Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Holiday

Sorry folks - have to take a 2 week blog hiatus.

Back shortly, please browse through the archives or check out Nick Possum's site, which is sure to have some election news(eventually).

For more immediate election reading you can check out:

The Daily Flute
Dogfight at Bankstown
An Onymous Lefty
Greens Blog
Larvatus Prodeo
Club Troppo
Or if you prefer the dark side...

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Nothing to see here...

Yesterday WAPOL announced it was incorrect to charge Ben Cousins with refusing to take a drug test. It turned out the police were also incorrect to charge him for diazepam tablets found in the car he was driving which are only illegal in the liquid form. The traffic stop happened only shortly after Cousins had been questioned about the death of his close friend, Chris Mainwaring, who died of heart failure (with a variety of drugs in his system). Though police charges have been withdrawn and a public apology made, the Eagles remain immovable on their decision to sack Cousins.

This week saw the launch of an appeal by the DPP against the acquittal of Johnny Montani for the murder of bikie Kevin Woodhouse. The current judicial trend away from the use of a jury would seem to offer no new ground for the DPP - so it will be interesting to see, over the next few weeks, why they have taken this unusual step.

Coffin Cheaters' Troy Mercanti appeared at The Maj today over an alleged assault on May 13 at Geisha Nightclub, when police say Mercanti punched a punter and broke his jaw in three places. He pleaded not guilty to the GBH charges and remains on home detention until his next appearance in February.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Met - catastrophically wrong

Earlier this month, the Met was found guilty (despite an intricate but traditional smoke and mirrors routine) of making catastrophic errors that endangered the public when they shot a 27 y/o electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, 11 times in the head at point blank range with exploding hollow-point bullets.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Leviathan Times Daily

Is the print media monopoly in WA really so valuable that we need to reproduce it online? Bret Treasure gets an offer too good to refuse.

Joondalup train - out for a duck

Hmmn... what to do to kill a couple hours on a Saturday evening?
Why not sit in the dark on a broken down train for two hours.
WA - definitely the state of excitement.

Katherine cop in court for cybermeeting with child

Call to jail ex-cop internet child sex predator (courtesy of OzBiker)
Thursday, 01 November 2007

The internet had become a playground for children and those caught using it to entice them into sexual activity should be jailed, a court was told yesterday.

Crown prosecutor Peter Salu called for former Northern Territory policeman Lloyd Alexander Gedling to be imprisoned after being found guilty of procuring a child to engage in sexual activity over the internet.

"The Crown submits that those considering using the internet, like the prisoner, to make contact with young people with a view to corrupting or sexually exploiting them must now be on notice that that type of behaviour will result in imprisonment," he said.

Gedling, 40, formerly from Katherine, was found guilty in September of using an internet chat room to procure a child for sexual activity. Gedling was on holiday in Adelaide with his family when he was arrested in March last year.

He had met a police officer pretending to be a 14-year-old girl online and began asking her sexually explicit questions and said that if she wanted to see his penis they would have to meet.

The court heard Gedling gave the girl his mobile phone number and was sent a photograph of a girl who was well under the age of 16.

Yesterday his lawyer, Stephen Apps, said Gedling started using the internet "more than he would before" at a time when there were stresses in his marriage. Mr Apps submitted that Gedling did not make "any real attempt" to meet the girl he had met online.

He said Gedling had talked in an "immature and stupid" way during the internet chat and never intended to meet the person he was talking to. Mr Apps asked that any jail sentence imposed on Gedling be suspended.

Gedling, who resigned from the Northern Territory police after being arrested, was remanded in custody for sentencing next month.

Cit J's help court victory for police rape victim

In Cairo - often said to be a hub for prisoner torture, two officers were last week gaoled for 3 years for torturing a man held in custody.

Bloggers prompted the arrest of two Cairo police officers by podcasting a video that the officers had made to "show around" of them raping a 20 y/o taxi driver.

Captains Islam Nabih and Reda Fathi, were found to have tortured Emad al Kabir, two years ago, when he was taken into custody for intervening in an argument the officers were having with his brother.

Al Kabir upon hearing the guilty verdict, shouted 'long live justice' and 'God is great,' and said that all he had ever wanted was to have his 'rights back.'

The officers' video showed them shouting abuse at the hand-cuffed man, while raping him with a broom handle. The victim was threatened when he filed a complaint agains the two officers. Al Kabir was then gaoled for three months for charges said to have occurred during that arrest - officers claimed he obstructed and assaulted them, and resisted arrest.

Violent cop "violated" by suspect's spit

On trial at the Magistrate's Court last Wednesday, a Perth police officer said he was abused, spat on, and had lost control, when he twice assaulted a suspect on January 30.

Brian Russell Stewart, who holds the rank of sergeant in the WA Police Service, was working in the East Perth lock-up at the time of the alleged assault against Darren James Miller.

Miller was taken to the East Perth lock-up because police suspected he had been breaking into cars at Burswood Casino.

Mark Andrews(a former WAPOL officer), argued that Stewart had never been spat on during his 25-year career as a police officer, and it made him feel 'defiled and violated.'

Though the court was told Miller had taken a swing at the officer, footage of the incident detected only a slight movement of Miller's right arm, while his left arm was hand-cuffed to the bench.

Video footage from the lock-up which was played to the court, showed Stewart later punching Miller another four times, which the prosecution said had resulted in "bodily harm."

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Happenings

Gary Hughes looks at links between the Victorian Police Union and corruption in the state. Witnesses who reveal they've been called to appear before the hearings in Victoria, get a third of the sentence of those appearing before secret CCC hearings in Perth (who aren't very good at keeping it secret, that is).


Someone's had a bad week - their $600k '71 Phase 3 GTHO falcon was boosted from a mechanic's workshop in Osborne Park on Monday. Apparently they had to roll 2 Rolls Royces out of the way to get to it (& at 3.5 thousand kilos each, it would seem they must have been pretty determined).


A dozen Harley Davidsons were destroyed in an arson attack on a Perth OMCG clubhouse overnight. An early estimate of the damage was about $1 million, but is now considered to be closer to $500k. The bikies's clubhouse got a police guard until arson investigators arrived.

WA media union steps up to the plate on secret hearings

MEAA WA has asked the Parliamentary Inspector of the CCC - Malcolm McCusker, to look at issues surrounding some Perth journalists being forced to appear at a secret hearing of the CCC and name a confidential source.

The opposition leader's chief of staff later revealed that he was the source who leaked a report on former minister John D'Orazio, and subsequently created a furore among the state government ministry.

The WA Secretary of the MEAA, Michael Sinclair-Jones, said the journalists were gagged and threatened with 3 years gaol or a $60,000 fine if they did not comply with the CCC's demands, and described the ordeal as a 'pernicious threat to free speech and members safety.'

Last week The Australian wrote about the incident which happened in July, but the reporters still couldn't talk about it.

The AJA code of ethics requires journalists not to publicly reveal confidential sources' identities, but a conflict arises with state and federal legislation that potentially could see a journalist gaoled for publishing leaked government documents, regardless of their public interest.

The state secretary said government anger over leaked documents and private conversations with reporters does not 'constitute grounds to threaten journalists with extreme criminal sanctions.'

He said merely revealing a person has been summonsed to appear at such a hearing attracts the same extreme penalty.

'The jail threat was averted when the source agreed to free the journalists from their obligation to preserve confidentiality − but the pair still remained gagged by law for another five years.'

The letter from the state secretary questioned the impact of the 2003 CCC Act upon journalists - particularly freelancers, who lack the legal support available though mainstream media employers.

Also this week, a damning report on the state of Freedom of Information in Australia was released by the Right to know coalition of media conglomerates.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Good training

A young jackaroo from outback Queensland goes off to university, but halfway through the semester he foolishly has squandered all of his money.

He calls home. "Dad," he says, "you won't believe what modern education is developing. They actually have a program here in Brisbane that will teach our dog Ol' Blue how to talk."

"That's amazing!" his Dad says. "How do I get Ol' Blue in that program?"

"Just send him down here with $2,000," the young jackaroo says, "I'll get him in the course."

So ... his father sends the dog and $2,000.

About two-thirds through the semester, the money again runs out. The boy calls home. "So how's Ol' Blue doing, son?" his father wants to know.

"Awesome! Dad, he's talking up a storm. But you just won't believe this. They've had such good results with talking, they've begun to teach the animals how to read."

"Read?!" exclaims his father. "No kidding! How do we get Ol' Blue in that program?"

"Just send $4,500. I'll get him in the class."

The money promptly arrives. But our hero has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out the dog can neither talk nor read. So he shoots the dog. When he arrives home at the end of the year, his father is all excited.

"Where's Ol' Blue? I just can't wait to talk with him, and see him read something!"

"Dad," the boy says, "I have some grim news.

Yesterday morning, just before we left to drive home, Ol' Blue was in the living room, kicked back in the recliner, reading the Wall Street Journal. Then he suddenly turned to me and asked, 'So, is your daddy still messing around with that little redhead barmaid at the pub?'"

The father groans and whispers, "I hope you shot that bastard before he talks to your Mother!"

"I sure did, Dad!"

"That's my boy!"

The kid went on to be a successful lawyer.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Magnet-tude

Thank God for Narelle Towie - everytime I've poked my nose out of the front door in the last week I started wondering if I was becoming like Pigpen!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Catching up...

A 25 y/o Mirrabooka man was remanded in custody after police charged him with GBH for allegedly assaulting Kerran Brown at the Rivervale Hotel on Saturday, Oct 28.

Police allege when the man punched Brown his head hit a wall & knocked him unconcscious, and he then fell down some steps, hitting his head again.

And for those of you who have been googling for some news of Kerran's recovery - he's regained consciousness and was released from hospital a couple of days ago.


Last week's Sunday Times reported a raid had been conducted on an unnamed bikie associate's house in relation to the murder of Supreme Court Registrar, Corryn Rayney. In today's Australian, police said Johnny Montani and Julian Witana Murray had both been dismissed as suspects but no clues as to whether this was in response to Sun X's story. Now it appears, from a humble bystander's point of view... that someone could be having a bit of fun at the media pack's expense, with journos running every which way trying to get a fresh lead on the still unsolved murder. This weekend alone, there's been a number of different versions of developments in the Rayney investigation - one story asserting there had been no developments whatsoever, and each story featuring very little in common. It would seem the Rayney investigators may have graduated from the "three Cs - co-operation, competition & controversy" and moved on to "divide & conquer".

Saturday, November 03, 2007

The news today

It's funny how nightly we can look upon reporters' faces on the news and they almost seem to become a part of your home and family - a part of the nightly dinnertime ritual, with their concerned and friendly faces emphasizing the importance of whatever has been happening around the country that day.

It's hard to imagine cooking the dinner and not seeing Charmaine Dragun's charming face telling me what's been happening on our little corner of the planet each day.

And it's also hard to imagine that behind the sunny appearance of this consummate professional there may have been more that we should have seen.

It's true that occupational health and safety in the media industry is virtually non-existent, but is it really possible that stress could have taken its toll on this vibrant, young, career-minded journalist?

We've watched her go from being a journo, to a reporter, to an anchor, over the years, and with each change you knew that this 29 y/o Perth girl's genuine demeanour and hard work would really allow her to achieve whatever she aspired to.

The news was announced this evening that Charmaine Dragun died about 4pm at the Gap in Sydney, and though this bright rising star had a great career, & a loving partner and family, it has been suggested that she took her life today after needing "a few days off from work."

Here's a lovely story by Charmaine as she travelled Croatia to discover her heritage.

It must have taken a lot of inner strength for Tim Webster and the news team at Ten to get through the news this afternoon, despite only just hearing of her death. RIP Charmaine.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Yolngu Zorba

Dancers from Elcho Island appear on Youtube performing the Zorba dance in their own inimitable style.