Howard deseves more...a LOT more

Peter Gray explains why he felt compelled to throw his shoes at John Howard on QandA:

Well said!  But he deserves to have a lot more than shoes thrown at him - like "the book"

Just how powerful are the churches?

When you consider that some 75% of Australian women and GP's support the removal of abortion from the Criminal Code, you really have to wonder what Anna and John-Paul are afraid of (other than the right-wing of both their parties)?  I'd say the men who represent/control the 19% of people who go to church at least monthly

...and the things that make you shake your head

After five and a half years - some truth is finally told

Well, five and a half years after his death at the hands of copper Hurley, we finally have some truth about how the police culture and system set about covering his little ass.

It will be fascinating to see whether the Top Copper will still be there in a month and similarly whether Bligh has really stuffed-it this time by recently reappointing him. (I have this strange feeling in my waters that this may well turn out to be her Waterloo and if not it will be because Niel Roberts is sacrificed instead)

Other interesting reading:

• The CMC Report can be found here



• Palm Island officer Chris Hurley promoted while fellow officers face sanctions from News.com.au



• Labor MPs attempted to pressure Queensland's corruption watchdog to wind back its criticisms of Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson from couriermail.com.au

Remember:
 

What does Haiti and Aboriginal Australia have in common?

After recently seeing so much of the devastation and poverty that is Haiti today, it is worth remembering that the average life expectancy for Haitian males is a bit over 59 years - essentially the same as it is for Aboriginal men in Australia. 

There is one key difference though - Aborigianl men live in a rich country.

So some coppers do know how to shoot

Further to my earlier post here, it's good to see that some Qld coppers do know how to shoot (as opposed to knowing how to kill).

Where is the justice?

Good story in today’s Bulletin about the State’s refusal to compensate Terry Irving for his wrongful jailing for five years. As Mr Irving’s legal aid lawyer Michael O'Keeffe observes of AG Cameron Dick’s decision to abandon a judicial review of the case agreed to by his predecessor, …”Queenslanders are entitled to know is what is the Government hiding”.

However, Maggie Islander Ric Thompson’s letter to the Ed on the same subject puts the issues rather more directly: (click to enlarge - no link available)

It’s interesting that the WA Government doesn’t seem to have any problems in acknowledging their mistakes – see here and here

Alan Jones and Lex Wotton - like black and white

I’ve long considered Alan Jones one of the more dangerous hate mongers in Australia, so it was heartening to see that he has been found guilty of racial vilification. No doubt he will appeal the finding.


I don’t really see the difference between the inherent violence in Jones’ words and actions and inciting a riot for which Palm Islander Lex Wotton got 7 years in jail – other than power and wealth on the one hand and skin colour on the other.

As the Tribunal noted "... Mr Jones' comments about 'Lebanese males in their vast numbers' hating Australia and raping, pillaging, and plundering the country, about 'a national security' crisis and about the undermining of Australian culture by 'vermin' were reckless hyperbole calculated to agitate and excite his audience ..."


"...calculated to agitate and excite his audience ..." - sounds like inciting a riot to me.  Thankfully his aging audience are too old to take to the streets!

You can join the Free Lex Wotton NOW group on Facebook here

Townsville’s reputation as a racist town confirmed

How is it that someone who shoots two kids playing in a park and then admits that he has done so, get bail?

Today’s front page story in the Bully is simply outrageous on a number of scores:

• 2 kids (about the age of my own son) get shot while playing in a suburban park
• They almost certainly get shot because they are black – No matter how pissed he was, I’d bet he wouldn’t have done it if they were two white kids - I’d put any amount of money on it
• He admits what he’s done to the coppers and gets bail! Yes, he admits to shooting two kids and he gets bail!! – how does that work?
• He a soldier – how is it that nutters like this aren’t screened out of our defence forces?
• The army takes him under their wing to help keep him out remand. How is it that on the basis of his own admissions they don’t throw him into their own lock-up and launch an immediate inquiry and disciplinary action? Instead he’ll get to joke about it with his mate at the Mess and sleep in a nice bed on barracks.
• The coppers argue against bail – not because he shot at two kids but because they’re worried about his own safety. And when the Army agreed to take him, the coppers agree that that’s sufficient to allow a potential killer of innocents to go free.

The reality is that if he’d been a blackfella shooting at white kids he would never have got out of remand – in fact he may well never have survived even the watch-house while waiting for his bail hearing – remember Mulrunji died even before getting to the watch-house and he’d only been arrested for disorderly conduct!!

Townsville’s reputation as a racist town is confirmed – again.

An important milestone on the road to a tollerant, rational Australia

Australia's first legally recognised same sex civil ceremony was held in Canberra yesterday.  Perhaps we're finally growing up as a nation??

This story, Church's opposition to gay marriage a by-product of capitalism, by John Passant in Fairfax's National Times is well worth a read.