What is Happening to Australian Democracy

"Australia nominally has all the right democratic institutions--regular elections, parliamentary sovereignty, ministerial responsibility, an independent judiciary, federalism, a non-partisan and expert public service and a free press.

But these institutions don't always work the way they should and democracy is not just about formal institutions; it is also about how the public opinion climate is formed, how well-informed citizens are and their capacity to actively participate in public debate.

At both these levels--institutional and participatory--there is cause for concern."

"The current IR newspaper ads (responding to pre-emptive advertising by the ACTU) are said to cost $20 million and are particularly controversial. Unlike the Medicare ads, which related to new legislated rights, the IR ads relate to a proposed and unlegislated policy change--one that is highly divisive. And they do not tell a full and balanced story.

For example the ads claim that workers would be safeguarded by a 'modern award system', that award wages would not fall below the 2005 Safety Net Review decision, that the right to join a union would not be removed, that workers would be protected against 'unlawful' dismissal and that the nation would benefit from having 'one set of national laws'."

By Fred Argy posted 21 September 05

Related:

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".

Australia: Caught in a poverty trap
ONE of the delights of watching a superhero movie, be it of the bat or spider variety, is when the grotesque machinery developed and demonstrated by the hero's foes is turned back on them with typically devastating results.

Costello's anti-Job Network weapons discovered?
THE Federal Government had cut $500 million in funding to private sector employment agencies to ensure taxpayers received value for money, Treasurer Peter Costello said?

Pity Labor Couldn't be United over Social Services Cuts?
HoWARd/Costello (funny fellow) Big Mac and Small Fries. And Beazely's Kentucky Fried Two Piece Snack Box for those on minimum wages who should be enjoying - better Medicare Rebates, Public Housing, Hospitals, Education and Transport Infrastructure but instead get just $6.00.

Happy mothers day: Single mums forced to work!
AUSTRALIA can no longer sustain its warfare system, but can sustain the social dollar and that depends on where your priorities are? USA/Iraq or Australia?

HoWARd Gov't could be slued, community warns
Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) members will join a rally in Victoria Square today, protesting against the anticipated changes to workplace relations.

Work for the dole and prison industry slavery
Work for the dole certainly offers a lot of variety. The impression given by the government is that most unemployed do creative and helpful work assisting the community.

'Social Services cheats' may face election next time around
The Federal fascist HoWARd Government is attacking the poor and underprivileged again (on all fronts - now including social services, disabled, single mothers, Medicare rebate and IVF treatment.

Single parents deserve a living wage and not persecution
Being a single parent is hard work. It means a lot of responsibility. But you are not paid properly to do this work. You are paid way below what is recognised as the poverty line. StandUp! Believes that looking after a child is a job and should be paid for like any other job.

Labor sees problems in welfare proposals
The Federal Opposition says proposed changes to Australia's welfare system are a cost-cutting measure and will leave disability and sole parent pensioners worse off.

Dismantle the war machine, slash taxes, privatisation and keep social services The Centre for Independent Studies report says the flat-rate income tax of 10 per cent would ensure most Australians could afford to pay for essential services such as health and education, instead of relying on welfare [social service] payments.

Costello to force single mums to look for work?
SINGLE mothers would be forced to look for work once their children reached school age, under a draconian welfare package outlined last night by fascist Pastor Peter Costello to bolster funds to spend on military hardware and the ongoing illegal and degrading war in Iraq.

The HoWARd Government is simply robbing the disabled blind
KERRY O'BRIEN: Federal cabinet adjourned today still undecided about the final formula for what has become politically one of the toughest reform challenges the Government will face this term. For the past two decades, the disability support pension has been one of the fastest growing welfare payments [social security payments.]

Encouragement is the key to social-services-to-work programs
Corporate Welfare! I think we should start with Ingeus Company. Telling us what we already know for $$$$!

Peter Saunders shake-up is long overdue: Welfare Not Warfare
Peter Saunders: Many DSP claimants are older men with limited skills who have had difficulty finding work?

Welfare Reform for Warfare Expenditure?
John Howard: "Self-evidently we would have liked the major combat to have gone differently ... [but] coalition withdrawal or defeat is unimaginable."

Govt plots post-July strategy?
Fascist Prime Minister insists he is not on a mission to punish welfare recipients [social services.]

HoWARd 'determined' to make the disabled woRK?
The Federal Government is considering a system of "coercion" and incentive to force the disabled to work. But what happened to 6 billion-budget surpluses? Why do they need to force disabled people to work? Do they need more money and less disabled people? Or do would they rather spend the money on WAR?

Opposition pension claims valid
The Federal Governments secret agenda to cut pensions, including the disability and single parent payments while spending billions on military hardware is just too much for most disabled people to accept.

Thousands march for disability protest
"We are not prepared to go back to the dark ages. This has to be reversed," Mr Preston said. "We are hoping that the community sees that we shouldn't be taking money from people with disabilities. These people have had it tough all their lives (and) there is already more unmet need than we can cope with."

Howard's Job Network Bailout
Up to 670,000 people on disability support pensions will be encouraged to sign up to the Job Network under a radical new plan to get disabled people off welfare and into work.

THE HILLSONG'S ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF ' NEO-LIBERALISM' Only a bent mind would envisage the possibility or think of the concept that a '2nd Neo-Liberal 'front' promoted by the right and posing as a Church would enter politics under the flag of "Family First Party".

Costello, Howard's Disciple
JOHN HOWARD AND PETER Costello lost their vision for Australia from the time they were elected and embarked on a vision for the neo-Liberals.

Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel?
Well praise the Lord the light is Hell bent here on Peter Costello, treasurer of the Howard Government who now has his own "flock" of onward Christian Soldiers.

Corporate Welfare

Corporate welfare or how to steal social services?
Ever wondered why there are so many homeless, why we need a 10 pc GST, lack of services for mental disability, still paying off the Olympics, poor public transport planning etc etc etc?

Unemployed:

Work for the dole is legal slavery
Work for the dole was originally sold to us by Howard as a warm and fuzzy light work project. We would be working for nothing but we would be enjoying giving back something to the community, so it was reckoned.

FIGHT UNEMPLOYMENT!
Peter Costello commended this result in his budget speech. Even if we were to believe this figure it still means more than half a million living at a level much lower than that is recognised as poverty.

Mark Latham's, token gestures for older unemployed
StandUp appreciates the fact that Mark Latham is concerned about older unemployed people. His specialist job network proposal aimed at older people might provide a bit of assistance.

Work for the dole failure for two thirds
THE Un-Australian: " MORE than a third of the people who completed the Howard Government's work-for-the-dole programs last year were in jobs or studying within three months of finishing.

Work for the dole? $10.00?
StandUp! Wishes to draw your attention to a serious attack on all of us--work for the dole. We were assured that unemployed would not be forced to work in areas where employed workers would normally be employed. This has shown to be a lie! Under work for the dole, unemployed have been forced to carry out; concreting, tiling, landscaping, repairs, renovation, painting, gardening, nurses and teachers aid work.

'WORK FOR THE DOLE' REDUCES JOB PROSPECTS
A major independent study commissioned by the Government and released today under Freedom of Information by The Australian newspaper indicates that the 'Work for the Dole' program actually reduces the job prospects of unemployed people.

Youth welfare system unfair: ACOSS
The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) is warning urgent action is needed to fix youth poverty and disincentives for the unemployed to improve their job prospects.

Bringing up children Can we afford it?
Peter Costello expects us to carry out our patriotic duty by going home and having more children. But for most people it is a struggle to bring up one child let alone two or three.

Federal Budget: Tax cuts for the rich!
For the Howard government, unemployed people are not even worth thinking about.

Private job network agency blues
Can you trust a private job network agency? No you can't! A friend of ours is registered at MTC Marrickville.

Indigenous Social Justice Association Djadi Dugarang
INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT. Part 1

Centrelink puts the screws on prison debt
A 1999 study by the Brisbane Prisoners Legal Service revealed that on leaving prisoners had an average debt of $14,031. Almost one in five had a debt to Centrelink while in prison. This debt arose as a result inability to cancel things such as leases, Social Security payments, utilities and telephones.

Democrats approve tougher welfare penalties: But how does that pan out?
There used to be an old saying in Australia" if your hungry steal a sheep and leave the pelt on the fence.

Six weeks, six months, six years: inmates have little chance of making fresh start Even prisoners who serve short sentences are likely to suffer long-term consequences, including increased rates of homelessness and unemployment.

Military Spending

Howard: We as a nation have got to invest heavily in defence?
Fascist Prime Minister John HoWARd has indicated the Government will make major changes to work place laws, cut disability support forcing the disabled to work and increase his defence commitment.

Hill primed for war!
Australian Caretaker Defence Minister Robert Hill has announced a multi-million dollar upgrade of the Pearce Air Force base in Western Australia. Hill says $87 million would be spent on a major upgrade of the base, which is Australia's main flying training facility.

Troop deployment not a deepening of effort: Hill
Deploying an extra 30 troops to Iraq was not a deepening of Australia's involvement because they were being sent to protect those already there, Defence Minister Robert Hill said yesterday.

Auditor Generals damning defence report
The Defence Department computer system upgrade has cost Australia tens of millions of dollars in a gigantic bungle, according to the Federal Opposition. The Commonwealth auditor-general has issued a damning report into the project.

QLD's Sentence Management

Sentence Management Unit - Wolston Correctional Centre

Brian Rigby, Sharon Gibb, Lorraine Edwards, Alice Mascini, David Armstrong, Debbie Wills, Gary Gray, Michael Williams, Rawinia Te Kanawa, Margaret Bilic.

Tony Rawlins: Half-a-life-time in prison......

QLD: In order to enhance my 'quality of life' at this stage of my 4th incarceration, I submit an application, for inclusion into the Leave of Absence Program.

Some years ago, (in frustration) I intimated that I would be happier to spend the rest of my life in prison! But, since then "I" have realised that "I" am not the only one affected by my decision! There are my family, sisters, brothers, and nieces etc who care and worry about me in my situation.

I am in a position of being a "tragic optimist"; I am optimistic despite of the 'tragic' events in my life. The suffering I have caused to others and the 'pain and guilt I have felt, for 50 years.

I posed the question: - "how can one possibly say 'yes' to a life in prison?"

In spite of my past I can only suppose that 'life' has a potential meaningfulness, under any circumstances. Any situation or condition, no matter how miserable.....

This realisation, presupposed that 'I' have the capacity to reverse the "negatives" into something "creative" in my future. In spite of all that has transpired; into something of a positive structure, with a constructive purpose.

Examining my past has given me an 'insight' into the "human" potential, which permits the turning of suffering into an achievement, And to examine my guilt, finding opportunities to change myself into a 'better' person. (I don't, for one minute, try to say that I'm perfect.....Far from it) but to accept a more responsible outlook, a commitment to action, which 'I' believe is 'equal' to 'rehabilitation'.

For years, my world had become "my body" at the "prison" in which I served my time...That was wrong because a prison is a place that one should strive to be released from.

I was doing the opposite. My only concern, then, was myself; it was selfish, and at the realisation, I came to understand that 'I' should do something about it. Because once an inmate has found a "meaning" he develops a capacity-capability, to 'cope' with the suffering and guilt. The ability to realise "he" is not useless. And loses the feelings of 'emptiness' and meaninglessness.

A strong meaning orientation plays a decisive part in seeking to rehabilitate oneself. Because one can now seek to realise the potential meanings of situations, each and every one of them. To 'actualise' them to the best of his ability-knowledge-and beliefs. Therefore he can become aware 'that it "can" be done in a given situation.

Firstly, by the creation of a 'work plan', before committing himself to 'action'.

Secondly, by experiencing ' that meaning can be found only in work and 'love' of his fellow man. Therefore an inmate, who thinks himself in a hopeless situation, facing odds he can't change, can overcome and expand beyond himself, and by so doing 'change himself' and "turn" 'tragedy' into 'triumph'.

Imprisonment is extraordinarily stressful, nevertheless, one can benefit from the experiences, by using it as a growth experience.

Today I see my life as being abundantly filled with meaning and purpose. Now realising that 'guilt' and suffering of 'incarceration' the growth I now have would not have been. How did this happen? When did it happen?

When a person cannot change the situation that causes the suffering and guilt, can still change his 'attitude'; change his 'choices'; so priorities become (altering the situations causing the suffering) accepting and analysing the guilt, and the reason for it! Altering the personality and outlook toward the guilt situations.

Removing and safeguarding against the causes and avoiding the situation, in my approach to life - to where I can 'safely' say, "I can live in an outside community without any personal 'fear' of breaching the 'moral' codes of the laws of a higher power gives 'meaning and purpose to human life, and the earths' greatest treasures lies in 'human personality."

It was by coming to realise that the 'pain' I now felt and the 'shame' was the "quantity" and "capacity" to also 'love', to feel 'joy' and to have compassion and empathy,

NB; -' A person should be 'judged' on who he is now and not who or 'what' he was, 50 years ago...............!

Tony still seeking release after half a lifetime 'inside'

WHEN Tony Rawlins was locked away for life; trams were still running in Brisbane. City Hall was the tallest building on the skyline and Joh Bjelke-Petersen was a little known Opposition backbencher.

QLD INDEFINITE DETENTION 'IN A NUTSHELL'

In Queensland prison sentences have become step-by-step more lengthy over the last decade according to prisoner Mr David Minty who has been in jail for 20 years.

Corrected or Corrupted

A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

Indefinite detention means the government owns its citizens

A convicted rapist detained indefinitely in a north Queensland jail has lost a High Court appeal against his detention. Robert John Fardon was due for release more than a year ago but remains in custody under controversial Queensland legislation.

By Tony Rawlins 7 June 05

Ed: The High Court has considered the scope of indefinite detention in another case that of, Fardon v Attorney General [2004] HCA 46 ('Fardon'). Fardon was a case where the majority (Gleeson CJ, McHugh, Gummow, Hayne, Callinan & Heydon JJ; Kirby J dissenting) upheld the constitutionality of the Dangerous Prisoners (sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld) ('2003 Qld Act') The 2003 Qld Act permitted preventative detention of convicted sexual offenders who fulfilled various criteria established by the 2003 Qld Act. The majority in Fardon distinguished the 2003 Qld Act which was constitutional according to a very conservative High Court.

The majority in Fardon held that preventative detention legislation enacted by a Parliament is not inevitably or necessarily unconstitutional even though it means that the Government owns its citizens. Along side Mental health legislation, quarantine legislation, public health emergencies legislation, migration legislation are examples of preventative detention legislation which have a long history of being accepted as valid legislation. The 2003 Qld Act did not apply just to a single named person. The Qld Act applies more generally in respect of any person who is actually serving a sentence for sexual offences of which he or she has been convicted in Queensland.

Related:

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

The prison system requires assiduous oversight
As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

Crime and Punishment
Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

Indefinite detention means the government owns its citizens
A convicted rapist detained indefinitely in a north Queensland jail has lost a High Court appeal against his detention. Robert John Fardon was due for release more than a year ago but remains in custody under controversial Queensland legislation.

Sentencing: Violent crime and practical outcomes
In addition introducing restorative justice programs giving the offender a chance to interact with the offended person if they wish and visa-versa. People are not "dogmatic" therefore should be given a second chance opposed to Life means Life!

Government justice not personal justice
Mr Brett Collins of Justice Action said, "Victims should be looked after properly by implementing restorative justice measures and victims should be compensated for their pain and suffering. " However prisoners are entitled to serve their sentences in peace and privacy as well."

Escape proof but not so the prisoners mind
Fewer prisoners escape from prison these days because they're "cemented in" by materials that do not break and by legislation that can keep prisoners in jail until they die.

Overhaul Department of Justice: Reform Group

PRGWA : WA Department of Justice - a political machine

WA: The Prison Reform Group of WA is calling for a complete overhaul of the Department of Justice following recent events which have compromised its integrity, placing prison staff, prisoners, their families and the community, at risk. We call for the Minister to publicly apologise for last week's debacle which has seen the public badly let down by the Department of Justice yet again.

For the past decade members and supporters of the Prison Reform Group have watched as Cheryl Edwardes, Peter Foss, Jim McGinty, Michelle Roberts and now Joe D'Orazio have driven the department as a political machine, kept alive by vast injections of funds, forming a tightly closed culture which has shown a total lack of public accountability.

The very serious security breach which allowed a prisoner to access the Department's database occurred late last year and the public is only now, 3-4 months after the fact, hearing about it and only then because the information was leaked to the media.

Prisons should be places of safety for prisoners and prison staff and yet breaches of security occur on a regular basis. This is not just about access to a data base. This is about a sinister culture within the prison system which enables prison officers and prisoners to trade information on a daily basis.

What was once a prisoner file held by an officer within a specific prison unit, is now a massive data base which holds information such as the name, telephone number and address of anyone who enters a prison, be it prisoner, family visitor, official visitor, staff member.

This is valuable information for use in blackmail, coercion, standover tactics and the like. The current combination of the bad old culture and the new technology is potentially disastrous. This database fiasco can be likened to the headlights on a runaway machine that has already injured many people and left others at risk of injury.

It is time for change

It is time to rebuild the machine that is the Department of Justice. DOJ is a machine that is too bulky to work efficiently and effectively, too badly damaged for repair, has seen several inexperienced people jump in and out of the driver's seat and has been navigated by political masters who have been hell bent on using it for political gain.

PRGWA calls upon all political parties to reassemble this machine into several workable parts. For example; Courts could stand alone or come under the umbrella of Police, Juvenile Justice should return to the Department of Community Development and regain its welfare oriented base and Prisons and Community Based Corrections should stand together under the umbrella of a Department of Corrections. These are workable machines.

PRGWA also calls for the establishment of a Justice Commission that would bring responsibility and accountability between the Minister for Justice and his politicised agency. A Justice Commission could provide support for the Director General and the new Justice Minister by providing expertise and information that is not distorted for political gain. It could also ensure that the Department is open to the Corruption & Crime Commission, the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services, the Ombudman's Office and the Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission in a way that does not currently occur.

A Justice Commission is the best way forward for the State. Politicians have had their joy ride in the 'tough but not very effective on crime' machine and they now need to take advice from a board of directors with specific criminological, legal and penal knowledge, experience and leadership in the community in order to rebuild integrity and regain public confidence. The DOJ machine is rusted out, obsolete and is obviously a danger to those working and living in its coalface - the prison - as well as being a danger to the community because of its ineffectiveness.

By Dorothy Goulding posted 21 March 05

Dot Goulding Prison Reform Group WA - Phone: 08 94978061

Related:

Crisis Brewing in State Jails
WA: Figures released today reveal one of the states worst kept secrets 'the prisons are filling fast and will soon be overflowing. The ABS figures released today showed that Western Australia's imprisonment rate continued to outstrip every other state in Australia.

John Pilger: 'They are afraid of you'

The following remarks were made by John Pilger (03/20/05) at an anti-war rally in Sydney, Australia.

03/22/05 - - The other day, the Aboriginal filmmaker Richard Frankland said this: "When you've got a voice, you've got freedom, and when you've got freedom, you've got responsibility. Negotiating with politicians doesn't work. You've got to change attitudes." That's the task for all of us here today. It's not an easy one. In fact, many good people in Australia and other countries believe their voice cannot possibly be heard: that the forces of bigotry and violence are far too powerful.

And yes, they are powerful. John Howard can lie repeatedly to the Australian people and get away with it " it seems. There is no Labor opposition in federal parliament. They've become a bad joke, to the point where Kevin Rudd, the opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, refuses to say anything critical of the government that is not immersed in crude sophistry.

We also know that those who are paid to keep the record straight, who are meant to challenge Howard's lies and uphold our right to freedom of speech, a freedom that is a cornerstone of any true democracy " I refer of course to the media: journalists, broadcasters " we know where they stand. We know that, apart from a few honorable exceptions, they are not merely craven and silent, but occupy a place in this society not dissimilar to the media in the Stalinist regimes of Eastern Europe.

Throughout my career I have reported, often undercover, from countries ruled by repressive regimes where dissidents would read me reports in the press that were no more servile and false than the reporting you read every day in the Murdoch papers in this country. In Eastern European states, for example, the papers had tame correspondents in Moscow who would parrot the Kremlin line. Now read the Washington correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, Michael Gawenda, and there is no difference. The same parroting of Bush's dangerous absurdities, such as his claims of bringing democracy to the Middle East " when the very opposite is true.

Considering this, we might ask: Is there no shame?

Is there no shame that, in its annual review of press freedom three years ago, the international media monitoring organization, Reporters Without Borders, placed Australia 41st in the world. Countries with greater press freedom were the following: Lithuania, Bosnia, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Bulgaria, Hong Kong. All these countries have either been run by dictatorships, or racked by war or by civil upheaval; yet in 2002 they had greater press freedom than Australia, which was just ahead of autocracies. None of this, or the reasons why, are ever mentioned at the numerous back-scratching awards ceremonies so beloved by the Australian media.

Honorable exceptions aside, supine journalists, like cynical opposition politicians, like corporate academics, represent unaccountable, violent power and a corrupt democracy that today offers us no more choice that between a McDonald's and a Hungry Jack's. But they do not represent us. And they don't speak for us. And they don't speak for humanity. And they don't speak for democracy. And they don't speak for all the moral decencies by which most people live their lives. In fact, they speak for the very opposite.

I may have first understood this when I reported from repressive Czechoslovakia, with its Stalinist regime, in the 1970s. The dissenters who spoke out in that country seemed so few, yet I wondered why the regime went to such lengths to silence them and attack them and sneer at them, usually via the state press. I put this question to the great protest singer Marta Kubisova, whose thrilling voice sang the anthems of the Prague Spring in 1968. Meeting me in secret, she replied by reading to me the words of one of her most defiant songs, written by a banned Czech group called the Plastic People of the Universe. I have abridged it slightly.

"They are afraid of the old for their memory, They are afraid of the young for their innocence They afraid of the graves of their victims in faraway places They are afraid of history. They are afraid of freedom. They are afraid of truth. They are afraid of democracy. So why the hell are we afraid of them?É. For they are afraid of us."

What all of you should remember on this second anniversary of the brutal assault on Iraq is that you are not alone: that you are part of a great worldwide movement that refuses to accept the dangers and moral indecencies of Bush and Blair and Howard. Yesterday, all over the world, people like you expressed their defiance and anger at the unprovoked attack on Iraq, a defenseless country, and the killing of more than 100,000 people and the theft of their resources and the poisoning of their land: all of it justified by demonstrable lies. Go back to a speech John Howard made early in February 2003. He spoke for 53 minutes and lied about weapons of mass destruction at least 20 times: 20 lies in less than an hour. Even Bush and Blair would have trouble topping that.

Then he sent Australian troops off to take part in an invasion, which, under the universally acknowledged and respected terms of the Nuremberg judgment in 1946, the cornerstone of international law, was "a paramount war crime."

That's not my rhetoric, nor is it agit-prop. It's the law of civilized people. And it's our job to help people understand the great crime committed in their name, and how those who claim to speak for us, such as the media, have normalized the unthinkable: as if no crime has been committed, as if thousands of people have not been murdered, as if it was all merely a respectable adjustment of the "world order." My point is, they are not respectable; they may wear the suits of respectability and travel with their fawning courts, but they are prima facie criminals, be assured.

The other day, an ABC [Australian Broadcasting Corporation] foreign correspondent was promoting his book of professional adventures in a Sydney bookshop. He told his audience that it was good to be back in a country where politicians at least didn't kill each other. That's true, but what he didn't say was that the same politicians collude in the killing of men, women, and children in other countries: in Fallujah, where the truth remains unreported in the so-called mainstream media in this country " including the ABC, which has allowed itself to be intimidated by the Howard government for giving us, now and then, a glimpse of the truth about Bush's criminal assault on Iraq.

The time is long overdue. That time is for journalists to break ranks and speak up. It's time for teachers to write on their blackboards that great truism of Milan Kundera: "The struggle of people against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." It's time for those who know the dangers, but who say nothing " academics, lawyers, union leaders, even members of Parliament " to break their silence before their own privileges are undermined by the steady assault on centuries-old, hard-won civil rights, vividly expressed in the abandonment of Australians tortured in other countries by their government and the locking up of people in this country indefinitely: indeed, the erosion of the bedrock of our justice system: innocent until proven guilty.

Above all, never forget how important and right you are. It is you, in company with millions all over the world, who have taught again the great lesson of democracy. You didn't stop the invasion of Iraq, but you and the millions like you, in Spain and Britain and France and Italy and Brazil and the United States, have alerted the world to the true darkness of the regime in Washington and its collaborators.

Never in my lifetime as a journalist have I known ordinary people all over the world to be more aware of the dangers and the issues that face us. Many can't be with us today; but their support is, I believe, a presence. Think back to the popular movement, much of it led by women, that prevented conscription being introduced in Australia during the First World War. Those campaigners also felt rather isolated at times; but they weren't: they were the voice of what was right.

Had it not been for you and your movement, I believe Iran and North Korea would have been attacked by now, and in the case of North Korea, nuclear weapons might have been used.

Be proud of these achievements: be proud that the seedy, violent power of Bush and Blair and Howard has been exposed by you and that behind their bravado, they are afraid of you, and of the millions like you, so, in the words of the song, why the hell should we be afraid of them?

By John Pilger 20 March 05

John Pilger Home Page

Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

Related:

Dump Howard, old news.....
Fascist Prime Minister John HoWARd says he always reads and follows opinion polls and the latest survey shows the Government has a fight ahead of it.

CIA defends terror suspect transfers?
Suspected terrorists [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killings's resource wars in the Middle East] in US custody have been transferred to third countries for the past 20 years, CIA director Porter Goss told the US Senate armed services committee.

USA - FEELING THE HEAT FROM INTERNATIONAL FIRE:
It seems the United States of America (The World Watchdog) is dictating and practising double-standards --- a unique law for America and another set of laws for all other countries.

CALL TO ACTION of the ANTI-WAR ASSEMBLY
Two years after the invasion of Iraq, there is more opposition to the war in the US, in the coalition countries, and all over the world than ever before.

Iraqi civilian deaths put at 100,000
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in violence since the US-led invasion last year, according to public health experts who estimate there were 100,000 "excess deaths" in 18 months.

Potent strike into Howard's heartland before it's too late!

HOPE, urgency and Medicare Gold constitute Mark Latham's now formidable assault on The Lodge. In his first campaign launch Latham has unveiled a mega-initiative -- free hospital treatment, public or private, for all Australians aged 75 and over.

It is attractive and bold, a strike into John Howard's heartland and an admission that Mr Latham must penetrate the seniors' vote to win just like, war criminal, John Howard's strategy.

It is pure Whitlamism, free, universal, financially open-ended and based upon expanded powers of the federal Government. This helps Latham to reinforce his bid to make this election "a referendum on Medicare". And it signals the rise of Grey Power as a force that can make or break governments. The over-70s now total 1.7 million voters.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie warmed up the audience declaring: "It's very plain. John Howard is the past. Mark Latham is the future." Latham himself made it personal. "I'm ready to lead -- he's ready to leave," he said of Howard.

For the first time the candidate's wife spoke at a launch. Janine gave Mark her personal wrap and Mark said "Janine and the boys have taught me the power of caring, of our love and time together". Because "they have made me a better man", Latham, aged 43, was "in the prime of my life" for the top job. Unlike Howard.

Latham said the urgent need was for change. Now. He drew his message direct from the people and his themes were opportunity, responsibility and honesty.

"Unless we change now, it will be too late to save Medicare," he said. So Latham the reformer posed as the traditionalist. He wanted to restore bulk billing, improve the public hospital system and deliver for those aged 75 and over "the greatest extension in federal responsibility for hospital care in this country since the introduction of Medibank 30 years ago".

As he entered the Brisbane theatre Latham embraced his political father figure, Gough Whitlam, the original architect of Medicare.

Latham concentrated his firepower on senior citizens, the generation that should be treated with "honour and respect". He promised to index the pension quarterly for Australia's 3.5 million pensioners and offered a Grandparenting Allowance to assist with child-rearing.

Senior citizens are the generation that Howard bought in political terms.

At the same time hospital costs for the over 75s are typically a family affair. The political beauty of this policy is not just its pull for senior citizens, but its wider appeal to families whose budgets are stretched between education costs for a younger generation and health costs for an older generation. So Latham's initiative is targeted at the seniors demographic but also slots into his main theme of family budget relief.

The Latham launch was tighter and more focused than Howard's. He spent less and offered savings to fund his initiatives. He got his biggest cheer for his schools policy, declared he would help the US to "develop its true role of world leadership" and said nothing about withdrawing forces from Iraq by Christmas.

The independence of the ABC was also mentioned and an additional budget of 120 million to prevent governments like the Neo-Liberal Coalition from using the media giant for its own use.

By Paul Kelly & The Colored Girls 30 September 04

SO PUT YOUR LEFT FOOT FORWARD THIS FEDERAL ELECTION "WITHOUT FEAR" AND WITHOUT LIES" AND "WITHOUT TERROR" AND "WITHOUT BEING LOCKED UP ON SUSPICION" AND WITH EVERYONES ABC.

VOTE 1 THE GREENS, 2 THE DEMOCRATS AND 3 THE SOCIALIST ALLIANCE.

Written and authorised by the community.

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Pension claims valid: Opposition
The Federal Governments secret agenda to cut pensions, including the disability and single parent payments while 'spending billions on military hardware' is just too much for most disabled people to accept.

Poverty cycle must be addressed: Ridgeway
The Democrats' Aden Ridgeway says Prime Minister John Howard should stop beating up on people who are on welfare, and focus on solving the national Indigenous unemployment rate.

Democrats to keep up pressure over asylum seekers
The Australian Democrats will maintain their pressure on the next federal government over Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, if the party can retain its strength in the Senate.

AUSTRALIA: VOTING PREFERENCES
Greens Senator Kerry Nettel's reasoning: A vote for Labor or the Democrats in the Senate is now potentially a vote for right-wing Christian candidates is beyond rhetoric.

Glenn Million: Why Neo-liberals are set to implode (again)
AS if the Neo-Liberal Coalition didn't have enough trouble. A quick re-cap: under John Howard they embrace a GST - a move that eventually forces the Democrats and Greens against him. That's followed by a collective act of dictatorship they jail Pauline Hanson. They dump One Nation leaders in jail - as racist, unworthy and flawed - but above all criminal, right at the time when the Liberal party is running to the last election, and desperate to stay in power.

TIME TO GO JOHN SYDNEY PREMIERE...
I hope fully that some of you can make it to the Sydney premiere of TIME TO GO JOHN, 15 X 5min films by filmmakers from around the country Fabio & I produced A MOMENT OF SHAME, one of the segments. Hope to see you Wed night Sept 29th at 7.30pm.

THE HILLSONG'S ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF 'NEO-LIBERALISM'
The Hill-Songs Church are alive with the sound of neo-liberalism. With songs they have sung for for the Federal Election....

Community demands Ruddock voted out!
Caretaker Attorney General, war criminal, Phillip Ruddock should have his portfolio seized by the community who have declared he has links to terror group the Neo-Liberal Coalition.

Hill primed for war!
Australian Caretaker Defence Minister Robert Hill has announced a multi-million dollar upgrade of the Pearce Air Force base in Western Australia. Hill says $87 million would be spent on a major upgrade of the base, which is Australia's main flying training facility.

Annan tells world leaders to respect law
United Nations (UN) secretary-general Kofi Annan has made an impassioned plea to bring about the rule of law across the globe today. Mr Annan told world leaders to respect international law at home and abroad.

CO-OFFENDERS DO NOT REBUFF UN ON 'ILLEGAL WAR'
The 'coalition of the killing's' complicities - the US, Britain and Australia - have insisted that their countries' military action in Iraq was legal after they have committed war crimes against humanity.

Iraq war illegal, says Annan
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says the United States decision to invade Iraq in March 2003 was "illegal". Australia was a key supporter of the war on Iraq and sent troops to join the United States-led invasion last year.

Opp calls for Cooperation: Rudd
Imron Cotan says 10 ambassadors and High Commissioners from South East Asian nations were told comments by Prime Minister John Howard about pre-emptive strikes were part of an internal debate and the idea was still being developed?

Defence people need to vote for the Greens
Caretaker Prime Minister John Howard will today unveil a plan to step up the fight against terrorism in the region, using specialist teams of Australian Federal Police (AFP) that could be sent to work in neighbouring countries.

Australia will not Save Your Soul
The Federal Government will not Save Australian Soul's? Even if you're an innocent bystander caught up in it. Despite a group claiming to have kidnapped two Australian security guards? The alleged group, which allegedly calls itself the Horror Brigades of the Islamic Secret Army, allegedly has given the Prime Minister John Howard 24 hours to end Australia's involvement in Iraq.

Trust John Howard like you can trust George Bush...
Once again Prime Minister John Howard unleashed his "politics of fear" to win his election campaign trying to scare ratepayers.

Apologise to children abused in care: report
A Senate report on children placed in institutional care has called for the Federal Government to apologise to those who were harmed by their experience.

Costello, Howard's Disciple
JOHN HOWARD AND PETER Costello lost their vision for Australia from the time they were elected and embarked on a vision for the neo-Liberals.

Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel?
Well praise the Lord the light is Hell bent here on Peter Costello, treasurer of the Howard Government who now has his own "flock" of onward Christian Soldiers.

Gillard stirs Liberal leadership pot
The federal Labor Party claims Peter Costello has relaunched his leadership bid, after the Treasurer gave a wide-ranging interview outlining his support for an Australian republic.

Australian Govt human rights record 'worsening'
Community groups have given the Federal Government five out of ten for its record on human rights this year. Mr Purcell said the Government was also marked down because of the policy of holding children in immigration detention centres.

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

Don't rock the Boat Howard!
PRIME Minister John Howard today denied the children overboard affair had swayed the 2001 election? Mr Howard has spent the week defending himself against claims he had been informed that nobody in Defence believed children had been thrown overboard by asylum seekers.

Australia an unfair nation, say young and all!
Young people and older people think Australia is undemocratic and unfair. Young people cite their teachers as having the greatest influence on their political thinking, according to a provocative new national survey funded by the Government. Older people cite "injustice" amongst other things as a "bent legal system" favouring hi profiled superstars, corporations and politicians.

HOWARD'S LIE DETECTOR TEST
But most voters have already decided that former ministerial adviser Mike Scrafton has contradicted Mr Howard's recollection of conversations just days before the 2001 election and says he has been vindicated by a lie detector test.

Not happy, John
Valder's alarm whistle effort 'let love be thy weapon' indeed Prime Minister John Howard is also the subject of a stinging attack in a Sunday feature this week, from the man who first engineered his ascent to the Liberal leadership in the mid-1980s former party president John Valder.

Howard 'unfit to lead'
The Federal Opposition says John Howard is not fit to be Prime Minister after new revelations about the children overboard affair.

Howard's war crimes, Turnbull, at least he's honest
HIGH-profile Liberal candidate Malcolm Turnbull has told voters the Iraq invasion was "an unadulterated error".

Alexanda Downer guilty of war crimes!
The agreement for going to war on Iraq carried with it and incentive and that was free trade with the US. The Howard Government knew about it and went along with it with the US under the guise of Iraq's WMDs. In criminal law this is commonly know as collusion to commit a crime.

John Howard's war crimes blameworthy
General Peter Gration is the spokesman for a group of 43 ex-military leaders, diplomats and departmental heads who have criticised the Government, saying involvement in Iraq has put Australia at greater risk of a terrorist attack.

Auditor Generals damning defence report
The Defence Department computer system upgrade has cost Australia tens of millions of dollars in a gigantic bungle, according to the Federal Opposition. The Commonwealth auditor-general has issued a damning report into the project.

Court reserves decision on 'no war' protest appeal
Two men have asked the Court of Criminal Appeal to accept that they painted "NO WAR" on the Sydney Opera House, to defend people in Iraq and Australia from war.

PM's Fox Defence? Less the evidence?
The Fox went out on a chilly night. He prayed for the moon to give him light. For he had many a mile to go that night....

Australians to be sacrificed: Howard
Howard vowed hostages wouldn't sway policy? The Federal Government say they would not negotiate with terrorists if an Australian were taken hostage in Iraq.

PM Howard Morally Bankrupt
Prime Minister John Howard insists the war in Iraq was justified despite his British counterpart Tony Blair's concession that weapons of mass destruction might never be found.

Howard 'should be tried for war crimes'
Former Liberal Party federal president John Valder says Prime Minister John Howard should be tried and punished for war crimes over Australia's involvement in the Iraq conflict.

Troop deployment not a deepening of effort: Hill
Deploying an extra 30 troops to Iraq was not a deepening of Australia's involvement because they were being sent to protect those already there, Defence Minister Robert Hill said yesterday.

War on terrorism' could take a generation: Downer?
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer has launched the Government's terrorism white paper, saying the "war" could take a generation.

JUDGEMENT: HOWARD'S WAR CRIMES
Howard Vs Regina in Canberra the Capital Territory of Australia- Friday January 30 2004.

'FACTOPHOBIA' HOWARD, BLAIR AND BUSH
Well think about this! Australia's intelligence agencies look set to receive a substantial funding boost in this year's Federal Budget, with the Prime Minister saying it is an obvious step to take.

Howard, where's your head at?
Australians living on the edge! Seems each time the bombs go off overseas Australians are living on the edge.

Should John Howard be locked up indefinitely?
Australian convicted mock terrorist John Howard is seriously considering appealing the precise time limit on detaining terrorist suspects.

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.

Bracks crime team 'not up to job'

Steve Bracks Left, Robert Doyle Centre and Peter Ryan Right.

Steve Bracks was "fiddling while Melbourne burns", a respected senior crimefighter said yesterday, as the state Ombudsman was attacked for being ill-equipped to tackle entrenched police corruption.

Opposition Leader Robert Doyle and National Party leader Peter Ryan both, [said], they were concerned Ombudsman George Brouwer, 62, did not have the background to pursue complex police corruption.

Mr Brouwer was appointed by the Premier in March, and it was announced soon after that he would be handed royal commission-style powers and open funding as a corruption and gangland crime crisis gripped the state.

But Mr Doyle said the career public servant, who headed the Premier's Department under former Labor premier John Caine, was "not appointed to do this job".

"Because of the seriousness and dimensions of the corruption problem, I have no confidence the Ombudsman's office could fix the problem, even with extra powers and resources," he said.

Mr Doyle, a recent convert to the idea of an anti-corruption commission, said the "critical person" to head up such a body would be a judge with experience in criminal law. "We're talking about the world of criminals, not complaints about government departments," he said.

His comments came as former senior National Crime Authority figure and one-time Victorian-based deputy commonwealth director of public prosecutions Mark Le Grand said the Victorian Government was abrogating its responsibility to the people and must call a royal commission.

Mr Le Grand says most royal commissions into criminal conduct in recent years had been "appointed to inquire into less extensive and compelling law enforcement behaviour".

Victoria had "clear evidence" of an "entrenched system of corruption, which ruthlessly protects itself", and police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon and her force were "out of their depth".

"Premier Steve Bracks and the Victorian Government have reached the crossroads," Mr Le Grand said. "Will they continue to fiddle while Melbourne burns in a bonfire of crime and corruption unparalleled in its history?"

Mr Brouwer was unavailable for comment, but his senior assistant, Brian Hardiman, said the criticism was "just patently wrong".

The Ombudsman had been overseeing corruption investigations since 1988 and there was "absolutely no reason" why it could not perform the task with extra resources.

Crime investigator and writer Bob Bottom said Mr Bracks's move on Tuesday to give royal commission-style powers to a police commissioner to address corruption was "absolutely unprecedented".

"Mr Bracks is obviously rattled, and I've a feeling he must be very badly briefed."

By Starsky and Hutch 27 May 04

Related:

Vic corruption fighter tells of intimidation
A senior Victorian police corruption investigator says fellow officers have intimidated and threatened him.

Bullet threat won't stop corruption probe, police say
The Victorian police force says threats against internal investigators will not stop it from weeding out corrupt police and bringing them to justice.

Vic police corruption 'worst ever', former judge says
A former Federal Court judge last night described corruption in the Victoria police force as the worst ever.

Police corruption linked to underworld slayings
The chairman of Victoria's Ceja police internal corruption task force has admitted there is a link between police corruption and Melbourne's gangland killings.

Redfern drug dealers: Who is Mr Big?
A senior Redfern police officer says a flourishing illegal drug trade is the main cause of problems in Redfern's Aboriginal community, known as The Block. But just like Kings Cross it doesn't get cleaned up and the Mr Big's are living like pigs. Ha ha. That's right someone supplies and someone accumulates large sums of money and someone has targeted Redfern and allows it to flourish there.

Victoria's top cop needs a watchdog?
The Bracks Government is expected to announce new powers of investigation for the Victorian Ombudsman today. So what are they trying to say? The dog never had the power?

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

Why the Bulldogs rape case failed?
AFTER two months of turmoil, the rape case against six Bulldogs rugby league players has collapsed, with police saying there was insufficient evidence to press charges. IT is the moment any investigator dreads. [Just plain rubbish and a cover-up.]

NSW Police seizing assets to bolster budgets?
Seized assets to bolster police budgets is going to place crime solving into the corporate arena. Why should they go after a common criminal who is poor? Instead they'll be searching for assets and then solving crime. After all, police budgets will depend on it.

Court accuses police of planting evidence
A magistrate in the south-western New South Wales city of Wagga Wagga says police there nearly beat a man to death, fabricated evidence about him, and later lied in court about the incident.

NSW ex-Inspector Gadget claims credibility again
Just how credible is this former cop? Small's claim on Four Corners [Walls, a government propaganda machine], tonight, [that], the Government warned about Redfern problems before the riot. Like he's Mr squeaky-clean? Bad news more like it, Small was the say anything, do anything, ex-cop from hell for Bob Carr and his cronies.

Gang-rape, police, disparity and the law..
The young woman and her friend have told police they met the players in Coffs Harbour on the evening after the Bulldogs played a trial match there and went back to the team's hotel with them.

Cops Leak: Bulldogs accused of rape at Coffs Harbour
Police are warning media outlets they may face criminal charges if they release confidential information about investigations. The call comes after the details of an assault on a woman at Coffs Harbour were read on a commercial radio station in Sydney yesterday morning.

Capsicum spray killed Brisbane man
Remember one "Flick" and they're gone. A 26-year-old man has died in Brisbane after a scuffle with police in the inner-city suburb of Highgate Hill. Police say they went to a unit complex just after midnight to speak to the man. Inspector Ian Robinson says police used capsicum spray and the man collapsed and died.

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.

Man wrongly imprisoned awarded $1m
A Sydney man who was acquitted of murder has won more than $1 million in damages for wrongful arrest and imprisonment. The New South Wales Supreme Court has agreed with Garry Raymond Nye's said that the charge was maliciously laid. Acting on a tip-off, [?], police arrested and charged the 51-year-old with the shooting murder of Roy Thurgar at Randwick in Sydney's east in 1991. He spent 16 months in custody before he was acquitted by a jury.

NSW Police Force: Bent cop Cribb should be treated no different
34-year-old police inspector Shane Cribb, who shot a man shouldn't be treated differently than any other person charged with the same offence. The Daily Telegraph this morning is calling for special consideration for the cop.

One arrested in random raids: Police
NSW Police said more than 200 officers raided homes in the largest operation ever conducted by Task Force Gain, set up to investigate gun crime in Sydney's south-west.

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.

Drive-by shootings: test your political IQ?
What if since the Wood Royal Commission into police corruption the drugs moved from Kings Cross to Cabramatta. Then since the the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Cabramatta the drugs moved to Bankstown/Greenacre. Giving police more power might just be more fuel on the fire.

NSW drug wars: family feud not responsible for shootings
New South Wales Shadow Police Minister Peter Debnam says he does not believe recent shootings in Sydney's south-west are the result of a family feud. And he's not on his own.

Police WarLords set to take over Sydney again
Police warlords are set to take over Sydney's suburbs because police are not being supervised properly.

Jailed man's conviction to be reviewed
The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal will today review the conviction of a man, after claims in the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) last year that police planted weapons and faked suspects' confessions.

Who is bad?
Super Rat? M5? M11? K8? N2? So I trust that some people who, with the photos and guns guessed that a jury would quickly establish a case against a profiled person whom, you just had a picture and a history of. Common knowledge? The government knew their victims would take the blame. Not just chess in court, 'moving around the pieces', but 'putting false evidence, or not enough evidence before the jury."

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?

How to become corruption resistant in NSW
Don't trust those who cannot prove themselves with the little amounts of trust you give them. Just because they have a letter of perceived trust doesn't mean they can be trusted.

This is not how you eat 'antisocial behaviour'
Process corruption, perjury, planting of evidence, verbals, fabricated confessions, denial of suspects rights, a solicitor to induce confessions, tampering with electronic recording equipment, framing. Generally green lighting crime, and I say Murder, including the kids who overdosed on heroin. No doubt.

Black Knight - Long way to go home
In line with the current climate of police corruption and the demise of the reform unit set up by Wood, these facts ought to have been a good reason to leave Moroney out of the package as Commissioner.

Bob down and sniff my arse
These are serious invasions of privacy and draconian laws? Where are our democratic soldiers, the lawyers and the barristers who need to take on the government in the courts? Are they plastic? Or to busy feathering their nests? Or have they been cleverly purchased by this black government. Drug test police and politicians, and have the tests independently accessed.

Come in spinner? Or Come in sinner?
"You don't have, in my view very vigilant processes. I suppose it's akin to the problem of corruption within the police," he told the ABC radio. " People say there's corruption with the police (but) do you get the police to investigate problems within their own ranks?

Deeds
I am disturbed by Governments 'actions' in relation to shuffling the police service. Clive Small seconded into Parliament like a cocky in a perch. A breach of the fundamental Separation of Powers Doctrine does not in my view allow the thought of intervening, planning, or shuffling to stack the deck of our police service. The one that suppose to be autonomous according to Lord Denning. Where the Parliamentary Secretary can ask the commissioner of police to 'report' then sack him if he is not satisfied with such report.

Truth
Who is telling the truth? Well I guess Dr. Ed. Chadbourne or Mr. Peter Ryan may have the answer to that. Dr. Chadbourne sacked by Peter Ryan and more specifically in my view because he elected deputy commissioners Dave Madden and Andrew Scipione as the best men in the service in relation to his qualifications to make a recommendation in his capacity as human resources.That is if you believe that a Dr. can be corrupted.

Honesty
What is happening between the Police Service and politics is quite extraordinary at the moment. If stand over tactics don't work tell half the truth honestly and follow the example of sheep. Another word for it is sleaze, yeah. Another word for it is workplace harassment. Another word for it is bribing a Police Officer. Another word for it is misleading Parliament.

Tele Tales
Most people I know don't buy the Daily Telegraph. Why? Because of the lies and propaganda purported by them.

Lord Denning
Interesting how a member of the Police Board Mr. Tim Priest would hold grave fears for his safety from dangerous 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?

Corrosive
Clive Small is Bob Carr's choice for the new Police Commissioner. It could only be the case considering his, Small's special appointment into Parliament House. Small who suffers from the little person syndrome is the ideal bend over boy who gets shuffled through his corrupt actions. Rolling the legal system for him after the fact, just like his predecessor Roger the dodger Rogerson.

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'.

Same boat
The Premier, Bob Carr, relies on a militia. A gang of bikies and our Police Service, to show all of us he is no murderer. He should be taken to the task along with his partners in crime like Clive Small to account for those people who like my self have been maliciously assaulted and who have complained, without any service and those who cannot speak for themselves who were murdered, like Terry Falconer. Terry murdered in custody.

Good Cop
Why have our democratic institutions broken down? It's not just the criminal justice system. The Anti-Corruption Network webmaster@anti-corruption-network.org exposes the same issues. A group of white-collar workers who say they have suffered as follows:

Dangerous
I refer to the Daily Telegraph article 22 March 2002 under the heading Priest quits advisory job.

Partners in crime - history!
Roger Rogerson, the old hero, who never faced a result in the Lanfranchi, 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').

Fear-mongering over convicts sperm bank donations

Is there a terrorist in your womb? Can your parent's genes label you? Not according to the Danish Health Ministry that said donors did not require a clean record as "there is no evidence that a tendency towards criminal behaviour can be inherited".

But the world's biggest sperm bank says that it has been forced to start screening all donors for any criminal record after it emerged that a man who killed his two baby daughters had been on its books.

[After someone decided to fear-monger the sperm bank?]

Horrified parents, who gave birth after receiving semen from the Cryos International Sperm Bank in Aarhus, Denmark, have flooded it with calls seeking reassurance that Heine Nielsen was not the father of their child. Nielsen, 32, who received $A54 a time to give samples, was sentenced to life in a secure psychiatric unit last week for the murder of his three-week-old daughter in January. A check on his criminal record would have revealed that he had been found guilty 10 years ago of murdering his first child, an eight-week-old girl. He served six years in prison for the killing.

Cryos has told anxious parents that none of the samples provided by Nielsen had been sent out, as he failed to attend the second of three compulsory psychological profiles. It has denied claims by Nielsen's relatives that he donated sperm twice a week for at least a year.

The head consultant at Cryos, Erich Ernst, said: "He provided only 12 samples, according to our records, but none of these was used because he did not complete the testing process. Only about 9 per cent of the applicants ever make it to the final stages, so this is quite normal." Nonetheless, future Cryos donors will be required to provide a police certificate confirming they do not have criminal records.

"We have contacted the Danish Health Ministry and have heard that it is within the law to ask our donors about any possible criminal convictions," Mr Ernst said. "We can insist someone has a clean record before we allow them to apply." The sperm bank has more than 200 donors on its books, distributing almost 10,000 units of sperm each year.

It supplies 35 infertility clinics across Europe, resulting in more than 1000 pregnancies every year.

The furore, [fear-mongering?] has [allegedly], prompted a fresh debate about whether laws should be introduced requiring would-be donors to face criminal checks as well as psychological tests and medical screening. But more importantly, laws for restricting the release of psychiatric patients convicted offenders or alleged terrorists.

[What! Nothing about state government terrorists? Murderers in the Military, Police, and prison guards, etc...What makes their Noble Cause Genes arses any better? Fear-mongering!!!]

Nielsen's mother, who has not been named, said he enrolled as a sperm donor to earn extra money.

"He was at the sperm bank several times every week . . . in 2000. I did not like it - he was sick, mentally sick, and it did not seem right," she said.

THE WAR ON LIBERTY: This is an extreme case of fear-mongering. Extreme cases are used to attempt to validate these models. In this case to start screening all donors for any criminal record. But if you can have people believe that the offenders and or terrorists are being produced or likely to be produced, because of a DNA test then there is a chance you won't be born. If you are born with these results and labelled an offender or terrorist you may be born into a prison hospital to prepare yourself for a prison cell. This has incredible wide ranging ramifications.

And the problem with that formula is that state sanctioned terrorists in the military, police, and prisons who murder for queen and country, an alleged noble cause, are no better than any other peasant criminals.

The Danish predators along side the Coalition of the Killing who are pre-emptively striking Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine, are actually the worst kind of terrorists killing millions of people in the name of occupation, genocide and imperialism.

The reason they've take an extreme case like a baby killer here, is because usually there is little or no support for people who have offended against a child i.e. the most unpopular person. So fear-mongering works best if the provocateur uses the worst case scenario.

What about the Coalition of the Killing, war criminals and war mongers who maimed and killed these kids? Should they be more suitable for the sperm bank?


A STRUGGLE ON TWO FRONTS: PRISONS & IMPERIALIST WAR

After a war waged by the U.S. military against Vietnam which took the lives of more than 3 million Vietnamese people and more than 58,000 GIs, the U.S. finally withdrew in 1975. It had suffered its first official major military defeat by a united people struggle led by the Vietnamese, along with a mass U.S. anti-war movement.

By Extremely Flawed 10 November 03

Feedback: Michael Strutt: IMHO sperm banks are commercial institutions with a primary responsibility to their clients. If the client does not want sperm from someone, who has killed their kid, has a low paid job, dislikes brussel sprouts or supports Manchester United that is their business.

Sperm banks already discriminate against donors for lots of reasons, many of them with no good basis in genetic science (or any other science for that matter).

The whole issue of sperm banks, egg donors and eugenics is a big one, but IMHO, ultimately trivial. I'm sure not going to fight for anyone's right to jerk off into a bottle and get paid for it.

The real issue here is the question of a genetic basis for criminal behaviour. Because the science involved is so bad as to be non-existent in this case. I think it will really serve to discredit such a link, but there are far more serious challenges in this area to face.

The most serious one I know of so far is the Dunedin study which has shown a statistical correlation between a polymorphism of the MAO gene and violent behaviour by men who were abused as children. Note that there is both a genetic and environmental factor in the mix.

This study is being carefully examined by many scientists in the field and I expect to see some responsible conclusions drawn which will then be hijacked by politicians and other publicity seekers with their own irresponsible agendas.

Interestingly, I expect the Dunedin study - in conjunction with what is now being revealed about the violent side effects of antidepressant medication - to force a general rethink about the relationship between anger and depression which may even help society to deal more sympathetically with those people unable to control violent impulses.

The MAO gene codes for the protein monoamine oxidase, which has long been known to be linked to depression. There are also studies, which attempt to correlate particular genetic variations with opiate addiction and alcoholism.

I think that the whole issue needs to be seen in the context of bioinformatics (the use of powerful computers and huge databases to try to draw statistical links between apparently unrelated pieces of biomedical data) and the attempts by drug companies and cowboy research entrepreneurs (like Craig Venter) to 'discover the gene responsible for' whatever.

The reductionist nature of contemporary medical science makes that approach very persuasive to allopathic practitioners, the general public, media outlets and (most importantly for its proponents) stock market investors. It creates a real danger of genetic discrimination and a new wave of eugenics as predicted in 'Brave New World' and 'Gattaca'.

I am not sanguine about such a danger by any means, but have reason to think that all the hype being currently being generated by the biotechs will ultimately lead to a backlash, which will mitigate against such an outcome.

The 'miracle gene cures' being anticipated in the media on almost a daily basis will generally not pan out - they are just about creating enough short term enthusiasm to cash in on the stock market, not the long haul needed for proper medical research and development of therapy.

After a few more years of this the public and media will become pretty sceptical I think. In the meantime however, there is real risk of discrimination in insurance; HealthCare, employment and the criminal justice system based on bogus or irrelevant links between genes and illness or antisocial behaviour.

The Australian Law Reform Commission has demonstrated itself as worse than useless in addressing the problem, as it is unable to stand up to even the mildest pressure from industry or authorities.

Related:

A Question of Innocence
Minister Chris Ellison: Yes we’re watching the progress of this project in NSW with great interest. This has been raised at the Standing Committee of Attorneys General and a working group is looking at this very question. I think we have to have a considered response to this proposal and on a national basis, we would need to have the cooperation of the states and territories.

Military lawyers await probe on DNA tampering
The Army's Criminal Investigation Command said nearly 500 forensic test results from all services dating back 10 years are under review after one of its examiners allegedly faked results. About 119 of those cases pertain to the Navy and Marine Corps.

Corrupt police planting DNA evidence at crime scenes
Others have raised concerns about corrupt police planting DNA evidence at crime scenes.

Expert baffled by Falconio evidence DNA contamination
NT: The director of the Northern Territory's forensic science unit has told a Darwin court he does not know how his DNA contaminated a key piece of evidence in the Peter Falconio murder trial. [lost trial? After all he wasn't found?]

The ABC for good or evil?
He had a suspect that he wanted to find guilty based on the chances of a spouse killing a spouse which were greater in anycase, at least more likely than that of a stranger.

First Grabs To Control Our DNA
A small company in Australia has been subjected to gross denials of rights after DNA database technology was stolen from it's company. This one year saga has spawned them to form a new approach to projects of importance to all people.

Worries over DNA and racial profiling
UK: Black men are four times more likely than White men to be on the national DNA database and there is growing concern about racial profiling in criminal investigations.

Lab's Errors Force Review of 150 Virginia DNA Cases
US: WASHINGTON, - A sharply critical independent audit found that Virginia's nationally recognized central crime laboratory had botched DNA tests in a leading capital murder case. The findings prompted Gov. Mark Warner to order a review of the lab's handling of testing in 150 other cases as well.

Witch-hunt targets scientists
QLD: SCIENTISTS at the John Tonge Centre are being threatened with jail in the wake of a government hunt for the source of leaks highlighting serious problems in the forensic laboratories.

Fresh swipe at DNA labs
Scientist Kris Bentley, whose departure yesterday follows that of forensic biologist Deanna Belzer after concerns about "inaccurate" DNA results and unvalidated equipment, issued a scathing resignation letter leaked to The Courier-Mail.

DNA leads 'CSI' cold-case squad to first arrest?
Frozen case? I don't really know what to say about them until they come up with their case. They say it involves DNA evidence but that's the only stuff we know.

Criminal's DNA filed under relative's name
The New South Wales Opposition is calling for an investigation into claims that police have entered DNA data for serious offenders under incorrect names.

DNA fingerprinting 'no longer foolproof'...
The genetic profiles held by police for criminal investigations are not sophisticated enough to prevent false identifications, according to the father of DNA fingerprinting.

THE BUTLER DIDN'T DO IT!
PROFESSOR BARRY BOETTCHER: Now, there should be a law enacted within Queensland so that when cases come up like this they can be brought to attention and if an appropriate authority such as a judge of your Supreme Court considers that it merits further inquiry, an inquiry be ordered.

'Rape' officer clears his name
UK: A former policeman has been cleared of rape after protesting his innocence for 15 years. Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh ruled that Brian Kelly, 47, had suffered a miscarriage of justice over crucial DNA evidence.

New unit investigates unsolved deaths?
A new police unit has been established to investigate more than 360 unsolved deaths in New South Wales, with many of the deaths dating back more than 30 years.

Prisoner's bid for review denied
Prisoner Roger Cheney has lost a Supreme Court action to have a judicial review of his 1993 convictions an 30-year jail sentence. Justice Shaw said he was concerned about the prisoner's claim that DNA evidence held by the police could prove his innocence. Although Cheney had requested the results of the DNA tests, he had been denied access to the forensic analysis.

QLD Prisoners DNA Bid THE curious case of Queensland's "cat lady" murder is set to test the state's legal authorities again, with the man convicted of the killing asking the Attorney-General to take the unprecedented step of releasing blood samples for DNA retesting.

Database clears up crimes?
NSW Police Minister John Watkins said at the launch of a Sydney conference of international forensic experts meeting to mark 100 years of fingerprinting in NSW. He said the collection of DNA from prisoners and suspects in NSW during the past two years had led to more than 5,400 matches on the forensic database.

A Question of Innocence
Katrina Bolton: The promise of DNA freeing the innocent as well as convicting the guilty has been repeated by politicians across Australia, usually while DNA laws are being expanded. The promise was made as a national DNA database, ‘Crimtrac’ was created, and it was made as NSW introduced legislation giving unprecedented powers to take DNA samples from prisoners, by force if necessary.

Mouse Trap Game? Tried Until Guilty!
Two New South Wales Labor MPs have strongly criticised the Carr Government's proposed abolition of the 800 year old double jeopardy rule, which stops people being tried a second time for the same crime. The left-wing MPs have branded the reforms as dishonest and unjust in a formal submission to the Attorney-General's department.

Weak Carr Government suspends Innocence Panel
It's a callous disregard for justice! The panel takes applications from convicted prisoners for DNA evidence to be analysed a move that may help in a future court appeal.

JUST BEAT IT! Govt lauds crime-solving technology?
The New South Wales Government says advances in crime solving technology are helping the progress of hundreds of police investigations.

DNA testing causes debate in murder case
The use of voluntary DNA testing in the investigation of a murder case in New South Wales has been applauded by victim support groups who are ill informed about the process said Justice Action's spokesperson Gregory Kable.

Abolition of double jeopardy law a political stunt: NSW Opp
Why draconian laws? What about the re-trial by media that goes along with it? Twice shy?

ARE YOU INNOCENT?
The NSW government has finally appointed somebody (Justice John Nader) to head up its Innocence Panel and has produced leaflets and forms for people convicted of serious crimes (eg murder) to apply for DNA testing if they believe it may help prove their innocence. You can get the info by phoning 1300 881 717 or writing to the panel at GPO Box 45 Sydney NSW 2001.

Is the Westminster System flawed?
Most people would say Lady Di got the boot and NSW has so much trouble getting the Innocence Panel moving. I said hey, what's going on!

Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder Mass DNA testing of prisoners has led to the first NSW case of a person being charged with a previously unsolved murder as a result of a controversial gene-matching data bank. The Herald reported 25 Nov 02 "a DNA saliva swab led to the charging of a former prisoner with the bashing murder of a woman. Police had been unable to find any witnesses or suspects following the murder in Sydney's inner city two years ago. Detectives had admitted they faced a tough job finding the killer."

Prisoners can prove innocence for $20
Les Kennedy Daily Telegraph reported today that" Prisoners who believe that DNA will prove they were wrongly convicted will have the chance to prove their innocence for a mere $20 administration fee. The move comes 20 months after NSW inmates were asked to provide DNA for comparison with a databank of DNA from unsolved crime scenes for possible convictions.

DNA yours or mine?
Now they have isolated two genes that they say tells you if you're more likely to be depressed. What does that mean? It could mean that you should stay in jail because you are more likely than not to continue your offending behaviour according to a Department of Corrective Services Forensic Psychiatrist.

DNA = Do Not Assume - DNA Controversies!
The national DNA database of all known offenders proposed by Prime Minister Tony Blair could mean that innocent people will be accused of crimes they did not commit.

DNA Evidence of Bipartisanship
Last week the U.S. Congress passed the Justice for All Act, which includes provisions of the Innocence Protection Act. As of this posting, the legislation has not yet been signed by President Bush. Attached is an analysis of the legislation prepared by the Justice Project.

Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder As long as the the prisoners DNA wasn't planted at the crime scene. It is one thing to force prisoners to hand over their DNA and another thing to exploit it.