Tim Blair

Hey, does "finger gun" beat "Tiger claw" or "pen missile"?

The smear will be complete when they report that Halliburton sold Mr Allawi the pistol and ammunition at a huge profit and Cheny received a kickback on the sale.

For future reference: Finger Gun shoots down Pen Missile and blows holes in paper. However, it can be broken by a rock or carried away by Tiger Hand. Finger Gun and scissors don't affect each other one way or the other.

...Vincent Zankin, Eddie Raggett, et al...

If there was an Olympic event for 'theatrical display of political correctness', it'd be 'gold, gold, gold!', to Zankin.

Good to see you playing this one straight down the middle. Fair and balanced, objective.

Keep up the good work bloghead, we'll clear Uncle Iyad of these dastardly claims if we have to kill every citizen, er, I mean insurgent, in Iraq.

In the States, only Fox & the Wash Times wouldn't dance in the street if Iraq collapsed

Speaking of SMH letters, did anyone read the contibutions on Saturday re NZ's reaction to the Faked passports issue? I'm not Jewish, I'm not an unqualified admirer of Israel and I believe that the Sharon Govt, however provoked, has been brutal and stupid in its approach to he Palestinians. Even so, I was shocked and disturbed by the sub rational, almost animal glee with which the letter writers greeted Clark kicking Israel. Prima facie, these people are unashamed anti Semites and racists. Two of the letters were almost identically worded, which is an added worry.

Good to see you playing this one straight down the middle too, Miranda! Keep up the good work, blogparrot.

The SMH's allegations have had no impact in Iraq for the simple reason that no-one there reads the SMH, much to the chagrin of the Fairfax press probably, given its international pretensions. In fact, no-one outside the inner-city suburbs of Sydney reads the SMH. There are vast areas of Sydney that are SMH-free. Probably less than 30% of the city read the rag, which puts it on a par with the Cumberland Press throwaways. Oh the mortification!

Zankin, Zankin, rhymes with..........

yes we must declare IRAQ an SMH FREE area, for the sake of its survival as a democracy.

Ever notice how when there is one strongly worded, cogent letter to the SMH or feature article from "the Right" (however you want to define it)London to a brick on there will be at least five letters from readers condemning - in needlessly hysterical terms - the earlier item.

In the same column space that Mr Shepherd's letter was published there were two letters from readers paying out on George Fishman a regular letter writer from "the Right".

The SMH letters to the editor section is a disgrace since we are expected to believe that the opinions and attitudes expressed therein are a representative sample of its readership. If that were the case every seat in the Sydney Metropolitan area (including Wentworth, Mackellar and Bennelong) would have an ALP or a Green MHR!

Consuela, I understand where you're coming from,
but brutal is when you walk into a coffee shop and
blow up innocent people and their children. If the
same thing happened in NZ what would Ms.Clark (the
Hamas pinup girl) do? After you figure that out,
then consider what Sharon should do. Also take into
consideration how the palis treat each other and the
french. (Bwahahahaha).
Ahem, excuse me....uh, got carried away just a bit...sorry.

I thought the Reverend Vincent Zankin's name rang a bell. Sure enough, from my files here is a letter from him in "The Australian" published July 1, 2003, signing himself "Anglican Priest":

"The ruling of celibacy on Anglican homosexual clergy by the Archbishop of of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in the wake of the recent appoinment of a gay bishop, constitutes a disturbing and deeply held prejudice towrds the physical act of homosexual lovemaking "[ie sodomy] " especially if this love is expressed within the confines ofa faithful asnd committed relationsahip between two consenting adults." - it continues to blame the Bible for the Holocaust, by a chain of logical not at one apparent to me.

Perhaps if the alleged shooting had occurred in the bum instead of the head it would have been OK. Especially if they were Anglican clergy.

Sue, but only if they were under 14. The clergy don't like 'em old.

Craig G, ditto. Funny that the umbrage of the letters page mentioned nothing of serial pests such as Zankin, Eckersley and Mc Donlad, of whom, often write the same letter to any number of newspapers.

The fact that the letters editor allowed two negative comments aimed at Mr Fishman, is a disgrace and explains a lot about that farrago of lies that is the SMH.

I don't need to read the letters Tim. Just Miranda's response was all anyone needs to see how fucking stupid the left are.

"Good to see you playing this one straight down the middle. Fair and balanced, objective".

I wonder if she thinks Michael Moore's Farenhype 911 is a fair, balanced and objective view???

As I said before, the number of people Alawi "supposedly" killed would be relative to the amount of money McGeough paid them to say it.

There once was a priest name of Zankin
Very good at epistoles of wankin'
But Byron the Aussie
Stung him like a Mossie
And gave him a well-researched spankin'

I note from Byron's interesting files that the Rev. Mr Zankin quotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Will he therefore take on the ALP and the Democrats for opposing voluntary student unionism and voluntary student union fees in the Senate and by ALP State Governments, since compulsory student unionism clearly contravenes the UDHR?

(Article 20: "No-one may be compelled to belong to an association.")

Sorry, I posted this on the wrong item

I am sorry to post twice but I think this is important.

I have just googled the Rev Mr. Vince Zankin.

It appears - though I feel I have to have got it wrong! - that along with an avalanche of his extremist left-wing letters to various papers, attacking the Queen, Ronald Reagan, Archbishops Pell and Hollingworth, John Howard, the Governor-General, the liberation of "Christian" East Timor and it seems practically every figure to the right of Stalin, far surpassing what was in my modest files, he in a FUCKING DEFENCE FORCE CHAPLAIN, attached to Canberra RAAF BASE! This if correct means he is a COMMISSIONED DEFENCE FORCE OFFICER WHO HAS SWORN AN OATH OF ALLREGIANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT, who is PAID by the Australian Department of Defence and who is DISBARRED FROM MAKING POLITICAL COMMENTS!

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?

Good work, Sue. I'll chase it up, and report back to this thread. Cheers, Byron