An ill wind blows.

It's amazing what I find in my inbox, but before I go on, a little bit of background information is needed.

On Thursday the Geelong Advertiser had an article about Liberal councillor Ron Humphrey sending an e-mail to a wind farm
complainant. The paper extensively quoted Ron's e-mail, but they ignored sections that highlight the disgraceful behaviour of this councillor.

Here I give readers the entire e-mail from Cr Ron Humphrey to an opponent of the wind farm near Gnarwarre.

I'm all out of ideas(,) and it is my view that individual councillors have formed an opinion on the planning application(,) and it is extremely unlikely that their positions will change.
The only thing I can suggest is to continue through the media(,) including talk back radio and perhaps say that the property owners that support these things would more than likely oppose them if they were not going to receive large financial rewards. In other words(,) if it wasn't for the money nobody would want them because they do nothing for the environment except take something that is natural and beautiful and turn it into something that is ugly and intrusive on a falsehood of creating an alternative to mainstream power with green power. Utter rubbish.
It is my view that some councillors are on a bit of a (sic) ego driven (sic) power trip and get great satisfaction in sticking it to people not unlike the social issues that we have bullying but certainly along similar lines.
I fully support you but honestly council is looking at a 7-2 decision(,) and although I'm still doing what I can(,) I believe that any community consultation on this issue will be little more than lip service.
You are doing a great job with the media but it's a pity that you can't get the Lib's (sic) to support you. A pretty lousy opposition that stand for???????
regards
Cr Ron Humphrey

It's stunning stuff on so many levels.

Firstly we have a councillor actively encouraging constituents to turn on their neighbours by portraying them as greedy land owners on talk back radio. This alone is proof he is unfit for public office.

Secondly, Ron's understanding of the power industry is frightening. His belief that wind farms do nothing for the environment shows a profound lack of knowledge. Does he seriously believe that electricity from wind farms does not reduce the levels of greenhouse gas produced by fossil fuel plants?

Thirdly, Ron has obviously put this e-mail through a spell check but his grammar is worse than the average year six student. I should also note that the e-mail was tidied up by the Advertiser's journalist. Commas and spelling errors were corrected. This of course is a breach of the journalist's code of ethics. Journos are supposed to report accurately. Perhaps the person involved in this story should become an English teacher.

Fourthly, we have a situation were a councillor is blatantly chasing votes by making up stories about other councillors by claiming the vote will be 7-2. The planning officer's report hasn't even been finalised on this issue.

And finally you have that amazing last sentence.

You are doing a great job with the media but it's a pity that you can't get the Lib's (sic) to support you. A pretty lousy opposition that stand for???????

Why was this omitted from the article? Surely a publicly-elected Liberal Party (or possibly ex-Liberal Party!) official bad-mouthing his party is newsworthy?

I sit here stunned about the unprofessional behaviour of Cr Humphrey and the local media on this issue. The people of the Surf Coast deserve so much better than this dog's breakfast.

Polygamy? It's a hard sell.

When Keysar Trad called on the Federal government to recognise polygamous marriages he started a debate that is very hard to win.

I've had a few dealings with Mr Trad, and he is a kind and very generous man. His arguments in favour of recognising polygamous marriages focus on protecting vulnerable people. A noble pursuit indeed, but he must have realised that not everyone will use polygamous relationships to help vulnerable women.

I personally could see a situation where "husbands" prey on vulnerable women for sheer sexual and financial gratification.

Melanie Dunkley from Mooroolbark wrote a clever letter to The Age today about polygamous partner hunting, reverse gender style.

What's good for the gander ...

WHENEVER polygamy is advocated it is always taken for granted that it is referring to a man with multiple wives. I wonder if polygamy would be so attractive to its male advocates if it included multiple husbands for women?

While no woman would wish to come home to a houseful of needy men expecting to be looked after, a bevy of enlightened men could be every woman's dream. With some judicious matches, a woman could find herself with a househusband, a high-earner and a super stud — sounds attractive to overworked women tired from fulfilling multiple roles.

The benefit for the husbands would be that their wife would be very happy, nagging would be minimal or redundant, and they would enjoy the support and companionship of their fellow husbands. If polygamy advocates truly have the best interests of women at heart, they should consider that multiple husbands might be the best option for women.

Melanie seems to be pointing out that laws in this country must apply to people equally.

I have an ethical dilemma for Keysar and other supporters of polygamous relationships that protect vulnerable people.

A man has a devoted wife and a secret lover that he has been seeing for ten years. The lover is devoted to the man and vice versa, but given the current laws they can't be together and the lover is struggling financially to make ends meet. The lover can't claim a Family Tax Benifits, can't income split, and can't access the man's super if he dies.

And now the important point. The vulnerable lover is a male. Does Mr Trad extend his polygamous marriage argument, to "protect the vulnerable" gay lover?

Libs preying for petrol price hikes.

Who says the federal Liberals don't have a plan?

Faced with inevitable petrol price rises, and a desperate need to do something about climate change, the Libs have played the most irresponsible short term fear card available.

The conservatives could have introduced a long term plan to wean us off the black smack, but that of course would mean a lot of hard work and upsetting the big end of town. Instead they are pushing the short term populist garbage that future petrol prices are going to go through the roof because of the ALP's climate change initiatives.

For this absurd "economy vs environment" argument to be politically successful, the Libs need two things: an enemy (e.g. environmentalist, scientists and the elite), and petrol prices must keep on rising.

The conservatives have set themselves on a path where they have no political interest in actually reducing our demand for petrol. In fact, the Libs populist campaign against petrol prices will always be more effective when a greater proportion of punters' disposable income is being eaten up by fuel bills.

The conservatives have been a dysfunctional rabble since the election but they are now all getting behind the great white hope that is skyrocketing petrol prices. I can actually imagine the Liberal backbenchers rubbing their hands with glee every time TAPIS crude hits a new high.

I just hope Rudd will call bullshit on Nelson, stare the Alan Jones impersonator down, and destroy the fucker. If Rudd blinks on climate change and petrol prices, he will give Nelson the oxygen he desperately needs.

What are you waiting for God?

Smite the mother fucker

Congratulations tubby guts

Well it's official. Australia is no longer a country of fit athletic types, we are now the fattest nation on the planet

I'll admit it. I have some fat friends. They are really nice people with great senses of humour, but, I'd actually like them to lose some weight and get more enjoyment out of life.

And now I'm going to get utterly selfish and controversial.

WTF should my tax dollars be spent supporting people in hospitals who are simply there because they refuse to do anything about their weight problem. I'm perfectly happy if my taxes go towards boot camps and childhood obesity plans. I'm more than willing to pay the government to subsidise healthy food for underprivileged people. And I love the idea of nutrition classes that teach the next generation how to look after themselves.

BUT, I'm so fucking fed up with evil junk food producers ramming processed crap down people's mouths, and dumb and/or lazy fuckers swallowing it without a second thought. Worse than that, the above mentioned dumb and/or lazy fuckers ram the crap down their kids throats. That's child abuse and it's just as unhealthy as whomping on a kid.

These junk food companies are basically making massive profits while the taxpayers (whether they eat their shite or not) pick up the tab.

We were smart enough to start whacking the tobacco companies with big taxes to offset the costs to the public from their products.

WTF aren't we doing the same to the makers of coco pops and pop tarts.

Bring on a fat tax now, and offset it by giving low income earners an income tax cut. It's fucking simple to encourage employment and discourage fatness at the same time.

Dammit, I've worked myself up so much, I'm going for a run.

500th post

Hi readers,
It's been 500 posts since the bones in my leg were snapped in a vicious soccer tackle, and I'd like to celebrate the anniversary with an idea.
Not just any idea, but perhaps the finest plan in the history of the world for commercial television.

I got the idea last night while watching Media Watch highlight the ratings bonanza that is organised crime.

Why stop at getting Roberta Williams to help Eddie McGuire out of a ratings slump? Why not go all out and start an entire new show?

Celebrity Criminal Makeover.

The concept is simple. You get a notorious criminal, and professional host, a series of soft ball questions, and a chance for the crim to give themselves a new image.

The show would be so cheap to make. The crims are either broke or stinking rich. The broke ones will appear for bus fare and a few bucks. The other talent will be money rich but image poor. They will appear for free because you can't buy credibility with cash.

The "talent" pool is very deep and TV execs could draw on people from across the criminal spectrum. Alan Bond, Steve Vizard, Mrs Moran, Carl Williams, sports drug cheats etc.

Who would you get on the show? Talent and host?

Andrew Mugabe

I've always been fascinated by zealots who just won't ever admit they are wrong. Their minds is so profoundly closed to evidence the world just inevitably passes them by.

Zealots come in many forms: religious fundamentalists, brutal dictators, hard-line communists, and of course right wing columnists at news limited papers.

In a column so full of chutzpah, The Herald Sun's resident wing nut, Andrew Bolt, told readers it was tick, tick, tick in regards to Iranian nuclear weapons.

Bolt of course made an absolute goose of himself warning everyone about Iraq's non-existent WMDs. He then changed his tune saying the Iraq war was all about regime change. It was then all about bringing democracy to Iraq, and, things were going so well, the Blot declared "the war had been won'.

Perhaps he could explain why Baghdad is ranked stone-motherless last in the world's most livable city survey

Like Robert Mugabe, Bolt just bats on while everything crumbles around him.

Or maybe I'm being a bit harsh on Andrew "bombs away" Bolt. Maybe Andrew loves the Iraqis so much he is trying to raise the Baghdad's liveable city rating...




by slipping Tehran underneath the Iraqi capital.

Who has been a naughty boy then?

Now I know I'm a bit of a swearer. BLL has also been called "expletive laden" by the Geelong Advertiser, but it's a free world and you can choose to visit this site or just ignore it.

It's your choice whether or not to be offended. Take it or leave it.

There is a time and place for swearing, and I can safely say it isn't down the phone to lady constituents when there is an election just down the track.

Who's been a very naughty boy then?

More to come on this one folks.

Good luck young 'un

I can't believe Labor MP Belinda Neal said Sophie Mirabella's baby will be turned into a demon by evil thoughts. That's just nasty.
BLL wishes the little tyke all the best and I hope he or she has a wonderful fulfilling life.

In fact, as a sign of good will to Sophie, I've put in a poll to help guide the young'un in his or her career choice.

What career would you like to see Sophie Mirabella's offspring undertake?
	Lawyer defending asylum seekers.
	Professional tree sitter.
	Muslim preacher.
	Gay people's advocate
	Member of Parliament (For the Greens)
	Student union co-ordinator
	Professional campaigner for indigenous land rights.
	Chairperson of the Malcom Fraser Appreciation Society.
pollcode.com free polls

If you have any other career choices to help the young Mirabella lead a happy and productive life, just stick them in the comments section.

The empire strikes back.

It's shire budget time again on the Surf Coast and Cr Ron Humphrey has outdone himself.

Rates have gone up 6.9% and Cr Humphrey has had a predictable sook about it.

He said the council was "empire building" because wages had risen by 44 per cent over four years.

Now let's just ignore the numerous reasons why the shire's wage bills have gone up. eg population has exploded in the Surf Coast, inflation would have been 15% over that period, and expenditure has risen 50% over that time.

Instead we should have a quick little check on Ron's voting record re budgets for the last four years.

2007-8 Cr Humphrey seconded the motion to adopt the budget.
2006-2007 Cr Humphrey voted for the budget.
2005-2006 Cr Humphrey voted for the budget.

That's right folks. Ron bitches and moans about "empire building" in the paper, and yet he voted for the "empire building" on three out of three occassions.

And Ron has the absolute nerve to say, "Many of those positions (new or expanded shire jobs) are about spin doctoring not works".

"Spin doctoring"? Well Ron would know.

I just wish that one of our local journos might one day investigate the fabulous claims of Ron rather than letting him use the papers for his re-election campaign.

Call child services

Walking through central Melbourne today, I saw a four year old girl holding Dad's hand.

Daddy and daughter out for the day was a heart-warming sight but something was not quite right.

She had hope in her heart, a skip in her step, and a sparkle in her eye. It looked like she was of an age where she would believe anything.

Her hair was in pigtails tied up with team ribbons, she wore a football jumper and had her face painted.

That poor girl must have cried herself to sleep again tonight because the ribbons were yellow and black.

What sort of monster father encourages his daughter to support the Tigers? Why doesn't he just surgically remove her spirit and crush it in a vice in front of the girl's eyes.

Where's victims of crime advocate Noel McNamara when you really need him?

The Hunfront is at it again.

Nothing rates better amongst the "un-elites" than a good old fashion "race" story.

Today Tonight routinely plugs a "bad immigrants who won't integrate" story all weekend to kick their week off in traditional style. These stories are divisive and make things difficult for innocent people, but they pull in the punters, and ratings are more important than accuracy or social harmony.

The Hun knows race-based stories receive the most hits on their web site, so forums are routinely added to maximise traffic and revenue.

The only problem is, The Hun is very much starting to resemble Stormfront.

For the latest story about a "riot" between taxi drivers, the forum went feral again

We had slight exaggerations.

"Welcome to the Third world."

Multiple calls for deportation.

"Maybe the instigators should be made to stay at the airport and take the next plane 'home'."

Justification for assaults.

"well I wonder how much violence these drivers bring on to themselves with they way they treat their passengers?"

Sheer stupidity.

"And a million more coming over the next three years! Mainly for Melbourne and Sydney."

Amazing irony

"The taxi drivers what useless people they are, it's the only job they could get and even then they are pathetic at it, how many are illegal citizens and can speak proper english?"

That would be "English properly" or better still "English correctly".

And of course ugly racism.

"These men whose violent nature just simmers under the surface should consider going back to their country of origin to ride camels and donkeys."

"Surly they were just arguing over who had the cleanest taxi, better personal hygiene and of course knew directions to any major tourist destination, hotel or major landmark in Melbourne???"

"Immigration will continue to turn this once great country into a cesspool of backward cultures"

And irony and racism rolled into one.

"Is this the future Australia, an uneducated forgein (sic) peasant class behaving like savages.?"

Please Please Please will someone take a Religious and Racial Vilification action against the Hun's editors.

And to all the cunts who write this type of racist shit, I hope you get really sick. After all the immigrant medical professionals get you healthy again, maybe then you'll get a different perspective.

Don't let Martin near the wheel

Labor hack Martin Ferguson MP celebrated World Environment Day by announcing his support for one of the most polluting energy sources known to mankind, coal to petroleum conversion.

This stunningly idiotic plan has the backing of the National Generators Forum.

"I think fossil fuels are going to be with us for many, many years," said the body's executive director, John Boshier.

Here's a thought, maybe Labor should stop caving in to the fuckwits who make their money from radically altering the planet's climate.
Is is too radical to think that those who got us into the climate change mess are the last people we should be looking to for a solution.

"Mr Ferguson insists the Government can do two jobs at once - both securing Australia's energy supply and at the same time reducing carbon emissions."

He then shocked his colleagues in cabinet when he pulled out his magic wand, held it high above his head, and yelled "big problem be gone, sha-bam".

Seriously Labor, is this the best you can come up with?

What was that? I can't here you.

Whenever a Muslim leader makes a stupid comment, the RWDBs scream in unison, "why don't moderate Muslims condemn Shiek ...".

I get the press releases from Islamic groups all the time that condemn stupid or criminal acts, and I know many Muslim leaders are sick of apologising for extremists groups they have nothing to do with.

These press releases often don't get a run in the papers, so the RWDBs have a little tantie from a position of profound ignorance.

I hope I'm not making the same mistake here with Camden redneck Kate McCulloch.

A couple of days ago she made a whole series of ridiculously bigotted comments about a proposed Islamic school in Camden and then said she was considering joining the Liberal Party.

You would think the Libs would publically distance themselves from McCulloch and say she was not welcome.

The Liberal Party NSW division haven't said they don't want her.

From a quick search of the web, I haven't heard any Liberal MPs denounce her comments.

Nothing from the National branch either.

Sure some Liberal somewhere in Australia may have said something like "Kate McCulloch's views are unacceptable", but I think it may have been a very quiet church mouse I heard instead.