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But there’s form here. The Mail still can’t quite live with the shame that it has always, always been historically wrong about everything — large and small — from Picasso to equal pay for women. Because it has always been against progress, the liberalising of attitudes, modern art and strangers (whether by race, gender or sexuality). Of course they’ll leap on a Stephen Lawrence bandwagon once the seeds of their decades of anti-immigration racism (read a 1960s or 1970s Daily Mail) have been sown, but deep down they have always come from the same place and had the same instinct for the lowest, most mean-spirited, hypocritical, spiteful and philistine elements of our island nation.

Most notoriously of all, they loved Adolf Hitler when he came to power, and as the Czech crisis arose they were the appeasement newspaper. And woe-betide any liberal-minded anti-fascist who warned that the man was unstable and that consistently satisfying his vanity, greed and ambition was only storing up trouble. The whole liberal left, not to mention Winston Churchill, were mocked and scorned for their instinctive distrust of Hitler. The Daily Mail knew better.

In January 1934 Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, younger brother of the paper’s founder Alfred Northcliffe (the 4th Viscount Rothermere is chairman of the company that still owns it) wrote an article called Hurrah for the Blackshirts. He was sending congratulatory telegrams to My dear Führer as he liked to call him, right up until a few months before the outbreak of war. For more details read this article by Richard Norton-Taylor.

Of course I know Putin isn’t Hitler. But then Hitler wasn’t the full Hitler we now think of in back in 1935 either. The death camps and atrocities were years away. He became the Hitler of 1939 because we never stopped him. All historians agree now on how doubtful and uncertain he was in 35, 36, 37, and 38. The occupation of the Rheinland provinces of Alsace Lorraine and the annexation of Austria went unchallenged. The Olympic games reinforced his huge status at home — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Hunter Street Crime Scene, originally uploaded by Red Wolf.

Police Tape, originally uploaded by Red Wolf.

Gathering, originally uploaded by Red Wolf.

Riot Squad, originally uploaded by Red Wolf.

Riot Squad, originally uploaded by Red Wolf.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a crash and alleged shooting incident in Sydney’s west.

About 7.50pm yesterday (Wednesday 7 August 2013), emergency services received reports of a multi-vehicle crash and shots being fired at the intersection of Hunter and Marsden Streets, Parramatta.

Officers arrived a short time later and found two vehicles had collided, with two men trapped in one of the vehicles.

A 22 year-old male pedestrian was also injured as a result being struck by the vehicles involved in the crash — via redwolf.newsvine.com

A former teacher at a Jewish primary school in Melbourne has been sentenced to three years and four months in jail for sexually assaulting four students.

David Kramer, 52, pleaded guilty to five charges of indecent assault and one of an indecent act with a child under 16.

The offences were committed against four boys aged between 10 and 11 at the Yeshivah College in St Kilda East between 1989 and 1992 — via redwolf.newsvine.com

If you have a spare few million lying around, you can buy your very own Scottish island.

A small Scottish island has been put up for sale for STG2.5 million ($A3.82 million).

Tanera Mor is the largest and only inhabited island in the Summer Isles archipelago 1.5 miles off the north-west coast of Scotland.

The 800-acre island is currently managed by Lizzie and Richard Williams, who took it on from Mrs Williams’ family, the Wilders.

The Wilders bought the island in 1996 after selling their dairy farm in Wiltshire — via redwolf.newsvine.com

A 100-year-old church in Sydney’s inner-west is still smouldering after it burnt down early on Sunday morning.

Firefighters were called to the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Dulwich Hill just before 4.00am (AEST).

Inspector Chris Sedgewick says the old architecture made it especially hard to fight the fire.

He says the nearly 100-year old building could not be saved — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Two people have been killed and at least 23 injured after two explosions ripped through the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

TV footage showed streets littered with debris and blood, with paramedics carrying stretchers.

Boston Police said there were simultaneous explosions near the finish line — via redwolf.newsvine.com

The Australian Customs Service has confirmed there were more than 700 complaints made by employees about potential corruption within the department over a three-year period.

Documents obtained by Fairfax Media show there were 724 internal complaints, allegations and concerns reported to Customs that related to the service’s staff between 2007 and 2010.

Customs has released a statement saying there was no proof of criminal conduct in 500 of those cases.

The statement goes on to explain it is impossible to work out whether the staff involved were internally disciplined in 300 of the matters, because there has since been changes to record-keeping systems — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Extending their hands to their Jewish neighbours to save their worship place, Muslims in the northern British city of Bradford are rallying efforts to raise funds for preserving the last remaining synagogue in the city.

In Bradford we are working hard to bring people of different faiths together, and to support one another as good neighbours, Zulfi Karim, secretary of Bradford Council for Mosques, told Telegraph & Argus.

The umbrella group said it would raise funds for local authorities to help renovate the Bradford Reform Synagogue, the last remaining Jewish worship place in the city — via redwolf.newsvine.com

At least six people have been killed and 35 wounded in clashes in northern Burundi between police and a Catholic sect, an official has said.

The violence broke out after police tried to block followers of 30-year-old Zebiya Ngendakumana from praying in Kayanza region, the official added.

Ms Ngendakumana says she sees visions of the Virgin Mary on the 12th day of each month.

The authorities are worried her sect could threaten public order — via redwolf.newsvine.com

5-11 Fire in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighbourhood, originally uploaded by Andrew Krumtinger.

Just one of the awesome photos of a recent Chicago fire — via Flickr

Many Catholic priests take a flexible approach to celibacy, tolerated by church leaders, and some believe sex with children or men does not count, a former Melbourne priest said on Wednesday.

An enormous number of priests struggle with celibacy, Philip O’Donnell told the state inquiry into how the churches handle child sex abuse.

There’s a tolerance for imperfection in celibacy, and that may have led to a lessening of outrage at sex with children.

He said he had no training about celibacy in the seminary and that many priests were ill-equipped. Chosen celibacy is a gift, but mandatory celibacy is for many priests a millstone, he said.
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Mr O’Donnell declined to speculate on what percentage of Catholic priests, who must vow to be celibate, were sexually active, but another Melbourne priest has separately suggested it is about half — via redwolf.newsvine.com

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service says 12 properties have been lost in a bushfire west of Coonabarabran, which also damaged the Siding Spring Observatory.

The fire in the Warrumbungle National Park has burnt out up to 40,000 hectares and has already forced the evacuation of over 100 residents.

The fire is presently burning in a northerly direction away from Timor Road and is about a kilometre south of Bugaldie.

The Rural Fire Service confirmed this morning that 12 properties had been lost on Timor Road — via redwolf.newsvine.com