Month: June 2010

The anti-semitic bigots have come out of the woodwork to accuse Gillard

liligans Politics

It didn’t take long before the usual bigots brought up the subject of Israel after Julia Gillard’s defeat of Kevin Rudd. So what is the gripe this time? A former ambassador to Israel, Mr Ross Burns, has written a letter to The Age newspaper accusing Gillard of being soft on Israel. This opinion was repeated by another reviled former ambassador to Israel, a Mr Rodgers who is notorious for being anti-Israel.

What these two bigots are really saying is that unless you are vehemently anti-Israel then you are soft on Israel.

Prime Minister Gillard has denied this accusation. All this happened because Gillard’s partner, Tim Mathieson, works in real estate for an Israel supporter. Apparently, that’s a crime according to Burns and Rodgers.

Which brings me to the topic of our former Prime Minister. I first met Kevin Rudd a few years ago in Queensland. He attended a Jewish function, praised the Jewish community and generally sucked up to everyone there assuring the Jewish community of his true and genuine admiration and loyalty.

When he became Prime Minister, however, Rudd revealed his true colours. He took hasty actions against a member of the Israeli embassy long before other nations in the alleged passport affair. He also directed his representative at the United Nations to vote against Israel.

He did this because he was sucking up to the Arabs in the U.N. Rudd’s ambition is so rapacious that he would be prepared to court anyone who can support his aim of becoming a bigshot at the U.N. And that is why he joined the enemies of Israel.

But then Rudd’s popularity polls went south and he suddenly remembered that he had betrayed an ally and that he had wounded the Jewish community in Australia. So just a few short weeks ago he tried to win over the Jewish community once again by meeting with some leaders and assuring them that he was “a friend of Israel.”

We all know the saying “With friends like these who needs…”

Why Kevin Rudd should not be Australia’s new Foreign Minister

liligans Politics, So you think you're cultured?

The position of Foreign Minister should be given to someone who has the respect of other nations. Rudd, with his grandstanding on the world stage and embarrassing demeanour, should not be representing us in such an important position.

Moreover, Rudd is now regarded by Australia and the rest of the world (that’s if anyone else really cares about Australia) as a loser and so has no credibility in that representative role.

How can one introduce him as Foreign Minister after he has been kicked out of the Prime Minister’s office?

Julia Gillard is now in a bind because she has, no doubt, promised Rudd something so that he would leave without a fuss.

She could make him our ambassador to the U.N so that he can pal up with his friends there. The U.N is a circus with no credibility so it would suit Rudd perfectly, in my opinion.

Sorry to see Lindsay Tanner depart

liligans Politics

Sometimes good news and bad news come together. I cheered when Kevin Rudd was ousted as Prime Minister. His farewell speech was quite impressive and welcome although he failed to thank the troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Julia Gillard, on the other hand, remembered to thank the troops and did a fine job of explaining why she challenged Rudd. She also did a clever thing by acknowledging the contribution made by John Howard, something that Rudd never did. He should have done so. Why not give credit where credit’s due?

Rudd has only himself to blame for his downfall. He was a one-man band and a poor listener. I’m sure that nobody except his young minions and Ms Rein could give him any advice. He certainly did not listen to his party and now he has paid the ultimate price for his arrogance. I would be sorry to see him appointed as Foreign Minister, so fingers crossed that Gillard has not promised him that sweetener.

The bad news is that Lindsay Tanner will be leaving and that is disappointing. He always answered questions and stuck to the subject during interviews. I would have preferred him to be Federal Treasurer instead of our current one. Never mind, it has been a happy and exciting day and now we will see if Gillard can do any better.

Four-year old sails solo around the world!

liligans So you think you're cultured?

I am about to have a serious heart to heart with my grandson. He is four years old and it’s about time he did his grandparents proud. Is it too much to ask that he do stuff that icons do? Stuff like sailing solo around the world, perhaps? Or painting masterpieces like that toddler in the U.S. Give her a brush and off she goes. With a little help from her doting parents, right there beside her.

What the world needs now is more precocious kids egged on by needy parents. These kids can take part in beauty pageants, fly in balloons, (oh that’s right, that was a con job) be the youngest mountain climber and of course become child movie stars. Mummy and daddy swear that the kid wants to do it. Apparently she luuuvs putting on make-up and struttin’ up and down the catwalk singing “Tonight’s the night…” It’s so cute!

So you can see why I’m so jealous of all these icons. These solo sailors who are described as heroes because they achieved…what? In what way does this benefit anyone? Except for a few photographers and the honourable media. Not to mention the politicians who lap up a photo opportunity with Jessica Watson or Abby Sunderland.

I was not impressed when good old Bullimore sailed solo and got lost. This was very expensive for our government and quite frankly, I would not have shed a tear had he drowned. But he was an adult and it was his decision.

When a young person does it, I seriously question the self-esteem of his or her parents. Where is parental responsibility in all this?

And I’m not convinced by the platitude. “He died doing what he loved most…” Are you referring to drowning and being eaten alive by sea monsters? What an icon!!! A veritable hero, unlike my grandson, but then I like to have him around because he’s simply adorable.

Brighton BMW does it in style

liligans So you think you're cultured?

It was sophisticated, it was entertaining and it was great fun. That’s the way it was last Friday night at the launch of the new Series 5 BMW at Brighton BMW in Melbourne.

Ambient blue lighting greeted the guests. As soon as you took that walk on the blue carpet, you were met by glamorous hostess offering flutes of champagne. You could also indulge in a rainbow cocktail or some beer. Or any other drink that you preferred.

The food was tasty and beautifully prepared. Prawns dipped in tempura batter, for example, were mouth-watering and there must have been a dozen different dishes to choose from. It was hard to resist them and I didn’t even try.

There were some speeches about the new BMW model. They were brief and to the point.

And then some beautiful singing filled the room. I thought it was recorded music. To my amazement, three female singers dressed in stunning outfits appeared from nowhere and made their way to the stage.

Their performance was outstanding. I felt my eyes moisten as Divas Inc sang “O Mio Babbino Caro”, “Nessum Dorma” and other favourites. To be honest, I had never heard of this group before so I googled them the next day and found out that they do corporate entertaining. All I can say is “Wow!”

The new Series 5 models were driven into the showroom for everyone to inspect. It was a very stylish presentation and yes, it is indeed a lovely car.

If classical music wasn’t your scene the Divas Inc were followed by a Robbie Williams tribute and some jazzy dancers in white tuxes and top hats.

The party livened up even more. Apparently, it lasted for several more hours, long after we had made our way home, replete, pleasantly entertained and most grateful to Brighton BMW for having thrown such an enjoyable party.

As the song says, nobody does it better…

Hamas refuses humanitarian aid

liligans So you think you're cultured?

As usual Hamas is using its own people as human shields. Aid from the stunt flotilla has been transported by Israel to Gaza but Hamas has refused to accept it. It’s obvious why.

This terrorist organisation is playing vicious games at the expense of fellow Gazans. Hamas wants to promote the myth that the Gazans are deprived by Israel. This is not true. One hundred trucks laden with supplies enter Gaza every day. The only prohibited supplies are missile parts and other materials which can be directed at Israel.

This seems completely sensible to me. I can’t imagine that the Coalition forces from Europe, the US and Australia who are fighting in Afghanistan would allow arms to be shipped to the Taliban. That would be ridiculous.

The only thing that Israel wanted to do when it interrupted the activists’ flotilla from reaching Gaza was to inspect the cargo for arms and missiles. It simply wanted to inspect. If it found nothing that could be used against the men, women and children of Israel, then any humanitarian aid would be transported by land from Ashdod…as Israel is trying to do right now.

However, a routine inspection is not what the IHH supporters of Al Qaeda and the left-wing activists were seeking.

They wanted confrontation.

One left-wing German activist who was on board the flotilla admitted that he had not seen any of the fighting because he was below deck at the time. One has to wonder why he decided to be interviewed. The only thing he could describe is what he saw when he finally came up.

Some interviewers on the BBC and CNN have asked the organisers of the stunt flotilla why they never mention that Egypt has also closed its borders with Gaza. After some feeble attempts to squirm out of replying, the activists say it’s the fault of the U.S. They just don’t want to admit that the Egyptians are fed up with Hamas stirring up trouble in their country as well.