Letter to Andrew Sullivan

Hi Andrew,

I've been a longtime reader, for over 4 years now. Many people have said that you are no longer a conservative, and I haven't reached that conclusion myself. But as a non-American reader, I do believe that your focus has shifted towards American politics and ignored more pressing issues. And being America-centric is something that the left are guilty of far more often.

This weeks escalation in the middle east, with Israel being under siege and terrorists firing rockets at cities and kidnapping soldiers, you have almost totally ignored this issue.

I don't recall more than a token mention of the Mumbai train blast. Also, you devoted very little column space to North Korea's missile firing last week. You seem to be more concerned with torture and, since the Hamdan ruling, exposing past examples of torture, than other global conflicts.

Perhaps other conservatives don't cheer and support torture as much as you accuse, but they have other priorities. I've noticed you haven't said much about Iran's nuclear deceptions and Hamas shelling Israeli towns from Gaza over the last few months.

So perhaps, as far as foreign policy goes, you're not as much of a conservative as you once were.

Regards,
Jono

Kofi Annan praises despots, dicatotrs and thugs

This is what Kofi Annan, secretary general of the UN, had to say about the OIC - the Organisation of the Islamic Conference - a group of dictators, miltary generals and religious fundamentalists who oppress hundreds of millions of Muslims, deny women's equality, outlaw homosexuality, fuel anti-western hatred and promote intolerance, support terrorism, and most of all, demonise Jews and Israel.

Over the years, and especially the past decade, the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference have worked to promote tolerance, equality, development and the peaceful resolution of conflict.

Peaceful resolution of conflict ? Has anyone checked how peaceful the borders of most Muslim countries are ? Saudi Arabia is building walls to keep out Iraqis and Yemenis. Pakistan has bloody borders with India, Afghanistan and Iraq are full of ethnic violence, Chechnya is a hotbed of terrorism, and the Palestinians are the world's biggest supporters of terrorism and anti-semitism.

Heck, the UN would be quiet place without all the thugs and backward regimes of the world.

Costello vs Howard... yawn

The Australian media is buzzing with talk about the treasurer calling the PM a "liar". Well, not that Costello actually used the word liar, but they are trying to sensationalise the issue just a tad. According to the treasurer, back in 1994, Howard promised him that he would step aside after 1.5 years or something. And our PM of 10 years denies this was said or that any promise was made.

Whats really interesting is just how frantic the media have become. The media have a very short attention span and focus heavily on the personality behind the politics. Unlike the US media, the Australian media only focus on "who said what" on that day. There is very little focus on what policy they advocate and what principles they stand for. Everyone in politics seems to get a free pass when they change their stance on an issue, except for the PM himself who is scrutinised heavily. For example, the leader of the Greens does a backflip every month on a range of issues and says utterly moronic things, but the media pretend to have no memory and let him get away with it.

Ideally, when a bunch of power hungry politicians (is there any other variety) fight over power, it shouldn't be headline news. But theres an element of the paparazzi in there, our leaders are celebrities of a sort, so the media like to write about their lives at every turn.

The UN continues to bash Israel

The UN is a mafia, heavily populated by dictators, thugs and cronies.

If anyone tries to use the UN as a moral reference, a source of authority and sovereignty, in a debate, simply point them to this inconvenient truth (via Anne Bayefsky writing for the Jerusalem Post):

In Darfur, there are three quarters of a million people beyond humanitarian reach, 2.5 million people displaced by the violence, 385,000 people in immediate risk of starvation, and over two million dead in 22 years of violence and deprivation.

But it wasn't genocide in Sudan that interested the Human Rights Council. Nor was it a billion Chinese without civil and political rights. Not 13 million women in Saudi Arabia whose lives depend on hiding from sight in public places and never being caught behind the wheel of an automobile.
Not the dire human rights conditions of 23 million people in North Korea. Not Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's incitement to genocide or his country's legal system, which includes crucifixion, stoning and amputation.

NO, THERE was only one country singled out by the UN Human Rights Council, and that was Israel.

...

...

On its final day, the Council passed just one resolution condemning human rights violations by any of the 192 UN members, and directed it at Israel. When it was all over, the Council decided to hold its first special (emergency) session within the next few days - on Israel.

Your ABC.. sticking its nose where it shouldn't

I am not a fan of the ABC, but those that are, claim that its in the national interest to have a non-commercial broadcaster providing news and current affairs coverage. Despite the fact that the free market always provides these things so long as consumer's demand them, friends of the ABC proudly boast that because they are funded by government taxes, they are not susceptible to evil, corporate interests which skew their news reporting.

Of course, they ARE very prone to the left-wing biases of their editors and staff, but hey, lets not mention that.

Well lets concede for a second, that the ABC has a useful role as a provider of news and current affairs, and that is in the "national interest". But why the children's shows, or the gardening and cooking shows, or comedies and dramas ? Oh well.. I guess the ABC would justify that content as being important because they show "Australian made" shows, or with a local flavour, or "higher quality" shows than the commercial rivals. Mind you, unlike the commercial broadcasters, the ABC has a measure of quality that doesn't have anything to do with audience share and ratings.

Well lets even concede all of these things.. can someone please tell me what the hell the ABC staff are doing writing a book which is nothing more than a sensationalist smear attack on a conservative radio journalist, Alan Jones ?

After the ABC itself refused to publish the book written by one of its journalists, most likely because of pressure from Alan Jones' lawyers, the ABC writer found a publisher in the private market:

ALLEN & Unwin will publish the controversial biography of radio broadcaster Alan Jones, after the ABC dumped its plans to produce the book. Allen & Unwin today revealed it had secured the rights to publish the biography, penned by ABC investigative journalist Chris Masters. No release date has been announced for the book, which will be titled Jonestown: The Magic and The Myth of Alan Jones.

Of course, even though the ABC is no longer the pubisher of this book, they can't help but endorse it through their proxy mouthpiece, Media Watch, who pretend that the legal threats had nothing to do with the ABC's decision not to publish the piece of defamation and slander:

But ABC's Media Watch program this week claimed the decision not to publish was influenced by members on the public broadcaster's board.

This really makes my blood boil. Its not the fact that the ABC are biased. Everyone is biased. What is offensive is that the ABC are the only people with the arrogance to claim that they are not funded by sponsorship and advertising, so therefore they are free from corporate influence and bias. And they run a program with the seemingly innocuous name "Media Watch". But its nothing more than a mouthpiece for their left-wing ideology, each week attacking conservative media and journalists and never criticising or correcting their brethren within the ABC.

Privatise the ABC now !

Photo of the day

Theres a new party bear in town !

STATELINE, Nev. - A bear cub drew a crowd of spectators at a Lake Tahoe neighborhood as it munched on barbecue-chicken-and-jalapeno pizza in the back seat of a vintage red Buick convertible.

It also apparently washed it down with a swig of a Jack Daniel's mixer, an Absolut vodka and tonic, and a beer taken from a cooler, the vehicle's owner said.

Kinky airlines.

I bet Richard Branson came up with this, the sly old dog. Thats why he hires such good looking flight attendants.

Human bomb factory

This is the epitome of a death cult society that the paleo-stinians have become. A woman who has given birth to 8 children and raised them to be "martyrs", has herself strapped on a suicide belt and hopes to murder as many Israelis as possible.
These are not the actions of a desperate and oppressed population. These are the barbaric actions of a people indoctrinated with a totalitarian ideology. Brainwashed with religious sermons to hate Israel, America and all non-Muslims.
A year ago, Israel withdrew totally from Gaza, giving Palestinians full control of the region. What do they do with that ? Do they built infrastructure and develop the economy ? Do they try to bring about stability, law and order ?

No - a bunch of terrorists dug tunnels, infiltrated into Israel and kidnapped an Israeli soldier. Israel is refusing to negotiate with these lunatics and are doing what it takes to recover him, using military incursions into Gaza.

A former Israeli PM, Golda Meir, famously said that there would be peace between Arabs and Jews when Arabs learn to love their children more than they hate the Jews. This woman has 8 children to raise, but she is willing to blow that all away (pardon the pun).

The caption reads:

Um Ahmed, 36, a mother of eight, holds what she claims is a suicide belt, as she sits for an interview with journalists in the village of Abasa, near the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis Wednesday July 5, 2006. She is one of a group of at least 20 women in the village that are given, according to the local al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades commander, suicide belts every night in preparation for an expected Israeli assault on the town. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Hamas: The violence will never stop

In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, a member of Hamas' political leadership in Syria reveals Hamas will never recognise Israel's right to exist, and therefore will never stop using violence:

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Now, Hamas has approved the so-called “Prisoners’ Paper,” which recommends a two-state solution. Does that mean that Hamas is now prepared to recognize the state of Israel?

Abu Marzook: With this agreement, we have primarily agreed to strengthen the resistance in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Aside from that, we have agreed on the goal of establishing a Palestinian state in these areas.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Doesn’t that mean that Hamas inevitably accepts the Israeli state in the rest of that area?

Abu Marzook: The paper does not say that at all. It is purely about the future of our people and about how a government uniting all Palestinian factions can work on building their independent state.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: And does Hamas also believe that an Israeli state can exist alongside a Palestinian state?

Abu Marzook: Hamas has always said clearly: We will never accept the occupation, because it is not legal, not correct and not just.