Firebugs blamed for blazes: fire criminologist
Mark Dunn
Herald Sun
February 09, 2009 07:26pm
MORE than one arsonist would have been responsible for several of the blazes which erupted in Victoria over the weekend, a fire criminologist believes.
About half of all bush fires in Australia are deliberately lit by fire bugs, Australian National University research fellow Dr Damon Muller said.
Given up to 400 fires hit Victoria over the weekend at varying locations across the state, Dr Muller believes more than one arsonist was at work.
See Post Forest Fire Jihad Australia singled out for "Forest Jihad"
"Without putting a figure on it, it would be surprising if some of them were not deliberately lit, just by virtue of the significant number,'' Dr Muller said.
"And by virtue of the diversity of locations there is probably a number of perpetrators.''
Federal Attorney General Robert McClelland said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's description of arsonists as "mass murderers'' in the circumstances was warranted and any offenders would be pursued with relevant murder charges.
"Anyone who lights fires deliberately, with reckless disregard for the safety of their fellow Australians, in our view establishes the requisite criminal intent that would sustain a charge of murder,'' Mr McClelland told parliament.
Police and CFA arson investigators are currently trying to identify the precise ignition points where fires at Churchill and several other locations began.
All fire areas where deaths have occurred have been designated by police as crime scenes - although only Churchill and the six houses lost at Narre Warren are suspected at this stage to have been deliberately lit.
The Kinglake and Marysville fires are assumed at this point to have been the result of natural disaster but the crime scene designation enables police to investigate whether arson was a factor.
Police Supt. Ross McNeil said it was important for forensic evidence to be preserved.
"We are calling them crime scenes so we can protect them to a high level,'' Supt McNeil said.
Arson detectives yesterday began their work to identify which fires may have been sparked - or re-lit by fire bugs.
In order to confirm a fire was deliberately lit, samples of burnt vegetation at the ignition points will be tested for the presence of any accelerant.
Investigators will also assess wind direction, speed of fire spread, any witness reports of suspicious activity in the area and weather reports tracking any lightning strikes in the vicinity.
Dr Muller said bushfire arsonists were typically male and likely to start fires on urban fringes.
Based on a study of previous prosecutions, Dr Muller said the typical arsonist had a history of low-level property and violence offences and generally came from a lower socio-economic status.
Arson in all its forms costs Australia $1.6 billion each year, Dr Muller found in a report released this month.
An American, Australian ,Israeli, British "Judeo Christian Friendly " blog.
Anthropogenic Global Warming SCAM
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Australian Fires: Death Toll reaches 171
Victoria fires death toll leaps to 171
Herald Sun
February 10, 2009 01:47am
WHOLE towns have been declared crime scenes as the toll from Victoria's worst natural disaster leapt to 171.
But Premier John Brumby says the Victoria fires emergency will get worse before it gets any better.
"We've still got fires that are not contained," he said.
"There is a huge effort to get them under control.
"Tragically, we will have more deaths later this week."
There are fears the tragedy will have claimed more than 200 lives by the time police complete their searches of towns wiped out by the blazes.
The bushfire death toll has now reached 171 dead, a police spokeswoman confirmed about 1am this morning as police try to account for the people who perished in the fires.
Authorities say they are shocked by the sudden leap in numbers as more discoveries come to light, with early indications that the numbers leapt amid the discovery of clusters of bodies.
Herald Sun
February 10, 2009 01:47am
WHOLE towns have been declared crime scenes as the toll from Victoria's worst natural disaster leapt to 171.
But Premier John Brumby says the Victoria fires emergency will get worse before it gets any better.
"We've still got fires that are not contained," he said.
"There is a huge effort to get them under control.
"Tragically, we will have more deaths later this week."
There are fears the tragedy will have claimed more than 200 lives by the time police complete their searches of towns wiped out by the blazes.
The bushfire death toll has now reached 171 dead, a police spokeswoman confirmed about 1am this morning as police try to account for the people who perished in the fires.
Authorities say they are shocked by the sudden leap in numbers as more discoveries come to light, with early indications that the numbers leapt amid the discovery of clusters of bodies.
4Meter Crocodile kills 5 year old boy on Daintree.
Don't kill the crocodile who killed our son
By Thomas Chamberlin and Carenda Jenkin
The Daily Telegraph
February 10, 2009 12:00am
THIS is the crocodile suspected of killing a five-year-old boy. The 4m dominant male, known as Goldie or Yellowtail, is the prime suspect in a deadly croc attack that has shaken a tight-knit community on the Daintree north of Cairns.
Two other massive predators known as Scarface and Fat Albert have been ruled out as likely culprits after witnesses provided a detailed description of the killer.
Dad could not save his boy from croc
Jeremy Doble is missing feared dead after he was taken by a croc in front of his brother, Ryan, 7, whose terrified screams alerted their father who was working nearby. Daintree River tour guide Steve Doble threw himself into the croc-infested mangrove swamp in a brave attempt to save his son only to find he vanished without a trace.
Police said the father and son, who have lived on the river for five years and who have an intimate knowledge of the dominant aggressive male crocodiles in the river system, were able to identify the killer.
Yellowtail or Goldie is easily distinguished by its tell-tale bright yellow markings on its back and tail, and aggressive demeanour as the dominant territorial male near the attack site. Locals said they had seen the croc in recent weeks hiding in the mangroves away from the fast-flowing cold floodwaters.
The Doble family, who live on the river on a 12ha tourist property, were yesterday "too distressed" to speak publicly and were counselled by grief trauma experts. They have begged authorities not to kill or hurt the crocodile if it is trapped as part of a massive croc hunt.
"They do not want any harm to come to the croc and for it to be treated as humanely as possible," acting Inspector Jason Smith said. "They are very distressed, but have had some incredible support from the local community."
He said the description given by the boy's brother who witnessed the attack had "narrowed the likelihood down to one particular crocodile".
The two boys had been playing on a boogie board in a mangrove swamp behind their family home as their father Steve fixed a mangrove boardwalk nearby when tragedy struck about 9.15am on Sunday.
By Thomas Chamberlin and Carenda Jenkin
The Daily Telegraph
February 10, 2009 12:00am
THIS is the crocodile suspected of killing a five-year-old boy. The 4m dominant male, known as Goldie or Yellowtail, is the prime suspect in a deadly croc attack that has shaken a tight-knit community on the Daintree north of Cairns.
Two other massive predators known as Scarface and Fat Albert have been ruled out as likely culprits after witnesses provided a detailed description of the killer.
Dad could not save his boy from croc
Jeremy Doble is missing feared dead after he was taken by a croc in front of his brother, Ryan, 7, whose terrified screams alerted their father who was working nearby. Daintree River tour guide Steve Doble threw himself into the croc-infested mangrove swamp in a brave attempt to save his son only to find he vanished without a trace.
Police said the father and son, who have lived on the river for five years and who have an intimate knowledge of the dominant aggressive male crocodiles in the river system, were able to identify the killer.
Yellowtail or Goldie is easily distinguished by its tell-tale bright yellow markings on its back and tail, and aggressive demeanour as the dominant territorial male near the attack site. Locals said they had seen the croc in recent weeks hiding in the mangroves away from the fast-flowing cold floodwaters.
The Doble family, who live on the river on a 12ha tourist property, were yesterday "too distressed" to speak publicly and were counselled by grief trauma experts. They have begged authorities not to kill or hurt the crocodile if it is trapped as part of a massive croc hunt.
"They do not want any harm to come to the croc and for it to be treated as humanely as possible," acting Inspector Jason Smith said. "They are very distressed, but have had some incredible support from the local community."
He said the description given by the boy's brother who witnessed the attack had "narrowed the likelihood down to one particular crocodile".
The two boys had been playing on a boogie board in a mangrove swamp behind their family home as their father Steve fixed a mangrove boardwalk nearby when tragedy struck about 9.15am on Sunday.
Monday, February 09, 2009
131 Dead so far ,Australia singled out for "forest Jihad"
Islam group urges forest fire jihad
Josh Gordon
The AGE
September 7, 2008
AUSTRALIA has been singled out as a target for "forest jihad" by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfires as a weapon of terror.
US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to "start forest fires", claiming "scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands".
The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the "eye for an eye" doctrine.
Victims of Victorian Fires,Kangaroo and a Horse
The posting — which instructs jihadis to remember "forest jihad" in summer months — says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that "this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time".
"Imagine if, after all the losses caused by such an event, a jihadist organisation were to claim responsibility for the forest fires," the website says. "You can hardly begin to imagine the level of fear that would take hold of people in the United States, in Europe, in Russia and in Australia."
With the nation heading into another hot, dry summer, Australian intelligence agencies are treating the possibility that bushfires could be used as a weapon of terrorism as a serious concern.
Two Kangaroo's who failed to outrun the Fire Storm
Attorney-General Robert McClelland said the Federal Government remained "vigilant against such threats", warning that anyone caught lighting a fire as a weapon of terror would feel the wrath of anti-terror laws.
"Any information that suggests a threat to Australia's interests is investigated by relevant agencies as appropriate," Mr McClelland said.
Adam Dolnik, director of research at the University of Wollongong's Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, said that bushfires (unlike suicide bombing) were generally not considered a glorious type of attack by jihadis, in keeping with a recent decline in the sophistication of terrorist operations.
"With attacks like bushfires, yes, it would be easy. It would be very damaging and we do see a decreasing sophistication as a part of terrorist attacks," Dr Dolnik said.
"In recent years, there have been quite a few attacks averted and it has become more and more difficult for groups to do something effective."
Dr Dolnik said he had observed an increase in traffic on jihadi websites calling for a simplification of terrorist attacks because the more complex operations had been failing. But starting bush fires was still often regarded as less effective than other operations because governments could easily deny terrorism as the cause.
The internet posting by the little-known group claimed the idea of forest fires had been attributed to imprisoned Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab Al-Suri. It said Al-Suri had urged terrorists to use sulphuric acid and petrol to start forest fires.
If the AGE is giving up their favourite Multiculturalists and terrorists, I would think this story has legs, although I expect it will be buried well and truly, by the Victorian state Labor government's Islamic suppression of free speech and thought department, staffed by Labor's favourite Islamist's and socialist Islamists sympathisers and apologists.
Stay tuned.
Australian:Fires latest,Brian Naylor & Wife confirmed Dead
Australia: Victorian Fires 65 Dead Toll predicted to rise
U.S. intel alerted to threat of 'Forest Fire Jihad'
WorldTribune.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
U.S. officials monitoring terrorist web sites have discovered a call for using forest fires as weapons against “crusader” nations, in what may explain some recent wildfires in places like southern California and Greece.
The 2007 fires at Mount Parnitha, as seen from Athens.
A terrorist website was discovered recently that carried a posting that called for “Forest Jihad.” The posting was listed on the Internet on Nov. 26 and reported in U.S. intelligence channels last week.
The statement, in Arabic, said that “summer has begun so do not forget the Forest Jihad.”
The writer called on all Muslims in the United States, Europe, Russia and Australia to “start forest fires.”
The posting quoted imprisoned Al Qaida terrorist Abu Musab Al-Suri, as saying “Jihad is an art just like poetry, music, and the fine arts. There are people that draw and there are others that are jihadists. They both act upon inspiration.”
Al-Suri is a senior Al Qaida leader captured in Pakistan in 2005 who is believed to be in U.S. custody.
“The idea of forest fires is attributed to him, may God set him free, as is in this short clip,” the writer stated.
The posting said that setting forest fires were legal under extremist Islamic law as part of a “eye for an eye” and that can produce “amazing results.”
Wildfires in California burned more than 500,000 acres beginning in October and authorities said arson was to blame for some of the fires. In August, wildfires broke out in Greece that authorities say were deliberately set.
The writer stated that it was permissible to burn trees in carrying out jihad.
“Scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands,” the writer said.
The writer stated that “targeted forests” are in the nations that “are at war with Muslims,” including the United States, Europe, Russia, and Australia.
Other nations, including Brazil are “off limits” because Brazil has not joined the “armies of the crusade.”
On damage caused by wildfires, the report said that the fires typically take months to put out which means that “this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time.”
The fires also will cause economic damage because it will limit exports of timber used to make furniture and also will cause losses to pharmaceutical companies that use trees for ingredients for drugs, the posting said.
Smoke caused by the fires will create pollution and military forces could be tied up fighting fires. The report noted that U.S. military forces in Iraq or Afghanistan “could even be recalled” as occurred following hurricane Katrina, which did not occur.
“Imagine if, after all the losses caused by such an event, a jihadist organization were to claim responsibility for (starting) the forest fires,” the writer said. “You can hardly begin to imagine the level of the fear that would take hold of people in the United States, in Europe, in Russia, and in Australia.”
The report said that Abu Musab Al-Suri, urges terrorists to use sulphuric acid to start a forest fire, as well as gasoline.
The article was signed by Abu Thar Al-Kuwaiti, on behalf of a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network.
Josh Gordon
The AGE
September 7, 2008
AUSTRALIA has been singled out as a target for "forest jihad" by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfires as a weapon of terror.
US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to "start forest fires", claiming "scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands".
The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the "eye for an eye" doctrine.
Victims of Victorian Fires,Kangaroo and a Horse
The posting — which instructs jihadis to remember "forest jihad" in summer months — says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that "this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time".
"Imagine if, after all the losses caused by such an event, a jihadist organisation were to claim responsibility for the forest fires," the website says. "You can hardly begin to imagine the level of fear that would take hold of people in the United States, in Europe, in Russia and in Australia."
With the nation heading into another hot, dry summer, Australian intelligence agencies are treating the possibility that bushfires could be used as a weapon of terrorism as a serious concern.
Two Kangaroo's who failed to outrun the Fire Storm
Attorney-General Robert McClelland said the Federal Government remained "vigilant against such threats", warning that anyone caught lighting a fire as a weapon of terror would feel the wrath of anti-terror laws.
"Any information that suggests a threat to Australia's interests is investigated by relevant agencies as appropriate," Mr McClelland said.
Adam Dolnik, director of research at the University of Wollongong's Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, said that bushfires (unlike suicide bombing) were generally not considered a glorious type of attack by jihadis, in keeping with a recent decline in the sophistication of terrorist operations.
"With attacks like bushfires, yes, it would be easy. It would be very damaging and we do see a decreasing sophistication as a part of terrorist attacks," Dr Dolnik said.
"In recent years, there have been quite a few attacks averted and it has become more and more difficult for groups to do something effective."
Dr Dolnik said he had observed an increase in traffic on jihadi websites calling for a simplification of terrorist attacks because the more complex operations had been failing. But starting bush fires was still often regarded as less effective than other operations because governments could easily deny terrorism as the cause.
The internet posting by the little-known group claimed the idea of forest fires had been attributed to imprisoned Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab Al-Suri. It said Al-Suri had urged terrorists to use sulphuric acid and petrol to start forest fires.
If the AGE is giving up their favourite Multiculturalists and terrorists, I would think this story has legs, although I expect it will be buried well and truly, by the Victorian state Labor government's Islamic suppression of free speech and thought department, staffed by Labor's favourite Islamist's and socialist Islamists sympathisers and apologists.
Stay tuned.
Australian:Fires latest,Brian Naylor & Wife confirmed Dead
Australia: Victorian Fires 65 Dead Toll predicted to rise
U.S. intel alerted to threat of 'Forest Fire Jihad'
WorldTribune.comTuesday, January 15, 2008
U.S. officials monitoring terrorist web sites have discovered a call for using forest fires as weapons against “crusader” nations, in what may explain some recent wildfires in places like southern California and Greece.The 2007 fires at Mount Parnitha, as seen from Athens.
A terrorist website was discovered recently that carried a posting that called for “Forest Jihad.” The posting was listed on the Internet on Nov. 26 and reported in U.S. intelligence channels last week.
The statement, in Arabic, said that “summer has begun so do not forget the Forest Jihad.”
The writer called on all Muslims in the United States, Europe, Russia and Australia to “start forest fires.”
The posting quoted imprisoned Al Qaida terrorist Abu Musab Al-Suri, as saying “Jihad is an art just like poetry, music, and the fine arts. There are people that draw and there are others that are jihadists. They both act upon inspiration.”
Al-Suri is a senior Al Qaida leader captured in Pakistan in 2005 who is believed to be in U.S. custody.
“The idea of forest fires is attributed to him, may God set him free, as is in this short clip,” the writer stated.
The posting said that setting forest fires were legal under extremist Islamic law as part of a “eye for an eye” and that can produce “amazing results.”
Wildfires in California burned more than 500,000 acres beginning in October and authorities said arson was to blame for some of the fires. In August, wildfires broke out in Greece that authorities say were deliberately set.
The writer stated that it was permissible to burn trees in carrying out jihad.
“Scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels' forests when they do the same to our lands,” the writer said.
The writer stated that “targeted forests” are in the nations that “are at war with Muslims,” including the United States, Europe, Russia, and Australia.
Other nations, including Brazil are “off limits” because Brazil has not joined the “armies of the crusade.”
On damage caused by wildfires, the report said that the fires typically take months to put out which means that “this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time.”
The fires also will cause economic damage because it will limit exports of timber used to make furniture and also will cause losses to pharmaceutical companies that use trees for ingredients for drugs, the posting said.
Smoke caused by the fires will create pollution and military forces could be tied up fighting fires. The report noted that U.S. military forces in Iraq or Afghanistan “could even be recalled” as occurred following hurricane Katrina, which did not occur.
“Imagine if, after all the losses caused by such an event, a jihadist organization were to claim responsibility for (starting) the forest fires,” the writer said. “You can hardly begin to imagine the level of the fear that would take hold of people in the United States, in Europe, in Russia, and in Australia.”
The report said that Abu Musab Al-Suri, urges terrorists to use sulphuric acid to start a forest fire, as well as gasoline.
The article was signed by Abu Thar Al-Kuwaiti, on behalf of a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Australia: Fires latest, Brian Naylor & Wife confirmed Dead
CHANNEL Nine veteran Brian Naylor and his wife Moiree have been confirmed dead in the fires at Kinglake West, Sky News reports.
Laura Ingraham wipes the floor with Nancy Soderberg
Easy to see how Islamic Terrorism was able to flourish unhindered during the Clinton years with dopes like this employed as security advisors
Australia: Victorian Fires 65 Dead toll predicted to rise
Fires kill 65 in Victoria ... but more deaths to come
The Sunday Telegraph
February 08, 2009 05:01pm
AT least 65 people are dead in the bushfires ripping through Victoria in a disaster which has eclipsed the state's Ash Wednesday devastation of two decades ago.
Authorities are continuing a grim search for more bodies as horrific eyewitness accounts emerge from devastated communities. It was estimated at least 640 homes had been lost - 550 of them in the Kinglake area.
Victoria Police authorities had confirmed 65 deaths. But the final tolld could rise much higher as authorities move further into the affected towns.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced emergency relief funding for the state, saying "Hell in all its fury had visited ... many good people lie dead".
Whole towns have been destroyed and thousands of people left homeless with record temperatures and fierce winds sparking devastating infernos.
The town of Marysville was reported to have been wiped out, but the Country Fire Authority (CFA) said many residents had made it to emergency shelter in a local park.
More destruction and power blackouts are possible, with up to a dozen fires still burning out of control. And it has been reported that arsonists are suspected of relighting some fires after fire crews had brought them under control.
The worst bushfire to strike Victoria was the 1983 Ash Wednesday disaster when 47 people were killed in the state.
Most of the bodies were discovered in towns northeast of Melbourne - eight at Kinglake, six at Kinglake West, five each at St Andrews and Flowerdale, four each at Callignee and Wandong, three each at Humevalem, Taggerty and Hazelwood, two at Hazeldene and one each in Arthurs Creek, Strathewan, Upper Callignee, Jeealang, Long Gully, Yea and Bendigo.
At least six bodies were found in the one car at Kinglake, with reports that others may have been trying to escape the fire in cars.
Police have not yet given the gender or ages of the victims, but one Kinglake resident said three members of the same family, believed to include a 14-year-old girl, a nine-year-old boy and an uncle, had died in the same house.
"It rained fire," another Kinglake resident told Sky News.
Strathewen resident Mary Avola said her husband of 43 years, Peter Avola, was among those killed. "He was behind me for a while and we tried to reach the oval but the gates were locked," she told Melbourne's Herald Sun.
"He just told me to go and that's the last time I saw him."
Firefighter Richard Hoyle described the scene as "a holocaust". "The road is riddled with burnt-out cars involved in multiple collisions and debris," he said.
Raylene Kincaide, of Narbethong, said her home had been destroyed and there was little left of the town. "Everyone we know has lost everything they had," she said on ABC radio.
More than 20 people have been admitted to Melbourne's Alfred Hospital with burns and three are in a critical condition. Seven of the injured have burns to more than 30 per cent of their bodies.
Anyone concerned about family or friends in fire areas should call the CFA on 1800 727 077.
Premier John Brumby has described the disaster as "the worst day in our history". He called the bushfires "a monster that couldn't be controlled".
The CFA said the communities of Kinglake, Kinglake West, Toolangi, Glenburn, Strathewen, Chum Creek, Dixons Creek, Castella,
Pheasant Creek, Doreen, Yan Yean, Woodstock, Mernda, Mittons Bridge, Hurstbridge, St Andrews, Panton Hill, Arthurs Creek, Smiths
Gully, Christmas Hills, Healesville, Yarra Glen, Coldstream, Tarrawarra, Steels Creek, had been and still may be directly impacted upon by the fire.
The Sunday Telegraph
February 08, 2009 05:01pm
AT least 65 people are dead in the bushfires ripping through Victoria in a disaster which has eclipsed the state's Ash Wednesday devastation of two decades ago.
Authorities are continuing a grim search for more bodies as horrific eyewitness accounts emerge from devastated communities. It was estimated at least 640 homes had been lost - 550 of them in the Kinglake area.
Victoria Police authorities had confirmed 65 deaths. But the final tolld could rise much higher as authorities move further into the affected towns.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced emergency relief funding for the state, saying "Hell in all its fury had visited ... many good people lie dead".
Whole towns have been destroyed and thousands of people left homeless with record temperatures and fierce winds sparking devastating infernos.
The town of Marysville was reported to have been wiped out, but the Country Fire Authority (CFA) said many residents had made it to emergency shelter in a local park.
More destruction and power blackouts are possible, with up to a dozen fires still burning out of control. And it has been reported that arsonists are suspected of relighting some fires after fire crews had brought them under control.
The worst bushfire to strike Victoria was the 1983 Ash Wednesday disaster when 47 people were killed in the state.
Most of the bodies were discovered in towns northeast of Melbourne - eight at Kinglake, six at Kinglake West, five each at St Andrews and Flowerdale, four each at Callignee and Wandong, three each at Humevalem, Taggerty and Hazelwood, two at Hazeldene and one each in Arthurs Creek, Strathewan, Upper Callignee, Jeealang, Long Gully, Yea and Bendigo.
At least six bodies were found in the one car at Kinglake, with reports that others may have been trying to escape the fire in cars.
Police have not yet given the gender or ages of the victims, but one Kinglake resident said three members of the same family, believed to include a 14-year-old girl, a nine-year-old boy and an uncle, had died in the same house.
"It rained fire," another Kinglake resident told Sky News.
Strathewen resident Mary Avola said her husband of 43 years, Peter Avola, was among those killed. "He was behind me for a while and we tried to reach the oval but the gates were locked," she told Melbourne's Herald Sun.
"He just told me to go and that's the last time I saw him."
Firefighter Richard Hoyle described the scene as "a holocaust". "The road is riddled with burnt-out cars involved in multiple collisions and debris," he said.
Raylene Kincaide, of Narbethong, said her home had been destroyed and there was little left of the town. "Everyone we know has lost everything they had," she said on ABC radio.
More than 20 people have been admitted to Melbourne's Alfred Hospital with burns and three are in a critical condition. Seven of the injured have burns to more than 30 per cent of their bodies.
Anyone concerned about family or friends in fire areas should call the CFA on 1800 727 077.
Premier John Brumby has described the disaster as "the worst day in our history". He called the bushfires "a monster that couldn't be controlled".
The CFA said the communities of Kinglake, Kinglake West, Toolangi, Glenburn, Strathewen, Chum Creek, Dixons Creek, Castella,
Pheasant Creek, Doreen, Yan Yean, Woodstock, Mernda, Mittons Bridge, Hurstbridge, St Andrews, Panton Hill, Arthurs Creek, Smiths
Gully, Christmas Hills, Healesville, Yarra Glen, Coldstream, Tarrawarra, Steels Creek, had been and still may be directly impacted upon by the fire.
Australia Fire and Rain
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Australian Harry Nicolaides, left to rot by the Rudd government, if only he was a terrorist.
The medieval price an author pays for insulting Thailand's monarchy
SMH
February 7, 2009
From the hell of his Bangkok prison cell, the writer Harry Nicolaides reveals the horror of his daily battle to survive.
We are woken at 6 and counted in the cell. Mine is 12 metres long and just over four metres wide, holding 50 or 60 prisoners, mostly Thais, mostly murderers and rapists. The cell has one toilet, which is a hole in the ground, and poor ventilation. I sleep in a face mask because tuberculosis and pneumonia are common. I've been in this jail for five months, since my arrest in September.
My book, Verisimilitude, was a rather clumsy first attempt at fiction - only 50 copies were printed and seven sold. I love Thailand and respect the royal family. It was never my intention to offend anyone.
For breakfast I have soy milk and a biscuit. The prisoners wash and shave around troughs covered in grime. The water is changed once a week. Then there's assembly. We stand to attention as the Thai flag is raised. We're asked to pray to a large gold Buddha. I use the time to collect my thoughts and think about my loved ones.
The guards make long speeches in Thai. I imagine they're about prison etiquette.
I'm then taken upstairs with other foreigners to clean another cell block.
After that we're at leisure for a while. I used to walk around, but I can't help but encounter the weak and the feeble - such as men with TB, languishing on benches. It deadens me. So I try to spend my time replying to the many letters I receive. Letters keep me alive.
We are allowed one 30-minute visit a day, but not on weekends or holidays. The hardest part is returning to my cell after a visit from family or friends. I break down when I think how they're suffering.
At 12 the lunch bell rings. The food is mostly fish bones in hot water, extremely spicy, with rice. I've tried it and felt unwell.
I can't afford to fall sick - the mental strain is enough - so my family send me some chicken and a salad every day.
There are 20 or 25 cats that run into the mess hall before the prisoners. Some men put cigarettes in the cats' mouths or do other unspeakable things to them.
I am barefoot most of my day. It is partly a security measure so we can't climb the electrified, barbed-wire fence, and partly custom. But the floors are covered with fish bones, saliva and cat vomit, so my feet are black.
I am led to court in shackles and chains. It's positively medieval. They're degrading and they bruise and lacerate the ankles. They make you feel you're guilty.
They say that it is easy to get to someone in a prison like this, so I am always on the alert.
I have met some colourful characters, like Viktor Bout, the suspected Russian arms dealer. He's an unassuming, softly spoken man.
He gave me some garlic the other day - and a manuscript of his life story to edit. I haven't looked at it yet. Lots of people give me manuscripts about their lives and cases. They seem to think I'm a BBC journalist, of all things.
At 4pm we're locked up until 6am. My patch is about a foot wide, the length of my body. I cannot move to the left or right without pressing on another person. I cannot stretch out my legs without kicking someone.
On the king's 81st birthday I saw fireworks in the distance. Some prisoners had tears in their eyes, praising a man they regard not just as their king but their father. I may not be Thai, but I am a son, and I know what it means to love a father. I am applying for a royal pardon. I pray the king learns of my plight so I might enjoy his grace.
When I've finished my chicken, Thais beg for my scraps.
The fluorescent lights stay on at night, so I sleep with a box over my head. I toss and turn on a thin mat on the hard floor. And this, too, shall pass, other foreigners tell me. It's an old adage and true. But time passes very slowly here.
As told to Andrew Marshall
If only Harry had of chosen to join the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, instead of swanning around Thailand soaking up the mystic vibe.
Had he chosen the Islamic terrorism road like Australia's celebrity " beautiful people" and Labor Party's "Our David" aka David Hicks did, he would have been back home in Australia by now armed with a phalanx of Australian taxpayer funded celebrity beautiful people Lawyers,all salivating over a compensation claim, for a violation of his rights or the right to kill infidels or the right to choose to choose or the right to not to choose to not choose or some such other crap.
Kevin 07 where are you and your legions of beautiful people, and carers and sharers?
surely there is a movie star or actor / tress / union official / community organizer you could ask advice from, or a committee of comrades made up of "diverse cultural and socio economic backgrounds" even, who could tell you what to do, what about the Jan. 2008 gabfest where you and your government asked various celebrities and movie stars "hey tell us what to do ? after you had won government in Nov.2007.
Harry Nicolaides is one Australian that Australia actually NEEDS, Harry Nicolaides is a man of worth, of some good to Australia and indeed mankind.. Harry Nicolaides needs the help of his fellow Australians NOW via Australia's diplomatic service at the highest level.
Kevin 07 the office of the Australian Prime Minister comes with many, many responsibilities one of them is acting, when required to ensure that Australians abroad are looked after and not persecuted in a totally inhumane despotic manner for in Harry's case writing FICTION.
Kevin 07 why don't you and your cabal of all wise all knowing leftists, Islamist apologists and beautiful people, protest about this appalling injustice at least half as much as you all did about self confessed Islamic Terrorist David Hicks been removed from the battlefield and detained ?
Kevin 07, you can give ten million of Australian taxpayers dollars to Islamic Terrorist and Assassins in Gaza, so they can re arm and resupply and kill more Jews, how much of Australian Taxpayers money have you proscribed to assist Harry Nicolaides ? $10,000,000 ? $5,000,000 ?
$2,000,000? $ 1,000,000 ? How much Kevin 07 ? "COME CLEAN"
Kevin 07, Australian's , you remember them, the people you are required to represent and who's interests you are obligated to protect at all times, would like to know,or are you and your fellow socialists in the Labor Party taking orders from what you consider to be a higher authority, as in Kevin 07 a citizen of the New World Order ?
Kevin 07 forget about the sky falling,cows farting, cutting off power to our hot water heaters and taxing the air we breath, DO something of WORTH, something of value, get this Australian out of this hell hole NOW.. I know, I know he is not a terrorist he is not a drug courier / dealer / addict but just pretend he is, and get him out, or is Harry Nicolaides of the wrong Religious / ideological persuasion?
Do some thing for this AUSTRALIAN you incompetent arse clown, pretend he is Australia's very own "Hollywood Idiot Wannebee" and is having a baby and you rush to her side to visit her after the birth for a photo op or worse still a payback for services rendered.
Australian PM Kevin " I have never been a socialist" Rudd,
seen here about to pay homage / respect / honour, to Labor supporter and "one of the most beautiful women in the world" actor / actress, Cate Blanchett
at the Mater Private Hospital,in North Sydney of all places,
following the birth of her baby.
What do you think is in the box ? The thoughts of Mao ?
Kevin 07 and "one of the most beautiful women in the world" Cate Blanchett, seen here in a private and may I say pensive emotion charged moment, not that the average Australian would know from their persona shown in the above "candid" picture at the 2020 summit organized by Kevin 07 himself, where Kevin 07 asked Australia's most beautiful and politically correct people,how they wanted him to govern Australia,in their and the worlds best interests.(there was no mention of "in Australia's best interest's", however I am sure he was so busy he forgot to include that, what I am sure is in his mind a minor consideration)
After hours of mind numbing discourse, that would undoubtedly cause a lesser man or indeed a lesser "one of the worlds most beautiful women in the world" aka Cate Blanchett, to stumble and faulter, It appears that Kevin 07 and Cate Blanchett are at least able to chill out during their thankless task of plotting Australia's future to the year 2020.
At last!!!! Problems SOLVED!!!!!
Relax Australia and indeed the WORLD, ALL'S WELL!!!
Nothing to see here, move along now, move along, problems solved,
there will be Peace in our Time
This picture of Australia's very own "Dear Leader" and his most intimate advisor "one of the most beautiful women in the world" aka. Cate Blanchett,
clearly show Australians have nothing to worry about, and might I say if only the entire world would take advice from these two great minds it might well be a better place within hours of taking such advice.
And what exactly were Australia's problems that these two great minds solved I hear you say, well I cannot tell you the details, however, I can show you a picture that will shed some light on the error of our ways (not necessarily mine but defiantly yours)note the defining moment captured here by an Aussie News & Views photographer, as Australia's very own "Dear Leader" aka Kevin 07, and "one of the worlds most beautiful women" aka. Cate Blanchett see something that only people with such insight can see and from there are able to plot Australia's future until the year 2020.
Stop Press !!!!! Australia's Future is Tax, more Tax and MORE TAX!!
If only Kevin 07 could see his way clear to send or better still take a food package to Harry in the same way he so thoughtfully stopped work and put the nation's business on hold while he paid homage/ tribute / respect / pay back? to actor / actress ? Cate Blanchett in her North Sydney (that's out of bounds for Labor socialists isn't it ?) Mater Private Hospital bed......... yes I know Cate roots for a Party that wants to abolish Private Hospital care in Australia, I guess Liverpool Public did not have any Uni sex 4 bed multicultural wards available for her, its such a tragedy knowing what a Multiculturalist & NON sexist she is.
I am sure Kevin 07 has taken instructions and issued the appropriate executive orders to rectify any problems that may prevent Cate from "birthing" in a Multicultural 4 bed Unisex Medicare public Hospital ward at Liverpool or better still Aurburn Hospital, again.
The Bottom Line Kevin 07 is, attend to what is of worth and value to AUSTRALIANS,I can believe that is an obscene concept for you and your government however,after all that's what you were elected to do.
SMH
February 7, 2009
From the hell of his Bangkok prison cell, the writer Harry Nicolaides reveals the horror of his daily battle to survive.
We are woken at 6 and counted in the cell. Mine is 12 metres long and just over four metres wide, holding 50 or 60 prisoners, mostly Thais, mostly murderers and rapists. The cell has one toilet, which is a hole in the ground, and poor ventilation. I sleep in a face mask because tuberculosis and pneumonia are common. I've been in this jail for five months, since my arrest in September.My book, Verisimilitude, was a rather clumsy first attempt at fiction - only 50 copies were printed and seven sold. I love Thailand and respect the royal family. It was never my intention to offend anyone.
For breakfast I have soy milk and a biscuit. The prisoners wash and shave around troughs covered in grime. The water is changed once a week. Then there's assembly. We stand to attention as the Thai flag is raised. We're asked to pray to a large gold Buddha. I use the time to collect my thoughts and think about my loved ones.
The guards make long speeches in Thai. I imagine they're about prison etiquette.
I'm then taken upstairs with other foreigners to clean another cell block.
After that we're at leisure for a while. I used to walk around, but I can't help but encounter the weak and the feeble - such as men with TB, languishing on benches. It deadens me. So I try to spend my time replying to the many letters I receive. Letters keep me alive.
We are allowed one 30-minute visit a day, but not on weekends or holidays. The hardest part is returning to my cell after a visit from family or friends. I break down when I think how they're suffering.
At 12 the lunch bell rings. The food is mostly fish bones in hot water, extremely spicy, with rice. I've tried it and felt unwell.
I can't afford to fall sick - the mental strain is enough - so my family send me some chicken and a salad every day.
There are 20 or 25 cats that run into the mess hall before the prisoners. Some men put cigarettes in the cats' mouths or do other unspeakable things to them.
I am barefoot most of my day. It is partly a security measure so we can't climb the electrified, barbed-wire fence, and partly custom. But the floors are covered with fish bones, saliva and cat vomit, so my feet are black.
I am led to court in shackles and chains. It's positively medieval. They're degrading and they bruise and lacerate the ankles. They make you feel you're guilty.
They say that it is easy to get to someone in a prison like this, so I am always on the alert.
I have met some colourful characters, like Viktor Bout, the suspected Russian arms dealer. He's an unassuming, softly spoken man.
He gave me some garlic the other day - and a manuscript of his life story to edit. I haven't looked at it yet. Lots of people give me manuscripts about their lives and cases. They seem to think I'm a BBC journalist, of all things.
At 4pm we're locked up until 6am. My patch is about a foot wide, the length of my body. I cannot move to the left or right without pressing on another person. I cannot stretch out my legs without kicking someone.
On the king's 81st birthday I saw fireworks in the distance. Some prisoners had tears in their eyes, praising a man they regard not just as their king but their father. I may not be Thai, but I am a son, and I know what it means to love a father. I am applying for a royal pardon. I pray the king learns of my plight so I might enjoy his grace.
When I've finished my chicken, Thais beg for my scraps.
The fluorescent lights stay on at night, so I sleep with a box over my head. I toss and turn on a thin mat on the hard floor. And this, too, shall pass, other foreigners tell me. It's an old adage and true. But time passes very slowly here.
As told to Andrew Marshall
If only Harry had of chosen to join the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, instead of swanning around Thailand soaking up the mystic vibe.
Had he chosen the Islamic terrorism road like Australia's celebrity " beautiful people" and Labor Party's "Our David" aka David Hicks did, he would have been back home in Australia by now armed with a phalanx of Australian taxpayer funded celebrity beautiful people Lawyers,all salivating over a compensation claim, for a violation of his rights or the right to kill infidels or the right to choose to choose or the right to not to choose to not choose or some such other crap.
Kevin 07 where are you and your legions of beautiful people, and carers and sharers?
surely there is a movie star or actor / tress / union official / community organizer you could ask advice from, or a committee of comrades made up of "diverse cultural and socio economic backgrounds" even, who could tell you what to do, what about the Jan. 2008 gabfest where you and your government asked various celebrities and movie stars "hey tell us what to do ? after you had won government in Nov.2007.
Harry Nicolaides is one Australian that Australia actually NEEDS, Harry Nicolaides is a man of worth, of some good to Australia and indeed mankind.. Harry Nicolaides needs the help of his fellow Australians NOW via Australia's diplomatic service at the highest level.
Kevin 07 the office of the Australian Prime Minister comes with many, many responsibilities one of them is acting, when required to ensure that Australians abroad are looked after and not persecuted in a totally inhumane despotic manner for in Harry's case writing FICTION.
Kevin 07 why don't you and your cabal of all wise all knowing leftists, Islamist apologists and beautiful people, protest about this appalling injustice at least half as much as you all did about self confessed Islamic Terrorist David Hicks been removed from the battlefield and detained ?
Kevin 07, you can give ten million of Australian taxpayers dollars to Islamic Terrorist and Assassins in Gaza, so they can re arm and resupply and kill more Jews, how much of Australian Taxpayers money have you proscribed to assist Harry Nicolaides ? $10,000,000 ? $5,000,000 ?
$2,000,000? $ 1,000,000 ? How much Kevin 07 ? "COME CLEAN"
Kevin 07, Australian's , you remember them, the people you are required to represent and who's interests you are obligated to protect at all times, would like to know,or are you and your fellow socialists in the Labor Party taking orders from what you consider to be a higher authority, as in Kevin 07 a citizen of the New World Order ?
Kevin 07 forget about the sky falling,cows farting, cutting off power to our hot water heaters and taxing the air we breath, DO something of WORTH, something of value, get this Australian out of this hell hole NOW.. I know, I know he is not a terrorist he is not a drug courier / dealer / addict but just pretend he is, and get him out, or is Harry Nicolaides of the wrong Religious / ideological persuasion?
Do some thing for this AUSTRALIAN you incompetent arse clown, pretend he is Australia's very own "Hollywood Idiot Wannebee" and is having a baby and you rush to her side to visit her after the birth for a photo op or worse still a payback for services rendered.
Australian PM Kevin " I have never been a socialist" Rudd,seen here about to pay homage / respect / honour, to Labor supporter and "one of the most beautiful women in the world" actor / actress, Cate Blanchett
at the Mater Private Hospital,in North Sydney of all places,
following the birth of her baby.
What do you think is in the box ? The thoughts of Mao ?
Kevin 07 and "one of the most beautiful women in the world" Cate Blanchett, seen here in a private and may I say pensive emotion charged moment, not that the average Australian would know from their persona shown in the above "candid" picture at the 2020 summit organized by Kevin 07 himself, where Kevin 07 asked Australia's most beautiful and politically correct people,how they wanted him to govern Australia,in their and the worlds best interests.(there was no mention of "in Australia's best interest's", however I am sure he was so busy he forgot to include that, what I am sure is in his mind a minor consideration)
After hours of mind numbing discourse, that would undoubtedly cause a lesser man or indeed a lesser "one of the worlds most beautiful women in the world" aka Cate Blanchett, to stumble and faulter, It appears that Kevin 07 and Cate Blanchett are at least able to chill out during their thankless task of plotting Australia's future to the year 2020.
At last!!!! Problems SOLVED!!!!!Relax Australia and indeed the WORLD, ALL'S WELL!!!
Nothing to see here, move along now, move along, problems solved,
there will be Peace in our Time
This picture of Australia's very own "Dear Leader" and his most intimate advisor "one of the most beautiful women in the world" aka. Cate Blanchett,
clearly show Australians have nothing to worry about, and might I say if only the entire world would take advice from these two great minds it might well be a better place within hours of taking such advice.
And what exactly were Australia's problems that these two great minds solved I hear you say, well I cannot tell you the details, however, I can show you a picture that will shed some light on the error of our ways (not necessarily mine but defiantly yours)note the defining moment captured here by an Aussie News & Views photographer, as Australia's very own "Dear Leader" aka Kevin 07, and "one of the worlds most beautiful women" aka. Cate Blanchett see something that only people with such insight can see and from there are able to plot Australia's future until the year 2020.
Stop Press !!!!! Australia's Future is Tax, more Tax and MORE TAX!!
I am sure Kevin 07 has taken instructions and issued the appropriate executive orders to rectify any problems that may prevent Cate from "birthing" in a Multicultural 4 bed Unisex Medicare public Hospital ward at Liverpool or better still Aurburn Hospital, again.
The Bottom Line Kevin 07 is, attend to what is of worth and value to AUSTRALIANS,I can believe that is an obscene concept for you and your government however,after all that's what you were elected to do.
Get Harry Nicolaides arse back on Australian soil NOW!!!!
Australia's very own "....Jerry Maguire of Australian baseball" who likes a bit of Kiddy Porn on the side awaiting sentence.
Pervert Trevor Jarrett caught out
By Kim Arlington
February 05, 2009
The Daily Telegraph
HE BILLS himself as "the Jerry Maguire of Australian baseball", a talent scout recruiting for the American major leagues.
But Trevor Jarrett has a conviction for possessing child pornography and, as a registered offender under child protection laws, failed to tell police he was working with children, The Daily Telegraph reports.
He claimed he was retired but police discovered Jarrett owned and ran BJS Player Management, which caters to teenage baseball players aiming for the big league.
It came to light after he was stopped while driving with a 17-year-old aspiring baseball player in the car.
When Jarrett, 63, faced Downing Centre Local Court yesterday he pleaded guilty to three charges, including providing false information about his registration on the Child Protection Register.
Numerous recruitment letters sent to parents or their children - members of the NSW Junior Baseball League or AA League - were found on his laptop, court papers revealed.
"I am the most experienced baseball agent in Australia," Jarrett wrote. "I take ... a 'holistic' approach to being an agent -- I am concerned for the overall well-being of my players. I become their manager; their confidant; their friend."
The former Australian Baseball Federation president boasts as clients five of the seven Australians currently in the major leagues.
He has coached junior state teams, managed several Australian youth teams and as a past chairman of selectors is responsible for developing youth baseball in Australia.
In April 2005, Jarrett was given a suspended nine-month jail term for possessing child pornography and put on a good behaviour bond.
He will face sentencing in April.
By Kim Arlington
February 05, 2009
The Daily Telegraph
HE BILLS himself as "the Jerry Maguire of Australian baseball", a talent scout recruiting for the American major leagues.
But Trevor Jarrett has a conviction for possessing child pornography and, as a registered offender under child protection laws, failed to tell police he was working with children, The Daily Telegraph reports.
He claimed he was retired but police discovered Jarrett owned and ran BJS Player Management, which caters to teenage baseball players aiming for the big league.
It came to light after he was stopped while driving with a 17-year-old aspiring baseball player in the car.
When Jarrett, 63, faced Downing Centre Local Court yesterday he pleaded guilty to three charges, including providing false information about his registration on the Child Protection Register.
Numerous recruitment letters sent to parents or their children - members of the NSW Junior Baseball League or AA League - were found on his laptop, court papers revealed.
"I am the most experienced baseball agent in Australia," Jarrett wrote. "I take ... a 'holistic' approach to being an agent -- I am concerned for the overall well-being of my players. I become their manager; their confidant; their friend."
The former Australian Baseball Federation president boasts as clients five of the seven Australians currently in the major leagues.
He has coached junior state teams, managed several Australian youth teams and as a past chairman of selectors is responsible for developing youth baseball in Australia.
In April 2005, Jarrett was given a suspended nine-month jail term for possessing child pornography and put on a good behaviour bond.
He will face sentencing in April.
Stimulus, Stimulus,Stimulus Give it to me baby!!!!!
Drunken sailor economics
By Tim Blair
The Daily Telegraph
February 07, 2009 12:00am
IT'S hot this weekend. So take off your shirt and lie down in the sun.
Join Tim Blair's blog
You'll be surprised how cool you feel.
It might sound counter-intuitive, but that's apparently the way we're supposed to do things these days. And for some time prior.
Over the past 10 years, for example, while the economy roared along, we were told to reduce credit card debt and boost savings.
Now the economy is weakening, we're told to spend like crazy.
In 2007, then opposition treasury spokesman Wayne Swan complained about families struggling to pay credit card debt.
Two years later, he's begging us to hit the shops. If, by the way, the aim of the Government's stimulus exercise was to put cash in retailer pockets, why not give it straight to retailers? Just a thought.
(Also, it's a little bold for any money-grabbing Australian government to tell us how to spend our money when they decide to give some back.
If it's such a great idea for us to buy things, let us keep the cash in the first place. We'd have a hell of lot more, too, without it being processed through the taxation department.)
People facing an increased risk of unemployment might understandably feel disinclined to spend. Moreover, even if everyone who receives their Ruddollars and Kevincents dutifully blows the lot on locally-made goods, there is no certainty that it will solve our economic problems.
That's because these economic problems aren't exclusively ours. It's a global financial crisis, after all.
Just as you can't cure alleged global warming by closing Australian coal plants, you can't repair a global money meltdown by throwing $950 at Bing Lee.
As a measure of Australia's place in global economic terms, consider that the $US819 billion in US President Barack Obama's stimulus plan represents - according to someone armed with a bible and a calculator - nearly $US1 million every day since the birth of Jesus Christ.
By contrast, the Rudd stimulus plan represents $US1 million every day since the birth of Maggie Tabberer.
Who, while admirable in the fields of fashion and publishing, is yet to surprise anyone at Easter.
Despite all of this, we're yet to feel the full impact of the ever-looming crisis.
As much as I'm a fan of extreme capitalism, to use Kevin Rudd's phrase, might it not be a good idea to hang on to some of our billions until precise needs are identified?
Instead, we're getting $4 billion worth of government-funded household insulation.
Ask elderly relatives what they most craved during the Great Depression - chances are it wasn't pink batts, which aren't exactly edible.
As a response to international economic turmoil, loading roofs with fibreglass is one of your more eccentric options. One justification is that it will reduce carbon emissions.
Which gets us back to the other great crisis of our time.
If Rudd is serious about addressing climate change, which he described as "the defining challenge of our generation'', he has the solution right in front of him.
The economic downturn, with a reduction in commerce and therefore emissions, should easily deliver a 5 per cent carbon cut. Probably more.
Instead, he's piling on $42 billion worth of emissions. We've reached a tipping point, as they say. Rudd has tipped against the "defining challenge''.
For more brilliance Join Tim Blair's blog
By Tim Blair
The Daily Telegraph
February 07, 2009 12:00am
IT'S hot this weekend. So take off your shirt and lie down in the sun.
Join Tim Blair's blog
You'll be surprised how cool you feel.
It might sound counter-intuitive, but that's apparently the way we're supposed to do things these days. And for some time prior.
Over the past 10 years, for example, while the economy roared along, we were told to reduce credit card debt and boost savings.
Now the economy is weakening, we're told to spend like crazy.
In 2007, then opposition treasury spokesman Wayne Swan complained about families struggling to pay credit card debt.
Two years later, he's begging us to hit the shops. If, by the way, the aim of the Government's stimulus exercise was to put cash in retailer pockets, why not give it straight to retailers? Just a thought.
(Also, it's a little bold for any money-grabbing Australian government to tell us how to spend our money when they decide to give some back.
If it's such a great idea for us to buy things, let us keep the cash in the first place. We'd have a hell of lot more, too, without it being processed through the taxation department.)
People facing an increased risk of unemployment might understandably feel disinclined to spend. Moreover, even if everyone who receives their Ruddollars and Kevincents dutifully blows the lot on locally-made goods, there is no certainty that it will solve our economic problems.
That's because these economic problems aren't exclusively ours. It's a global financial crisis, after all.
Just as you can't cure alleged global warming by closing Australian coal plants, you can't repair a global money meltdown by throwing $950 at Bing Lee.
As a measure of Australia's place in global economic terms, consider that the $US819 billion in US President Barack Obama's stimulus plan represents - according to someone armed with a bible and a calculator - nearly $US1 million every day since the birth of Jesus Christ.
By contrast, the Rudd stimulus plan represents $US1 million every day since the birth of Maggie Tabberer.
Who, while admirable in the fields of fashion and publishing, is yet to surprise anyone at Easter.
Despite all of this, we're yet to feel the full impact of the ever-looming crisis.
As much as I'm a fan of extreme capitalism, to use Kevin Rudd's phrase, might it not be a good idea to hang on to some of our billions until precise needs are identified?
Instead, we're getting $4 billion worth of government-funded household insulation.
Ask elderly relatives what they most craved during the Great Depression - chances are it wasn't pink batts, which aren't exactly edible.
As a response to international economic turmoil, loading roofs with fibreglass is one of your more eccentric options. One justification is that it will reduce carbon emissions.
Which gets us back to the other great crisis of our time.
If Rudd is serious about addressing climate change, which he described as "the defining challenge of our generation'', he has the solution right in front of him.
The economic downturn, with a reduction in commerce and therefore emissions, should easily deliver a 5 per cent carbon cut. Probably more.
Instead, he's piling on $42 billion worth of emissions. We've reached a tipping point, as they say. Rudd has tipped against the "defining challenge''.
For more brilliance Join Tim Blair's blog
Malcolm Turnbull Australian federal opposition leader on Stimulus package
I sit here in Australia watching President Obama spruiking the same drivel that Prime Minister Rudd is rolling out every ten minutes, telling anyone who will listen, how his stimulus package will save Australia from the jaws of economic death.
There is of course one catch to Australia's very own messiah and change agent's rescue package, and that is it has to happen NOW, better still yesterday, but at the very latest NOW.
Rudd's master plan must not /cannot be debated or scrutinised by the Australian Parliament, it simply must be implemented immediately, and any opposing opinion is simply un Australian and the work of mischief makers and CAPITALISTS, or as Kevin 07 says "extreme Capitalism" that's not to be confused with, what I am sure, Kevin 07 would describe as "good" , "socialist" or "honourable" capitalism of the kind,that manifested the hundreds of millions of dollars his and his wife's various companies are now the beneficiaries of.
I have to wonder is Kevin 07 "I have never been a socialist" Rudd, giving or receiving orders from / to President "yes we can" Obama, I keep wondering who is the student and who is the pupil, they are both in the "time for change business" code for, amongst many things, bypassing the democratic process and implementing the agenda of International Socialism.
6 2 09 Rudd on a Dangerous, Ill-Informed Crusade
Gaza: United Nations retracts School Bombing LIE
Hey how about this, the United Nations LIED who would have thought such a thing possible from the International Socialist ?
Ok picture this, you run a school in an area where Islamic terrorist and assassins, are hiding, some of these terrorists and assassins are killed by the Israeli offensive, why would you then release a press statement to the worlds fawning media that the children inside your school were KILLED as a result of Israel hunting down and killing the Islamic terrorists and assassins?
The United Nations are now saying they were in error in their initial press release, that they now know NO children were killed in their school as a result of the Israeli's hunting down and killing Islamic terrorists and assassins.
If I ran a school, indeed If I was the maintenance man in a school, I am sure I would notice if there were DEAD children littered throughout my school, I would not need a month to decide if there were in fact DEAD children inside my school or not.
But hey that's just me, who am I to question the cognitive and perceptual abilities of those all knowing all wise United Nations carers and sharers, but hey what a great headline it was:
Ok picture this, you run a school in an area where Islamic terrorist and assassins, are hiding, some of these terrorists and assassins are killed by the Israeli offensive, why would you then release a press statement to the worlds fawning media that the children inside your school were KILLED as a result of Israel hunting down and killing the Islamic terrorists and assassins?
The United Nations are now saying they were in error in their initial press release, that they now know NO children were killed in their school as a result of the Israeli's hunting down and killing Islamic terrorists and assassins.
If I ran a school, indeed If I was the maintenance man in a school, I am sure I would notice if there were DEAD children littered throughout my school, I would not need a month to decide if there were in fact DEAD children inside my school or not.
But hey that's just me, who am I to question the cognitive and perceptual abilities of those all knowing all wise United Nations carers and sharers, but hey what a great headline it was:
"UN School bombed by Israel, children killed"
Yeah that's much better PR for your partners in crime than:
"Israel kills Islamic terrorists and assassin's"
"Israel kills Islamic terrorists and assassin's"
Malcolm Turnbull Kevin Rudd Stimulus Package
Turnbull Doorstop with Hockey - Securing our economic future, Kevin Rudd's plan to lump every Australian with $9500 in debt...
The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP
Leader of the Opposition
Fri, 6th February 2009
Subjects: Securing our economic future; Kevin Rudd's plan to lump every Australian with $9500 in debt; comparable countries using tax cuts for economic stimulus; small business.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well you can see the people we’ve been talking to here are concerned about debt, they’re concerned about the level of debt Kevin Rudd is proposing to run up and the fact that their children and their grandchildren are going to have to pay it off. And they can’t understand why he’s going to take us deeper and deeper into debt – $200 billion in order to fund cash handouts. What will we have to show for that?
Now Reg, you saw the last cash handout, how did that affect your business here?
MR CAIN:
It actually, Malcolm, didn’t affect us here in Gladesville a hell of a lot. We did have people come into the shop before the handout was given and said, ‘I want you to hold that fridge for us’. But they’re still coming in weeks later and still haven’t bought it. So it didn’t affect Gladesville in that sense too much.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
And what do you think about the idea of another $11 billion being handed out in March?
MR CAIN:
Really I think he’s got to stop shooting from the hip and throwing money at everything, get some infrastructure going, something that’s going to be fundamental down the track, just instead of throwing it away.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well that’s right. Well I think at the moment he is giving drunken sailors a bad name, spending so much money. Look, this is all about the future of Australia. We are facing economic challenges – that’s true. Yes, the Government should act and have an effective economic stimulus but it must be one that works, that gets the maximum bang for every tax payer’s buck. That’s what we are focussed on. We are focussed on prudent investment in the productivity of our economy, investment that will create jobs.
Mr Rudd said his $10 billion cash splash in December would create 75,000 jobs, where are they? We’ve seen no evidence from the Government that it created one job let alone 75,000. And now he’s proposing to back up and do it all over again.
So we’re standing up for good economic management. We’re standing up for the tax payers, but above all we’re standing up for our children because, believe me, when he maxes out our credit card, our national credit, at $200 billion, it will be our children and our grandchildren that will be paying it off for many years to come.
QUESTION:
Mr Turnbull what would happen if you went on this tour in maybe a shopping centre in Penrith and you were talking to shop owners like you just did, what do you think the response would have been from those people and people in Campbeltown?
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well to be honest with you from right around Australia we are… Look, when we took this stand I thought it was going to be, I still believe, it will be unpopular. I thought it was going to be poisonously unpopular frankly and we all felt we were going to get hammered into the ground in the opinion polls, and we probably will be, but we took this stand because it was right.
But I have to say it’s been very interesting just looking at the calls we’re getting, and the emails we’re getting, and the feedback we’re getting, is that more and more Australians are starting to say, hang on, this isn’t right? We shouldn’t be spending all of this money and racking up all this debet. Where’s the evidence that it’s going to create jobs? Where’s the evidence that it’s going to make our economy stronger?
So we’ll see. We will see. I have great faith in the common sense of Australians.
JOE HOCKEY:
Just to give clarity there, this is the border of Bennelong and North Sydney. So the suggestion that somehow this is a particularly wealthy area is just dead wrong. Gladesville is middle Australia. Gladesville is very middle Australia and the suggestion somehow that it’s a wealthy area or we didn’t speak to any of the people that are, you know, actually the punters out there is wrong.
QUESTION:
Well what about the elderly in Blacktown or the pensioners in Campbeltown or the people in Rosemeadow who went through what they did last month?
MR CAIN:
Would you like me to speak on say Lismore? Would you class Lismore as middle of the road, because you’ve got Nimbin and those places around it, and I own a store in Lismore and we really didn’t receive too much spending from the last throw away item, I can tell you that and I can show you facts and figures.
QUESTION:
Mr Turnbull what do you make… Kevin Rudd is in Canberra at the moment talking with businesses, unions, schools – a bit optimistic considering the package still hasn’t been passed yet?
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well look he’s certainly entitled to talk to whoever he likes. The only person he doesn’t want to talk to or the only people he doesn’t want to talk to are us. What he should be doing is sitting down with the Opposition. We’ve reached out to him and said: let’s work together and see if we can agree on a stimulus package that we can all support. And the Australian people want their leaders in Parliament to work together, but Mr Rudd’s approach, remember, Mr Rudd’s approach was to say, ‘here it is, take it or leave it, you’ve got to pass it through the parliament in 48 hours’. He wanted this legislation passed in 48 hours.
Now because we have stood up for taxpayers, and for our children and for good economic management it’s going to go through scrutiny in the Senate. But he is not interested in negotiation; he is not interested in discussion – and in many ways Kevin Rudd is right out on a limb of his own. Now you’ll recall that we have argued that a better stimulus than another huge handout would be to bring forward the tax cuts that are already legislated for in 2009 and 2010. So they’re the tax cuts the Labor Government legislated for, they were essentially a copy of what we proposed in the last election and had complete support. Bring them forward by 18 months. Mr Rudd and his ministers have said that’s a disgrace, tax cuts have no role as part of an economic stimulus package. And yet every other country in the world, comparable country that is undertaking stimulus measures has included tax cuts. Australia is the only one that hasn’t.
So the person who is out of step with the global response to this is Kevin Rudd.
QUESTION:
Would it be worth sending the Budget into deficit if you were to give more money to small business in terms of keeping jobs, hiring new people, pay rises for those people who are already working?
MR CAIN:
Good question. Very, very good question.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Reg, what do you think? There you go – ask a small business proprietor?
MR CAIN:
Why not reduce the payroll tax? We’ve got about 34, 35 people on the staff. We pay about $25,000 a year just for the privilege to employ people. I don’t think that’s a very fair tax. So you could reduce that. You could actually then also put superannuation on hold and that would be a fairer way to everyone to get some money back into the system instead of throwing it at people.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Yeah and that’s why Reg what we’ve recommended as a better way to support small business is for the Government to reimburse small businesses for a period, for say two years, for a portion of the superannuation guarantee levy. Now that would put cash back into the hands of every small business. And that of course, the virtue of that is that it benefits every small business whereas payroll tax in New South Wales for example is only paid if you have a payroll that is over $623,000 – that’s the current threshold.
So that is one approach. Look we, unlike Mr Rudd, we don’t believe we’ve got all the answers and we certainly don’t believe we’ve got the only answer. So that’s why we want to sit down with him and talk about effective measures. You see what he has offered small business, the only thing he has offered small business in this package is a 30 per cent depreciation, a tax deduction in effect, for equipment purchased this year. But if you’re a small business and you don’t need any new equipment, maybe you’ve got all the equipment you need, or you’re struggling with your own cash flow problem, that actually isn’t much help at all. Whereas if you give a benefit, be it on payroll tax as Reg canvassed, or on the superannuation guarantee levy, and then you benefit every business, every small business, then you’re actually putting cash back into the small business owners’ hands and above all making the cost of employing people less.
Remember, what is this all about? Jobs, jobs, jobs. Every dollar the Government spends, every policy it undertakes has to be about creating jobs and preserving jobs. And this package is not about jobs, indeed one of the Treasury officials said last night, long term it’s not about supporting jobs. Well it should be about supporting jobs and creating jobs short term, medium term and long term. That is our commitment.
QUESTION:
Mr Turnbull what is your view of Treasury saying the Government needs all $200 billion of the money that it’s seeking to borrow?
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well running up the expenses they are they will need to borrow $200 billion, but that’s the whole point. They’re spending too much and they’re borrowing to pay for it. What they’re doing is they’re maxing out the credit card. I mean it’s their decision to spend all this money; they are creating the debt by spending this money.
JOE HOCKEY:
Just to add there the Government has committed $66 billion of new expenditure since the last Budget, and given that it took us 10 years in government to pay of $100 billion of debt, how long will it take to pay of $200 billion of debt, let alone the fact that they’re flagging now that they’re going to have even more.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Thanks guys.
Video of the above door stop included in this news report
The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP
Leader of the Opposition
Fri, 6th February 2009
Subjects: Securing our economic future; Kevin Rudd's plan to lump every Australian with $9500 in debt; comparable countries using tax cuts for economic stimulus; small business.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well you can see the people we’ve been talking to here are concerned about debt, they’re concerned about the level of debt Kevin Rudd is proposing to run up and the fact that their children and their grandchildren are going to have to pay it off. And they can’t understand why he’s going to take us deeper and deeper into debt – $200 billion in order to fund cash handouts. What will we have to show for that?
Now Reg, you saw the last cash handout, how did that affect your business here?
MR CAIN:
It actually, Malcolm, didn’t affect us here in Gladesville a hell of a lot. We did have people come into the shop before the handout was given and said, ‘I want you to hold that fridge for us’. But they’re still coming in weeks later and still haven’t bought it. So it didn’t affect Gladesville in that sense too much.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
And what do you think about the idea of another $11 billion being handed out in March?
MR CAIN:
Really I think he’s got to stop shooting from the hip and throwing money at everything, get some infrastructure going, something that’s going to be fundamental down the track, just instead of throwing it away.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well that’s right. Well I think at the moment he is giving drunken sailors a bad name, spending so much money. Look, this is all about the future of Australia. We are facing economic challenges – that’s true. Yes, the Government should act and have an effective economic stimulus but it must be one that works, that gets the maximum bang for every tax payer’s buck. That’s what we are focussed on. We are focussed on prudent investment in the productivity of our economy, investment that will create jobs.
Mr Rudd said his $10 billion cash splash in December would create 75,000 jobs, where are they? We’ve seen no evidence from the Government that it created one job let alone 75,000. And now he’s proposing to back up and do it all over again.
So we’re standing up for good economic management. We’re standing up for the tax payers, but above all we’re standing up for our children because, believe me, when he maxes out our credit card, our national credit, at $200 billion, it will be our children and our grandchildren that will be paying it off for many years to come.
QUESTION:
Mr Turnbull what would happen if you went on this tour in maybe a shopping centre in Penrith and you were talking to shop owners like you just did, what do you think the response would have been from those people and people in Campbeltown?
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well to be honest with you from right around Australia we are… Look, when we took this stand I thought it was going to be, I still believe, it will be unpopular. I thought it was going to be poisonously unpopular frankly and we all felt we were going to get hammered into the ground in the opinion polls, and we probably will be, but we took this stand because it was right.
But I have to say it’s been very interesting just looking at the calls we’re getting, and the emails we’re getting, and the feedback we’re getting, is that more and more Australians are starting to say, hang on, this isn’t right? We shouldn’t be spending all of this money and racking up all this debet. Where’s the evidence that it’s going to create jobs? Where’s the evidence that it’s going to make our economy stronger?
So we’ll see. We will see. I have great faith in the common sense of Australians.
JOE HOCKEY:
Just to give clarity there, this is the border of Bennelong and North Sydney. So the suggestion that somehow this is a particularly wealthy area is just dead wrong. Gladesville is middle Australia. Gladesville is very middle Australia and the suggestion somehow that it’s a wealthy area or we didn’t speak to any of the people that are, you know, actually the punters out there is wrong.
QUESTION:
Well what about the elderly in Blacktown or the pensioners in Campbeltown or the people in Rosemeadow who went through what they did last month?
MR CAIN:
Would you like me to speak on say Lismore? Would you class Lismore as middle of the road, because you’ve got Nimbin and those places around it, and I own a store in Lismore and we really didn’t receive too much spending from the last throw away item, I can tell you that and I can show you facts and figures.
QUESTION:
Mr Turnbull what do you make… Kevin Rudd is in Canberra at the moment talking with businesses, unions, schools – a bit optimistic considering the package still hasn’t been passed yet?
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well look he’s certainly entitled to talk to whoever he likes. The only person he doesn’t want to talk to or the only people he doesn’t want to talk to are us. What he should be doing is sitting down with the Opposition. We’ve reached out to him and said: let’s work together and see if we can agree on a stimulus package that we can all support. And the Australian people want their leaders in Parliament to work together, but Mr Rudd’s approach, remember, Mr Rudd’s approach was to say, ‘here it is, take it or leave it, you’ve got to pass it through the parliament in 48 hours’. He wanted this legislation passed in 48 hours.
Now because we have stood up for taxpayers, and for our children and for good economic management it’s going to go through scrutiny in the Senate. But he is not interested in negotiation; he is not interested in discussion – and in many ways Kevin Rudd is right out on a limb of his own. Now you’ll recall that we have argued that a better stimulus than another huge handout would be to bring forward the tax cuts that are already legislated for in 2009 and 2010. So they’re the tax cuts the Labor Government legislated for, they were essentially a copy of what we proposed in the last election and had complete support. Bring them forward by 18 months. Mr Rudd and his ministers have said that’s a disgrace, tax cuts have no role as part of an economic stimulus package. And yet every other country in the world, comparable country that is undertaking stimulus measures has included tax cuts. Australia is the only one that hasn’t.
So the person who is out of step with the global response to this is Kevin Rudd.
QUESTION:
Would it be worth sending the Budget into deficit if you were to give more money to small business in terms of keeping jobs, hiring new people, pay rises for those people who are already working?
MR CAIN:
Good question. Very, very good question.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Reg, what do you think? There you go – ask a small business proprietor?
MR CAIN:
Why not reduce the payroll tax? We’ve got about 34, 35 people on the staff. We pay about $25,000 a year just for the privilege to employ people. I don’t think that’s a very fair tax. So you could reduce that. You could actually then also put superannuation on hold and that would be a fairer way to everyone to get some money back into the system instead of throwing it at people.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Yeah and that’s why Reg what we’ve recommended as a better way to support small business is for the Government to reimburse small businesses for a period, for say two years, for a portion of the superannuation guarantee levy. Now that would put cash back into the hands of every small business. And that of course, the virtue of that is that it benefits every small business whereas payroll tax in New South Wales for example is only paid if you have a payroll that is over $623,000 – that’s the current threshold.
So that is one approach. Look we, unlike Mr Rudd, we don’t believe we’ve got all the answers and we certainly don’t believe we’ve got the only answer. So that’s why we want to sit down with him and talk about effective measures. You see what he has offered small business, the only thing he has offered small business in this package is a 30 per cent depreciation, a tax deduction in effect, for equipment purchased this year. But if you’re a small business and you don’t need any new equipment, maybe you’ve got all the equipment you need, or you’re struggling with your own cash flow problem, that actually isn’t much help at all. Whereas if you give a benefit, be it on payroll tax as Reg canvassed, or on the superannuation guarantee levy, and then you benefit every business, every small business, then you’re actually putting cash back into the small business owners’ hands and above all making the cost of employing people less.
Remember, what is this all about? Jobs, jobs, jobs. Every dollar the Government spends, every policy it undertakes has to be about creating jobs and preserving jobs. And this package is not about jobs, indeed one of the Treasury officials said last night, long term it’s not about supporting jobs. Well it should be about supporting jobs and creating jobs short term, medium term and long term. That is our commitment.
QUESTION:
Mr Turnbull what is your view of Treasury saying the Government needs all $200 billion of the money that it’s seeking to borrow?
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Well running up the expenses they are they will need to borrow $200 billion, but that’s the whole point. They’re spending too much and they’re borrowing to pay for it. What they’re doing is they’re maxing out the credit card. I mean it’s their decision to spend all this money; they are creating the debt by spending this money.
JOE HOCKEY:
Just to add there the Government has committed $66 billion of new expenditure since the last Budget, and given that it took us 10 years in government to pay of $100 billion of debt, how long will it take to pay of $200 billion of debt, let alone the fact that they’re flagging now that they’re going to have even more.
MALCOLM TURNBULL:
Thanks guys.
Video of the above door stop included in this news report
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