God I wish we had politicians like this.
Men who speak their minds across political boundaries.
Instead we have party machine robots rendered incapable of making any utterance that's not on the daily screed.
I'd particularly like the ABC's 4 Corners unit, which was sucked into the Russia collusion hoax to apply some of its resources to the real story.
Listening to Lindsey Graham would be a good start.
Australia is among 21 nations where perceived corruption has worsened “significantly” over the past eight years, a new report says.
Transparency International released its latest corruption perceptions index on Thursday, ranking levels of perceived corruption in governments across the world.
Australia scored 77 from a possible 100, the same mark as last year. It means Australia has again failed to reverse a longer-term decline of eight points since 2012.
Only 22 countries have managed to significantly improve their scores since 2012, including Greece, Estonia and Guyana.
Australia is listed as being among 21 nations that have “significantly declined” in the same time period.
The Transparency International Australia chief executive, Serena Lillywhite, said the “corrosive” influence of money in politics was continuing to undermine government integrity.
“What the corruption perceptions index clearly shows is that the murkier the political donations trail is, the more corrupt a country is perceived to be,” Lillywhite told the Guardian.
Prince Charles was caught on camera snubbing a handshake from Vice President Mike Pence at an Auschwitz memorial event in Jerusalem, Israel, Thursday. Despite the fact that Pence stood up, the Prince merely looked him in the eye with a straight face before moving on to shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was seated next to Pence.
Thanks to reader Philip for the tip.
Loopy.
An Adelaide City councillor says Australia Day fireworks should be banned because they remind immigrants of bombs and war.
Anne Moran sent an email to her colleagues on Monday calling for the cancellation of the pyrotechnics display at Elder Park on Sunday night.
Ms Moran's email reads: 'Fireworks are extremely upsetting to some of the new immigrants because they remind them of the bombing and wars they have been traumatised by.'
The event is being run by the Australia Day Council, who are collecting funds with the Red Cross for bushfire victims.
Deputy Lord Mayor Alexander Hyde told InDaily Ms Moran's comments were 'absurd.'
'I would be very surprised if any new migrants contact Anne Moran at all, let alone on this issue... God help us if we’re subjected to such commentary for the rest of the council term,' Mr Hyde said.
Ms Moran defended her stance on the issue, and criticised councillors who disagreed with her position.
'Sometimes loud explosions in the sky will remind people of bombs and bad times, so I'm not quite sure how that's distasteful,' Ms Moran said.
Ms Moran intends to propose that all fireworks celebrations in Adelaide are banned at the next council meeting on Tuesday.
Shocking to see our beautiful flag alongside that of the Palestinians.
That was the scene yesterday, 23 January 2020.
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) is in Israel today to attend the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz and to commemorate the end of the Holocaust. It appears the Morrison Government has fallen for the idea that a visit by any Australian official to Israel must be "balanced" by a visit to the Palestinian authority.
It's horrible to watch so distinguished an Australian inspect a guard made up of Palestinian terrorists accompanied by the leading Holocaust denier and terrorist chief, Mahmoud Abbas, dictator of the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas pays Palestinian Jihadi terrorists who murder Jews - and the families of those gaoled or killed in suicide operations - as a matter of officially sanctioned policy.
(The Governor General looking suitably embarrassed, I would be too if I'd been forced by the Australian Government to sit with a terrorist.)
(A jubilant Mahmoud Abbas basking in his PR win, courtesy of the very poorly advised Australian Government.)
This is a national disgrace.
These are Marise Payne's own figures on the Australian taxpayer dollars she's sent Palestinians' way.
It's going up, not down.
And here's what the Palestinian Authority does with its money.
The Palestinian Authority confesses that in the first 5 months of 2019, it paid over $65 million/€58 million in salaries to terrorists. This is a rise of over 11% compared to 2018.
Thank you Rupert.
Magnificent.
An inner-city council will spend up to $20,000 to hold an indigenous “mourning” ceremony on Australia Day, as new research shows councils are becoming more political.
The City of Port Phillip will stage the one-hour event at 6am on Sunday. The council’s citizenship ceremony starts at St Kilda Town Hall at 11am.
“It is a ceremony where we can all stand together and pay respects to our ancestors and the continuation of our living culture,” she said in a submission to the council.
“(It will bring) the whole community together to commemorate and celebrate the rich diverse culture of the First People of this land.”
Port Phillip will spend up to $20,000 on the ceremony, and Australia Day Council funds will be given to the Boonwurrung council “for cultural delivery aspects”.
The City of Whittlesea will hold a “mourning” ceremony, and a minute’s silence at the start of all events on the day.
Port Phillip’s and Whittlesea’s stance is in contrast to Greens-dominated councils Yarra and Darebin, which were stripped of their right to hold citizenship ceremonies after they dumped Australia Day celebrations.
Federal Acting Citizenship and Immigration Minister Alan Tudge yesterday said he expected councils to “do the right thing” and hold ceremonies on the day.
More than 70 per cent of Australians want Australia Day celebrated on January 26, according to a poll released earlier this week. The Institute of Public Affairs survey of at least 1000 people found almost two-thirds felt the push for a date change was “dividing Australians”.
New research by Australian Catholic University academics shows local councils are increasingly at odds with the federal government over social and political issues.
Political scientist Associate Professor Mark Chou and sociologist Rachel Busbridge said councils were now lobbyists with “the lack of leadership in federal politics”.
“They are going beyond the traditional areas of roads, rates and rubbish,” Dr Busbridge said.
“There’s an emerging dynamic where it is local government that are the leaders on the important issues.”