Showing posts with label corruption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corruption. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

There is no such thing as an Indonesian anti-corruption body

Leslie judges under the thumb!

A corrupt Indonesian government has now suggested that its anti-corruption body says it is investigating the judges who presided over the trial of Australian model Michelle Leslie on drug charges.

Don't blame me just because I am bored, I'm needy, I need to taste it all. Don't doubt me just because I am quiet. I'm thinking, thinking about it all.

But in Indonesia where they sanction state terror, there cannot be any such thing as an Anti-corruption body because the government in Indonesia is corrupt from the top down, but not for a song!

I'm helpless about the way of me. I'm thinking, thinking about it all. I'm sorting everything inside.

A Balinese court convicted Leslie after she was found in possession of two ecstasy pills and sentenced her to three months in jail.

I'm looking in the space, this time, this void. I'm making my way through the muddy minutes. The pull is in my muscle. The ache is in my bones. It's hard to be alone. (Breathe, breathe), It won't be long now (breathe, breathe).

Leslie was freed the day after the verdict was handed down as the judges took into account the time she had spent in jail during the trial.

After taking bribes the corrupt Indonesian government says its corrupt National Judicial Commission, which oversees judges in Indonesia, has confirmed that it is investigating the three-person panel responsible for the decision.

Say again? How can a filthy corrupt Indonesian government try and tell the world that they are going to get their national commission (that can only be corrupt) to investigate anything? And be believed?

An official says the sentence is regarded as being too lenient.

Sure, she should have at least got the death penalty?

How many pills would that take?

See through me when I put up a fight, like you to see the things I hide. Go deeper, than I won't let you know. I'm frightened but I won't let it show.

The commission is a set-up, a propaganda tool and a mechanism to try and bail out an embarrassed Indonesian government before the eyes of the world.

What right have the pro-government media institutions here got to try and brainwash the Australian people with nonsense and whitewash from the Indonesian authorities, trying to cover up their misdeeds?

This case is not as bad as blowing people up on the dance floor, in the cafes or at work at the Embassy because if that were what they were investigating then they'd have to start from the top down, in Indonesia.

CIA agent spreads terror fears in Australia


I'm helpless about the way of me. I'm thinking, thinking about it all. I'm sorting everything, inside.

They'll tell you that the commission was set up earlier this year to root out corruption in the judicial system, but not from the top down?

They claim that since its inception it has investigated 280 cases but has returned a corruption verdict in only one case.

See! Nothing wrong with them! I believe you?

I'm looking in the space, this time, this void. I'm making my way through the muddy minutes. The pull is in my muscle, the ache is in my bones. It's hard to be alone.

The corrupt Indonesian police say that Ms Leslie was arrested at a dance party in August after two tablets of ecstasy were found in her handbag.

(Breathe, breathe) It won't be long now (breathe, breathe).

Lyrics: Written: Kylie Minogue/ Dave Ball/ Ingo Vauk

By Gregory Kable & Kylie Minogue 30 November 05

Related:

Parents mortgaged home for Indonesian injustice
It was reported that more than $100,000 was paid out of at least $600,000 used to free Michelle Leslie.

Why is the prime minister so angry: Michelle Leslie
John Howard 'angry'. Not a good role model for a Prime Minister!

Indonesian Police Set Free After Torturing West Papuan Students to Death If you thought Schapelle Corby got a raw deal from the Indonesian justice system, spare a thought for the West Papuan students who survived a vicious attack by police as they slept in their dormitories in Abepura, West Papua, in the early hours of 7 December 2000.

Say no to Indonesia as a tourist destination
Australian tourists visiting Bali's nightspots will face random urine tests under an escalating anti-drugs crackdown on the Indonesian holiday island.

WHY IS THE HOWARD GOVERNMENT PLAYING 'DEATH' WITH AUSTRALIANS: There has been much controversy recently on whether the Australian Federal Police should have tipped-off the Indonesians over the arrest of the Bali Nine. Due to the fact that Indonesia executes convicted drug-traffickers, ACADP believes that any evidence collected by AFP should have been withheld from Indonesian authorities until they have a written guarantee not to pursue the death penalty for the Bali Nine.

'CORBY VIDEO HELP REBUFFED'?
On page19 of the BRISBANE "SUNDAY MAIL" there was an article entitled "CORBY VIDEO HELP REBUFFED". IF it is true, (the article which follows) it PROVES (IN LAW) the claim that OUR GOVERNMENT HAVE WITH-HELD EVIDENCE FROM THE LEGAL DEFENCE OF A CITIZEN.

It was me! 'New Corby trial'
SCHAPELLE Corby has been handed a second chance to fight for her freedom. But she got no second chances with the Daily Telegraph.

Australian man denies owning drug stash
AN Adelaide man facing up to 10 years in a Bali prison for drug possession has denied owning a stash of hashish allegedly found at his rented bungalow.

AUSTRALIANS PAY BRIBE TO VISIT CORBY IN BALI PRISON:
The Corby drug trial has become Bali's latest tourist attraction. Australians are taking time off to lend moral support to Schapelle Corby.

Corby lawyer pleads for Australian help
The lawyer for a Queensland woman facing drugs charges in Indonesia says it is not too late for Australian authorities to assist her defence.

THE DRUG-RIDDEN STREETS OF BALI:
Chris Allen, took to the streets of Bali and found it possible to buy a smorgasbord of illegal narcotics from dealers.

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'
People who are addicted to heroin usually take the drug because it relieves them of problems such as low self-esteem, distrust and fear of abandonment. They may have poor communication skills & poor relationship skills.

POSSESSION? OR INVASION?
UK: This absolutely preposterous idea/theory of allowing a person/s to be possibly charged with 'possession', if found to have a drug substance within their bloodstream, just goes to prove such hypocrisies which certain hierarchies feel justifies passing legislation, is another blow for democracy!

PLANNING TO TRAVEL OVERSEAS? BEFORE YOU GO, READ THIS!
Currently, 214 Australian citizens are languishing in prisons around the world. The majority of these having been convicted of drug-related crimes.

Sunday, October 2, 2005

ABC: Inside the Insiders

These shows demonstrate how even our best mainstream news/current affair shows are effectively another corrupt decoy for career politicians (and the rich they serve) to legislate their way to further wealth... via media cronyism.

This is a copy of a letter sent to ABC online this morning in response to their 'current affairs' programme "Insiders". It reads, in part, as follows: "On your webpage you declare "Insiders" is a, "fast-moving treatment of national affairs".

Because of the loaded reporting style, I would say Insiders is more like a gaggle of protection for the elite, and a thorough-going endorsement of the state's handling of national affairs."

The Insiders
ABC

Dear Barrie,


Occasionally I drag myself out of bed on Sunday early enough to watch your collection of prognosticating journalists going under the name of 'the Insiders'. I did so this morning and heard the panic picnic about terorism at home and abroad (esp. Bali).

May I ask what your guests are "inside", Barrie? Our politicians' minds and policies? A sewer? A cosy little Sunday club? Or, all of the above?

Howard, Beazley, Downer, Ruddock, et al, are lying every time they open their mouths in public... and these are the people your reporters seem to know so well. Why should viewers expect pollies' allies in the media to let us in on the real picture? I don't. Programmes like "The Insiders" purport to be investigative and progressive, but inevitably wind up blowing Howard's bugle for him.

Piers Aching-man, perhaps "sorry Laurie" Oakes' main rival for 'aussie' asinine superiority, derides everyone who sees current events differently to him, and assails any/every (rare) comment that comes from the left field (David Marr or Misha). What is he inside? He is a despicable disinformation agent more than anything else.

Likewise, Andrew "nuts and" Bolt(s), sucks more effectively than expensive vacuum cleaners. He is a shameful conduit for state propaganda. I was once an empty-headed cocky, god-bothering know-it-all like him, too. Thankfully, I saw the 'light', and it was dark! Writing for mammon (even if under the banner of 'god') is just not worth it, I'm no longer into fausticuffs.

And who does Paul Kelly think he is? For that matter, what's with the reverence you give him? Is he the face on Mars or something?

Crabby Annabel talks about "trust" like a gullible little schoolgirl-one that hasn't discovered her daddy's involved in prostitution. What on earth have these politicians done to earn our trust? You trust them Annabel, I'm buggered if I will. Your crabby denunciation of George Galloway displays exactly whose camp you're 'inside'. Knowing which side the bread is buttered, you decry the bravest voice in British politics. Put your mirror back in your handbag and go back to the girl guides.

America engineered its own terror scenario by allowing, maybe even planning 9/11. They got their Nazi style "homeland security" and wars in oil-rich Afghanistan and Iraq. England engineered the subway attacks. Suddenly 'Poms' could cope with Tony Bliar's insincere vocal strains again-even his backbenchers have stopped calling for his resignation. Bobbies can now carry guns and the Brits have given the world a template for murder of innocents via the summary execution of Jean Charles de Menezes. Don't you think governments do this in times of national struggle? Think (or research) back to Nazi Germany and the Reichstag Fires! Or Pearl Harbour!

Mainstream journalism and media refuses to even investigate such angles. That is why there is a need for more honest reporting, which only comes via the internet, which is why freedom-hating governments like Australia and America are attempting to outlaw internet sites, etc. The hypocrisy is breath-taking for anyone with the skills to actually read between the lines (lies) of the media.

John Howard has a happy knack of appropriating other nations' terror as our own-he cares not whether it's US, UK, or Bali. Indeed, by jumping into an illegal invasion of Iraq with the megalomaniac George Bush, he boxed Australia into this nightmare. Fear has been his main electoral weapon in consecutive elections, and continues to be the stick behind much of his legislation.

On your webpage you declare Insiders is a, "fast-moving treatment of national affairs". Because of the loaded reporting style, I would say Insiders is more like a gaggle of protection for the elite, and a thorough-going endorsement of the state's handling of national affairs.

Have a proper gander at the news, Barrie. It's on the web, far away from your nonsense of 'trust'. Remember, the Germans (and Prescott Bush, George. W's grand-daddy) trusted Hitler too. Australians should beware who their politicians jump into bed with.

Latham had it right before he got cold feet. Bush's America is immoral, illegal, and dangerous. Australia should tell them and Howard to piss off.

Your show is just another example of an ideological state apparatus at work-only marginally better than the commercial nonsense pushed by Ray Martian, Mooney Yvette and the like.

However, it gives me good insight into the mindset of the journalists who set the tone for Aussie thinking. No wonder we get results like Howard 4 times running. This is the real inside story of "Insiders": what makes Australia's right wing journalists tick?... Egos, dollars and a mentality of na•ve trust. We trust the government juggernaut, and you should trust us.

How do these 'experts' differ from the politicians they serve? The only circle they are 'inside' is a ring of liars perpetuating falsehoods for the benefit of the wealthy. I can remember reading a report in "The Bulletin" 15-20 years ago called "Is Our Media On The Nose?"

It was then, and it is now!

slim regards

Barry parsons
Editor
TWOT magazine
Bunbury
Western Australia

ps, the cartoon section rocks, M.B.

Bush, Howard, Blair, Axis of Evil

From bad to worse is the new sub-text slogan for Bush and his administration. Appearing on US media, flanked by Cheney, Rumsfeld and numerous other (wooden) neo-cons, Bush repeated his rehearsed lines - "we are problem solvers".

Downer
by FX Sunday October 02, 2005 at 04:19 PM

Yeah, I got out of bed the wrong way and found Downer on 9 Sunday

Alexanda Drowner was asked would he pressure Indonesia to ban JI on Sunday CH9.

He said, "Oh they are a shadowy figure". Even though he went hammer at JI for causing the bombing.

If an organisation was delivering bombs and it was not an organisation anyone knew about in indonesia accept for a few planted CIA agents, or even if it is known by some Australian authorities as Drowner claims then why wasn't it banned?

Response to Bazra re: Inside the Insiders
by Lisa Guliani 2005-10-03 3:10 AM +0800

Excellent letter from Barry Parsons!!

Inependent media is where the truth will be found for all who have had their bellyful of mainstream media propaganda.

Here in America, the mainstream media serves as "waterboys" and lackeys for the New World Order power elite.

All free-thinking people of the world are strongly urged to seek out independent sources of information if interested in more than mere corporate-controlled hype and tripe.

The truth is out there for all with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Incidentally, the United States government front is NOT America, nor is the evil cabal that drives it "America". We in independent media are battling the "collective coma of the conditioned masses" here in our country and stress the vital importance of ALL independent media throughout the world to push hard and bypass the mainstream, governmental, and corporate obstacles to exposing truth directly to the public.

I applaud your efforts, Barry Parsons. Please know you are not alone in this fight.

Many, many persons of conscience are fighting on this battlefield. Most people don't yet realize the harsh reality, but the mind is the true battlefield in these "wars". We all need to put up a fight. It will be the only way we can defeat this beast.

The Truth Matters.
Lisa Guliani
WING TV
"A Pissed-Off American"


By Bazra posted 2 October 05

Related:

They know where you live
Twenty-four hours after the country's leaders agreed to draconian counter-terrorism laws this week, the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, was playing down media claims that ASIO believed there were 800 would-be suicide bombers living in Australia.

When Terrorism Outlaws Democracy
On September 27, 2005, Australian democracy surrendered to terrorism. On that day, a coalition of willing federal and state leaders agreed to anti-terrorism legislation that will enable police persecution of the Muslim community and threaten dissidents with imprisonment. In a country without a Bill of Rights, the prospect of more draconian Terror Laws delivers ultimate control through fear. Australia, with its history of penal colonies, racism and detention centers, is now set to become a police state.

Evans: moderate threat
Evans doubts reports that 800 potential terrorists are living in Australia.

No! Your Rights Australia
You have the right to not remain silent.

800 people deemed a potential security risk?
As reported in the Australian today, ASIO has apparently identified up to 800 people deemed a potential security risk. Ruddock says the draconian COAG measures "deal with people who pose a risk to the safety and security of the Australian community." Hmmm, like detained and deported US peace activist Scott Parkin perhaps? What is this broad definition of a "Terrorist"?

Democrat Will Oppose Anti-Terrorism Laws
NSW Democrat MLC, Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, has accused the Premier, Mr Morris Iemma, of selling out to John Howard after agreeing to new 'Anti-Terrorism' laws yesterday. Dr Chesterfield-Evans said the proposed laws agreed to by Morris Iemma will not work.

Mein Kampf by John Howard
Months before Bali Au warships were seen invading Iraqi territorial waters in deliberate provocations under American protection. It was obvious that Howard had decided before Bali to join in an illegal and aggressive invasion of Iraq and in fact , when that happened, it was led by Au stormtroopers BEFORE the ultimatum given Baghdad had even run out!

Collection of Terrorists Meet to Take Away Our Rights
Tomorrow (27th of September) the State Premiers and the Federal Government are meeting to conspire to strip Australians of their rights. Welcome to the brave new world of electronic tagging and "preventative" detention.

Tell Your State Premier: Don't Do Ruddock's Dirty Work
Over the past several years, the Howard government has passed a series of dangerous new laws. These laws have undermined our basic legal and democratic rights.

Australian government unveils legal framework for police state
In the lead-up to his September 27 "counter-terrorism summit" with the eight Australian state and territory leaders, Prime Minister John Howard last week unveiled a package of legislation that goes well beyond the already deep inroads made into essential civil liberties under the fraudulent banner of the "war on terrorism..."

Australia: Counter-liberty plans unveiled
AUSTRALIA: VIC: BLACK Hawk helicopters and fighter jets will patrol Melbourne's skies during the Commonwealth Games next March, as part of counter-terror measures outlined today.

John H.o.W.A.R.d line roars at Fascism Week
AUSTRALIA: Parody: (Rooters) - While Attorney General Phillip Duddock helped wrap up a US protester for Prime Meanster, John HoWARd during Australia's Fascism Week after a 5 day detention debut and the removal of Mr Scott Parkin a peace activist who was deported back to Houston, Texas. The h.o.W.A.R.d fascism line, adding a dash of despotism to a week of largely draconian styles.

Parkin charged $11,700 for detention and removal
Los Angeles Friday, 16 September, 2005 : American peace activist Scott Parkin arrived back in the US today, escorted by 2 Australian immigration officials. He is expected to arrive in Houson, Texas on a Continental Airlines flight at around 3pm AEST.

Government out of control on security: Wilkie
Australia: Canberra Thursday, 15 September, 2005 : Former intelligence analyst Andrew Wilkie today staunchly defended US peace activist and teacher, Scott Parkin, saying that the government's national security agenda is out of control.

Australia, USA, Iraq: Scott Parkin
The rapid and widespread response to the detention of US peace and global justice activist, Scott Parkin, has been heartening and effective on many levels. Actions have taken place in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and outside several Australian Consulates in the United States.

Peace Activist Agrees to be removed but challenges security review
ATTENTION: CHIEFS OF STAFF - IMMIGRATION REPORTERS - LEGAL REPORTERS

Australia's fascist ideal: Proof
Philip Ruddock, Federal Attorney General to Australian, hopes to eclipse the neo-cons of the US in the race toward the fascist ideal of social uniformity and control (oppression).

Anti-War Extremists Loyal to Scott
What can I say to someone like Scott Parkin? Sorry mate, to get a PEACE prize in this country you need to be drop dead sexy, go-tees are out - you gotta go. Peace Prize.

US Peace Activist to be Deported
Scott Parkin, a Texas based peace activist was detained by Federal police at approximately midday Saturday. He was en route to give a workshop about the progress and success of the peace movement in the US and companies profiting from the Iraq war.

Howard government threatens academic freedom
As Peter McGregor noted in GLW #639, I recently resigned in protest from a committee of the federal government's National Health and Medical Research Committee (NHMRC) and called for a boycott by academics of government committees generally.

'Different times' call for bill of rights, says QC'
To ensure no future government can erode basic human rights. Lex Lasry, QC, gave last night's key note address at the University of Western Australia's annual Day of Ideas.

Australia: a little dab will do ya .....
Reflections on the phoney, hypocritical "values" debate being promoted by the federal government, as part of its proscriptive program to emasculate our democracy.

Government warned Terror Laws "inherently dangerous, draconian and open to misuse" John North, Law Council of Australia: "In times of fear, it is easy for governments to impose ever (more) draconian laws."

Fishing expedition pays off
A man whose home was targeted by ASIO in fishing raids this year is facing fraud charges along with a co-accused who is linked to firearms offences.

The Terrorism of ASIO Laws
Wanda Fish asks Australian Senators to reject Howard's proposal to strengthen laws that already erode our basic legal rights. This legislation has the potential to turn ASIO agents into terrorists who can kidnap and detain innocent Australians simply because they "might know something".

Terrorgraph not quiet on 'Aussie militant' probe
AFP refuses to comment on investigation into militant video: hoWARd's abc.

Phillip Duddock's 'accent' heard in militant broadcast
Australian/Arab television has broadcast a video showing a masked militant with an apparent Australian accent criticising British Prime Minister tony bliar over Iraq.

HICKS: Not a Happy Birthday!
AUSTRALIA/CUBA/US :David Hicks, the Australian imprisoned at the US Base of Guantanamo Bay, will be 30 years old this coming Monday August 7, 2005.

GetUp! Stand Up! Stand Up For Your Rights!
Because of you, something exciting happened in our democracy last week. From every corner of the country, more than 20,000 emails were sent to the Coalition Senators. Our message was simple: now you have control of the Senate, we will be holding you to account. Thousands of you added personal messages to your representatives about the issues you care about.

Australia: We're Living In A War Zone
Prime Minister john hoWARd and his cronies have now placed us in a war-zone moving defence capabilities to Australia's south-east coast.

All the alleged terrorists are Muslims
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) commissioner mick keelty, a well know propagandist and liar, now claims that 60 Islamic extremists are operating in Australia and they are not news to the police and intelligence agencies.

All the wicked witches in Pakistan?
Pakistani authorities say 800 suspected militants [scapegoates and patsies] have been arrested in raids following the deadly London [false flag operation] bombings, as Islamic groups protest a move to expel 1,400 foreign students.

It's just not cricket: Khan
The perception in the West remained that somehow Islam was connected to militarism and terrorism, that all Muslims believe that all suicide bombers go straight to heaven. No one mentioned that before [false flag operations of] 9/11 70 per cent of suicide bombings in the world were committed by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, who were Hindus.

Lawyer dismisses ASIO fishing raids as PR stunt
Fascist federal Police (AFP) and ASIO officers conducted more raids in Melbourne and Sydney yesterday but the publicity surrounding the raids has been dismissed as a public relations exercise by the Melbourne lawyer for an accused terrorist.

Howard off to US, UK - part 5
PART-5- PRIME minister john hoWARd will meet US president george w buSHIT, British prime minister tony blair and queen 'imperialism' herself during a 10-day visit to the United States and the UK next month.

hoWARd, ruddock, ellison, keelty and news ltd plotted chaos
AUSTRALIA/CUBA: Government and corporate propaganda agencies 'believe' they have foiled an attack on the Melbourne Stock Exchange by a radical Islamic network linked to a covert group, which has carried out surveillance on key Sydney sites.

Houses raided over 'possible' political attack plans?
ASIO have raided a number of properties in Melbourne on a 'fishing expedition' in relation to a 'possible' political scare campaign by the hoWARd government, playing on the fears of all Australians... again!

Is this our most dangerous Newspaper?
The Daily Terrorist should be managed with manacles and flown into Siberia via a jumbo jet tomorrow amid fears government fascists may attempt to use them again on someone else.

HOSTAGES OF THE WAR ON TERROR
This forum will bring together legal representatives and victims of counter-terror, along with justice campaigners and organisations in order to share strategies for achieving justice for these men and the many other like them.

WAR ON TERROR, WAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS: AMNESTY
The Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group & the Justice for Hicks & Habib Campaign welcome the statement by Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan, condemning the US Administration for condoning torture and the suppression of 'human rights' in their 'war on terror'.

Murdoch's war on truth in war reporting
People who remain to be convinced that cross-media laws are important to maintaining the fabric of our democracy need look no further than today's page one of The Daily Telegraph.

Chomsky signs on for justice
Noam Chomsky has signed the Justice for Jack campaign petition which calls on the Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock and Director of Public Prosecutions to "drop any charges reliant on records of interviews conducted under duress without the presence of a lawyer."

If he'd been given his passport he'd be a free man
A Sydney man [scapegoat in the Coalition of the Killings resource wars in the Middle East] has been found not guilty of preparing for a terrorist attack on a Commonwealth building [ruling class propaganda.]

Trial by unrelated video clips
Should alleged terrorist suspects [scapegoats for the resource wars in the Middle East] be shown on television side-by side-'terrorist training camp film clips' gathered by the government and media archives to give the wrong impression of accused people facing trial?

Accused Australian Citizen 'denied passport in 2002'?
AN AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN who was refused a passport by DFAT in mid-2002 became frustrated at the government for treating him differently.

Court should be told Gov't using 'Jack'!
A Melbourne court should have been told a man accused of working for Al Qaeda is being used by the fascist Australian Government as a pawn in their leverage to win support for their illegal and degrading activities.

Noble Cause Torture?
AUSTRALIA: The Labor Party has decided not to support a Senate inquiry into new allegations made by Mamdouh Habib that the Australian Government cooperated with Egyptian intelligence authorities who he insists tortured him.

New account adds weight to interrogation claims
Australia/Cuba/Iraq: The fascist Federal Government is under further pressure today because Australians were involved in the interrogation of tortured Iraqi prisoners.

Australian senate accused govt of war crimes
Did you hear the one about David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib having a Barbeque in Afghanistan with Bin Laden? Yeah it was reported on Channel Seven's Sunrise this morning! But they don't know if it was a sheep or a goat, but sources say it was most likely a goat.

DPP to appeal innocent man's bail
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will seek to have an innocent Melbourne man Joseph 'Jack' Thomas, returned to isolation in custody?

Fascist Australian Govt torture exposed
The fascist Federal Government has been exposed for the torture of Australian Mamdouh Habib and the US Government's allegations against him (if they were true) would have been made under duress.

Innocent witch verballed by federal fascists!
Shame on the federal fascists. The wicked old witch is dead! A Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard that a 31-year-old innocent Victorian man was facing terrorism charges?

Lawyer blames police for Habib break-in
John HoWARd, Alexander Downer, Phillip Ruddock, Robert Hill, to name just a few....HOW DO YOU PLEAD?

No reason for Habib to sell story: Beazley?
Federal Agreement Leader Kim Beazley is a well-paid loser. A loser who supposed to be defending our democratic rights by standing up to the HoWARd Government's fascism.

Australia: a presumption of guilt......
KAREN PERCY: Two of Australia's leading barristers have seized on the return of Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mamdouh Habib, to launch an unprecedented attack on the Federal Attorney General, Philip Ruddock.

Aust Community criticises Govt for 'crimes'!
Australia: The Law Council of Australia is warning that the Federal Government must learn from its mistakes over Guantanamo Bay? Now that's a mistake!

Australian Govt Guilty of Crimes: Community
Australia: The community says federal fascists who allowed the torture of its citizenry including Mamdouh Habib may be arrested when the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal address the War Crimes Indictment set out by the community.

What they did to Habib
Mamdouh Habib was the victim of atrocities fit for a concentration camp, including being tied to the ground while a prostitute menstruated on him, his lawyer said yesterday.

Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes
Complaint to Australian law officers about Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes.

There is no justification for torture
In the weeks since the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were revealed, evidence continues to seep out of similar mistreatment of prisoners in other US military detention centers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

Howard rejects spy agency overhaul
Prime Minister John Howard has played down the need for a major overhaul of Australia's spy agencies as a result of an inquiry by former intelligence officer Phillip Flood.

Fascist Australian Govt torture exposed
The fascist Federal Government has been exposed for the torture of Australian Mamdouh Habib and the US Government's allegations against him (if they were true) would have been made under duress.

Innocent witch verballed by federal fascists!
Shame on the federal fascists. The wicked old witch is dead! A Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard that a 31-year-old innocent Victorian man was facing terrorism charges?

Innocent Victorian man held in custody for Xmas?!
Lawyers have argued the case against Mr Thomas was weak and based on a statement he made in Pakistan without a lawyer present and therefore unlawful.

Innocent Melbourne man makes second bail bid
Rubish, just plain propaganda, fear-mongering, draconian nonsence from the HoWARd goverment's war agenda stink tank.

MPs to review spy agency powers
Australian spy agency ASIO'S controversial powers to detain and question suspected terrorists [scapegoats for HoWARd's resource wars] will be re-examined by a parliamentary committee. Parliament passed the new counter-terrorism powers in July last year.

Goulburn Jail breaches UN standards
NSW: Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has called on Justice Minister John Hatzistergos to bring Goulburn Jail's Maximum Security Wing into line with United Nations standards, after a prison inmate's covert survey of his fellow inmates revealed problems with rehabilitation programs and basic amenities.

Lodhi toilet paper: crap!
He is facing nine charges and is accused of planning a major terrorist attack on Sydney defence sites and the electricity grid using downloads off the internet and having 100 rolls of toilet paper to wipe his arse after low level bombs and farts.

Brain injury for suspicion 'inhumane'
Faheem Khalid Lodhi refused bail by a Sydney court and remanded until June in hell at the (HARM-U) High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn. While he is in there he will receive a brain injury and is likely to self-harm due to the gross violation of living standards.

Ul-Haque 'the man who wants to become a doctor'
The taskforce is investigating French man Willie Brigitte, who was tipped back home for a visa breach. Allegedly the Un-Australian Newspaper claimed he also attended training camps before his six-month stay in Sydney. Police have not alleged Mr Ul-Haque knew Brigitte. The Un-Australian just mentioned it because they are 'you guessed it' up John Howard's butt and they like the USA want 'you guessed it' our Federal Government. Well Yankee go home!

Daily Terror rolled-over for Howard's war games
The DAILY TERROR is suspected of being the source of the news this morning that Willie Brigitte is a terrorist and that Sydney faces a bomb attack.

Ruddock foreshadows new terrorism laws
The new laws will allow police to access emails and mobile phone SMS messages, enable wider use of surveillance devices, and protect sensitive national security information during terrorism trials.

Community seeks more power to interrogate ASIO suspects
Greens Senator Bob Brown does not think increased police powers are necessary. "We have enormous powers for surveillance, apprehension or punishment of people who are engaged in or intending to engage in or thinking about being engaged in terrorist acts in this country," he said.

Greens warn of 'politicised' terror trials
AUSTRALIA/CUBA?: The Australian Greens say they are concerned that new anti-terrorism laws being debated in the Senate allow for the "political black-banning" of defence lawyers at terrorism trials.

Lawyer claims Al Qaeda suspect's evidence tainted!
Before returning to Australia last year, Thomas was arrested and held in custody for five months by Pakistani authorities before being released without charge.

Man terrorised by ASIO remanded in 'AA' isolation!
A Victorian man has been remanded in custody after being charged with terrorism offences, including having links to Al Qaeda?

Melbourne man charged over ASIO links
ASIO a know Australian terrorist organization is verballing the community again...about allegations that a man, while living overseas, received funds from Al Qaeda and had close association with the members of the terrorist group.

DING DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD
A court has been told Joseph Thomas is a sleeper? ZZZ! Melbourne Australia: A court has been told that Osama bin Laden asked a Melbourne man to become a "sleeper" in Australia before undertaking activities for the Al Qaeda network? Munchkins: "Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead."

AFP: The unlikely CRIMINAL
It was born of a bombing and it made its name after a far more devastating act of terrorism. But for most of the 25 years in between, little was known about the Australian Federal Police force or the work it did.

Mamdouh Habib: Taunted and Tortured!
Four Corners [Walls]: Terrorist - or Taunted by the Australian Defence Force who sacked him as a cleaning contractor? Who is Mamdouh Habib? And why was he harassed by the Australian Federal Police? Then tagged and labelled as a spy? Why was he vilified by the community? When he fled to Pakistan how did he end up being tortured in Egypt? And how did he end up at Guantanamo prison camp reserved for the men America calls "the worst of the worst.

He was an undercover agent for the blues
He was my journalist, he was working undercover. The fellow knew all of the moves.... He really had me romping, bare footing stomping. He just kept igniting my fuse....

Up there Khasali: Innocent man new bail laws
The New South Wales Supreme Court has asked innocent man Bilal Khazal to increase to amount of surety offered, before the bail is formally continued.

HEY! BIG BROTHER? LET INNOCENT PEOPLE GO!
Young men terrorised, tortured, and threatened with charges for no crime by Australia mate the lucky country. Lucky if you're not used for Howard's FEDERAL ELECTION and George Dubya's WAR ON LIBERTY! Who shot liberty? IGNORANCE!

Keelty foresees more terrorism
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty says terrorist groups will continue to find new ways to threaten countries.

Islamic movement denies links to Al Qaeda
The Islamic Youth Movement has denied having any links to Al Qaeda and says it is considering legal action against the Four Corners program. In a statement released early this morning, the group rejects allegations it is helping coordinate any kind of terrorist network inside Australia and says it is being unfairly targeted.

2nd Renaissance -10 The War on Witches [150]
In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a Papal Bull that became the rationale for establishing the Inquisition in Germany. The following excerpt from the Bull sets out the official view of the danger of witches to the community. The Bull and this this passage provided the sole excuse for the torture and cruel executions that were, ultimately, to be the fate of up to fifty percent of the population of some villages.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Victorian cops the most corrupt in Australia


A weekly round up of news on the cops. Former Australian Crime Commission Chair says Victorian cops are the most corrupt in Australia -- so they are given extra powers -- and so Melburnians can be patrolled by the army -- and have business deals with McDonalds. Top cops in NSW cleared after investigation -- but another one charged with child slavery. Western Australian police officer leaves the force under secrecy -- and Canberra hospital nurse tells the Federal Police to bugger off.

Victorian Police have won the prize of being the most corrupt police in Australia, in the opinion of the former chairman of the Australian Crime Commission, Peter Faris QC, according to the Sept 19 Australian.

Mr Faris further said that the Victorian Police Commissioner, Christine Nixon, was weak and a 'slave' to the Bracks Government, as he spoke to a parliamentary committee.

Corruption had been 'swept under the carpet' and allowed to fester, he said.

'I think there's a huge amount of corruption in the Victoria Police that's never been addressed,' Mr Faris said.

'When the balloon went up about the drug squad, that was only a small part of the corruption, and all the rest has never been looked at, it's all been swept under the carpet.'

The QC added 'I think we have dire problems here. I think we have a weak commissioner. I think the commissioner is a slave to the Government.'

The coppers in Victoria have been under sustained fire since the disgraced drug squad was disbanded in 2001.

Victoria: even more powers for the 'most corrupt police in Australia'

But your average copper these days is not so much the filth that we know of old, but a top notch counter-terrorism fighter. How appropriate, then, that they will be given police state powers.

Numerous media outlets reported on Sept. 21 that Victorian police will be given stop and search powers by the Bracks Labor government.

Police will also be able to search cars, demand identification, seize property, seize closed-circuit TV footage without a warrant and conduct secret property searches.

Some of these powers will be extended to officials and security guards at airports, power stations and reservoirs.

On the terrorism front, Premier Bracks has kissed the bottom of the Prime Minister, John Howard, saying that he approved of Federal Government plans to allow terrorist suspects to be detained for up to two weeks.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, has reciprocated by kissing the bottom of Premier Bracks, while at the same time indulging in a little bit of tongue action.

The Prime Minister said 'I think [the plans of Premier Bracks] are very sensible in the context of the preparations in this city for the Commonwealth Games' according to ABC's The World Today program on Sept. 21.

The President of Liberty Victoria, barrister Brian Walters, commented 'We've spent more than $5 billion on security since [the US false flag operations on] September the 11th, 2001 and it's hard to see that that reaction is proportionate to the threat that's posed,' said Brian Walters.

Walters continued 'Well I think there is some hysteria about the threat of terrorism and there is often the belief that getting rid of human rights will somehow make us safer, but our greatest security lies in our human rights.'

Further guranteeing our human rights will be the jackboots of the military, drafted in to occupy Melbourne during the Commonwealth Games, according to ABC news online.

Victorian Police Commissioner Christine Nixon, described as weak and a 'slave' by a witness to a parliamentary committee (see above), will be the head of security for the games.

A total of 1,200 Australian Defence Force personnel will be in Melbourne in addition to the 13,000 police who will be deployed.

Melburnians have been warned to expect Defence Force personnel and equipment in and around the city in the lead-up to the Games. ADF tactical assault teams will be deployed.

Equipment to be used include Black Hawk helicopters and fighter jets, according to a Sept. 20 AAP report.

Melburnians have also been warned to expect personal searches, cars in the city to be subject to spot checks and residents could expect to see military aircraft overhead in the lead-up to, and during, the Games.

Meanwhile, doughnuts are being replaced by Big Macs as the favourite food of coppers in Victoria.

In a scene guaranteed to make any right-thinking person shudder with dread, Victorian Police have linked up with McDonalds to produce 'blue ribbons' for coppers killed on duty, according to the Sept 20 Ararat newspaper.

Blue Ribbon Foundation CEO Neil Soullier, in support of the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation, has raised more than $4 million for community projects since 1993 which perpetuate the memory of police officers who have died in the line of duty.

No mention has been made in the various press releases about fundraising for the families of victims shot dead by police.

In New South Wales, Deputy Police Commissioner, Dave Madden, who is otherwise leaving the police service, will not be charged with any offence under the Telecommunications (Interception) Act in relation to phone tap leaking allegations, according to the Sept 20 Sydney Morning Herald.

The Assistant Commissioner, Peter Parsons, has also been told he is in the clear.

Mr Madden has applied for medical discharge because of stress.

The leaks related to allegations that some Bulldogs players had raped a woman at Coffs Harbour on February 22.

They haven't escaped yet though. The Department of Public Prosecutions has referred the matter back to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) to consider disciplinary action, according to a Sept 20 AAP report.

Although these two coppers might get off, that is not the case with former copper, Christopher White, who has been granted bail of 300,000 Thai baht ($A15,000) while facing child molestation charges, according to a Sept 20 AAP report.

White was arrested at his home in Bangkok on August 24 and denies charges that he sexually abused a teenage girl from Chiang Mai for four years. He is accused of forcing her to perform sexual acts on video with him and his friends.

In Western Australia, one of the state's most senior police officers has quit after making an 'error of judgment.'

Deputy commissioner Tim Atherton resigned, but we don't quite know why. The Sept 21 Advertiser reports that State Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan refused to provide details of the inappropriate conduct that led to his deputy's surprise resignation

He would not reveal when the conduct occurred and refused to say whether the behaviour involved sexual harassment.

But this week's round up has a happy ending. Australian Federal Police were put in their place by Canberra Hospital staff when they attempted to bully their way in past the emergency reception desk, according to the Sept. 16 Australian.

When the cops, with Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile in tow, tried to break the relatives-only visitor rule to see Senator Barnaby Joyce, the badge-flashing cops were told by the desk nurse 'That means nothing here, sonny.'

It was reported that Senator Joyce had arrived at the hospital at 8.45pm complaining of a migraine.


By Cop Watcher posted 27 September 05

Related:

Cop Watch - The threat of privatised state power
Cop Watch will stay silent on proposed anti-terrorist laws and the arrest of peace activist Scott Parkin as so many others are writing about it, but a moment needs to be spent on private security guards - the private army of the state.

Cop Watch - Tweed Heads Terrorism brings town to standstill
Another terror attack in Australia brings Tweeds Heads (NSW) to a standstill - police brake speed limit to get footy player to footy match - woman ends up dead because of police failure, according to coroner - corrupt corruption commissioner might end up in prison - 14 year old girl gets locked up by police unlawfully - ex-copper gets massive $650,000 pay-out.

A copper's lot may not be happy, but it is certainly well paid
NSW Police to set up full time riot squad following Forbes protests - no one wants to be Commissioner of Police in NSW - no one wants to be a copper in SA - another copper rapes a juvenile - more secrecy bungles in Victoria - more drugs for the cops on duty - Justice Wood (former Commissioner into Police Corruption) says little has changed in 10 years - cops on corruption charges get stressed out and get compo.

Cop Watch: When permanent head injuries ruled to be reasonable force Former copper kidnaps and rapes 10 year old (allegedly) - Commission rules that police violence that leads to serious and permanent head injuries is 'reasonable' - more police lies on the de Menezes killing in London by terrorist police officers - NSW Police Association criticise A30 Opera House cost of policing - Victorian Police stuff up traffic tickets (again).

Cop Watch: No. 4 Terrorism in Ballarat
Terrorism in Ballarat - former Sydney copper sues the police after becoming drug addict - Victorian Police unlawfully releases 'up to 20,000 pages' of confidential files.

Australia: Cop Watch No. 3
This round-up includes: disgraced officers may get reinstated with back pay - more confidential information gets released into the public domain by police - body searching at the Sydney Opera House - and Irish police pissed off over WA police poaching campaign in Ireland.

Australia: Copwatch No.2
A review of what the boys and girls in blue have been up to shows that their respective juices have been stimulated by their ability to demand greater and greater police powers.

Australia: Cop Watch
The roundup this week - dodgy riot gear, shooting French photographers, senior coppers being 4 times over the legal limit, dodgy promotions in NSW, more terrorism powers in WA and drug-dealing coppers in Melbourne (it is alleged).

Assaulted, intimidated or harassed in custody?
"Then make an Apprehended Violence Order application against the police, says assault victim Ms Teresa Kiernan.

NSW Police Force: 2 dead, $1 million dollars to catch a thief?
NSW police have expressed concern about their response to the Macquarie Fields riots in south-western Sydney after a police pursuit that killed two young youths Dylan Rayward 17, and Mathew Robertson, 19 that went horribly wrong.

OUR STORIES MUST BE TOLD. THEY HAVE TO BE
On Sunday 13th February, a Community gathering will be held to enable all people to remember the death of one of our young Community members, 'TJ' Hickey.

Vic police chief moves to sack officers
The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, has moved to dismiss two police officers as part of a crackdown on corruption and says up to 20 more dismissals could follow.

Vic flop cop warns there's more corruption
Victorian Police Chief Commissioner, Christine Nixon, says Victorians should brace themselves for more evidence of police corruption.

Vic police corruption report tabled in Parliament
The Victorian Ombudsman's report on the Ceja Taskforce and drug related corruption in Victoria police has been tabled in State Parliament.

Bent police compromise Bulldogs gang-rape case
Deputy Commissioner Dave Madden could have compromised gang-rape investigation? Steve Mortimer resigned!

More NSW Police Corruption?
Line of fire? [Bullshit! Line of Lick Arse Noble Cause NSW Corrupt Cops] (clockwise from top left) Deputy Commissioner Dave Madden, Assistant Commissioner Peter Parsons, Superintendent Dave Swilkes, Assistant Commissioner Bob Waites and Superintendent Dave Owens.

NSW Cop suspect in murder?
A sacked Sydney police officer has finished giving testimony at a hearing into his corrupt activities over the past eight years. Christopher John Laycock was yesterday recalled to the witness stand at the Police Integrity Commission (PIC).

Corrupt NSW police officer sacked
New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has sacked an officer who confessed to being involved in corrupt activities over the past eight years.

Policeman draws blank on fake raids
A suspended Sydney policeman has told an inquiry that he has "little recollection" of the details of fake police raids he set up.

Officer planned to kidnap criminals
A senior Sydney police officer who has admitted taking money for tipping off a child porn suspect had also been planning to kidnap criminals and extort money from them, the Police Integrity Commission heard yesterday.

Police offer protection to family following gang rape allegations
The parents of a 14-year-old girl claim their daughter was gang-raped in Sydney earlier this year, and have raised concerns about corrupt policeman Detective Sergeant Christopher Laycock's review of the case.

NSW police prosecutor charged with child porn possession
A New South Wales police prosecutor has been charged with the possession of child pornography.

Police, teachers charged in child porn bust
One-hundred-and-fifty people, including police officers and teachers, have been arrested in what the Federal Police (AFP) describe as Australia's biggest Internet child pornography bust.

A corrupt way to treat the community?
I seen the police bleeding on Nine's Sunday program arguing that promotion should depend on how many crimes police have solved and not how many brains they have and that was coming from police commissioner Ken Moroney and Police Minister John Watkins?

Judges Blood Sample: After the fact of the fact of a hangover?
Lawyers say New South Wales Supreme Court judge Jeff Shaw should not give police his own sample of blood taken after he crashed his car near his Sydney home last month.

NSW police drug amnesty under review
A drug amnesty for the New South Wales police force is under review, Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has said.

Police to uphold law not decide mental health
A diagnosis of mental illness could be made over the phone instead of in person, and involuntary psychiatric patients could lose the right to have their case reviewed by a magistrate, under proposed changes to NSW mental health laws.

Redfern police need education not weapons
According to the description of one senior police officer, the ACLO called out on the afternoon before the Redfern violence escalated was "hopeless, intoxicated and had no driver's licence."

Bulldogs simply not the best!
SIMPLY NOT THE BEST AND DEFINITELY NOT BETTER THAN ANYONE, ANYONE I'VE MET.

Clive Small, NSW Inspector Gadget
NSW Police has revived controversial plans for a specialist discriminative squad to tackle the wave of violent crime that has plagued Sydney's south-west for more than a decade.

2,500, crooked detectives? Or a corrupt Government?
The Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. Where did the police learn their trade skills? Led by example perhaps?

Australia's Political Underworld...And their enforcers
The promotion of law and order means money to big business. Profits from insurance, security fixtures, patrol services and the like can only continue to grow if the perceived threat of uncontrollable crime wave escalates. In the past few months there have been many examples of the true nature of our blood thirsty politicians and their sinister attempts to spoon-feed a not so gullible public with their repetitious rhetoric.

Lord Denning
Interesting how a member of the Police Board Mr. Tim Priest would hold grave fears for his safety from dangerouse senior police but fails to name them or have them sacked. Rather Priest resigns as if he had no powers. Could that mean what he was saying is that the Governments are also corrupt?

Black Nexus
The Separation of Powers Doctrine is nowcontaminated witharangeofcolours, now leaving us with a black shirt on a once blue bridge that crossed that thin blue line. The 'Amery and Woodham show'.

Partners in crime - history!
Roger Rogerson, the old hero, who never faced a result in the Lanfranchy, or Huckstepp murders, was let off in my opinion when the New South Wales Government rolled the legal system (deciding what evidence to give the police prosecutor) to have the jury believe the illusion they (the Government wanted to create).Similarly, Peter Ryan facing the Police Integrity Commission for questions about his involvement in the demise of the dysfunctional reform unit. Chess in the court (rolling the legal system).

Police Chronology 1994-2001
View events in the NSW Police Force since the Wood Royal Commission began in 1994. 1994 May Justice James Wood is appointed Commissioner of the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service ('WRC').

Federal Police

AFP: The unlikely CRIMINAL
It was born of a bombing and it made its name after a far more devastating act of terrorism. But for most of the 25 years in between, little was known about the Australian Federal Police force or the work it did.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Cop Watch - Tweed Heads Terrorism brings town to standstill

A weekly round-up of what Australian cops gets up to

This week...

Another terror attack in Australia brings Tweeds Heads (NSW) to a standstill - police brake speed limit to get footy player to footy match - woman ends up dead because of police failure, according to coroner - corrupt corruption commissioner might end up in prison - 14 year old girl gets locked up by police unlawfully - ex-copper gets massive $650,000 pay-out.

Another terrorism attack occurred in Australia on Sept 6, with NSW police bringing a large part of Tweed Heads to a standstill on September 5, according to ABC News Online.

Dozens of businesses were evacuated, roads were closed for 7 hours, more than 100 workers were forced to leave their offices and traffic was diverted for most of the day.

The suspect device turned out to be harmless.

'Obviously it is a different society at the moment and we have to take every threat seriously and investigate it fully,' said a police spokesperson.

'Even in Tweed Heads,' he could have added.

The Sydney Morning Herald of September 6 reports the extraordinary story of a police officer who deliberately broke the speed limit and used emergency lights and sirens so that he could drive a Kangaroos footballer, Saverio Rocca, to Telstra Dome for a match.

The police officer drove Mr Rocca to the match, leaving his wife, Rose, at hospital and about to give birth to the couple's second child.

Mr Rocca replied to allegations of police driving, using headlights or speeding by saying that 'I didn't think it was such a big deal.'

A Northern Territory coroner has blamed police for the death of woman, according to the September 5 Advertiser.

The coroner found that police had failed to enforce a restraining order against the woman's former partner.

As a result, the 21 year old was bashed to death by her boyfriend, despite taking out a non-contact domestic violence order against him.

Coroner Greg Cavanagh said police should have arrested Ms Millar's partner when he beat her up the day before, in breach of the restraint order.

The coroner said that 'The evidence in this case reveals that the actions of police were simply not good enough.'

Moira Rayner is a disgraced former corruption commissioner. She disgraced herself when she tipped off a friend about an investigation into his illegal activities. Now she is being investigated as to whether the tip-off was criminal, according to The Australian of September 6.

Ms Rayner, who was the acting commissioner of the Corruption and Crime Commission in Western Australia, resigned on August 16 after admitting the tip-off.

The tip off to her friend, Mr Marquet (formerly one of WA's top public servants) came when he was facing charges on 55 counts of corruption, drug possession and the theft of $227,000.

Police chiefs in Belfast are getting pissed of at Australia's attempts to poach Irish police officers, as Australians no longer want to join the boys and girls in blue.

The 3 September Belfast Telegraph reports that 200 Irish police have expressed an interest in signing up for jobs in Western Australia.

Police Commissioner Noel Conroy of the Republic of Ireland is reported to be annoyed about the possibility of losing experienced police.

A former copper is to receive a whopping $650,000 unfair dismissal payout, according to The Australian of September 8.

Mr Jarratt, 57, was sacked without warning on 'performance grounds.'

A 14 year old girl was unlawfully held in a police watchhouse in August. Her name and the location of the Queensland police station has been withheld, according to a AAP report of September 8.

The girl was taken from her home at 9.30pm in what has said to be a mistake by the police.

The Queensland Police Service Ethical Standards Command put the overnight detention of the 14 year old down to human error.

Want some further reading?

For a story on how New York City police cracks down on Critical Mass cyclists, go to

By Cop Watcher 10 September 05

A copper's lot may not be happy, but it is certainly well paid
NSW Police to set up full time riot squad following Forbes protests - no one wants to be Commissioner of Police in NSW - no one wants to be a copper in SA - another copper rapes a juvenile - more secrecy bungles in Victoria - more drugs for the cops on duty - Justice Wood (former Commissioner into Police Corruption) says little has changed in 10 years - cops on corruption charges get stressed out and get compo.

Cop Watch: When permanent head injuries ruled to be reasonable force Former copper kidnaps and rapes 10 year old (allegedly) - Commission rules that police violence that leads to serious and permanent head injuries is 'reasonable' - more police lies on the de Menezes killing in London by terrorist police officers - NSW Police Association criticise A30 Opera House cost of policing - Victorian Police stuff up traffic tickets (again).

Cop Watch: No. 4 Terrorism in Ballarat
Terrorism in Ballarat - former Sydney copper sues the police after becoming drug addict - Victorian Police unlawfully releases 'up to 20,000 pages' of confidential files.

Australia: Cop Watch No. 3
This round-up includes: disgraced officers may get reinstated with back pay - more confidential information gets released into the public domain by police - body searching at the Sydney Opera House - and Irish police pissed off over WA police poaching campaign in Ireland.

Australia: Copwatch No.2
A review of what the boys and girls in blue have been up to shows that their respective juices have been stimulated by their ability to demand greater and greater police powers.

Australia: Cop Watch
The roundup this week - dodgy riot gear, shooting French photographers, senior coppers being 4 times over the legal limit, dodgy promotions in NSW, more terrorism powers in WA and drug-dealing coppers in Melbourne (it is alleged).

Assaulted, intimidated or harassed in custody?
"Then make an Apprehended Violence Order application against the police, says assault victim Ms Teresa Kiernan.

NSW Police Force: 2 dead, $1 million dollars to catch a thief?
NSW police have expressed concern about their response to the Macquarie Fields riots in south-western Sydney after a police pursuit that killed two young youths Dylan Rayward 17, and Mathew Robertson, 19 that went horribly wrong.

OUR STORIES MUST BE TOLD. THEY HAVE TO BE
On Sunday 13th February, a Community gathering will be held to enable all people to remember the death of one of our young Community members, 'TJ' Hickey.

Vic police chief moves to sack officers
The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, has moved to dismiss two police officers as part of a crackdown on corruption and says up to 20 more dismissals could follow.

Vic flop cop warns there's more corruption
Victorian Police Chief Commissioner, Christine Nixon, says Victorians should brace themselves for more evidence of police corruption.

Vic police corruption report tabled in Parliament
The Victorian Ombudsman's report on the Ceja Taskforce and drug related corruption in Victoria police has been tabled in State Parliament.

Bent police compromise Bulldogs gang-rape case
Deputy Commissioner Dave Madden could have compromised gang-rape investigation? Steve Mortimer resigned!

More NSW Police Corruption?
Line of fire? [Bullshit! Line of Lick Arse Noble Cause NSW Corrupt Cops] (clockwise from top left) Deputy Commissioner Dave Madden, Assistant Commissioner Peter Parsons, Superintendent Dave Swilkes, Assistant Commissioner Bob Waites and Superintendent Dave Owens.

NSW Cop suspect in murder?
A sacked Sydney police officer has finished giving testimony at a hearing into his corrupt activities over the past eight years. Christopher John Laycock was yesterday recalled to the witness stand at the Police Integrity Commission (PIC).

Corrupt NSW police officer sacked
New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has sacked an officer who confessed to being involved in corrupt activities over the past eight years.

Policeman draws blank on fake raids
A suspended Sydney policeman has told an inquiry that he has "little recollection" of the details of fake police raids he set up.

Officer planned to kidnap criminals
A senior Sydney police officer who has admitted taking money for tipping off a child porn suspect had also been planning to kidnap criminals and extort money from them, the Police Integrity Commission heard yesterday.

Police offer protection to family following gang rape allegations
The parents of a 14-year-old girl claim their daughter was gang-raped in Sydney earlier this year, and have raised concerns about corrupt policeman Detective Sergeant Christopher Laycock's review of the case.

NSW police prosecutor charged with child porn possession
A New South Wales police prosecutor has been charged with the possession of child pornography.

Police, teachers charged in child porn bust
One-hundred-and-fifty people, including police officers and teachers, have been arrested in what the Federal Police (AFP) describe as Australia's biggest Internet child pornography bust.

A corrupt way to treat the community?
I seen the police bleeding on Nine's Sunday program arguing that promotion should depend on how many crimes police have solved and not how many brains they have and that was coming from police commissioner Ken Moroney and Police Minister John Watkins?

Judges Blood Sample: After the fact of the fact of a hangover?
Lawyers say New South Wales Supreme Court judge Jeff Shaw should not give police his own sample of blood taken after he crashed his car near his Sydney home last month.

NSW police drug amnesty under review
A drug amnesty for the New South Wales police force is under review, Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has said.

Police to uphold law not decide mental health
A diagnosis of mental illness could be made over the phone instead of in person, and involuntary psychiatric patients could lose the right to have their case reviewed by a magistrate, under proposed changes to NSW mental health laws.

Redfern police need education not weapons
According to the description of one senior police officer, the ACLO called out on the afternoon before the Redfern violence escalated was "hopeless, intoxicated and had no driver's licence."

Bulldogs simply not the best!
SIMPLY NOT THE BEST AND DEFINITELY NOT BETTER THAN ANYONE, ANYONE I'VE MET.

Clive Small, NSW Inspector Gadget
NSW Police has revived controversial plans for a specialist discriminative squad to tackle the wave of violent crime that has plagued Sydney's south-west for more than a decade.

Random police raid terrorised residents
A police task Force randomly targeting gang warfare [and criminals green lighted by police themselves], is investigating nine murders and one disappearance, including a shooting death that sparked a dramatic random dawn raid in south-western Sydney yesterday.

Three men arrested over deadly drug feud
In a day of extraordinary developments in investigations into gangland violence [and police corruption], in southwest Sydney, armed plainclothes detectives from strike force Gain swooped on three men in the shopping area of the Star City Casino complex at about 2.30pm.

Drive-by shootings: test your political IQ?
Sydney was being controlled by around a thousand gun-toting young men and a new jail was needed to put them in, the NSW opposition said on Friday, in the wake if Sydney's drive-by shootings.

NSW drug wars: family feud not responsible for shootings
Do New South Wales citizens have to be diverted from the truth about a drug infested gangland killing? Why did the police lie? Why did the Premier lie? What is wrong with our government and police, are they on the take? Are they on drugs? Are these people being drug tested?

NSW Opp calls for greater police powers
The New South Wales Opposition has used the latest fatal shooting in Sydney's south-west to call for police to be given powers to conduct random car searches.


2,500, crooked detectives? Or a corrupt Government?
The Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. Where did the police learn their trade skills? Led by example perhaps?

Australia's Political Underworld...And their enforcers
The promotion of law and order means money to big business. Profits from insurance, security fixtures, patrol services and the like can only continue to grow if the perceived threat of uncontrollable crime wave escalates. In the past few months there have been many examples of the true nature of our blood thirsty politicians and their sinister attempts to spoon-feed a not so gullible public with their repetitious rhetoric.

Lord Denning
Interesting how a member of the Police Board Mr. Tim Priest would hold grave fears for his safety from dangerouse senior police but fails to name them or have them sacked. Rather Priest resigns as if he had no powers. Could that mean what he was saying is that the Governments are also corrupt?

Black Nexus
The Separation of Powers Doctrine is nowcontaminated witharangeofcolours, now leaving us with a black shirt on a once blue bridge that crossed that thin blue line. The 'Amery and Woodham show'.

Partners in crime - history!
Roger Rogerson, the old hero, who never faced a result in the Lanfranchy, or Huckstepp murders, was let off in my opinion when the New South Wales Government rolled the legal system (deciding what evidence to give the police prosecutor) to have the jury believe the illusion they (the Government wanted to create).Similarly, Peter Ryan facing the Police Integrity Commission for questions about his involvement in the demise of the dysfunctional reform unit. Chess in the court (rolling the legal system).

Police Chronology 1994-2001
View events in the NSW Police Force since the Wood Royal Commission began in 1994. 1994 May Justice James Wood is appointed Commissioner of the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service ('WRC').

Federal Police

AFP: The unlikely CRIMINAL
It was born of a bombing and it made its name after a far more devastating act of terrorism. But for most of the 25 years in between, little was known about the Australian Federal Police force or the work it did.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

LIFE ON A THREAD:

The difference between life and death can rest on the whim of a president or the ability of a lawyer. Whether or not the death penalty can be justified is very much up for grabs.

American writer and anti-capital punishment campaigner Richard North Patterson, was in Australia recently and says, though it hardly needs to be said, that proof of innocence is neither of use nor consolation to someone after they have been executed. All it can do is further fuel the motivation of those fighting for the abolition of capital punishment.

North Patterson believes capital punishment to be an abomination on a moral and judicial scale, a practice prone to corruption, error and ego.

The further her trial progresses, the more two schools of thought emerge about Gold Coast woman Schapelle Corby.

In Australia, the prevailing view is that she is innocent, being forced to sit and wait in a hot, crowded Indonesian prison cell located tantalisingly close to the beaches and other tourist settings she had left Australia to enjoy.

Supporters contend Corby not only is a victim of someone else's cruel trickery, but could become a sacrificial lamb paying for growing anti-Western sentiment within Indonesia's chiefly Muslim society.

The view from Indonesia, however, is that Corby is little more than a brazen opportunist, whose attempt to smuggle 4.1kg of cannabis into Bali last year in a boogie board bag protected only by its zipper, represents the height of arrogance, stupidity or both.

Corby is enmeshed in a legal system the workings of which can be incomprehensible to outsiders. All that is clear, and brutally so, is the possible result - the taking of her life, even if she is innocent.

North Patterson's latest novel, 'Conviction' uses fiction to expose the inadequacies, injustice and inequity of American death penalty law. In its comprehensive dissection of the American legal system, Conviction also can be read as a lesson to other governments and a plea for them, including Australia, not to consider the re-introduction of capital punishment.

While the brevity of his Australian stay did not allow North Patterson to become fully apprised of the Schapelle Corby case, the depth of his study and lobbying in the U.S. allows him to speak about its potential outcome.

"Some people say capital punishment legislation in the U.S. is incompetent. I'm not so sure. Lawyers are incompetent, not the law, because if the goal of the law is finality, even for the innocent, then achieving that goal through an execution is hardly incompetent," he says.

"But there are so many misconceptions about the death penalty that need to be addressed in order to change opinion that capital punishment is an appropriate measure.

"For starters, the American legal system is one that has many examples of people being put to death and later found not to have committed the crime. That is horrifying, but perhaps even worse is the feeble excuse that killing a few innocent people is an acceptable price to pay for getting the rest who are guilty.

"Secondly, the American legal system has too many lawyers who are either poseurs, hustlers or just plain incompetent. And there are not many lawyers prepared to defend the poor in capital punishment cases."

"Thirdly, too many Americans continue to convince themselves that capital punishment is a deterrent to violent crime. If it was, then Texas, for example, would be the safest place in the world. Take it from me, it's not."

North Patterson's mention of the U.S. state of Texas is deliberate. When American President George W. Bush was governor of the Lone Star state, he did not so much increase the number of executions as install an express lane.

Violent crime, however, did not diminish in the slightest, and of the 38 U.S. states with death penalty statutes, Texas executes more often than any other.

Conviction is set in San Francisco 12 years after two brothers, Rennell and Payton Price, have been sentenced to death for the killing of an 11-year-old girl. As the execution date looms, overworked lawyer Teresa Paget, her husband Chris and Harvard law graduate and stepson Carlo become convinced that Rennell Price did not receive a fair trial, may not have been mentally competent to stand trial in the first place, had a lousy lawyer and might actually be innocent.

As North Patterson said in a previous interview: "Probably the No.1 contributor to death sentences is a terrible lawyer."

'Conviction' is a rivetting legal thriller from a writer who started his professional life as a trial lawyer in Washington and San Francisco. He then became an assistant attorney-general for the state of Ohio, before working as the liaison to the special prosecutor for the Watergate hearings in the 1970s, which helped bring down President Richard Nixon.

Among North Patterson's 12 best-selling novels are Degree of Guilt, No Safe Place, Balance of Power and The Final Judgment. He also serves on the boards of several Washington-based advocacy groups dealing with political reform, reproductive rights, gun violence and capital punishment.

Linking gun violence and capital punishment, North Patterson points out how American law is all-embracing in one context, yet apparently selective in the other.

"The right to bear arms, to own guns, is right up there near the front of the American Constitution, yet our gun laws have become idiotic," he says. "These laws make it possible for murderers, abusers, drug traffickers, you name it, to have guns.

The American passion for guns is such that it is possible to own any gun you want. The foolish belief is that guns make us safer, as if a bar full of armed drunks is safe. What kind of thinking is that? The nightly news is full of examples of the folly of our gun laws," he says.

Yet strangely, America's constitutionally approved right for everyone to own a gun is an example of democracy at work. In the case of the death penalty, however, democracy and equality are less visible, a point well made in 'Conviction'.

"Individual crimes must be punished, of course," says North Patterson. "But the U.S. death penalty is a classic example of the inequities within American society.

Death row cases in the U.S. are dominated by the
disenfranchised - blacks, Hispanics, the poor, people of substandard mentality, people with lack of opportunities in life, victims of abuse. They are also the people who cannot afford the best legal representation and so, as occurs in 'Conviction', they suffer from an incompetent defence," he says.

"If that's not bad enough, the final nail in their coffin - so to speak - comes in the form of community attitudes that say `Well, these are not worthwhile people to begin with, so what does it really matter if they're executed?'"

"Implicit in that attitude is a sense, a belief, that even if a person didn't commit this particular crime for which they are to be executed, they would have committed a similar crime sooner or later, so the death penalty is vindicated."

Then there is the scapegoat theory, which finds a person being made an example for social or political reasons, for the need for justice to be seen to be done. It is into this category that many fear Schapelle Corby has fallen.

While it serves nothing and no one to compare one country's legal system with another, compounding Corby's woes is the level of bitterness currently bouncing between Indonesia and Australia over the two-and-a half-year prison sentence recently given to Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for his alleged role in the Bali bombings of October, 2002.

Such ill feeling is a component of the ever-broadening division between Islam and the West since the events of September 11, 2001, and which have led to the ongoing debacle in Iraq, an increase in fundamentalist-inspired terrorism and the rise of the kind of ultra-right wing thinking that saw President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard re-elected so profoundly.

"It's a worry," says North Patterson. "The rise of the right wing makes it difficult to make headway in the fight for reforms on capital punishment, although that doesn't mean you stop fighting."

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AROUND THE WORLD:

Stats from 2004 reveal a sharp rise in the application of capital punishment around the world, although it is likely verifiable figures fall well short of the reality.

Executions by shooting were carried out last year in Afghanistan, China, Indonesia, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen, either by firing squad or a single bullet to the back of the head.

Hanging was prevalent, with executions in Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, India, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan and Singapore. Most of the 157 verifiable hangings last year were by the short drop method, although Iran continues to execute people by hoisting them into the air by crane (includes a 16-year-old girl, Ateqeh Rajabi, for her crime of premarital sex).

Saudi Arabia remains the only country where beheading is an official form of punishment, while lethal injection was the primary process in the United States.

Countries in which verifiable executions took place in 2004: Afghanistan - 1 shot; Bangladesh - 12 hanged; China - 24 shot and 193 injected; Egypt - 6 hanged; India - 1 hanged; Indonesia - 3 shot; Iran - 95 hanged; Japan - 2 hanged; Jordan - 1 hanged; Kuwait - 9 hanged; Lebanon - 2 shot and 1 hanged; Pakistan - 10 hanged; Saudi Arabia - 36 beheaded; Singapore - 4 hanged; United States - 58 injected and 1 electrocuted; Uzbekistan - 2 shot; Vietnam - 44 shot; Yemen - 1 shot.

(source: Gold Coast Bulletin, Australia)

(picture: Capital Punishmet)

By ACADP and Just Us posted 22 March 05

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