Moonbattery Sweeps the Planet: Obama Understands Australia

Post below lifted from Jammie man. See the original for links

This is getting way out of hand. Because Barack Obama spent a few years as a young child in Indonesia and had a couple of stopovers in Australia, probably in an airport, neophyte Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd now declares The Messiah has an 'acute understanding' of the Asia-Pacific region.

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has an acute understanding of the Asia Pacific region, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says... Mr Rudd today said he believed Senator Obama had a "considerable understanding" of our part of the world. "Remember, he spent part of his time growing up in Indonesia," Mr Rudd told ABC radio.

"On his way back to the United States from time to time he would drop off in Sydney. "He has many strong and positive memories of our part of the world. "And therefore, because of where he has grown up, I think (he has) a pretty acute understanding of some of the challenges in the Asia Pacific region."

How does he know this? What is in Obama's resume or political record that demonstrates he has the slightest knowledge of Asian affairs? When has he spoken of any knowledge of current affairs in Asia? Has he said a peep about what is happening In Myanmar? In China? In Australia? I've had layovers in all sorts of places. It doesn't mean I know anything about the area.

This insanity has got to stop. This guy has is not an other-worldly being. He's a two-bit political hack from Chicago with an extremely thin resume, very suspicious friends and a smooth rap. What else can this knucklehead Rudd judge him on other than his press clippings?

Mr Rudd said he believed Senator McCain had an intimate knowledge of the region as well.

He believes it? Based on what? This senseless, fawning idolatry is getting to be dangerous. It's as if a pre-pubescent crush has overtaken otherwise rational adults. Snap out of it, people.

I'll never forget during the 2000 election cycle we were constantly reminded George W. Bush has no international experience and when Dick Cheney was brought on the media gushed he had gravitas. Now a one-term senator all of a sudden understands the world? Does he need some gravitas or will he simply walk on water on his way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?





Deliberate blindness to crime problems in immigration policy

The destructiveness of the Left on view again. Polynesians are a high crime group. They have no respect for personal property whatsoever most of the time. Yet Rudd want to bring them in " to ease labour shortages"

AUSTRALIA is preparing to open its shores to thousands of "guest workers" from the Pacific as part of a radical plan to ease labour shortages in the bush. Kevin Rudd's bold "Pacific solution" will see as many as 5000 islanders granted special visas to work on farms and in vineyards. Federal Cabinet could endorse the migration scheme as early as next week, with the Prime Minister keen to unveil his plans to revitalise the region at a meeting with Pacific leaders in August. It will help sweep away the legacy of John Howard's foreign policy. The former prime minister had a rocky relationship with many Pacific leaders during his time in power.

The Coalition says it now has an "open mind" on a guest worker scheme, amid concerns it could undermine the integrity of Australia's migration program - and strip local workers of jobs. Under the plan to be considered by Cabinet, on June 19, workers from up to five nations - Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati and Tuvalu - will be involved. But Fiji will be "black-listed" from participating in the trial - a move likely to further inflame relations between Canberra and Suva.

Senior Government figures have confirmed islanders will be granted visas of up to seven months to work in regional communities. The Government will guarantee they receive Australian-award wages and conditions. Basic training will also be provided, in the hope these skills can be used when they return to their home countries. Known as Regional Seasonal Employment (RSE), the scheme has been successfully trialled in New Zealand, with Pacific islanders restricted to working in horticulture and viticulture.

Mr Rudd's support will send a very positive message to Pacific leaders, who have been lobbying Canberra to back the plan for years. It will be a key plank in a longer-term plan for the Pacific, aimed at transforming so-called "busted arse" countries and making them economically viable. Each year, Australia funnels hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid into the Pacific. But concerns have been raised that Papua New Guinea and other close neighbours need a longer-term partnership in order to survive. Both PNG and East Timor are likely to be involved in the scheme over the longer term.

The New Zealand trial has attracted strong interest, with the head of the Department of Immigration, Andrew Metcalfe, recently leading a high-level delegation to take a first-hand look. Shadow foreign affairs minister Andrew Robb is heading to New Zealand today, also to examine the guest worker scheme there. He said the Coalition has an "open mind" on the RSE plan.

In a critical breakthrough, ACTU president Sharan Burrow and Australian Workers Union boss Paul Howes have both endorsed the RSE scheme.

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School English too hard - principal

There's NOTHING that is "too hard" in today's dumbed-down schools. Let them try learning Latin, as we all once did

The head of one of the nation's elite private schools has questioned whether English should be compulsory for the senior years, saying the courses being taught are beyond the intellectual ability of most students. The headmaster of Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore) in North Sydney, Tim Wright, told a symposium on a national curriculum in English at the weekend that parents felt alienated from the English syllabus and were deeply cynical about it.

In his speech, Dr Wright said the NSW English course for Years 11 and 12 was a major challenge for many students. "The intellectual challenge is, in fact, beyond many students," he said. "It is seen as arbitrary and from time to time the anguished cry comes: 'Why can't we just read the book?' "I question whether it (English) ought to be compulsory ... at senior level. It is not enough to simply say that like cod liver oil, English is good for you."

The symposium, hosted by the University of Sydney's Arts English and Literacy Education Research Network in the education faculty, was opened by NSW Education Minister John Della Bosca and also heard from the NSW representative on the National Curriculum Board, Tom Alegounarias. Mr Alegounarias said the content of any national curriculum had to capture what the community -- not teachers -- thought was essential for students to learn. "The test for inclusion of content will not be what the teaching profession wants, or teacher educators or bureaucrats for that matter," he said. "Its contents should be measured against its purposes, which are to meet the community's interests. It is an expression of the community's intent and expectations."

Mr Alegounarias dismissed the idea of a curriculum as a technical document or specialised product for teachers alone.

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When animal rights go wrong

THEY oppose kids keeping goldfish. They oppose people riding horses. They even oppose blind people using guide dogs. But who would have thought that some so-called animal rights groups would end up promoting animal cruelty? That is exactly what has happened with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA) protests calling for an immediate ban to mulesing.

It is not the first time this organisation has been on the absurd side of an argument. The reason for mulesing is simple - it prevents the sheep from being killed by flesh-eating maggots. Our merino sheep were developed through selective breeding, some time around 1870 - about the same time the blowfly made it here from South Africa. The folds in the breach of the merino's skin together with the introduction of the blowfly became a lethal combination, creating a new disease: flystrike, where the folds in the skin become infested with maggots and the sheep dies a slow and painful death.

That's why mulesing was first introduced. Removing some of the wool and skin around the breach prevents the sheep being eaten alive. Farmers don't enjoy doing it, but the alternative is far worse.

The American-based organisation PETA knew that Australian industry had agreed to a 2010 phase-out of the practice to provide time to develop alternatives to mulesing. Some of the alternatives being developed have involved clips, sprays and selective breeding. But then earlier this year PETA decided to embark on a campaign which, if successful, will only cause more sheep to die through flystrike.

They called for mulesing to be banned immediately. Then they went to different retailers around the world and tried to talk them into boycotting Australian wool because we had not met our 2010 deadline. That's right. PETA complained that a 2010 deadline had not been met in 2008. Industry is confident it is on track to have alternatives in place for 2010. That allows us to work towards improving animal welfare while still supplying the best quality wool in the world. In the meantime, extremist organisations should drop their attacks on Aussie farmers.

If PETA had its way and wool growers stopped mulesing today, we'd see an immediate rise in the number of sheep dying through flystrike. It's yet another case of extremists harming the cause they claim to support.

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