Syrian crisis worsens

The US is obviously upset with Britain.  Yesterday they praised France as their 'oldest ally' who was standing ready to join them in confronting the 'thug and murderer' President Bashar Assad.

It reminds me of another British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, who refused to answer the call to join the US in the fight against communism in Vietnam.  On 28 June 1966 Wilson 'disassociated' his government from the American bombing of the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong.

I see President Obama's problem and sympathize.  "A lot of people think something should be done but nobody wants to do it" he said. As the world waits for the UN to release their report, the US firmly believes there is now irrefutable evidence to prove that Assad killed 1,429 people including 426 children in a nerve gas attack on a Damascus suburb 10 days ago.  And the only country prepared to do something about it is France.  But there is another real concern - who are these rebels and what do they stand for? 


There was a post placed on Facebook yesterday about Syria and someone thinks its the work of Assad's 11 year old son Hafez, but its authenticity has yet to be confirmed.

The Facebook post in full (unedited)

12 hours we waited… 48 hours they said, we're waiting… they may have the best army in the world, maybe the best airplanes, ships, tanks than ours, but soldiers? No one has soldiers like the ones we do in Syria, if you ask me what rank would I rank American "soldiers" I wouldn't rank them the worst because the worst are soldiers, but America doesn't have soldiers, what it has is some cowards with new technology who claim themselves liberators, they said they supported the "revolution" but actually they made it, right now we're all syrian it doesn't matter if your with or against because that's democracy, the abilty to express yourself in your own way so when people say that they are against the "regime" it's fine but there's a difference between those people and the people who claim our flag green, it's like an offense to the country, but the worst is people who accuse the army of killing them, they accuse these men who are willing to risk they're lives and die to keep us safe, of killing us, well when these people say that "the army is gonna end beacuse America will attack" I can say that when America attacks it's gonna attack every syrian, with, against, terrorists, the army.I can expect that some people may comment that America is more powerful than us, my response is that first you don't know what we have, second maybe they are stronger, maybe they will destroy the army, but they will never destroy these remnants and little bits of resistance, it's who we are, we were born to fight and resist, we will fight them everywhere until they get out if they came in in the first place, no matter how much hard they try to get us out of our holy land they will never succeed, it's where we come from it's where our roots and predecessors come from.I just want them to attack sooo much, because I want them to make this huge mistake of beginning something that they don't know the end of it, just like Hezbollah defeated Israel and the NATO and by what? What did Hezbollah have back then? Some street fighters and some small rockets and a pile of guns, but they had belief, In theirselves and in their country and that's exactly what's gonna happen to America if it chooses invasion because they don't know our land like we do, no one does, victory is ours in the end no matter how much time it takes.

The US strikes are planned for this weekend. 

USA prepared to act alone on Syria

President Obama is pepared to act alone on Syria - he is not prepared to wait for allies to join him.  White House spokesman Josh Earnest said "We certainly are interested in engaging with the global international community on this issue but at the same time, the President's chief accountability is to the American people that he was elected to protect."  But do the American people really need protection from Syria?

It's not hard to understand why Britain and Canada have voted against taking action against Syria, the whole world knows what happens when America calls allies into battle, too many young men have died in a foreign land fighting for a cause they don't believe in. And Syria is another cause we don't believe in because it's none of our business. Russia and China are their friends so why don't they intervene by publicly chastising Assad and defusing the whole problem?

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the winners of WWII - Russia, China, USA, UK and France will never agree because China and Russia remember what happened in Libya.  The US and the UK said they had to protect Libyan civilians with air support to the rebels which left Gaddafi lying dead in a ditch.

But there's a way around it, NATO can intervene because using chemical warfare against your own people breaks all the rules, and allows them to give air support to the rebels.

Putin said Assad wasn't responsible for the gas attack, it was the rebels and referred to an incident when a rebel fighter was filmed taking a bite out of the liver he had cut from a dead Syrian soldier. He posed the question - why would the west want to protect animals like this?  But even if he's lying, it still puts doubt in our minds as to who is actually guilty and that's why we must wait for the UN inspectors' report.

Israel said it's not involved in Syria's civil war but nevertheless, is on full alert and will respond with all its might if attacked.

All eyes are now concentrated on the what the UN inspectors find. It brings back chilling memories of another group of UN inspectors who went into Iraq looking for weapons of mass destruction. Once bitten, twice shy.

Edit:  Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has hinted that he may attend the G20 meeting in Russia on September 5 and 6, even though the federal election falls on 7th September.  Mr Rudd sees himself as an important world leader and is under the impression that the world cares about what he thinks, it doesn't, and in 8 days time, hopefully he will be gone.  It now looks as though President Obama will be going into Syria alone.

Government corruption in Papua New Guinea

According to The Economist, a respected British news magazine, PNG's governments are notorious for corruption.  The 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index rated PNG 2.5 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10, (very clean).

Billions of dollars in foreign aid to PNG are being siphoned off by corrupt politicians and officials says Sam Koim, head of PNG's Anti-Corruption Task Force, who is on a mission to stop it.

Sam Koim

Australia contributes around $500 million to the PNG budget and 40 per cent of that budget is being stolen every year and transferred to Australian banks. "The dirty money is then moved from the banks to Australian-based businesses and then the money disappears" Mr Koim said.

Among those facing a committal hearing are three current politicians - Paul Tiensten, Mark Maipakai, and Francis Potape. The Task Force has arrested and charged 59 people with 30 committed to stand trial. Some of those arrested have properties in Australia and preparations are being made to have their assets frozen.

In July 2009, $45 million was deposited at the Commonwealth Bank in Lismore into a company account called Woodlawn Capital and how it got there is interesting.  It started in PNG with the Government-owned Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited (MVIL) who own shares in the Bank of South Pacific. They used those shares to take out a loan to raise $45 million.  That money was then transferred to Australia into the account of Woodlawn Capital at the Commonwealth Bank.


Griffith University Professor Jason Sharman says the responsible minister for the illegal transaction was Arthur Somare who is the son of former PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.  Arthur was found guilty of 13 charges of misconduct in office and was suspended from office in office in 2011.

Sir Michael Somare

The PNG government recalled the $45 million from Woodlawn Capital's directors Tim McNamara and Tim Breen who deny any wrongdoing and said they had no idea the funds were stolen.  "We haven't laundered any money, all the money is accounted for, all money was held on behalf of the client" Mr Breen said. 

Current PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill

Mr Koim said the newly elected Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is committed to fighting corruption and he was the one who created the Anti Corruption Task Force.

A few weeks ago Kevin Rudd  struck a deal with Mr ONeill - he pledged $1.1 billion into operating the Manus Island Detention Centre over four years and promised to give another $420 million in foreign aid.  The mind boggles at the temptation. 

And one more thing, The Commonwealth Bank doesn't seem to mind where the money comes from, as long as it keeps coming.

Clive Palmer's new political party

It must be great to be rich and able to do anything you want, even start your own political party.  As owner of Mineralogy, Clive Palmer has iron ore, nickel and coal holdings and his net worth in January 2012 was estimated by Forbes to be $US795 million.

He wants to be Prime Minister and has put out some very juicy carrots to tease the electorate.  His new political party - the Palmer United Party (PUP) has promised to cut taxes, increase the pension and boost health spending.

Last week Mr Palmer dropped a bombshell.  He said that in April 2012, LNP candidate Mal Brough asked him to fund a sexual harassment case lawsuit against Peter Slipper that would destroy his career.  "Mal Brough said it was important for the Liberal Party to win the seat of Fisher" he said.

Mal Brough

Mal Brough said it's not true.  "This is an event that occurred 17 months ago and now two weeks from polling day, Mr Palmer comes forward." But he didn't deny the meeting.


Federal Court Judge Steven Rares said in December 2012 that the main purpose of the sexual harassment suit was to "pursue a political attack against Mr Slipper" and he dismissed the case.

Clive Palmer wants Mal Brough to stand down and if he doesn't, he's called on Tony Abbott to disendorse him, a move that's highly unlikely.

Peter Slipper

Mal Brough is a queer fish.  Journalist Malcolm Farr gave us an interesting insight into his character a few months back.  He relates an incident that happened back in 2001 when he was umpire at a social cricket match in Canberra between the pollies and the press gallery. Brough came into bat confidently and started well but when the ball from Mark Ludlow hit his pads right in front of the stumps, there was a shout from the wicket keeper and others and Farr called him out.  He writes:

He stormed off the ground in a loud fury, suggesting there was a plot to get him off the pitch.  He threw his bat and pads to the ground and demanded his wife follow him to the car. He took off in that car at high speed, leaving behind stunned team mates and opponents. Some 30 minutes later he and his wife returned. Brough made an announcement to the spectators which was so extraordinary, it can't be repeated here.  He then set about heckling the umpire - me.  He did it in such an unacceptable fashion, that Ian Causley, an old-school gentleman and National Party MP apologised to my wife who had to listen to it all.  It was a remarkable display of self-indulgence, bad temper and contempt for the social occasion.

Peter Slipper is making a valiant show of bravado by standing again in the Queensland seat of Fisher but it's unlikely he will win after his lewd text messages about female body parts were released, so Brough should romp home easily.

But getting back to Clive Palmer's political party, what he's saying, is what we want to hear, it's almost too good to be true and probably is. "Government wants to cut government expenditure, shrink the economy to the size of a pea and Rudd wants to join Abbott, and together they both want to tax us to oblivion" he said. But there's more. He'll cut income tax, abolish the fringe benefits tax and halve the tax rate paid on second jobs. 

"From July 1 2014 Palmer United will reduce personal income tax by 15 per cent for all Australians" he said."This will mean the average Australian taxpayer will have around $2,500 extra in his pocket every year."

And here's the juiciest carrot of all - his party will provide pensioners with an extra $150 each fortnight, and inject $80 billion into the federal health budget. "Palmer United will provide an additional $80 billion for health across Australia .... and will make such funds available directly to hospitals, not through Campbell Newman or state governments."

The party has nominated candidates in all House of Reps seats.  It will be interesting to see how he goes.  

A short guide to the Middle East

The letter ran in Thursday’s Financial Times.

Tony Abbott will buy leaky fishing boats

If elected, Tony Abbott intends to buy leaky fishing boats from poor Indonesian fishermen and destroy them.  He will also set up a "Village Watch" program where Indonesians will be paid for information leading to an arrest or major disruption to the people smuggling trade.

The boat buying scheme sounds a bit bizarre, as the poor fisherman will then have two potential buyers instead of one and will naturally hang out for the highest bidder.

Labor front bencher Bill Shorten agrees.  "Wait till the news gets through South-East Asia that if you've got a leaky unsafe boat, the Australian taxpayer will buy it off you" he said.  "I don't know who dreamed it up but I'm sure the Liberal Party should be taking that person and putting them in witness protection."

And it gets funnier.

"Mr Abbott's plan to have, it seems, a three star general, sitting at the end of the jetty with a cheque book to buy back fishing boats from Indonesia is about as irresponsible as his plan for a paid parental leave scheme which gives $75,000 to millionaires" he said.

President Assad now lowest form of life

President Obama has demanded that President Bashar al-Assad give UN officials immediate access to the site near Damascus where so many innocents have died.  If Assad refuses, it's going to put pressure on Obama to act.

But surely the days of the US undertaking the role of policeman of the world are coming to an end and this shocking chemical attack should be handled by the UN because that's what they're there for.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius made a fool of himself when he said world powers must respond with force if Assad is proved guilty. But in the same breath he said there was no question of France sending any troops so why did he say it in the first place? We know why - to stir the US into action and fix the problem for him.

Laurent Fabius

Israel isn't helping, they have accused the world of turning a blind eye and why not?  It's impossible to tell which side is telling the truth and we won't know who's right until the UN inspectors get permission to go in and have a look.

Keep calm and carry on America.

New Zealand passes domestic spy bill

Prime Minister John Kee

Last night after a passionate debate, New Zealand passed a bill that allows the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) to spy on its citizens.  But it only just scraped in - 61 votes to 59.  The bill gives the government legal access to electronic communications including mobile phone calls.

Last year the GCSB illegally spied on New Zealand resident and Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom.  Armed police raided his Auckland mansion as part of a US-led investigation into online piracy.

Dotcom was accused of costing the entertainment industry $500 million through pirated content uploaded to his file-sharing site which had 150 million users.  Dotcom denied the charges and fought an attempt to extradite him to the US. 

Kim Dotcom is furious with the new bill and said "This will be the birth of a surveillance state in New Zealand."

Kim Dotcom

The Prime Minister said he was sorry that so much misinformation had "alarmed and agitated" some citizens. "But my regret would be nothing compared to the threat if this legislation was not passed and New Zealanders were harmed because of a gap that currently exists in our security arrangements." 

In April this year, New Zealand made same sex marriage legal. Parliament spontaneously broke into song and people in the public gallery clapped and cheered  when the bill was passed  77 votes to 44. Australia is still reluctant to commit.  

Irish schoolgirl outed at Eminem concert

A 17 year old schoolgirl gave oral sex to two men at an Eminem concert in Ireland last Saturday night.  After the photos went viral, she is under sedation in hospital and her sexual partner has been praised as a hero and a legend.

Although many of the Twitter and Instagram pictures have been taken down and also the 'slut-shaming' page on Facebook, the world now knows who she is - a secondary schoolgirl from west Ireland.

Police arrested 63 people during the American rapper's concert, watched by 80,000 fans.  It was held at Slane Castle, organized by Lord Conyngham who lives at the castle and is known as the 'rock and roll aristocrat.'

A Twitter spokesman said "If people come across content that may violate our policies, we encourage them to report it so we can quickly follow up, rather than re-tweet images and links."

A Facebook spokesman said "Unfortunately there will always be a tiny number of malicious people who are intent on harming others, online and offline.  It is difficult to prevent this minority from behaving this way but once they do, we will work hard to  remove them from Facebook and make sure they are brought to justice."

Performing consensual sex acts in public in 2013 is reckless and stupid. In Australia, 9 out of 10 boys aged 13-16 and 60 per cent of girls have seen online porn, according to the University of Canberra, and the sex is getting rougher.

Acts of physical aggression against women occurred in 88 per cent of the most popular DVD and video porn in 2010. But the wrong message is being sent because the female porn star responds in positive ways to that aggression.  The viewer sees the woman enjoying being choked, gagged and hit.  

British PM David Cameron once described pornographic images as "corroding childhood" and this unfortunate Irish girl is just one of many teens today who are confused about what is required of them sexually. 

But they need to remember that the old-fashioned value about sex and women still applies today, as this incident shows - the man is a legend and a hero, but the girl is a slut.

Bob Katter's Australia Party

Bob Katter began his parliamentary career as the member of the National Party in 2001 but continues to hold the seat of Kennedy as an Independent. 

In June 2011 he made a brave decision to start his own party - Katter's Australia Party (KAP).  His father Bob Senior was the member for Kennedy for twenty four years and Bob Junior stepped easily into his shoes.  He is a Maronite Catholic of Irish and Lebanese descent.

In 2001 he resigned from the National Party and easily retained his seat as an Independent in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010, each time with almost 70 per cent of the vote and presently holds the seat with an 18 point majority.

James Blundell and Bob Katter

It's hard to describe Bob Katter.  He's known as the man who wears the big hat around Parliament House but he's also known as a rebel, a loose canon and totally unpredictable.  Some would say it's Bob's way or the highway, so it was no surprise when he started his own party.

Katter wanted country singer James Blundell on his team and convinced him to run for the Senate and if he wins, he could hold the balance of power.

Since Rudd's comeback, KAP hardly registers on the national Newspoll with just 0.4 per cent of the vote but in Queensland, the party has 1.8 per cent statewide.

Peter Garrett and Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil's lead singer Peter Garrett can't wait to get out of politics and Blundell thinks the country is losing a good man.  "That ferocious front-foot articulation of his should be right out in front of any contemporary political party" he said.

Peter Garrett at work in Canberra

A fan asked Blundell why he was going into politics - was it for the pension after his bankruptcy?  He said it had nothing to do with the money.  (The base salary for a senator is $180,000, plus perks, of course.)

After nine albums and winning nine Golden Guitar awards, Blundell lost most of his money trying to set up his own recording label and in 2010, he filed for bankruptcy.  It was discharged on March 13, allowing him to sign on as a KAP candidate.

But Blundell has already run into trouble. He made a speech which stunned the conservative KAP party faithful and some members have left because of it - he said he would support gay marriage.  In the same speech, he said he wanted to abolish penalty rates which upset the Queensland unions and more members walked.   Blundell and even Katter himself are accused of being in breach of their party's constitution which bans gay marriage and defines marriage as a lifetime union between a man and a woman.  

If elected, Blundell would join the Senate in July 2014.

Julia Gillard's ultimatum

I wonder if Julia Gillard expected to win the leadership ballot against Kevin Rudd that fateful night of June 26.  Late on Wednesday afternoon she announced the ballot would take place that night at 7 pm on one condition - that the loser must leave politics.

She had been down this road before and knew she had the numbers. Rudd conceded defeat and promised never to challenge again but as Labor continued to sink further in the polls, his supporters convinced him to have another go and this time, it paid off.

Did she have any idea that she could be the one leaving politics? When she made that spectacular ultimatum, it's unlikely she knew that at the eleventh hour, 30 minutes before the ballot, Bill Shorten would withdraw his support that ended her political career.

The next day, she sat with Treasurer Wayne Swan in the back benches and it was hard not to feel sorry for our first female Prime Minister. She held it all together right up until Rob Oakeshott, in his parting speech, said her father, who passed away earlier this year, would be proud of her.

As she watches the election campaign speed up from a distance, I wonder what she's thinking.

PNG won't settle refugees

PM Rudd and Peter O'Neill

A few weeks ago, Kevin Rudd announced he had stopped the boats once and for all by making a deal with PNG.  We took him at his word and thought it might just work. "There is one simple principle" he said.  "All asylum seekers arriving by boat would be diverted to PNG and settled there if found to be genuine refugees."  

Now we find out that's not true. PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said "There is no agreement that all refugees will be settled in PNG."

Mr O'Neill said PNG intends to work with the UN to find other countries who are prepared to take them and that includes Australia and New Zealand.  "Under that process, they (Australia) will get some and New Zealand has indicated they would take some" he said.

Meanwhile, Tony Abbott released his tough new refugee plan yesterday.  He will revert back to the successful conservative measures undertaken by John Howard's government that stopped the people smugglers in their tracks.  He's also going to axe the right of appeal for failed asylum claims.

And it doesn't just affect future people arriving by boat, but the 32,000 already here waiting to be processed.  They will be placed on a three year temporary protection visa if found to be genuine and forced to work.  If they can't find employment, they will have to undertake the work-for-welfare programme.  Family reunion rights will be scrapped and so will the loophole that has kept every failed asylum seeker in the country - the right of appeal.  Something tells me our courts may have something to say about that.

If elected, Abbott says he will undertake a military-led patrol off the northwest coast, where the boats make their way to Australia from Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and turn them around.

We've had to sit back and watch detention centres being burnt to the ground by angry people waiting too long to be processed.  The latest incident involved 125 asylum seekers on Nauru who burnt a new accommodation block and other new buildings to the ground which left taxpayers with a whopping $60 million bill. 

What to do about asylum seekers is a major election issue and after Peter O'Neill's revelation today that Kevin Rudd's refugee plan is a furfie, you have to wonder why he said he had the answer when he knew darn well that he didn't.

Rudd/Abbott debate at Brisbane Broncos

Sky News is pushing for a "People's Forum" debate between Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott at the Brisbane Broncos Leagues Club next week, where the audience gets to ask questions.

Prime Minister Rudd wants four debates with the Opposition Leader, one each on Channel 7, 9, 10 and the ABC, but he wants them on his terms.  Instead of questions coming from a live audience in the clubs, he would prefer the debate on free to air channels to include the provision for voters to ask questions via Facebook and Twitter.  He is also keen to debate Tony Abbott on the ABC's popular programme Q and A.

Last week's first debate at the National Press Club in Canberra was a boring non event and wasn't even a debate at all, just two men being polite and spuiking their own agendas. Sky News moderator David Speers revealed Mr Rudd breached the rules by reading from notes. Tony Abbott didn't have any notes. According to the rules issued by the National Press Club, "the leaders may have a pen and paper on the lectern and no other documentation or props."  The PM said he was unaware of the rule.

Fox came up with the idea of two debates in the heartland of the working classes - the famous Broncos Leagues Club in Brisbane and Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney.

The Bronco's People's Forum is set for August 21, but so far Mr Rudd hasn't agreed to attend.  And he has a valid excuse. "Free to air television is available to everyone, Sky is not because it's on pay TV" he said.  And he's right, there's a big difference, not everyone has cable, but Sky said they would make the broadcast available to all commercial channels and allow the ABC to televise at the same time.

The Opposition Leader seems to be holding all the cards at the moment, and says he will be at the Broncos next Wednesday.  If Mr Rudd doesn't show, it could be perceived as a sign of surrender.


Edit August 19, 2013:  Kevin Rudd has agreed to the debate Tony Abbott at the Brisbane Broncos this coming Wednesday, 21st August.

Mark Latham loses it

This week Opposition Leader Tony Abbott made another comment about women which according to the Labor Party, reinforced the view that he is a misogynst.  On the campaign trail, he was asked what he thought about the Liberal Party candidate for Penrith Fiona Scott and her predecessor, Jackie Kelly.

Tony Abbott and Fiona Scott

"They're young, they're feisty, I think I can probably say have a bit of sex appeal and they are just very, very connected to the local area" he said.

The Infamous handshake that almost pulled John Howard off his feet

Yesterday, Melbourne radio host Tom Elliott asked Mark Latham what he thought about Abbott's "sex appeal" comment.  He replied:

It showed very bad judgment and it shows he has low standards.  I had a good look at Fiona Scott on page 8 of the Australian today and she doesn't have sex appeal at all. She's not that good a sort. She's a rather plain, ordinary-looking woman and Abbott has exaggerated massively to try and win her vote among the blokes......Tony had the beer goggles on and in politics they say it's showbiz for the ugly people and I don't think she'll be out of place.  He's gilding the lilly here, he must have had his beer goggles on."

"That's worse than what Tony Abbott said" the radio host said "You just can't call a woman plain like that."

 Fiona Scott

But Mark Latham can and does quite often - that's what he's famous for. He's an angry man and an unpredictable loose canon. He was once the leader of the Labor Party and when John Howard beat him at the polls, he had a personal meltdown and resigned in a huff, citing health problems and blaming his colleagues, the media, and anyone else he could think of for his demise, because it wasn't his fault.

Jeff Kennett

Jeff Kennett, a former Liberal Premier of Victoria, had the guts to stand up and tell the world he suffered from depression and said that Latham's erratic behaviour which contributed to his political downfall was symptomatic of bi-polar disorder - extreme mood swings caused by depression.  Latham was furious and demanded an apology which Kennett gave through The Age newspaper.  He wrote:

My comments were not made based on my knowledge of Mark Latham's health, but on my considerable observations and dealings with people with depressive illnesses over the last eight years. I did not seek to harm or embarrass Mark Latham in any way and apologise for any hurt my comments have caused him or his family. I also withdraw my comments, as he requested.

Fiona Scott

You might wonder why a failed Labor leader is still constantly sought after by the media.  It's because he's good value.  Wherever he goes, as a guest on Q & A or on Fox News, he's always interesting and never boring.  He says outrageous things that nobody else would be game enough to say.

He said that the people at Fox News, namely award-winning journalist David Speers, Kieran Gilbert, Chris  Kenny, Peter van Olselen and Graham Richardson made more mistakes than the Australian batting line-up in India and Sky's viewers would have been more accurately informed if the station had simply broadcast a test pattern.

Professor Peter Van Olselen

But this time he's gone too far, he's insulted a young woman who didn't deserve it and he should take Kennett's advice, and seek help.

John Howard backs Barnaby Joyce

Barnaby Joyce

Tony Windsor was one of three Independents who upset a lot of people three years ago by siding with Labor, giving them the power to form government.  Tony Windsor announced recently that he is retiring from politics on doctor's orders and his biggest regret is that he won't get the chance to "wipe the floor" with Barnaby Joyce in next month's general election.

When Julia Gillard wooed Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie over to the Labor camp, they were probably the three most hated men in the country and some conservative voters have kept up that hate campaign ever since.

As expected, Oakeshott and Windsor have decided not to run for re-election next month and Mr Windsor's family has blamed the stress of the past three years for making him unwell.  He's had to deal with constant death threats and abusive phone calls to his electoral office and a rude sign was displayed at the entrance to the family farm.

Tony Windsor

Many thought Joyce was crazy to leave the Senate and run against Tony Windsor in the Lower House. Even though Windsor was unpopular, there was no guarantee that he couldn't win again.  But the cards fell in Joyce's favour when Windsor announced last month that he would be retiring.

John Howard has come out of retirement to back Barnaby Joyce and said he showed courage to run against a proven winner.

The former Prime Minister said that when the Coalition was voted out in 2007, Australia's fiscal position was the envy of the world and we didn't survive the GFC because of Mr Rudd's good management, it was because his government paid all the bills before it hit and left Labor a huge surplus in the bank.

Mr Howard described Labor's border protection as a mess. "People should remember that if he (Rudd) hadn't interfered and changed my policy, we wouldn't have had the problem in the first place" he said.

And so the election campaign continues around the country and we seem to be heading the way of America - so much emphasis is now placed on the two candidates instead of the policies.

Nigella Lawson's ex-husband threatens suicide

Nigella's anguish and pain clearly visible after choking incident

It seems that Nigella Lawson's ex-husband Charles Saatchi has descended into a very dark place.  He's having a tough time accepting the loss of his wife and is appalled that he now has the reputation of being a wife-beater.  Only he knows which one he values more.

He bombarded Nigella with texts and phone calls day and night and said he would kill himself if she didn't speak to him so in the end, she gave in.  He now understands that the marriage is over and she's not coming back.

Nigella's career hasn't skipped a beat and she is one of the few British cooks to break into the American market.  She is currently on holiday in Italy with her sons but will return to the US to continue working on The Taste, where chefs take on amateur cooks in a cooking competition. She is not only a presenter but an executive producer and will return to London in October to start filming the British version of the show.

Friends of Charles said he became "unhinged" when Nigella remained silent and didn't defend him by telling the world that he was not an abusive husband, but she chose not to say anything, and sadly for him, that's what he'll be remembered for.  Apparently Charles is a very clever man and a very rich one.

It's strange how things work out, the shocking photos of Charles choking his wife ended up working in her favour, and as he descends into a deep depression, Nigella's star continues to rise.

Geoff Lake calls Kathy Magee a slut

Geoff Lake

Labor has just pre-selected Lawyer Geoff Lake to run in Simon Crean's safe Victorian Labor seat of Hotham. "The measure of a man is what he does with power" Plato once said, and Geoff Lake is heading for Canberra.

Labor's shining light for Hotham, Lawyer Geoff Lake, has admitted he abused a woman in a wheelchair when he was mayor in 2002 and also admitted to stalking a political rival.

When Geoff Lake was a young mayor in 2002 and Kathy Magee was a fellow Monash Councillor, she did or said something to upset him.  "I lent over to Councillor Magee and said "I can't believe what you did you f...... bitch.  You are a .... for doing that" he said.

When documents were lodged with the Victorian Equal Opportunity Commission, he admitted his behaviour was "demeaning and degrading" and offensive to women and said he was very sorry. "I was a young mayor and I got angry one night and I spoke to her in an angry way, which I acknowledged then and I acknowledge now" he said.

Kathy Magee

"If I had used any other word but 'slut' this would not be an issue" Lake said.

"When someone calls you a slut, it tends to be offensive" Ms Magee said.  "I have never had someone call me that before, you don't talk to a colleague like that, he was definitely an interesting person."  Ms Magee also claimed that Lake tried to charge drinks and brunch to her hotel account at a council conference, but it didn't work and he eventually paid up.

But wait, there's more!  Lake was also accused of stalking fellow councillor Tom Morrissey who applied for an intervention order. Lake accused him of rorting his travel expenses and gave out his mobile number which resulted in dozens of abusive phone calls. But he didn't stop there.  He went to his place of business and displayed placards, detailing how he had ripped off rate-payers.  Mr Morrissey has since passed away.

"I regret attending the business premises of Mr Morrissey.... and apologise" he wrote.

Late yesterday Lake rang Mr Magee to apologise again but it was too late, she had already spoken to the media.

Something is seriously wrong with Labor's pre-selection system if Lake is the best they can come up with. They either didn't know about his past or if they did, decided it didn't matter, but it does matter - a whole lot. There are already enough scoundrels in Canberra, we don't need another one. 

Edit 11 August 2013:  Kevin Rudd said it was "inappropriate for Mr Lake to continue as the endorsed Labor candidate for Hotham'' and asked for his resignation.

US closes embassies across Middle East

Sana'a, capital of Yemen

A young man passed through Heathrow's airport security without a hitch. In his backpack he had a few books and a diabetic kit with a syringe inside.  It's unusual for someone so young to be an insulin-dependent diabetic, but not unheard of.

Safely on board, the 747 takes off for Chicago and somewhere over Ireland, he goes to the toilet.  He injects the insulin into his stomach and quickly returns to his seat.  And then the plane blew up.  Flight No 4201 with 416 passengers on board disintegrated in mid air and there were no survivors.  The "insulin" he injected was the liquid chemical explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP) which detonated the plastic explosive in his stomach.

This scenario didn't happen but it could have.  A suicide bomber hid a bomb inside himself last year and tried to kill Afghanistan's head of security Asadullah Khalid.  Having survived two assassination attempts, Khalid was suspicious when a man from a peace envoy asked to see him.   The visitor was taken to the basement and ordered to strip in front of CCTV cameras.  When nothing was found, he was presented to Khalid and at that exact moment, he blew up.  Khalid survived but continues to suffer from severe internal injuries and wounds to his hands and legs.  

Al Qaeda's master bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asirir has invented a fool-proof way of killing us, the enemy, by concealing explosives inside the body that can't be detected by sophisticated airport scanners. They plan to surgically implant bombs in the abdominal cavity, buttocks and female breasts.  

Last Friday the US said they would close two dozen embassies and consulates across the Middle East and North Africa and issued a travel warning to their people.  France and Germany have closed their embassies in Yemen and the British have also shut up shop and urged their people to leave.

But Australia is "still reviewing the situation" and has no plans to close any embassies.  I just hope they know what they're doing.

Australian Muslims celebrate end of Ramadan

Muslims across Australia filled mosques this week to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan.  It was cold and raining in Sydney on Thursday morning but that didn't stop the faithful from filling the Lakemba mosque.  Roads around the mosque were blocked off to allow the congregation to spill onto the street.


Lakemba mosque is one of the largest mosques in Australia and is owned and managed by the Lebanese Moslems Association.