justice for women, Coptic Christians, homosexuals and Israel until that DAMN book is burned and its ashes are swept up and thrown into the dustbin of History.

Summer of Sorrow - Queensland

I am sure that the summer of 2010/11 will be forever remembered as Queensland's Summer of Sorrow. It will always be remembered as a story of terrible devastation and horror; a story of fragility and vulnerability stretching human endurance but this is also a story of hope and inspiration.

The story of this past summer season is one unprecedented in our history. Firstly, there was record breaking rains over 8 weeks that caused Queensland to turn into an inland sea the size of Texas flooding one small town after another! Then it was Brisbane's turn when rain sodden earth couldn't handle a storm that dumped over a foot (30 cm) of rain in 2 hours into the Brisbane River catchment causing, quite literally, an inland tsunami, wiping out the town of Grantham. The ensuing flood will be recorded in history so our future generations will know the phenomenon that we experienced. This is so that they may also learn and understand the aftermath of those atrocities; the stories of loss and despair but also the many stories that characterise our strong Queensland spirit. A tough spirit which proves time and again, that when we get knocked down we get right back up again. However, the flooding events have left 35 people dead, and yet thankfully so many hundreds were saved by our heroic State Emergency personnel. We weep for those lives lost and sadly some of them were cut all too short.

And just as thousands of volunteers here in Brisbane, aptly called the MUD ARMY, were clearing away the smelly mud, the waterlogged possessions and taking stock of the damage, a severe (category 5) Katrina-sized tropical cyclone called Yasi bore down on a large part of our northern coast. It totally wrecked 8 communities with it's winds and torrential rains and delivered more misery and sorrow for us to absorb. And still after 2 months, it has left many of us in a state of mind called "disaster fatigue". This is because our Summer-of-Sorrow has a very human face, still characterised by powerful and haunting images. Those images, constantly played through the media, have been very public and confronting. Other images we have of flood waters inundating our friends and neighbours homes are very intimate and were extremely affecting. These are the moments that, while not captured on film, are indelibly etched into our minds.

The Way I See It....the momentous events we experienced have reminded us all of what's important in life. It was an emotional time and as we reflect on our duel tragedies, we will focus on rebuilding and restoring our lovely "garden city" and we will emerge stronger. Also we could not have survived these events of such an unprecedented magnitude without the support and goodwill of many from around the country and around the world. I offer you many thanks for your concerned words and gifts of support.

May those thousands of Queenslanders who have been affected by these tragedies find the strength and patience to travel the difficult road ahead, to heal and emerge stronger. And may those who have lost their lives over this sorrowful summer rest in peace.