‘Asylum seeker rioters secretly sent to Melbourne‘

Tony Abbott:
“..“Since December 2007, the price of electricity is up 51 per cent, gas is up 30 per cent, and water is up 46 per cent. Education costs have risen 24 per cent, health 20 per cent and rent 21 per cent. Grocery prices are up 14 per cent. Since the middle of 2009, interest rate rises have added $500 a month to mortgage repayments while wages have risen just 7 per cent…”

“Today, I had to explain to my mother that the eruption of volcanoes is mainly caused by the earth’s crust moving about, not by global warming. She’s a primary school teacher.”
via Tim Blair

First, the headline..reported worldwide, with breathless glee:
“Obama’s approval rating hits 60%”

Now, the truth:
‘Wow! The AP poll has Obama’s approval rating hitting 60 percent! And 53 percent say he deserves to be reelected!
And on the economy, 52 percent approve of the way Obama’s handling it, and only 47 percent disapprove! He’s up 54–46 on approval of how he’s handling health care! On unemployment, 52 percent approval, 47 percent disapproval! 57 percent approval on handling Libya! Even on the deficit, he’s at 47 percent approval, 52 percent disapproval!
….But then you get to the party ID: 46 percent identify as Democrat or leaning Democrat, 29 percent identify as Republican or leaning Republican, 4 percent identify as purely independent leaning towards neither party, and 20 percent answered, “I don’t know.”..’
source

‘LSU Student Decides Against Burning Flag as Thousands Stage Counter Demonstration
A student’s plans to burn an American flag on the LSU campus were cut short when thousands of combative counter demonstrators arrived on scene, prompting police to escort the student to safety.
Crowds wearing red, white and blue and chanting “U-S-A” threw water balloons and ice at Benjamin Haas, a communication studies graduate student, while he tried to read a prepared statement in front of an estimated crowd of 1,500 to 2,500 students and community members…’
Thanks Darin for the heads-up.

‘A veterans memorial is called an ‘impermissible act of expression’ because it displays an American flag’
video HERE
message to DOT below the fold

Continue reading →

‘..THE cost of managing asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat has blown out by more than 400 per cent to over $1 billion.
The government last year budgeted just $239 million for offshore asylum seeker management in 2011-12.
But this year’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship budget papers now put the cost at $1.06 billion.
…The government will spend $107.7 million over four years to fund the new process for determination of boat people, in response to a High Court judgement.
The government is also giving Migration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal an extra $14 million over four years to deal with their increased caseload.
Border protection will cost the government an estimated $1.1 billion in 2011-12. It will spend $77.1 million to continue anti-people smuggling surveillance and detection operations.
The government will also spend $33.3 million over three years to strengthen anti-people smuggling cooperation with Australia’s neighbours.
The government will also extend the lease of the ACV Triton maritime patrol vessel at a cost of $62 million. It will spend almost $44 million upgrading infrastructure at Christmas Island..’                 source

Even this is only part of the cost of importing the detritus from failed shit-holes–what about the social costs? And how much are these people costing in welfare payments?

‘Last Thursday, TVNZ’s current affairs programme Close Up asked viewers “Do Maori have a special place in this country?” The result was overwhelming – 81 percent of the 40,000 respondents said “No”, Maori do not have a special place.
…The patience of the nation has now come to an end. It is time to fight back against the accusations of racism that are hurled at anyone who takes a stand and speaks out against race-based rorts. Those who opposed Nationals’ Marine and Coastal Area Bill faced such accusations of racism. But it is not us who are the racists. We want all races to be treated equally. The real racists are those who seek special privilege based on race and the politicians who gift it to them. Surely the time is right to say “no more”.’
Muriel Newman

No, not what you may be thinking! We found a road-side stall here in town selling local produce, including 250g jars of stringybark honey. The label on the jars reads:
“This honey was sourced from the upper reaches of the Coolaburragundy river. It was extracted from the honey comb in 1952, but due to the government introducing a 2 pence per pound levy, the bee farmer decided to protest and store his honey instead of selling it. This honey has been in storage from 1952 until the present day.”
And it tastes wonderful! If there are any honey fans among you I’ll be happy to send a jar.