Post by Admin on May 1, 2015 13:13:13 GMT
On Bolt Report an ongoing policy is that any Islam post can only be on the pinned leader. Normal rules apply in that if it is merely foul and abusive it will be deleted. Otherwise comments are welcome.
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Drug smugglers and hero worship. Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukomaran were executed for their crime of attempted drug smuggling. We have been told they had reformed, but they never set out what it was they had done, precisely, and apologised for it. Partly that is because of legal issues, they had hoped for clemency in even the last minutes. The personal entitlement lobby had trumped their personal responsibility. Had they confessed all when they were caught they might still be alive today. But they claimed shadowy figures had threatened their loved ones. The focus, early on was on ensuring that others were not executed. So Andrew and Myuran took the hit. There is little doubt they had changed. Hugging their executors and singing hymns without being blindfolded suggests behavioural change. But they should have admitted the sentence was right and the laws were just too. Life is sweet and it is ok to hold on. But faith sometimes means letting go.
The lobbyists using the names of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukomaran are not doing so for their benefit. A college scholarship fund is a good idea in many circumstances, but not for the two who failed to confess what they had done. But the Australian Catholic university have a scholarship, for the writer of an essay on the sanctity of life. The scholarship is in the names of the drug smugglers. It is no good reason to break relations with Indonesia, and luckily that is not how the government are treating it. But the press are interpreting it that way. Australia's government lobbied hard to have the executions commuted to another sentence, but the Indonesian government refused to listen, refused phone calls and refused to discuss the issue. For that reason, Australia has downgraded relations with Indonesia and is seeking to rebuild them. Because the dialog is important and if Indonesia feel they can walk away at any time then the system is flawed. But the media are hoping it is a breakdown like that caused by the ABC's inflations of ALP Government indiscretions. And the ALP are using the names in a cynical way too. Politicising the personal tragedy and misleading the public over how the tragedy played out. Meanwhile, the educators at Castle Hill High School are wrong. They have a flashing electric sign saying the executions were "Merciless, barbaric, futile, weak." But the government of Indonesia was none of those things. They were merciful with Scot Rush and Renae Lawrence. They were not barbaric, or Andrew would not have had those wishes fulfilled. The executions were not futile, as it is a deterrent to drug traffickers. And it was not weak to proceed against the international calls to not do so.
In 1328, England recognised Scotland as a sovereign nation. In 1707, Scotland joined with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1759, Josiah Wedgwood founded a pottery company. In 1786, Mozart's The marriage of Figaro was performed for the first time in Vienna. As opera goes, it is definitely a cut above. In 1840, the Penny Black, the world's first self adhesive postage stamp had postage problems licked. In 1844, Hong Kong Police became the world's second modern police force. In 1851, Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition in London. In 1884, Moses Fleetwood Walker became the first black person to play in a professional baseball game. In 1900, the Scofield Mining Disaster happened, when coal dust exploded and killed some 200 people. It had been the worst mine disaster at that date, in the US. In 1915, RMS Lusitania embarked from NYC on her 202nd and final crossing of the Atlantic. In 1927, the first cooked meals were served n an airflight for Imperial Airways between London and Paris. In 1930, Pluto was first named. In 1931, the Empire State Building was dedicated in NYC. In 1941, Germany launched an attack on Tobruk.
In 1945, a German newsreader officially announced that Adolf Hitler had "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany". Also in 1945, Goebbels and his wife killed their own children and then each other, because they didn't want to live with reality. On the same day, in Demmin, Germany, 2500 committed suicide rather than see the Soviets win. In 1956, Jonas Salk's Polio vaccine was made available to the public. In 1960, Francis Gary Powers in a U2 Spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union sparking a diplomatic incident. In 1961, Cuba's elections were cancelled and Fidel Castro made a Rudd like backflip, calling Cuba a socialist nation. It is largely forgotten today that Castro had campaigned for Cuba on the promise of making it a modern democratic state. In 1970, protests erupted in Seattle following President Nixon's announcement that terrorists would be opposed in Cambodia where they were hiding. In 1987, Pope John Paul II beatified Edith Stein, a Jewish Carmelite nun gassed but the Nazis at Auschwitz. In 1999, the body of George Mallory was found on Everest, 75 years after he died there. In 2003, President George Bush announced 'Mission Accomplished' in Iraq. In 2011, Osama Bin Ladin was killed before being interrogated and possibly embarrassing Obama over Pakistan intelligence links.
2014
There are many reasons to beat up the LNP over policy and activity. But as the press gleefully engage in it, it should be remembered it might not be fair or right.
At the moment, many are tut tutting Abbott over broken promises for something he has not yet done, but which he probably should do; cut spending in numerous areas. Will he cut elements of the ABC budget? Has he promised he wouldn't? The ABC could prosper, were it allowed to, through partial privatisation, or full privatisation. It won't be less unbalanced. The recent attempt by the ABC to undermine government policy in Indonesia cannot be allowed to continue. However, that could happen in the next term of an Abbott government. The campaign regarding election promises then comes into play. The ABC and their 'friends' could claim they are confused about any cuts. As with the GST, they could campaign against it until the ALP are in government. Hockey promised to cut waste. So did Abbott. The hate media will ignore one promise, and hold onto another.
The Gillard broken promise over a carbon tax was a betrayal of the Australian people. It should be remembered that the Carbon tax will never benefit Australia as a policy. It has not shrunk the production of Carbon Dioxide and it has curtailed industry. However, should Mr Abbott break a 'no cut' election promise, there will be immediate benefits to all Australians. The question is, and this is what confuses the hate media, was the ALP lie the betrayal, or the bad policy? Even if the issue of AGW is real, we cannot afford to do expensive empty gestures ..
Another case of clear media bias on an issue where criticism may be legitimate is the case of former NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell. There are no suggestions, yet, O'Farrell has done anything wrong, but he looks bad for his association with hucksters who had been well placed after sixteen years of ALP rule. But, it doesn't matter who is in government, they will have a limited pool of talent. The issue of corruption is serious and things need to be transparent. It is clear the ALP ran a corrupt government and fostered corruption. It is a truth of management that anyone can be corrupt, but it is important to limit their ability to be corrupt. It requires eternal vigilance. As sad as the O'Farrell case is, it shows anti corruption process for the libs is working. But it also exposes the libs to hyper criticism. And the disturbing thing is that there may be truth to the barbs. But the scrutiny has not been applied to the ALP and that is not balanced. Mr O'Farrell would have been a fool not to speak to talented, involved individuals. Shame on those individuals for being corrupt. It is a legacy of bad ALP government. A fabulous way to celebrate the life of the corrupt Neville Wran is to recognise how bad he was in office. One valid question of O'Farrell is to do with his support for the appallingly bad legislation of racism and censorship on the federal books. Mike Baird is a supporter of the bad legislation too. The fact is, the law does not protect those who are victims of bigots, but can be used by racists to silence valid public enquiry. It isn't moral to support such bad law.
Historical perspectives on this day
In 305, Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. 524, King Sigismund of Burgundy was executed at Orléans after an 8-year reign and was succeeded by his brother Godomar. 880, the Nea Ekklesia was inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. 1328, Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton the Kingdom of England recognised the Kingdom of Scotland as an independent state. 1455, Battle of Arkinholm, Royal forces ended the Black Douglas hegemony in Scotland. 1576, Stephen Báthory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, married Anna Jagiellon and they became co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In 1707, the Act of Union joined the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. 1753, publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. 1759, Josiah Wedgwood founded the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain. 1776, establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt. 1778, American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet began in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. 1785, Kamehameha I, the king of Hawaiʻi, defeated Kalanikūpule and established the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. 1786, in Vienna, Austria, Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro was performed for the first time. 1794, War of the Pyrenees: The Battle of Boulou ended, in which French forces defeated the Spanish and regained nearly all the land they lost to Spain in 1793.
In 1840, the Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, was issued in the United Kingdom. 1844, Hong Kong Police Force, the world's second modern police force and Asia's first, was established. 1846, the few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicated the Nauvoo Temple. 1851, Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition in London. 1852, the Philippine peso was introduced into circulation. 1856, the Province of Isabela was created in the Philippines in honour of the Queen Isabela II of Spain. 1862, American Civil War: The Union Army completed its capture of New Orleans. 1863, American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville began. 1865, the Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay signed the Treaty of the Triple Alliance. 1866, the Memphis Race Riots began. In three days time, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 1869, the Folies Bergère opened in Paris.
In 1875, Alexandra Palace reopened after being burned down in a fire in 1873. 1884, Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States. Also 1884, Moses Fleetwood Walker became the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States. 1885, the original Chicago Board of Trade Building opened for business. 1886, rallies were held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 was celebrated as International Workers' Day in many countries. 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago. 1894, Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrived in Washington, D.C. 1898, Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay: The United States Navy destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first battle of the war.
In 1900, the Scofield Mine disaster killed over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what was to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history. 1901, the Pan-American Exposition opened in Buffalo, New York. 1915, the RMS Lusitania departed from New York City on her two hundred and second, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives. 1925, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions was officially founded. Today it is the largest trade union in the world, with 134 million members. Also 1925, the first Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer was held at the University of Toronto, Canada. 1927, the first cooked meals on a scheduled flight were introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris. Also 1927, the Union Labor Life Insurance Company was founded by the American Federation of Labor. 1930, the dwarf planet Pluto was officially named. 1931, the Empire State Building was dedicated in New York City. 1933, the Roca–Runciman Treaty between Argentina and Great Britain was signed by Julio Argentino Roca, Jr., and Sir Walter Runciman. 1933, the Humanist Manifesto I published.
In 1940, the 1940 Summer Olympics were cancelled due to war. 1941, World War II: German forces launched a major attack on Tobruk. 1944, World War II: Two hundred Communist prisoners were shot by the Germans at Kaisariani in Athens, Greece in reprisal for the killing of General Franz Krech by partisans at Molaoi. 1945, World War II: A German newsreader officially announced that Adolf Hitler had "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany". The Soviet flag was raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin. Also 1945, World War II: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda committed suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children were also killed by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths by their mother, Magda. Also 1945, World War II: Up to 2,500 people died in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army. Also 1945, World War II: Yugoslav Partisans freed Trieste. 1946, start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians. Also 1946, the Paris Peace Conference concluded that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy. 1947, Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons were killed and 33 wounded. 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was established, with Kim Il-sung as leader.
In 1950, Guam was organised as a United States commonwealth. 1956, the polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was made available to the public. Also 1956, a doctor in Japan reported an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease. 1957, thirty-four people were killed when a Vickers Viking airliner crashed in Hampshire England. 1960, formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Also known as "Maharashtra Day". Also 1960, Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, was shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis. 1961, the Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaimed Cuba a socialist nation and abolished elections. 1965, Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between ROC and PRC, took place. 1970, protests erupted in Seattle, following the announcement by U.S. President Richard Nixon that U.S. Forces in Vietnam would pursue enemy troops into Cambodia, a neutral country. 1971, Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) took over operation of U.S. passenger rail service. 1974, the Argentine terrorist organisation Montoneros was expelled from Plaza de Mayo by president Juan Perón. 1977, thirty-six people were killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations. 1978, Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, became the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
In 1982, the 1982 World's Fair opened in Knoxville, Tennessee. Also 1982, Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacked the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War. 1983, Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. 1987, Pope John Paul II beatified Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. 1989, Disney-MGM Studios opened at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States. 1990, the former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) was granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church of the Philippines. 1991, Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics stole his 939th base, making him the all-time leader in this category. However, his accomplishment was overshadowed later that evening by Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers, when he pitched his seventh career no-hitter, breaking his own record. 1993, Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president of Sri Lanka automatically after killing of R Premadasa in LTTE bomb explosion 1994, three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna was killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. 1995, Croatian forces launched Operation Flash during the Croatian War of Independence. 1999, the body of British climber George Mallory was found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924.
In 2001, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared the existence of "a state of rebellion", hours after thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor, Joseph Estrada, stormed towards the presidential palace at the height of the EDSA III rebellion. 2003, Invasion of Iraq: In what became known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declared that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended". 2004, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin. 2006, the Puerto Rican government closed the Department of Education and 42 other government agencies due to significant shortages in cash flow. 2007, the Los Angeles May Day mêlée occurred, in which the Los Angeles Police Department's response to a May Day pro-immigration rally became a matter of controversy. 2008, the London Agreement on translation of European patents, concluded in 2000, entered into force in 14 of the 34 Contracting States to the European Patent Convention. 2009, Same-sex marriage was legalised in Sweden. 2011, Pope John Paul II was beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. Also 2011, Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks had been killed by United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Due to the time difference between the United States and Pakistan, bin Laden was actually killed on May 2.
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This column welcomes feedback and criticism. The column is not made up but based on the days events and articles which are then placed in the feed. So they may not have an apparent cohesion they would have had were they made up.
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Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August www.createspace.com/4124406, September www.createspace.com/5106914, October www.createspace.com/5106951, or at Amazon www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4 The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows the purchase of a kindle version for just $3.99 more.
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For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball
Or the US President at
www.change.org/p/barack-obama-change-this-injustice#
or
petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/change-injustice-faced-david-daniel-ball-after-he-reported-bungled-pedophile-investigation-and/b8mxPWtJ or wh.gov/ilXYR
Douglas Sutherland-Bruce via David Daniel Ball
Mr Ball, I will not sign your petition as it will do no good, but I will share your message and ask as many of friends who read it, to share it also. Let us see if we cannot use the power of the internet to spread the word of these infamous killings. As a father and a former soldier, I cannot, could not, justify ignoring this appalling action by the perpetrators, whoever they may; I thank you Douglas. You are wrong about the petition. Signing it is as worthless and meaningless an act as voting. A stand up guy would know that. - ed
Lorraine Allen Hider I signed the petition ages ago David, with pleasure, nobody knows what it's like until they've been there. Keep heart David take care.
I have begun a bulletin board (http://theconservativevoice.freeforums.net) which will allow greater latitude for members to post and interact. It is not subject to FB policy and so greater range is allowed in posts. Also there are private members rooms in which nothing is censored, except abuse. All welcome, registration is free.
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Drug smugglers and hero worship. Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukomaran were executed for their crime of attempted drug smuggling. We have been told they had reformed, but they never set out what it was they had done, precisely, and apologised for it. Partly that is because of legal issues, they had hoped for clemency in even the last minutes. The personal entitlement lobby had trumped their personal responsibility. Had they confessed all when they were caught they might still be alive today. But they claimed shadowy figures had threatened their loved ones. The focus, early on was on ensuring that others were not executed. So Andrew and Myuran took the hit. There is little doubt they had changed. Hugging their executors and singing hymns without being blindfolded suggests behavioural change. But they should have admitted the sentence was right and the laws were just too. Life is sweet and it is ok to hold on. But faith sometimes means letting go.
The lobbyists using the names of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukomaran are not doing so for their benefit. A college scholarship fund is a good idea in many circumstances, but not for the two who failed to confess what they had done. But the Australian Catholic university have a scholarship, for the writer of an essay on the sanctity of life. The scholarship is in the names of the drug smugglers. It is no good reason to break relations with Indonesia, and luckily that is not how the government are treating it. But the press are interpreting it that way. Australia's government lobbied hard to have the executions commuted to another sentence, but the Indonesian government refused to listen, refused phone calls and refused to discuss the issue. For that reason, Australia has downgraded relations with Indonesia and is seeking to rebuild them. Because the dialog is important and if Indonesia feel they can walk away at any time then the system is flawed. But the media are hoping it is a breakdown like that caused by the ABC's inflations of ALP Government indiscretions. And the ALP are using the names in a cynical way too. Politicising the personal tragedy and misleading the public over how the tragedy played out. Meanwhile, the educators at Castle Hill High School are wrong. They have a flashing electric sign saying the executions were "Merciless, barbaric, futile, weak." But the government of Indonesia was none of those things. They were merciful with Scot Rush and Renae Lawrence. They were not barbaric, or Andrew would not have had those wishes fulfilled. The executions were not futile, as it is a deterrent to drug traffickers. And it was not weak to proceed against the international calls to not do so.
In 1328, England recognised Scotland as a sovereign nation. In 1707, Scotland joined with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1759, Josiah Wedgwood founded a pottery company. In 1786, Mozart's The marriage of Figaro was performed for the first time in Vienna. As opera goes, it is definitely a cut above. In 1840, the Penny Black, the world's first self adhesive postage stamp had postage problems licked. In 1844, Hong Kong Police became the world's second modern police force. In 1851, Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition in London. In 1884, Moses Fleetwood Walker became the first black person to play in a professional baseball game. In 1900, the Scofield Mining Disaster happened, when coal dust exploded and killed some 200 people. It had been the worst mine disaster at that date, in the US. In 1915, RMS Lusitania embarked from NYC on her 202nd and final crossing of the Atlantic. In 1927, the first cooked meals were served n an airflight for Imperial Airways between London and Paris. In 1930, Pluto was first named. In 1931, the Empire State Building was dedicated in NYC. In 1941, Germany launched an attack on Tobruk.
In 1945, a German newsreader officially announced that Adolf Hitler had "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany". Also in 1945, Goebbels and his wife killed their own children and then each other, because they didn't want to live with reality. On the same day, in Demmin, Germany, 2500 committed suicide rather than see the Soviets win. In 1956, Jonas Salk's Polio vaccine was made available to the public. In 1960, Francis Gary Powers in a U2 Spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union sparking a diplomatic incident. In 1961, Cuba's elections were cancelled and Fidel Castro made a Rudd like backflip, calling Cuba a socialist nation. It is largely forgotten today that Castro had campaigned for Cuba on the promise of making it a modern democratic state. In 1970, protests erupted in Seattle following President Nixon's announcement that terrorists would be opposed in Cambodia where they were hiding. In 1987, Pope John Paul II beatified Edith Stein, a Jewish Carmelite nun gassed but the Nazis at Auschwitz. In 1999, the body of George Mallory was found on Everest, 75 years after he died there. In 2003, President George Bush announced 'Mission Accomplished' in Iraq. In 2011, Osama Bin Ladin was killed before being interrogated and possibly embarrassing Obama over Pakistan intelligence links.
2014
There are many reasons to beat up the LNP over policy and activity. But as the press gleefully engage in it, it should be remembered it might not be fair or right.
At the moment, many are tut tutting Abbott over broken promises for something he has not yet done, but which he probably should do; cut spending in numerous areas. Will he cut elements of the ABC budget? Has he promised he wouldn't? The ABC could prosper, were it allowed to, through partial privatisation, or full privatisation. It won't be less unbalanced. The recent attempt by the ABC to undermine government policy in Indonesia cannot be allowed to continue. However, that could happen in the next term of an Abbott government. The campaign regarding election promises then comes into play. The ABC and their 'friends' could claim they are confused about any cuts. As with the GST, they could campaign against it until the ALP are in government. Hockey promised to cut waste. So did Abbott. The hate media will ignore one promise, and hold onto another.
The Gillard broken promise over a carbon tax was a betrayal of the Australian people. It should be remembered that the Carbon tax will never benefit Australia as a policy. It has not shrunk the production of Carbon Dioxide and it has curtailed industry. However, should Mr Abbott break a 'no cut' election promise, there will be immediate benefits to all Australians. The question is, and this is what confuses the hate media, was the ALP lie the betrayal, or the bad policy? Even if the issue of AGW is real, we cannot afford to do expensive empty gestures ..
Another case of clear media bias on an issue where criticism may be legitimate is the case of former NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell. There are no suggestions, yet, O'Farrell has done anything wrong, but he looks bad for his association with hucksters who had been well placed after sixteen years of ALP rule. But, it doesn't matter who is in government, they will have a limited pool of talent. The issue of corruption is serious and things need to be transparent. It is clear the ALP ran a corrupt government and fostered corruption. It is a truth of management that anyone can be corrupt, but it is important to limit their ability to be corrupt. It requires eternal vigilance. As sad as the O'Farrell case is, it shows anti corruption process for the libs is working. But it also exposes the libs to hyper criticism. And the disturbing thing is that there may be truth to the barbs. But the scrutiny has not been applied to the ALP and that is not balanced. Mr O'Farrell would have been a fool not to speak to talented, involved individuals. Shame on those individuals for being corrupt. It is a legacy of bad ALP government. A fabulous way to celebrate the life of the corrupt Neville Wran is to recognise how bad he was in office. One valid question of O'Farrell is to do with his support for the appallingly bad legislation of racism and censorship on the federal books. Mike Baird is a supporter of the bad legislation too. The fact is, the law does not protect those who are victims of bigots, but can be used by racists to silence valid public enquiry. It isn't moral to support such bad law.
Historical perspectives on this day
In 305, Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. 524, King Sigismund of Burgundy was executed at Orléans after an 8-year reign and was succeeded by his brother Godomar. 880, the Nea Ekklesia was inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. 1328, Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton the Kingdom of England recognised the Kingdom of Scotland as an independent state. 1455, Battle of Arkinholm, Royal forces ended the Black Douglas hegemony in Scotland. 1576, Stephen Báthory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, married Anna Jagiellon and they became co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In 1707, the Act of Union joined the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. 1753, publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. 1759, Josiah Wedgwood founded the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain. 1776, establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt. 1778, American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet began in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. 1785, Kamehameha I, the king of Hawaiʻi, defeated Kalanikūpule and established the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. 1786, in Vienna, Austria, Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro was performed for the first time. 1794, War of the Pyrenees: The Battle of Boulou ended, in which French forces defeated the Spanish and regained nearly all the land they lost to Spain in 1793.
In 1840, the Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, was issued in the United Kingdom. 1844, Hong Kong Police Force, the world's second modern police force and Asia's first, was established. 1846, the few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicated the Nauvoo Temple. 1851, Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition in London. 1852, the Philippine peso was introduced into circulation. 1856, the Province of Isabela was created in the Philippines in honour of the Queen Isabela II of Spain. 1862, American Civil War: The Union Army completed its capture of New Orleans. 1863, American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville began. 1865, the Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay signed the Treaty of the Triple Alliance. 1866, the Memphis Race Riots began. In three days time, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 1869, the Folies Bergère opened in Paris.
In 1875, Alexandra Palace reopened after being burned down in a fire in 1873. 1884, Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States. Also 1884, Moses Fleetwood Walker became the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States. 1885, the original Chicago Board of Trade Building opened for business. 1886, rallies were held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 was celebrated as International Workers' Day in many countries. 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition opened in Chicago. 1894, Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrived in Washington, D.C. 1898, Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay: The United States Navy destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first battle of the war.
In 1900, the Scofield Mine disaster killed over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what was to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history. 1901, the Pan-American Exposition opened in Buffalo, New York. 1915, the RMS Lusitania departed from New York City on her two hundred and second, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives. 1925, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions was officially founded. Today it is the largest trade union in the world, with 134 million members. Also 1925, the first Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer was held at the University of Toronto, Canada. 1927, the first cooked meals on a scheduled flight were introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris. Also 1927, the Union Labor Life Insurance Company was founded by the American Federation of Labor. 1930, the dwarf planet Pluto was officially named. 1931, the Empire State Building was dedicated in New York City. 1933, the Roca–Runciman Treaty between Argentina and Great Britain was signed by Julio Argentino Roca, Jr., and Sir Walter Runciman. 1933, the Humanist Manifesto I published.
In 1940, the 1940 Summer Olympics were cancelled due to war. 1941, World War II: German forces launched a major attack on Tobruk. 1944, World War II: Two hundred Communist prisoners were shot by the Germans at Kaisariani in Athens, Greece in reprisal for the killing of General Franz Krech by partisans at Molaoi. 1945, World War II: A German newsreader officially announced that Adolf Hitler had "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany". The Soviet flag was raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin. Also 1945, World War II: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda committed suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children were also killed by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths by their mother, Magda. Also 1945, World War II: Up to 2,500 people died in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army. Also 1945, World War II: Yugoslav Partisans freed Trieste. 1946, start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians. Also 1946, the Paris Peace Conference concluded that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy. 1947, Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons were killed and 33 wounded. 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was established, with Kim Il-sung as leader.
In 1950, Guam was organised as a United States commonwealth. 1956, the polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was made available to the public. Also 1956, a doctor in Japan reported an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease. 1957, thirty-four people were killed when a Vickers Viking airliner crashed in Hampshire England. 1960, formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Also known as "Maharashtra Day". Also 1960, Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, was shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis. 1961, the Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaimed Cuba a socialist nation and abolished elections. 1965, Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between ROC and PRC, took place. 1970, protests erupted in Seattle, following the announcement by U.S. President Richard Nixon that U.S. Forces in Vietnam would pursue enemy troops into Cambodia, a neutral country. 1971, Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) took over operation of U.S. passenger rail service. 1974, the Argentine terrorist organisation Montoneros was expelled from Plaza de Mayo by president Juan Perón. 1977, thirty-six people were killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations. 1978, Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, became the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
In 1982, the 1982 World's Fair opened in Knoxville, Tennessee. Also 1982, Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacked the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War. 1983, Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. 1987, Pope John Paul II beatified Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. 1989, Disney-MGM Studios opened at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States. 1990, the former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) was granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church of the Philippines. 1991, Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics stole his 939th base, making him the all-time leader in this category. However, his accomplishment was overshadowed later that evening by Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers, when he pitched his seventh career no-hitter, breaking his own record. 1993, Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president of Sri Lanka automatically after killing of R Premadasa in LTTE bomb explosion 1994, three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna was killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. 1995, Croatian forces launched Operation Flash during the Croatian War of Independence. 1999, the body of British climber George Mallory was found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924.
In 2001, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared the existence of "a state of rebellion", hours after thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor, Joseph Estrada, stormed towards the presidential palace at the height of the EDSA III rebellion. 2003, Invasion of Iraq: In what became known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declared that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended". 2004, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin. 2006, the Puerto Rican government closed the Department of Education and 42 other government agencies due to significant shortages in cash flow. 2007, the Los Angeles May Day mêlée occurred, in which the Los Angeles Police Department's response to a May Day pro-immigration rally became a matter of controversy. 2008, the London Agreement on translation of European patents, concluded in 2000, entered into force in 14 of the 34 Contracting States to the European Patent Convention. 2009, Same-sex marriage was legalised in Sweden. 2011, Pope John Paul II was beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. Also 2011, Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks had been killed by United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Due to the time difference between the United States and Pakistan, bin Laden was actually killed on May 2.
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This column welcomes feedback and criticism. The column is not made up but based on the days events and articles which are then placed in the feed. So they may not have an apparent cohesion they would have had were they made up.
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Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August www.createspace.com/4124406, September www.createspace.com/5106914, October www.createspace.com/5106951, or at Amazon www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4 The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows the purchase of a kindle version for just $3.99 more.
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For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball
Or the US President at
www.change.org/p/barack-obama-change-this-injustice#
or
petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/change-injustice-faced-david-daniel-ball-after-he-reported-bungled-pedophile-investigation-and/b8mxPWtJ or wh.gov/ilXYR
Douglas Sutherland-Bruce via David Daniel Ball
Mr Ball, I will not sign your petition as it will do no good, but I will share your message and ask as many of friends who read it, to share it also. Let us see if we cannot use the power of the internet to spread the word of these infamous killings. As a father and a former soldier, I cannot, could not, justify ignoring this appalling action by the perpetrators, whoever they may; I thank you Douglas. You are wrong about the petition. Signing it is as worthless and meaningless an act as voting. A stand up guy would know that. - ed
Lorraine Allen Hider I signed the petition ages ago David, with pleasure, nobody knows what it's like until they've been there. Keep heart David take care.
I have begun a bulletin board (http://theconservativevoice.freeforums.net) which will allow greater latitude for members to post and interact. It is not subject to FB policy and so greater range is allowed in posts. Also there are private members rooms in which nothing is censored, except abuse. All welcome, registration is free.