Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Landmark photos - STAND UP - for the Burrup


The crew at FARA have organized a group photo - as they do - the first for the year
on Friday 1 February 2008, 12.30 - 1.15pm
at the Department of Industry and Resources (WA)
on the corner of Plain St and Adelaide Terrace East Perth

which they say was the starting place for all the Dampier rock art destruction.

Remi says there has been a failure in WA legislation to protect the most ancient rock art on the planet.

They're calling for everyone to 'Stand Up for the Burrup' in front of the building that has been the source of all developments in the Dampier Archipelago since the 1960's.

Assembly time: 12.15 for 12.30 – 1.15pm, just 45 minutes of your time which will be a continued significant act of solidarity for the future of the Burrup Peninsula.

"Stand Up's are generating significant interest internationally and were mentioned without any prompting at the recent "32nd International Congress of the History of Art" held in Melbourne."

"Politicians from both sides of politics are now fully aware of the issues surrounding the Burrup due to your continued efforts at these events."

Monday, January 28, 2008

Happy new years Magic Ears

Who let the dogs out? Barbara shortens the leash on a recalcitrant unit. So what exactly about Schoolie's week were they watching - it would be interesting to know the age and gender break up of the staff at the surveillance unit. Nick Taylor's aggressive style of journalism is presently upping the pace on court reporting in Perth, which more often than not resembles a lame & compliant 3rd world developmental model due to current media monopolies. I wonder if that qualifies him as an endangered species?

A turn for the books.


Accessory, Mr X, sings his way to freedom and cops an unprecedented sweet deal from Mr McGinty, for rolling over on his single cell amoeba co-ees who killed 21 y/o Claire Garabedian.

Another death in custody - this time in the back of a prisoner transport van, raises questions over the need to have video footage of all custodial operations, even if only to monitor the health of inmates.

For those who watched the WA Inc saga unfold and the Burke/Grills affair two decades later, this is a great read - although you'll need at least one coffee and a good armchair to go with it. It outlines the complex battles between the Old Right & New Right of the state Labor government.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Luna Ticks

Two WA senior constables were charged with possession of child pornography, one after an internal investigation and the other fell into the web of a national investigation into child pornography by the AFP. SC David Hill, was investigated by WAPOL but the name of the officer picked up by the AFP has not yet been released. They had served ten and 22 years in the WA Police Service, although no information has been released about what areas of the police service they worked in.

Self-confessed Lathlain wheelie bin murderers, Jessica Stasinowski and her lover Valerie Parashumti, were reprimanded by the judge for smiling during sentencing today after a court was told how they kissed over 16 y/o Stacey Mitchell's body as she lay dying, and videotaped themselves mocking the deceased.

The WA State Solicitor's Office has refused to supply documents under FoI laws that outline the reasons 2 former Attorneys General gave for refusing to pay Jeannie Angel compensation after she was wrongfully convicted of murder. Ms Angel, who was illiterate, was made to sign a confession, was badgered during interrogation, and while she was in gaol lost her infant son due to encephalitis. The murder investigation failed to look at any other suspects and ironically police gave three suspects who were later punished by tribal law, a lift back into town after they allegedly committed the offence. She is currently seeking compensation and an apology.

The Libs are now chasing protection for taxi drivers in Geraldton and other areas although this story raises questions over exactly who needs protection from whom. One of the main suspects in the Claremont serial killings was also a taxi driver which prompted the city's largest collection of dna evidence from every registered taxi driver.

A 21 year old girl from one of the oldest most respected families in Perth, was found guilty today of the attempted rape of a young soldier, in a ritual that appeared to be specifically designed to intimidate and demean him, whilst in the presence of her lover, who later killed himself rather than face charges. The attempted rape, was just another telling incident in the life of Perth-based defense forces, who are constantly under fire for their extra curricular activity. Much has been said about bullying of women in the defense force, and it is a sad indictment that the abuse has now turned the full circle, with some women now the perpetrators of sexual violence.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Now's the time - Babylonian style

Here at TDM the formulation of new years resolutions has become quite the science, and is generally done in a fastidious & audit-like fashion, usually for the lunar new year.

It was with horror my sibling revealed to me that for the first time I'd be boarding the huffin' & puffin,' going insane deprivation train all on my little old lonesome, after she became disillusioned with the yearly ritual following the last year's attainments(or alleged lack thereof).

Resolutions were said to have their origins in Ancient Babylon where the standard reso (setting down a blistering pace for those to follow) was to return old farm equipment borrowed during the year, while Ancient Romans adopted the face of Janus as a symbol of transition between beginnings & endings - so conveniently we have them to blame for all the momentous symbolic resos none of us manage to adhere to.

After a quick trawl through the Blogosphere it has come to my attention that most bloggers prefer to be 'list writers,' ie. opting to summarize the 'all that is & was' for 2007 in a neat steaming little pile of ten handy home hints, rather than doing any introspective navel-gazing.

Has the Blogosphere choked its enthusiasm for resos on overly-lofty, life-changing, mind-altering aspirations, rather than mere constructive, teensy maintenance-type ideas?

Could resolutions just be more of a useful yearly upgrade - maybe the Babylonians held the key to successful resos - 'just don't aim too high kiddies'?

Davezilla(courtesy of The Lungbrothers) has committed to some very meaty resos and the same could be said for his commenters.

Now I don't know about the source of these stats, but one site suggested that 22% of people give up on their resolutions within a week, and more than 50% have thrown in the towel by March.

So, with a new found trepidation,
I have explored the possibilities of reso making,
& weighed them against the potential for breaking,
& come up with these minor resos...


Minor Resolution no 1) this year I've resolved to get the leaky washer fixed in the kitchen that makes the constant dripping sound and subjects my housemates to an indefinite water-torture mental stasis(although it has been handy at times - mwa-hahahahahaa!!!!).

Minor Resolution no 2) I thought I'd also purchase that photo of Danny Green where he's trying to k/o The West's camera man, taken just before Green's victorious fight in December. I like the new ethos of the Perth rat pack, like the alleged naughtiness of (the tragically fully-clad) Ben Cousins, when he recently wished The Sunday X happy snapper all the best - that attitudinal fortitude weeds the men out from the boys and gives freelance 'flashers' a better chance of snapping a saleable pic. Good on you guys for putting the action & adventure back into MSM photography & don't take it personally when I try to get an ultra close-up of your 'uber-hawt"(been reading way too much Steph)navels - 'I'm just trying to make a living, here buddy!'
If MainStreaM flashers took more action pics as they were about to be crowned by a world champ, or as they dove headlong under a protest rally of hefty trade unionists(with big boots & braces on) to get that ground-level super close-up shot, ailing newspaper circulations around the country would surely skyrocket.

Minor Resolution no 3) set my clock ahead 5 minutes - it's been running three minutes slow for the last year resulting in me missing the train on countless occasions and having to run the gauntlet in muggers' paradise.

Minor Resolution no 4) I should probably resolve to keeping/creating less science experiments in my fridge(this must be 1 of those resos that gets dumped after the first week), after last year making the final payment on an extra huge one just to accommodate the said eco-creations. But I like the Black Books feel and the status quo of the microcosm in my refrigerator currently - and besides, who has time to be all uptight, 1950's-like & Felix Unger-ish. Call me bohemian, call me eco-ethicist, or call me a smelly hippie, but all those little bacteria have a right to life too, you know.

Minor Resolution no 5) More sleep
Minor Resolution no 6) More less chocolate
Minor Resolution no 7) More exercise somewhere in between those last two
Minor Resolution no 8) Restrict swearing to standardized swear words and don't branch out into innovative phrases or other languages

Minor Resolution no 9) Taking the time to blog about the topics(that people actually wish to read) which regularly bring visitors searching here for little morsels of information
Minor Resolution no 10) To get a bowl that catches the dog dribble when my own precious little baby 'Bastard Face' has a drink, instead of chasing after him with a towel(or several) which invariably ends up with him spreading dog goozies over everything in the entire house & all its inhabitants.

See - all perfectly attainable like the sands through the hourglass and the farm machinery back in your neighbour's shed - we'll workshop on this, same time next year.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Public service announcement

Sal's blog The Big Fat Witch, is up & running again in a large way, after some unforeseen delays. So if you're into an organic way of life stop by and say hi, there are extensive forums where you can chat till the cows come home with other smelly hippies, witches, vegans etc galore on a wide variety of topics.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Read my shorts

I reckon this guy should not be too hard to find Check out the mugshot & see if there is anything that ...sticks out...about him. The assault and vehicle description seem a bit Murdoch-esque

The Aurukun prosecutor at the centre of the scandal about the sentence handed out to gang rapists, has been employed by a Cairns legal service representing Aboriginal people(presumably only offenders, though).

If the state Libs were disadvantaged before, by the leadership of Paul Omodei, bra-snapper, Troy Buswell, has now taken the reigns of the ship of doom. Libs MLA Katie Hodson-Thomas quit today after revealing a few days ago, she too had been sexually harassed by Buswell.

The Mickelberg brothers were, according to Lewie, bricked up by WA's finest a couple decades ago. The difference with the Mickelberg case is that they aren't just allegations - former detective Tony Lewendowski rolled over about the treatment and verballing procedures used in the matter, before his sudden death. Sadly Brian Mickelberg, the first of the three brothers to be released, died shortly after in a plane crash, no compensation has been offered to his next of kin.
The lead detective in the Mickelberg case was CIB chief, Don Hancock, who also met a sudden demise. Rollover bikie witness Sid Snot Reid testified that the Gypsy Jokers were responsible for a car bomb that killed Hancock and another man, in Lathlain in 2001.
The state Attorney General has paid out a token sum of $1 million as a gesture of compensation to the Mickelberg brothers, but general consensus is that it simply is not enough.
The WA Police union, after encouraging the AG to settle the matter, was up in arms when Jim McGinty told the Mickelbergs the door remained open for them to pursue individual officers in civil legal proceedings. Mike Dean said the officers involved denied they acted corruptly when they prosecuted the brothers, but added that he could not speak for 'the deceased.' Be afraid, be very afraid...

Monday, January 14, 2008

Protect & servo

Sketchy details released by police on the weekend suggest that when a group of young males were parked outside a Carlisle service station on Saturday night - in their own vehicle, that they allegedly had a weapon and were acting suspiciously.

Police said they followed one 21 year old man back to the vehicle when it was later parked near the corner of Alexander Rd/Kilter Place(about 500 metres from the servo), and when they searched the vehicle, they claim to have found a weapon, and subsequently charged one of the youths for it. {Unless Belmont police were working very very late, some of the details in the second link are probably also incorrect.}

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Fatalities, Flash burns & hi-jinx

666 reasons to be nervous(for the Saint, from Perth Norg). In the House of Commons MPs discussed blasphemy, upon which a bill was proposed to remove the ties between the Church of England and the running of the Empire. It may be the only time you ever read a biblical quote in a news story. If the UK didn't have enough to worry about, 20 nuclear reactors are to be constructed by 2020 and the National Chamber of Minerals and Energy are trying to get the West Australian Labor government to supply the yellowcake for the endeavour. I wonder how long it will be before they start trying to dump nuclear waste in the outback, too, probably right on the Burrup.

The Pilbara isn't just home to the 40,000 y/o Burrup rock collection, ironically, it also houses one of the world's largest mining regions. On Friday a 23 y/o man was crushed to death in a boom lift servicing the Cloud Break Mine. The mine apparently has long been a concern for local workers, who are unable to access union safety checks due to mine management workplace agreements that stipulate no union members onsite, a tragic legacy of the Howard era. The death is the last on FMG property since a cyclone killed 2 workers living in poor grade accommodation.

Police investigating the murder of Corryn Rayney last week denied they were clutching at straws when they got elite plant experts to examine forensic evidence. Police have also questionedonce again the head of the Council of Civil Liberties who was grilled and faced repeated searches over the Claremont serial killings. The two cases do bear similarities in that both have been criticized by the public as colossal stuff-ups with no one ever charged despite a high expenditure and vast amount of evidence collected.

Gypsy Jokers went on an annual bike run up north, and in what appears to be becoming an increasing trend, WA Police accompanied them. The officers managed to drum up some charges to justify the run and a fun time was said to have been had by all.

Clubbers beware of Constable Care(from the Melbourne Crime Guru) Some may think the badge flasher mentality might be limited to the dark and dank seedy Melbourne underground, but as John Quigley revealed, WAPOL undercover operatives are happy to 'take one for the team' in sunny Greenough, too.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Amen to that from an asparagus loover - Lung the Younger exploits his hunger in the battle for the holy rolls.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Toiling

For the first week of 2008 we have had another heatwave in Perth and another due next week :(( As per usual there were blackouts - this time in Rivervale and Carlisle, but this week the excuse the power company proffered was that there was an explosion at the Woodside Petroleum gas plant that powers the metro electricity. Woodside this afternoon denied there was an explosion, and with blackouts a regular occurence on these 40 degree days, it's all sounding a bit old. The power company also said suburbs would be picked at random for "outages" but it seems to always be Landsdale in the northern suburbs, or the Lathlain-Rivervale-Carlisle section, (both working class areas) that are hit, and it's enough to make you wonder how random, "random" actually is.

Police say a 19 y/o Cloverdale man who took a swim in his family's back yard pool to get away from the heat on Wednesday night hit his head diving in and broke his neck. They added that while the circumstances aren't suspicious they will be preparing a report on the death for the Coroner's Office.

For those following the investigation into the death of Perth Supreme Court registrar, Corryn Rayney, police visited the family's home in Como again today with plant experts who took forensic samples of foliage, apparently, in a bid to match foliage that was found on the deceased.

Police restraint techniques are frequently blamed for deaths in custody, and in the Northern Territory police say that the safety of current restraint techniques will be assessed after two recent 'point of arrest' deaths.
Only last month the Perth Coroner recommended that WA police be better trained in recognizing danger signs in people who undergo "physical arrests," after the inquest into Carl Woods' death. The Perth man was said to have suffered a heart attack during 'post exertion peril' after struggling to get free from police. Posthumous photos taken by the family showed the deceased had severe bruising, and additionally, 2 autopsies found his 2 front teeth forced up behind his nose, and a part of his jaw completely broken away. Assistant Coroner Vicker said though all 4 attending police denied baton use, it was strongly indicated in the autopsy. It should also be noted in relation to the death of Mr Woods, that while his panicked mental state did create fear, one of the officers said that at no time did Mr Woods try to threaten, punch or kick police. Mr Woods also had no weapon, though he was said to have resisted arrest vigorously. None of the officers were suspended, reassigned to desk duties, or stood down.

Two Gang Crime Squad officers have been 'stood down from operational duties' and are being investigated for taking off with the God's Garbage name-plate from the Albany Clubhouse, after a raid in January. The name-plate was not logged as seized evidence, but mounted in the Gang Squad's office at Curtin House.
Other officers from the unit have been transferred for failing to take action over the theft. The case has been referred to the DPP who will decide if criminal charges should be laid. The two uniformed officers, one a senior officer who worked in a supervisory role, were suspended on full pay after a complaint in August from another officer.

The outdated Carlisle train station claimed yet another life last night, when a 15 y/o girl got off the train and was hit by a bus. A huge safety awareness campaign throughout the metro area was sparked by two previous deaths that occurred at the Carlisle station within the last 6 months.