Crossing the Gulf on the Matilda Highway
Travelling solo with few vehicles on the road it was a lonely drive. Thank God nothing went wrong with the Rangie
Camped at Eagle Nest near Sharks Bay WA
You can just see the glow of my laptop where I was working on a clients web sIte in Tassie hosted through Rumcorps.net servers in Dallas Texas. As good an office as any!
Whales off the NW Coast
A pod of about 20 whales come fast from astern and passed either side of the yacht, frightening hell out of us.
Fire on the road
No flames apparent so I hardly slowed down until I had travelled a hundred odd meters with no visibility. About the time I started to panic I came out the other side.
Crime gangs and consorting laws
THE first alleged bikies from interstate arrested under Queensland’s controversial new anti-association laws face three years’ jail for walking down a Surfers Paradise street together looking for ice cream.
Yeah…right.
If I was their lawyer that’s what I would say, or maybe I’d ramp it up a bit , “we were going to take our Grannie out for lunch”…or, “we were looking for a labrador puppy to cuddle” or “we were going to the bank to withdraw our life savings so we could give it all to the poor”.
I certaintly wouldn’t mention the truth, whatever it might have been on that occassion.
From “On the Origins of Consorting Laws, University of Melbourne
In particular, two inquiries conducted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission between 2006 and 2009 showed that criminal gangs had diversified their activities across illicit drug trafficking, illegal firearms, money laundering, fraud, stock market manipulation, extortion and protection rackets, counterfeiting, and vehicle rebirthing; that groups were working collaboratively, flexibly and across state borders; and that the annual cost to the Australian economy was $10 billion. Motorcycle gangs were specifically labelled as being linked to most forms of serious organised crime.
You should read the entire paper before you enter into any debate about how unfair the laws are based around the statement that ‘we were only getting an icecream’.
Since Federation, consorting laws have been legislated for one sole reason – to break up criminal gangs. It is fair that the laws be debated but only in the context that we need to get control of criminal gangs – not in the context that every bikie is a hard done-by victim – it is the victims of their crime empires that are hard done-by.
However, I can understand how difficult that is in a society where just yesterday a thug who king hit a bystander was given bail even though he was on bail for a previous count of thuggery whilst armed with a machette!
The Bikie gangs are spending big on positive PR and lawyers to try and maintain their right to control ”illicit drug trafficking, illegal firearms, money laundering, fraud, stock market manipulation, extortion and protection rackets, counterfeiting, and vehicle rebirthing” and I, for one, can see why – it’s worth billions to them.
Some Vietnam Vets of the bikie variety are screaming innocence but a quick look at their website leads to links to criminal MC Clubs proudly sporting their 1% patches.
From Wikipaedia;
Some outlaw motorcycle clubs can be distinguished by a 1% patch worn on the colors. This is claimed to be a reference to a comment made by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in which they stated that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens, implying that the last one percent were outlaws. As a result, some outlaw motorcycle clubs used it to unite or express themselves and are commonly referred to as “one percenters”
Suck it up guys – if you want to lay down with dogs you’ll get up with fleas.
The Australian Crime Commission thinks they’re criminals -from their website
The ACC has also committed to a range of other activities and its powers, however due to operational reasons, these cannot be detailed.
Serious and organised crime groups, such as OMCGs, operating in Australia continue to be formidable in their capabilities, resources, resilience and their ability to corrupt and exploit national and international opportunities and connections.
OMCGs remain one of the most high profile manifestations of organised crime, and they have an active presence in all Australian States and Territories.
During 2012, there were 44 active OMCGs in Australia, comprising of 4483 individuals (excluding associates and prospects). This represents an increase of 53 per cent since 2007.
It’s just business, dear reader. We are now getting imigrants from the US and South America wanting a piece of the ever increasing metamphetamine and other drugs markets. Now these guys really know how to run criminal entities and the current gang wars is proof of that – they are all looking to set up a monopoly.
Just watch old movies about the Mafia to see how that might pan out.
Me, I’m backing the police and if a few Bikies can’t cuddle a labrador pup or buy an icecream then I don’t really care.
Sea Shepherds annual fund raising underway
The Abbott government yesterday came under pressure to deliver on its anti-whaling rhetoric, after graphic footage of whaling was released by the Sea Shepherd group — with no sign of the promised customs air surveillance.
The only rhetoric I can see is in the sentence; ”anti-whaling rhetoric”…”graphic footage”…”promised air surveillance”…etc leaves no doubt in the readers mind that the Government should drop every thing else and just concentrate on Sea Shepherd’s and/or Bob Brown’s perception of life.
The footage was released as part of Sea Shepherd’s annual fund raising resulting in the ABC taking their cue and running the piece as news. They got their favourite “go to” man, Bob Brown to push for more funds and gave him more air time and oxygen that the destructive bartard deserves.
Environment Minister Hunt, who like me doesn’t like whaling but hates Sea Shepherd tactics more, says he’ll send a customs plane to the area when the convoy of people going about their business, followed by the swarm of pirates, enter Australia’s area of responsibility.
I trust it gets good footage of Sea Shepherd Pirates endangering vessels and crews at sea as they normally do. With a bit of luck we’ll get footage of one of the pirates being hosed into the sea or better still, a shot of the Pirate’s ship sinking after it rammed a Jap ship like last year.
Bowen struggles
PRIME Minister Tony Abbott has been accused of doing a “con job” on Australians, with the opposition saying the government will be unable to meet its promise of creating a million jobs.
During last year’s election campaign, the coalition set a target of creating a million jobs over five years and two million over a decade but shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says figures released today showed it will fall 200,000 jobs short of the five-year promise.
So, let me get this straight – the ALP direct their people to construct a report that is at odds with the Coalition’s and based on that, they accuse Abbott of not delivering on a promise 5 years before it is even due.
Somehow that morphs into a “broken promise” and the media run with it.
FFS, why is it even reported?
Unions want the right to maintain criminal enterprises
Tony Sheldon, one of the nation’s most powerful unionists says Coalition plans to block people convicted of certain crimes from entering secure areas of airports and the waterfront is “window dressing” that will do little to reduce crime rates.
Blocking people from receiving a security clearance would have little or no effect on crime in airports, because many workers who had not had a background check – but could be escorted into secure zones – could also be committing crimes.
While the’re being escorted? I guess that depends on who is doing the escorting. If the escort is an ex crim trying to run an honest business of getting drugs and pistols thru customs then I imagine the visitor could be aiding and abetting crimes.
In fact it is happening all the time which is exactly why we want union crims out of the picture.
The union believes the “dredging up of old offences” to stop someone from receiving an aviation or maritime security identification card would be “a double penalty” and security access should be determined by whether a person posed a current risk.
It could be a “quadrillion penalty” depending on how many times the ex crim applies for a job in a secure area.
Get used to it Tony, and, get used to the fact that the unions are not running the country anymore.
Open for business
The Coalition government had inherited 371 unassessed projects from the previous Labor government, with 22 dating back to 2008.
Environment Minister Hunt had made decisions on 125 projects in his first three months in office, including approving 29 major projects as part of their “Australia is open for business” statement.
With green tape rationalized and based on the fact that the economy and ecology can live side by side, the new governments actions will eventually help them bring the nation out it’s economic gloom.
Greens leader Christine Milne said Tony Abbott’s mantra of being “open for business” was just “code for dig it up, cut it down and ship it away”
She says that like it’s a bad thing.
I wonder where she thinks money comes from
Your turn in the barrell
A FEMALE submariner has been sent home from Singapore and is under investigation after an alleged indecent assault on another female crew member while on shore leave in Darwin. The incident occurred early this month while both women were at a bar in Darwin and is alleged to have involved inappropriate behaviour including groping and sexual advances.
Wow! Another “sailor trying to have sex after deployment” story.
Above the fold and on the front page of The Australian means the editor thought Stewart Cameron’s story was important enough to beat all other incidences of assault, murder, corruption, slavery, forced prostitution and whatever else us imperfect people do on any given day.
According to the Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA) in 2005 an estimated 44,000 Australians were subject to sexual assault. Thus we can expect at least 120 people were subject to assault today but only one gets headline treatment.
I’m glad Stewart wasn’t around when I was young and learning the difference between appropriate and inappropriate as with his nose for sexual impropriety within the ADF he’d be straight onto me.
Seems a bit weird to me.
So what?
IN only the fourth Newspoll since Tony Abbott was elected Prime Minister, he has registered a negative net satisfaction rating, of minus five.
Seriously, what do you expect? After 6 years of macro financial mismanagement Abbott has to carry the can of getting the economy back in a reasonable state. That requires giving the people a lot of bad news as he tries to get them to live within their means.
Shorten’s net satisfaction rating is positive 17. Since starting with a rating of six, his popularity has been steadily rising.
Considering Shorten has done absolutely nothing to earn this, it all has to be due to the bad news Abbott is hitting us with. This will be the trend until Abbott had stabalized the economy and better management becomes obvious.
I’m not surprised and I’m not dissappointed – it was always on the cards.
More angst for the Greens
Australia’s environmental legal centres have lost their federal funding in a move that could see the closure of some of the nine offices around the country.
The federal government has immediately cut an estimated $10 million boost over four years quietly given to Environmental Defender’s Offices in the dying days of the former Labor government.
The government is also planning to end a long-standing annual payment – which for all but one office was around $90,000 – from July 1, meaning the legal centres will no longer receive any federal funding from mid-next year.
So, the government is ceasing funding of groups dedicated to stopping development.
Seems like a good idea to me.
ALP/Greens vote for Open Slather
IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison has been labelled brutal for banning new permanent protection visas for asylum seekers already in Australia.
Mr Morrison has used his ministerial powers to put an immediate cap on the number of protection visas for people who have arrived by boat. That means the number has been limited to 1650 until at least July next year, when the cap will be reset.
Another nail in the coffin of the illegal people smugglers and if the ALP/Greens don’t like it then it will be good for the country.
The minister blames Labor and the Greens for playing parliamentary games by combining in the Senate on Monday to scuttle the coalition’s re-introduction of temporary protection visas (TPVs).
Greens MP Adam Bandt condemned both Mr Morrison and Prime Minister Tony Abbott for “acting like thugs” and leaving refugees in permanent limbo.
“What a way to treat some of the world’s most vulnerable people who have come here seeking help,” Mr Bandt told reporters.
“This is a government that is revealing its former brutality day by day.”
TPVs allow boat people to work so when ALP/Greens dissallow the reintroduction of TPVs exactly who are the”thugs”? I reject the Greens definition of boat people as vulnerable as it presumes that they are all fleeing persecution when in fact we know that is not the case.
Labor MP Kelvin Thomson disagreed with Mr Morrison’s description of the disallowance motion as an “own goal” for Labor and the Greens, and voiced disappointment the refugee intake will not reach the former Labor government’s 20,000 a year.
Different subject Kelvin – the subject is: How do we fix up the ALPs Open Border Slather policy, regain some sovereignty and take the initiative away from the smugglers?
Your mob stuffed it up, the Australian people voted for a solution so listen to them and help us fix it.
Otherwise, shut up
Jihadist crackdown
A CRACKDOWN on Australians travelling to Syria to fight with jihadists is set to widen, with police preparing to charge a third suspected extremist currently in jail on attempted murder charges.
After officers from the Australian Federal Police and NSW police yesterday charged two men with an array of foreign-incursion offences – the first such charges to stem from the Syrian conflict – The Australian can reveal a third man has been targeted by investigators and is expected to be charged.
Its a start but this worries me;
Some of Mr Alqudsi’s supporters in court refused a request from the NSW Sheriff’s officer to remove their hats inside the courtroom.
“That’s part of the law? It’s not our law,” said one of the men, who declined to give his name.
If you claim to be Australian and take all we offer then it is “your law”. Another aspect or “your law” is Contempt of Court and I would have liked the judge to say to the Sherrif ” OK, Sherrif remove them from the court, place them in the cells and let me know when they are prepared to remove their hats and treat “their law” with respect.
The NSW laws are a bit wishy washy on Contempt but I can see a case for judges to strive to maintain respect for the courts.
I’m not even happy for ordinary people to have dual citizenship so my next step would be to remove citizenship from any immigrant who supports terrorism in any shape or form after a sutiable time in lockup.
Bye bye…back home for you – we don’t want your type here.
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