Casual state dinners?

The US hosted the Prime Minister of Australia at a state dinner last night and President Biden showed up dressed like an undertaker. You would think somebody in the White House would have a clue about protocol. 

The 'Quad' is on the rise in Asia-Pacific: Game theory has a prediction about its future

China remade itself into a giant economy, and more and more it enjoys the giant benefits that go with it: national confidence, diplomatic clout and military power.

Other big powers are paying attention. As China has shown new swagger in its dealings with the world, four big democracies — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — have formed a counterbalance.

The future of that "Quad" has tremendous significance, not just in the Indo-Pacific, but everywhere. Decision-makers, risk managers, investors, CEOs, and regular citizens increasingly are aware of rising stakes in a new, global balance of power.

The leaders of the world's biggest economies want to know what's next for the Quad.

A very complex computer algorithm may have delivered the answer.

Read the rest here. (longish read)

France recalls its ambassador as anger with Biden grows

PARIS (AP) — France said late Friday it was immediately recalling its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia after Australia scrapped a big French conventional submarine purchase in favor of nuclear subs built with U.S. technology.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a written statement that the French decision, on request from President Emmanuel Macron, “is justified by the exceptional seriousness of the announcements” made by Australia and the United States.

He said Wednesday’s announcement of Australia’s submarine deal with the U.S. is “unacceptable behavior between allies and partners.”

Earlier Friday, a top French diplomat spoke of a “crisis” in relations with the U.S.

The diplomat, who spoke anonymously in line with customary government practice, said that for Paris “this is a strategic question concerning the very nature of the relationship between Europe and the United States about the Indo-Pacific strategy.”

He would not speculate on the effects the situation would have on France’s relationship with the U.S. “There’s a crisis,” he stressed.

Read the rest here.

‘The greatest miscarriage of justice’: Andrew Bolt responds to George Pell verdict

Outspoken columnist Andrew Bolt has labelled the case against Cardinal George Pell as “the greatest miscarriage of justice in Australian history”.

The Sky News host said the “witch hunt” against Pell had destroyed his career, reputation and locked him in jail for 404 days “for a crime he could not possibly have committed”.

Pell will immediately be released from prison after the High Court ordered his child sexual abuse convictions be quashed “and judgments of acquittal be entered in their place”.

The most senior Catholic in the world to be convicted of child sexual abuse today learned his final appeal bid had been successful. He released a statement saying he felt as though the “serious injustice” he suffered while maintaining his innocence had been “remedied”.

The full bench of seven judges were unanimous in their decision, finding the jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a reasonable doubt as to Pell’s guilt.

Bolt, an outspoken supporter of Carindal Pell, was quick to respond to the judgement.

“This was one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in Australian history,” he said.

“A lot of people today should be ashamed of their role in the persecution, the witch hunting and the jailing - for 404 days - of an innocent man.

“The charges were inherently implausible and yet they were believed.

“And voices that spoke against this conviction were hounded down.”

Read the rest here.

Breaking News: Cardinal Pell's Conviction is Overturned by High Court

This is just breaking. Details likely to be added here.

Julia Yost: Catholic-haters have just convicted an innocent man

By a 2-to-1 vote, an Australian appellate court this week dismissed George Cardinal Pell’s appeal of his conviction on five counts of “historic” child sexual abuse. For Pell’s supporters, the decision can hardly be surprising. Given the way things had gone, a just outcome would have come as a shock.

Prosecutors accused Pell of surprising two choirboys who were guzzling communion wine in the sacristy of the Melbourne cathedral immediately after Mass one Sunday in 1996. The cardinal was charged with forcing the boys to fellate him while he was still vested in archbishop’s robes.

The allegations were utterly implausible — for several reasons well-established by the defense at trial.

The cathedral’s communion wine was kept locked in a safe, for starters, and Pell couldn’t have left the post-Mass proceedings without his absence being noticed; witnesses attested this never happened. Likewise, the choirboys couldn’t have left the post-Mass proceedings without their absence being noticed; witnesses attested this never happened, either.

Plus, the sacristy would have been bustling with activity. As witnesses testified, Pell was never alone in the cathedral while vested for Mass but always accompanied by at least one assistant. The security arrangements and layout of the cathedral, and the respective locations of the cardinal and the choir, would have made it impossible for the abuse to occur as alleged. Nor is it physically possible to expose one’s genitals while vested in an archbishop’s robes.

Before he died in 2014, one of the two boys denied that he had “ever been interfered with or touched up” — by anyone. All this led 10 out of 12 jurors at Pell’s first trial to vote to acquit. Yet at the retrial, the jurors ignored the enormous weight of exculpatory evidence and voted in December to convict him amid a climate of media-driven anti-Catholic hysteria.

As the dissenting appellate judge was to conclude, the sole accuser’s wholly uncorroborated testimony “contained discrepancies, displayed inadequacies and otherwise lacked probative value.” Oh, well.

Read the rest here.

As I stated in my earlier post on this subject, I'm not sufficiently familiar with all of the evidence to express an informed opinion. But an awful lot of people whose judgement I respect have come down hard on this case.

For the record...

Cardinal Pell's conviction has been upheld on appeal. I am not sufficiently familiar with the details of the case to express an informed opinion. However, a number of people that I respect have grave misgivings about the matter.

Catastrophic Flooding in Australia

Large tracts of rural Australia, primarily Queensland, have been stricken with flooding of biblical proportions after enduring a prolonged drought. There have been severe losses among wildlife and livestock.

Details.
Warning: The linked story has images that may be disturbing.

Australia Ratchets Up Anti-Illegal Immigration Policy

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia on Sunday announced plans to ratchet up its tough policy against refugees by banning any asylum seeker who attempts to reach its shores by boat from ever visiting the country.

A previous government introduced a policy on July 19, 2013, banning refugees who arrive by boat from Indonesian ports after that date from ever being resettled in Australia.

Under legislation to be introduced to Parliament next week, thousands of asylum seekers who have returned to their homelands in the Middle East, Africa and Asia would be banned for life from ever traveling to Australia as tourists, to do business or as an Australian’s spouse, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said.

“You need the clearest of clear messages,” Turnbull told reporters.

“This is a battle of will between the Australian people, represented by their government, and these criminal gangs of people smugglers. You should not under estimate the scale of the threat,” he added.

Read the rest here.

This is an excellent idea.

Australia: Conservatives Bury Labour in Landslide Election

Conservative leader Tony Abbott has celebrated a landslide victory in Australia's general election, after reducing the Labour Party to its worst result in a century with promises of tough action against immigrants and scrapping a tax on carbon emissions.

The 55-year-old British-born former student boxer was long regarded as unelectable even by some of his own ranks and struggled to connect with voters, particularly women, thanks to sometimes abrasive style.

But he steered the Liberal-National coalition back to power after six years in opposition amid widespread disillusion with years of infighting in the ruling party.

Read the rest here.

Mr. Abbott is cool on military interventionism, a staunchly conservative Catholic and a monarchist. All in all it was a good day down under.

Good News From Down Under

Tony Abbott, the British-born leader of the Australian Liberal Party, has been ridiculed as a boorish brawler, whose deep conservatism and apparent misogyny ought to make him terminally unelectable. A monarchist and a devout Catholic who once trained to be a priest, his nicknames have included “Dr No”, “The Mad Monk” and “People Skills” (because he was presumed not to have any). 

Read the rest here.

Sounds like my kinda guy. On a side note, why do Australians refer to their conservative party as liberal?

Australian deputy PM: 'Cranks and crazies' in GOP threaten US economy

CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia's deputy prime minister said Friday that the greatest threat to the U.S. economy are "cranks and crazies" in the Republican Party.

Wayne Swan, who also serves as treasurer and is his center-left Labor Party government's ranking finance minister, took aim at the Tea Party during a speech to a business forum on Friday, breaking a convention among Australia's major parties to steer clear of U.S. domestic political debates.

Swan, one of few world leaders able to boast his country had avoided recession during the global financial crisis, also labelled the Tea Party wing of the Republicans as "extreme."

"Let's be blunt and acknowledge the biggest threat to the world's biggest economy are the cranks and crazies that have taken over the Republican Party," Swan said in a speech in Sydney.

Read the rest here.

Australia: New law may require priests to reveal some confessions

THE prospect of government forcing priests to report what was said in confession is the sign of a "police state mentality", says a priest and law professor.

Hundreds of years of Catholic tradition in the confessional could be overturned by Victoria's inquiry into child sex abuse.

Priests would be ordered to reveal crimes told to them in private confessions under one proposal before the inquiry.

But priests say they will resist being forced to reveal secrets of the confessional.

Priest and law professor Father Frank Brennan said the move would be a restriction on religious freedom.

Read the rest here.

Catholics are understandably up in arms about this. But we should be as well. The Orthodox tradition regarding the confidentiality of confession is the same.

Scary news from Down Under

Australia is a nation where freedom of speech has appeared as solidly established as anywhere in the world.

Today, however, it is under a massive threat. This is all the more shocking because it is as head-on assault on Australia's entire political culture of liberty and democracy.

In the latest development, the governing alliance of the leftist Australian Labor Party and the extreme leftist Greens have received an official report into media regulation recommending draconian controls.

The 470-page report, commissioned as part of the government's vendetta against the Murdoch press, demands that the media be made more "accountable," and that the government have the power to impose "professional standards." The chairman of the inquiry that made the report, retired Federal Court Judge Roy Finkelstein, recommends a News Media Council be set up to license the press and to censor news reporting and political commentary.

Licensing the media has always been abhorrent in the English-speaking world. It was not contemplated even in Australia's first days as a penal colony.

It is recommended that the council -- presumably to be called the Ministry of Truth -- should have a judge or lawyer as its chairman, appointed by the government, and 20 members, a large portion of whom would be nominated by the Labor-affiliated journalists' union.

The council would have power to alter or permanently ban articles. Disobedience would result in a fine or imprisonment for contempt of court, and there would be no appeal. As well as having the power to ban articles, the council would have the power to compel media to publish responses to stories.

Now get this: its jurisdiction would extend not merely to newspapers -- which would be outrageous enough -- but also to any website. Perhaps even if it was visited by only one or two people a day. Finkelstein says its jurisdiction should cover websites which get more than 15,000 hits a year, or an average of 41 a day, that is, practically every website that could be described as publishing "news, information and opinion of current value."

Read the rest here.
HT: Bill (aka The Godfather).

Protest Turns Violent Against Australia's PM Gillard

CANBERRA -- Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was dragged away by security guards Thursday after she was trapped in a restaurant by rowdy protesters demonstrating for indigenous rights following a ceremony to mark Australia's national day.

Some 200 supporters of Aboriginal rights surrounded a Canberra restaurant and banged on its windows while Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott were inside officiating at an award ceremony.

The protesters were marching at the nearby Aboriginal Tent Embassy to mark 40 years since its establishment and rushed the restaurant in response to comments by Abbott earlier in the day, The Australian newspaper reported.

Read the rest here.

U.S. troops headed to Australia, irking China

CANBERRA, Australia — The United States announced plans Wednesday to establish a permanent military presence in Australia, part of a high-profile foreign policy shift toward Asia that is intended as a counterbalance to China’s growing power.

Starting next summer, the United States will send 250 Marines to bases here for six-month tours, eventually rotating 2,500 troops through the country. President Obama announced the partnership at a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, describing it as a key step in his administration’s evolving emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region as the United States winds down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Read the rest here.

Queen's Visit Leaves Australian Republicans Disheartened

SYDNEY (Reuters) - When Britain's Queen Elizabeth arrives in Australia next week, protocol says she should be addressed as Queen of Australia -- something that will grate with republicans who want to sever ties with Britain and appoint an Australian president.

The royal tour, possibly the queen's last to Australia given her 85 years and the long distance from Buckingham Palace, will reignite debate on whether the nation should become a republic.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy, with the British monarch its head of state who acts in predominately a ceremonial manner but has the power to approve the abolition of parliament, which happened in 1975 toppling the then government.

But republicans concede any debate will be short lived and their dream of an Australian republic and president will remain just that -- for many years to come.

Time, politics and apathy have all conspired against Australia's republicans. And republicans know there is no appetite to put the issue back on the national agenda.

An opinion poll this week revealed support for the monarchy had risen to 55 percent of the population, while support for a republic was at its lowest level in 23 years at 34 percent.

Read the rest here.

The first upbeat news story I have read in days.  May the republican's misery be multiplied and their daughters grow up to look like Phyllis Diller.

God Save The Queen!

Queen's hectic tour of Australia may be her last

After 15 visits spanning more than half a century, the Queen is to embark on what may prove to be her farewell to Australia later this month.

Her Majesty, who is 85, and the Duke of Edinburgh, 90, will complete a hectic 10-day tour which would be exhausting for a couple half their age.

While Buckingham Palace aides refuse to rule out future visits to the second-largest Commonwealth realm, many Australians will treat the visit as a chance to say goodbye to their monarch, who is expected to cut back on long-haul tours following next year’s Diamond Jubilee.

Read the rest here.

Category 5 Cyclone Yasi to land 300km/h punch on Queensland coast

CYCLONE Yasi is expected to be the most life-threatening storm in generations, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.

Yasi intensified to a category five overnight, the highest rating possible, and the bureau says it could pack winds upwards of 300km/h when it crosses the coast.

It's expected to make landfall between Cairns and Innisfail sometime late tonight.

Thousands of people have fled their homes in low-lying areas of Cairns and surrounds, Townsville and the Cassowary Coast ahead of what's expected to be a major storm surge.

Premier Anna Bligh said Yasi was now expected to cross the coast earlier than expected, about 10pm (AEST).

That development is a big blow for authorities, as it will come in on the high tide, exacerbating the extremely dangerous storm surge it will cause. On a moderate tide, it was expected to be up to two metres in Cairns.

"This impact is likely to be more life-threatening than any experienced during recent generations," the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said this morning.

Read the rest here.

Australia: As if the flooding were not bad enough...

It's starting to sound like the Biblical plagues...

Flushed out by Queensland's rising flood waters, deadly snakes are on the move in the region's cities and towns.

There are also fears that crocodiles are now floating in flood waters. Residents have been advised not to enter the waters.

The Australian state of Queensland is home to some of the world's most venomous snakes, including the Common or Eastern Brown snake, the Coastal Taipan and the Death adder, as well as saltwater crocodiles - among the largest of the species, and a notorious man-eater.

But now some of these dangerous creatures are on the move and the likelihood that they will come into contact with humans is increased.

Venomous snakes are climbing trees, seeking cover in homes and outbuildings and trying to find higher, dryer ground, meaning that the same number of snakes will be present in a smaller area.

Crocodiles too are dispersing, the limits of their natural habitat now vastly expanded.

Read the rest here.

Snakes... yuck.