Aunty's tactical mistakes haunt it with a vengeance
Dennis Shannahan
Political Editor,The Australian.
February 1,2014
THE ABC is currently in a war with the Abbott Coalition government that goes beyond the traditional antipathy towards the national broadcaster from a Liberal government.
The politics of the current furore are undoubtedly fuelled by the Coalition, particularly Liberal MPs and ministers, wanting to embark on cultural retribution against the ABC; but also by the government's intent to lay the groundwork for justifying cuts to the ABC through either an efficiency drive or dividend, or by permanently axing the ABC's $223 million Australia Network broadcasting service into Asia.
ABC strategic and tactical mistakes in the past two years have left the national broadcaster more exposed than ever to a political campaign justifying budget cuts and providing grounds for complaints about its service. As one of Australia's biggest media organisations, with vast political expertise and a clear preparedness of its executives to lobby ministers and opposition MPs, the ABC has failed to sensibly position itself in a hostile atmosphere through management and editorial leadership.
Right now, there can be no greater example of the ABC's apparent determination to unnecessarily cause grief with the government than to continue to stand by reports of Australian sailors systematically torturing asylum-seekers, without correction or comment.
These stories are being contradicted not just by the asylum-seekers involved but also from within the ABC.
Despite plain contradictions and evasions from some of the key complainants, and unrefuted evidence from within the ABC that there were doubts about reports that navy personnel held the hands of asylum-seekers against hot pipes, the ABC continues to underestimate the effect of the totality of its coverage of the issue, even while an internal audit is being undertaken.
Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull (the minister responsible for the ABC) and Julie Bishop, the minister responsible for the Foreign Affairs Department-funded Australia Network, have all made it clear that pre-election promises that there would be "no cuts" to the ABC or SBS do not exempt the broadcasters from across-the-board savings or the wholesale dumping of the Australia Network.
Tanya Plibersek, as Acting Opposition Leader and Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman, has defended the ABC and the Australia Network, and accused the Prime Minister of breaking "another election promise" over cuts to ABC funding.
The ABC's supporters, including many conservative listeners who rely on the national broadcaster, are rallying against potential cuts and accusing the government of censorship and vengeance.
But, as a national broadcaster committed to serve all Australians, there is a deep alienation of at least half the population who voted for the Coalition, and a deep conviction among Liberal supporters that the ABC has gone too far.
Such an atmosphere only provides impetus and strength to the Coalition critics who realise appointing conservative board members to the national broadcaster does nothing to alter a journalistic cultural bias to left-of-centre issues.
In December last year, at the National Press Club, ABC chairman Jim Spigelman put forward a series of measures designed to respond to allegations of bias, a tendency to select news items that more often concerned "gay marriage than electricity prices", and conceded the ABC's funding was never set in stone.
In Spigelman's sensible and reasonable defence there was a rejection of specific bias but a concession that the ABC needed to endeavour to engage all sections of the community and remain "important to all Australians": he announced a series of internal audits to assess the ABC's political coverage of the election campaign and asylum-seekers. Spigelman, appointed in 2012, also said the ABC board had issued a guidance note on impartiality last July, providing detailed information on how to achieve that objective.
Yet his pragmatic and politically savvy presentation came far too late to save the ABC from a furore over funding, failed charter allegations and a new storm over asylum-seeker reporting in the run-up to the Coalition's first budget in May, which could be the biggest slash and burn of government spending for decades.
For almost two years before the September election, it was clear the Gillard-Rudd government was likely to be defeated. ABC news reporters were chronicling the decline and breaking news on the Labor leadership tensions. But ABC management blithely continued to encourage ever closer relations with the Labor government, hoping to lock in long-term funding guarantees and allowing its increasingly amorphous digital and social media outlets to entrench anti-Coalition opinion and infuriate the opposition.
This internet-inspired attitude of suspending journalistic judgment and simply putting up unsubstantiated and dubious "claims" is part of the ABC's latest problem. That error is providing the strongest grounds for the general criticism of the ABC which is being used to justify budget cuts. Liberal MPs are detecting serious disaffection with the ABC in their electorates and are giving voice to the complaints.
The ABC's current difficulties began with a series of management and editorial misjudgments which were a result of a lack of clear editorial direction and attempts to exploit Labor's political favour.
When it came to the Gillard government, the ABC was less than enthusiastic about reporting on the allegations of the AWU slush fund and the missing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Subsequent police inquiries and disclosures have demonstrated a lack of good news sense at the ABC, at the very least.
With the Coalition's implacable opposition to a carbon tax, the selection of climate-change commentary supportive of carbon pricing and a relative lack of carbon sceptics was a long-running issue.
The treatment of asylum-seeker issues, since recognised by the ABC as worthy of audit, has only got worse since the election, with the airing of the doubtful torture claims. Internal ABC emails show some thought the reports were wrong and subsequent interviews of the asylum-seekers throw more doubt on the credibility of the claims. Yet the ABC still refuses to offer any correction or explanation.
There were serious managerial misjudgments, which have given the government its best arguments to strip the ABC of its Australian Network contract. That the $223m contract for Australia's "soft diplomacy" was mired in controversy, steeped in political preference, overruled good practice, involved conflicts of interest and reduced a 10-year contract deliberation to leadership politics cannot be disputed.
Then Labor cabinet minister Martin Ferguson contradicted ABC managing director Mark Scott over a phone call the minister said was inappropriate during the tender process; the Auditor-General queried the Labor government's ability to conduct a proper process and found an independent tender panel (and then foreign minister Kevin Rudd) had been overruled twice to give the ABC the contract.
"The manner and circumstances in which this high-profile tender process was conducted brought into question the government's ability to deliver such a sensitive process fairly and effectively," said Auditor-General Ian McPhee.
The ABC-Labor links went further, with the passage of legislation to "Abbott-proof" the ABC's control of overseas broadcasting, a clear recognition that the Gillard government was going to lose the election.
Little wonder, then, that Abbott and Bishop are citing the "dodgy" process and reviewing the whole contract, with the view of shutting down the Asian broadcasting arm of the ABC and depriving it of the opportunity to fund its operations through a back-door deal.
Bishop confirmed yesterday that she was reviewing the contract and said: " I am concerned, given the number of complaints I've received, that while the content and program selection is obviously up to the ABC, it's not actually meeting its charter and codes of practice."
Abbott said the Coalition had "enormous concerns" about the probity of the tender process and lashed out at the "glee" with which the ABC reported negative developments in Australia.
His criticism of the decision to broadcast The Guardian's stories based on the leaked spy files of Australia bugging the phone of the Indonesian President and his wife demonstrated he was as much concerned with the ABC's attitude as with the substance of the reports.
Abbott accused the ABC of not just sharing journalistically with a commercial news outlet, as it has with both Fairfax Media and The Australian on occasions, but simply seeking to "advertise" and amplify the impact of the story.
"I was very worried and concerned a few months back when the ABC seemed to delight in broadcasting allegations by a traitor," Abbot said this week.
"If there's credible evidence, the ABC, like all other news organisations, is entitled to report it, but you shouldn't leap to be critical of your own country and you certainly ought to be prepared to give the Australian navy and its hardworking personnel the benefit of the doubt."
There is a recognition within the government that previous attempts to change the culture of the ABC have failed. But there is also a recognition and frustration that through a lack of normal and proper editorial and management processes, the ABC seemed determined to ignore the reality of a change of government and has not taken real steps to ensure its guidelines on impartiality and accuracy were enforced.
An American, Australian ,Israeli, British "Judeo Christian Friendly " blog.
Anthropogenic Global Warming SCAM
Sunday, February 02, 2014
Labor Green Loon's outraged as Abbott Government continues to repel Muslim Insurgents back to Indonesia.
First close-up look at a lifeboat the Abbott Government is using to stop asylum seeker boats
Paul Toohey
Daily Telegraph
February 1,2014
First look at air-conditioned, powered 90-seat lifeboats used to send asylum-seekers home
'Unsinkable' fully enclosed pods contain food, water and navigational equipment
Arrival of first boat in Java has sent shock waves throughout the people-smuggler and asylum networks
THIS is what awaits asylum-seekers trying to get to Australia on dodgy wooden smuggling boats - the gift of an air-conditioned, 90-seat lifeboat, and an armed escort back to Indonesia.
This is the first close-up look at one of the 11 lifeboats that the Abbott Government has sourced out of Singapore in its uncompromising fight to stop the boats - a fight that it appears to be winning.
The fully enclosed and submersible 8.5m x 3.2m survival capsule, fitted with safety belts, navigational equipment, life jackets, food, water and an inboard diesel motor, came ashore in remote Cikepuh, in West Java, on the afternoon of January 15.
Naval officer Edi Sukendi, based in Ujung Genteng, the closest point between Indonesia and Australia, got word from a forest ranger that an unusual vessel had crash-landed and disgorged an estimated 60 asylum-seekers, who immediately scattered into the jungle.
Sukendi, a naval operational with no boat of his own, asked a local fishermen to take him up the coast to Cikepuh to investigate. They found the orange capsule jammed on a coral reef within wading distance of shore and approached it cautiously.
"When we first saw it, we were very surprised," Sukendi said. "We were worried it might have explosives." He said they found discarded food and water bottles with Malaysian markings, and first assumed it had come from there.
Twenty men heaved the boat to the beach. It was not leaking but they were unable to start it because the keys were missing.
The boat was towed to the port of Pelabuhan Ratu and has been impounded by the navy.
Prime Minister Abbott's turn-back policy - along with the phone-tapping scandal - has caused intense heat at the highest diplomatic levels between Indonesia and Australia.
But there is no question the policy has sent a shock through smuggler and asylum networks, already reeling from Kevin Rudd's declaration of July last year that no one who arrived by boat would ever settle in Australia.
Cisarua, in central West Java, once the biggest catchment for Australia-bound asylum-seekers, is a shadow of what it was only seven months ago, when thousands of asylum-seekers were highly visible on the city's streets.
Ali Abbas Josh, 35, an Afghan asylum-seeker who came back to Cisarua last year for a second attempt after failing to make it to Australia by boat under John Howard, said people had lost hope.
"We agree the way to Australia has been closed," he said. "We accept that you have closed the way, that you won't take us if we come by boat."
Mr Josh said those remaining in Cisarua were the most desperate stragglers, who could not afford to pay smugglers. He said they had been abandoned by the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration.
pppppppppppp
From June 2012 to June 2013, there was a huge surge in the boats, when 25,793 people made it to Australia under the former government. Most of those were Sri Lankan and Iranians, who during that period came in an unprecedented rush.
Now, it is estimated there are only 20 Iranian families left in the area. Most have gone home or are scattered in detention centres across Indonesia, awaiting formal resettlement.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison's office said in March last year, 68 per cent of people registered with the UNHCR in Indonesia were failing to do follow up interviews and were instead "opting to attempt to enter Australia illegally by boat. By December last year, that rate had dropped to nine per cent."
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
An Iranian husband and wife in Cisarua said they received a visit from three filthy and distraught Iranian asylum-seekers who knocked on their door on January 17, two days after the lifeboat came ashore.
They told the husband and wife they had made it close to Christmas Island in when they sighted an Australian Border protection Command vessel. At that point, they began scuttling the boat.
The Australians tried to pump the wooden boat but it was too damaged. They were then taken aboard the vessel where, according to this account, they spent 10 days cruising within sight of Christmas Island.
It was said there were adults, children and teenagers aboard.
They were fed and photographed. On the tenth day, they were ordered into the lifeboat. Some, according to the husband and wife, refused to enter the capsule and were physically shoved inside. They were given documents stating they were not permitted to enter Australian waters.
The Indonesian crew piloted the lifeboat, shadowed by a Border Protection Command vessel, until they arrived close to Indonesian territory.
pppppppppppp
The Indonesian crew chose a sparsely inhabited jungle reserve, one of the most remote areas on the southern coast, to land the vessel.
The asylum-seekers - said to be mostly Iranian and Sri Lankan - told the husband and wife the Indonesians jumped out close to shore and handed the controls to an Iranian, who ran the boat into a coral reef.
They waded ashore wearing life jackets and spent two days wandering terrified in the jungle before a sheepherder directed them towards a road, where they grabbed minibuses and motorbikes to take them back to Cisarua.
Three people died while crossing a river in the jungle.
The boats have slowed dramatically but members of this particular group will not take no for an answer - the Iranian couple said their phones were now switched off and they were trying once again to get to Australia.
The lifeboat - believed to be the second so far sent to Indonesia - is understood to be one of 11 bought by the government for around $500,000. The Customs vessel Ocean Protector was expected to arrive off Christmas Island on Thursday with eight of the 11 lifeboats for boat people "turn around duty".
Australia is also being assisted indirectly by Indonesia, who despite the current political difficulties is staging its own crackdown.
TurningBack the Boat
An Indonesian intelligence source said agents were flooding known smuggling hot spots looking to break the industry from the inside by exposing military and police known to assist smugglers moving people to the coast and onto the boats.
"The belief is that many individuals in the military and police are involved," said the intelligence officer. "They are getting much more attention now. They are putting kuching (meaning cats, or spies) everywhere. If there is good control, the problem with Australia will stop."
News Corp heard a disturbing report from an Iranian asylum-seeker, who took the boat that sunk off Java on July 23, that his group had been escorted to the coast in 11 mini-vans by 15 plainclothes men carrying automatic rifles and pistols.
The asylum-seeker said the presence of the armed escorts - whom he believed were off-duty police or military - was unprecedented in the experience of most asylum-seekers, but showed how serious the smugglers had become as the way to Australia became harder.
Former air chief marshall, Chappy Hakim, who headed the Indonesian air force and has had decades-long ties with the Australian military, said Australia ought to work with Indonesia on the turn-back policy.
"Pushing back the boats is a small issue," he said. "But if your government is tackling issues alone, not negotiating first, then we have a problem."
It is not known what will become of returned lifeboats, but Corporal Sukendi said he'd gladly take the boat and use it to conduct patrols on his coast.
Paul Toohey
Daily Telegraph
February 1,2014
First look at air-conditioned, powered 90-seat lifeboats used to send asylum-seekers home
'Unsinkable' fully enclosed pods contain food, water and navigational equipment
Arrival of first boat in Java has sent shock waves throughout the people-smuggler and asylum networks
THIS is what awaits asylum-seekers trying to get to Australia on dodgy wooden smuggling boats - the gift of an air-conditioned, 90-seat lifeboat, and an armed escort back to Indonesia.
This is the first close-up look at one of the 11 lifeboats that the Abbott Government has sourced out of Singapore in its uncompromising fight to stop the boats - a fight that it appears to be winning.
The fully enclosed and submersible 8.5m x 3.2m survival capsule, fitted with safety belts, navigational equipment, life jackets, food, water and an inboard diesel motor, came ashore in remote Cikepuh, in West Java, on the afternoon of January 15.
Naval officer Edi Sukendi, based in Ujung Genteng, the closest point between Indonesia and Australia, got word from a forest ranger that an unusual vessel had crash-landed and disgorged an estimated 60 asylum-seekers, who immediately scattered into the jungle.
Sukendi, a naval operational with no boat of his own, asked a local fishermen to take him up the coast to Cikepuh to investigate. They found the orange capsule jammed on a coral reef within wading distance of shore and approached it cautiously.
"When we first saw it, we were very surprised," Sukendi said. "We were worried it might have explosives." He said they found discarded food and water bottles with Malaysian markings, and first assumed it had come from there.
Twenty men heaved the boat to the beach. It was not leaking but they were unable to start it because the keys were missing.
The boat was towed to the port of Pelabuhan Ratu and has been impounded by the navy.
Prime Minister Abbott's turn-back policy - along with the phone-tapping scandal - has caused intense heat at the highest diplomatic levels between Indonesia and Australia.
But there is no question the policy has sent a shock through smuggler and asylum networks, already reeling from Kevin Rudd's declaration of July last year that no one who arrived by boat would ever settle in Australia.
Cisarua, in central West Java, once the biggest catchment for Australia-bound asylum-seekers, is a shadow of what it was only seven months ago, when thousands of asylum-seekers were highly visible on the city's streets.
Ali Abbas Josh, 35, an Afghan asylum-seeker who came back to Cisarua last year for a second attempt after failing to make it to Australia by boat under John Howard, said people had lost hope.
"We agree the way to Australia has been closed," he said. "We accept that you have closed the way, that you won't take us if we come by boat."
Mr Josh said those remaining in Cisarua were the most desperate stragglers, who could not afford to pay smugglers. He said they had been abandoned by the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration.
pppppppppppp
From June 2012 to June 2013, there was a huge surge in the boats, when 25,793 people made it to Australia under the former government. Most of those were Sri Lankan and Iranians, who during that period came in an unprecedented rush.
Now, it is estimated there are only 20 Iranian families left in the area. Most have gone home or are scattered in detention centres across Indonesia, awaiting formal resettlement.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison's office said in March last year, 68 per cent of people registered with the UNHCR in Indonesia were failing to do follow up interviews and were instead "opting to attempt to enter Australia illegally by boat. By December last year, that rate had dropped to nine per cent."
vvvvvvvvvvvvvv
An Iranian husband and wife in Cisarua said they received a visit from three filthy and distraught Iranian asylum-seekers who knocked on their door on January 17, two days after the lifeboat came ashore.
They told the husband and wife they had made it close to Christmas Island in when they sighted an Australian Border protection Command vessel. At that point, they began scuttling the boat.
The Australians tried to pump the wooden boat but it was too damaged. They were then taken aboard the vessel where, according to this account, they spent 10 days cruising within sight of Christmas Island.
It was said there were adults, children and teenagers aboard.
They were fed and photographed. On the tenth day, they were ordered into the lifeboat. Some, according to the husband and wife, refused to enter the capsule and were physically shoved inside. They were given documents stating they were not permitted to enter Australian waters.
The Indonesian crew piloted the lifeboat, shadowed by a Border Protection Command vessel, until they arrived close to Indonesian territory.
pppppppppppp
The Indonesian crew chose a sparsely inhabited jungle reserve, one of the most remote areas on the southern coast, to land the vessel.
The asylum-seekers - said to be mostly Iranian and Sri Lankan - told the husband and wife the Indonesians jumped out close to shore and handed the controls to an Iranian, who ran the boat into a coral reef.
They waded ashore wearing life jackets and spent two days wandering terrified in the jungle before a sheepherder directed them towards a road, where they grabbed minibuses and motorbikes to take them back to Cisarua.
Three people died while crossing a river in the jungle.
The boats have slowed dramatically but members of this particular group will not take no for an answer - the Iranian couple said their phones were now switched off and they were trying once again to get to Australia.
The lifeboat - believed to be the second so far sent to Indonesia - is understood to be one of 11 bought by the government for around $500,000. The Customs vessel Ocean Protector was expected to arrive off Christmas Island on Thursday with eight of the 11 lifeboats for boat people "turn around duty".
Australia is also being assisted indirectly by Indonesia, who despite the current political difficulties is staging its own crackdown.
TurningBack the Boat
An Indonesian intelligence source said agents were flooding known smuggling hot spots looking to break the industry from the inside by exposing military and police known to assist smugglers moving people to the coast and onto the boats.
"The belief is that many individuals in the military and police are involved," said the intelligence officer. "They are getting much more attention now. They are putting kuching (meaning cats, or spies) everywhere. If there is good control, the problem with Australia will stop."
News Corp heard a disturbing report from an Iranian asylum-seeker, who took the boat that sunk off Java on July 23, that his group had been escorted to the coast in 11 mini-vans by 15 plainclothes men carrying automatic rifles and pistols.
The asylum-seeker said the presence of the armed escorts - whom he believed were off-duty police or military - was unprecedented in the experience of most asylum-seekers, but showed how serious the smugglers had become as the way to Australia became harder.
Former air chief marshall, Chappy Hakim, who headed the Indonesian air force and has had decades-long ties with the Australian military, said Australia ought to work with Indonesia on the turn-back policy.
"Pushing back the boats is a small issue," he said. "But if your government is tackling issues alone, not negotiating first, then we have a problem."
It is not known what will become of returned lifeboats, but Corporal Sukendi said he'd gladly take the boat and use it to conduct patrols on his coast.
Islamic Insurgents publicists and spin doctors aka. THEIR ABC, Unravels.Labor Green Loon's VOTE People
ABC navy brutality reports unravel
Peter Alford
The Australian
February 1, 2014
THE Australian can reveal after two days of witness interviews that allegations aired by the ABC that the Australian navy tortured and deliberately burned the hands of asylum-seekers cannot be corroborated.
As the burns case unravels, two more witnesses interviewed yesterday denied seeing anything to support the most serious cruelty allegations arising during operations in which the navy forced two boats and 92 asylum- seekers back to eastern Indonesia. Faisal Hussein, a passenger on a boat returned to Rote Island on January 6, has given the fullest account of the day of mayhem from which all but one of the burns allegations arose.
However, Faisal said he did not see any of the incidents in which asylum-seekers were allegedly burned by sailors forcing their hands on to hot engine parts and was not aware of such claims during the rest of the enforced return journey.
Faisal told The Weekend Australian yesterday he thought the burns were incurred when asylum-seekers on the January 6 boat tried to force their way past sailors blocking their way to a toilet located beside the engine room.
Of the eight Somali asylum-seekers interviewed at length, only one, Yousif Fasher, continues to insist three asylum-seekers on the January 6 boat were "tortured" in that way.
Yousif, who did not receive any burns, was the source of the deliberate burning allegations made to the ABC, often via Sharmarke Abdullah Ahmad, and to Fairfax Media, Indonesian police and the International Organisation for Migration.
Speaking by phone yesterday from the Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre, in northern Sumatra, Yousif said: "Three people had their hands put on the engine by force, I saw everything."
The three men, two Somalis and an Eritrean, are with him at Tanjung Pinang.
Yousif said he had given photos of their injuries and phone videos to the UN refugee agency, without any subsequent follow-up.
Sharmarke, self-designated spokesman for 62 pushed-back asylum-seekers remaining under immigration supervision in Kupang, now believes none of the burns was deliberately inflicted.
Sharmarke, who was pushed back on a boat that arrived back on December 19, also at Rote, started spreading claims about navy cruelty on both his boat and the January 6 boat only after the later boatpeople came ashore.
Some days later, though, Sharmarke says he spoke again to people from the January 6 boat: "They told us they were not deliberately forced to touch the hot engine."
Sharmarke continues to allege people on his boat were mistreated, verballed and in one case punched.
Yesterday he brought forward Ali Mohamed, 18, still with a faded black eye after six weeks, who claims he was felled by a sailor's punch.
Sharmarke acknowledged yesterday that at least one deliberate burning case cited to him by Yousif, that of Bowby Nooris, was untrue.
"Yousif told me that this claiming and everything (else) were accurate, but when I asked Bowby, he just told me another story," Sharmarke said.
Bowby told The Australian on Thursday that the serious burn on his right hand came about when he was temporarily blinded by what seemed to have been capsicum spray and stumbled against an engine block.
Mohamad Abdi Rashid, the one burned person on the December 19 boat, told The Australian he was injured during a confrontation with a sailor, who pushed or slung him against an engine.
Kupang police, who originally endorsed the cruelty allegations, have since handed the case over to the National Police, saying they had no evidence other than the accusations of asylum-seekers. The INP has indicated the investigation is now halted.
Originally, Kupang police claimed seven people had been burned badly enough to require hospital treatment but The Weekend Australian has been able to identify six, including the three deliberate cases claimed by Yousif.
Kupang city police chief Tito Basuki Priyanto did not respond yesterday to an interview request.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said through a spokesman on Thursday that following routine internal inquiries about the December 19 and January 6 turn-back operations there was no evidence of wrongdoing to justify any investigation.
He refused again yesterday to comment on specific allegations but said the serious doubts cast by The Weekend Australian's inquiries "further vindicate the government's response to these earlier outrageous claims and the failure of judgment in the reports that sought to give credence to these claims".
Yesterday Faisal, another passenger on the January 6 boat, described to The Weekend Australian the trouble that erupted on day three of the navy's five-day operation, when the asylum-seekers realised the navy was forcing them back to Indonesia.
Thirteen people, including him, jumped overboard during at least four hours of ensuing protest and, as the boat was halted, the sailors on board left them in the water until they asked to come back aboard. They were made to stay on the deck in the sun. Faisal said some had their hands bound by plastic ties but there was no other punishment.
In the meantime, asylum-seekers were trying to push their way past sailors to get to the boat's lavatory at the lower stern deck.
Faisal said the sailors had refused to allow the 45 passengers to use the lavatory any more than once a day "so people used force to try to get to the toilet".
He thinks, but cannot say for sure as he was not at the scene, that that was when four or people, including a women, were burned.
Yousif says the woman was his wife, Mariam Ahmed, and he agrees she was not deliberately burned, but fell against hot machinery when pushed by a sailor as the boat rocked. He also agreed yesterday that Bowby was burned when blinded by what is thought to be capsicum spray and put his hand on to the machinery.
The next day, Faisal said, there was a fitful protest, but no further clashes; and on the final day, when the sailors departed, there was none. "The people were very tired," he said.
Ali said yesterday he was heavily punched by a sailor and fell to the deck "almost unconscious" when he tried to rally a protest against their turn back. "I yelled at them," Ali said, according to Sharmarke's translation. "I said 'we cannot go back there to Indonesia, we want some better life'."
But Mohamed Hussein, who was also on that boat, said he saw no violent incidents. However, because he was in the middle of the packed, about 10m vessel, he could not see everything that went on. "One guy tried to jump overboard but he was stopped," Mohamed said. "There was also two other guys who went overboard, but they threw them a rope."
Mohamed said no capsicum spray was used: "It was not like the other boat."
Additional reporting: Telly Nathalia, Jared Owens
Peter Alford
The Australian
February 1, 2014
THE Australian can reveal after two days of witness interviews that allegations aired by the ABC that the Australian navy tortured and deliberately burned the hands of asylum-seekers cannot be corroborated.
As the burns case unravels, two more witnesses interviewed yesterday denied seeing anything to support the most serious cruelty allegations arising during operations in which the navy forced two boats and 92 asylum- seekers back to eastern Indonesia. Faisal Hussein, a passenger on a boat returned to Rote Island on January 6, has given the fullest account of the day of mayhem from which all but one of the burns allegations arose.
However, Faisal said he did not see any of the incidents in which asylum-seekers were allegedly burned by sailors forcing their hands on to hot engine parts and was not aware of such claims during the rest of the enforced return journey.
Faisal told The Weekend Australian yesterday he thought the burns were incurred when asylum-seekers on the January 6 boat tried to force their way past sailors blocking their way to a toilet located beside the engine room.
Of the eight Somali asylum-seekers interviewed at length, only one, Yousif Fasher, continues to insist three asylum-seekers on the January 6 boat were "tortured" in that way.
Yousif, who did not receive any burns, was the source of the deliberate burning allegations made to the ABC, often via Sharmarke Abdullah Ahmad, and to Fairfax Media, Indonesian police and the International Organisation for Migration.
Speaking by phone yesterday from the Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre, in northern Sumatra, Yousif said: "Three people had their hands put on the engine by force, I saw everything."
The three men, two Somalis and an Eritrean, are with him at Tanjung Pinang.
Yousif said he had given photos of their injuries and phone videos to the UN refugee agency, without any subsequent follow-up.
Sharmarke, self-designated spokesman for 62 pushed-back asylum-seekers remaining under immigration supervision in Kupang, now believes none of the burns was deliberately inflicted.
Sharmarke, who was pushed back on a boat that arrived back on December 19, also at Rote, started spreading claims about navy cruelty on both his boat and the January 6 boat only after the later boatpeople came ashore.
Some days later, though, Sharmarke says he spoke again to people from the January 6 boat: "They told us they were not deliberately forced to touch the hot engine."
Sharmarke continues to allege people on his boat were mistreated, verballed and in one case punched.
Yesterday he brought forward Ali Mohamed, 18, still with a faded black eye after six weeks, who claims he was felled by a sailor's punch.
Sharmarke acknowledged yesterday that at least one deliberate burning case cited to him by Yousif, that of Bowby Nooris, was untrue.
"Yousif told me that this claiming and everything (else) were accurate, but when I asked Bowby, he just told me another story," Sharmarke said.
Bowby told The Australian on Thursday that the serious burn on his right hand came about when he was temporarily blinded by what seemed to have been capsicum spray and stumbled against an engine block.
Mohamad Abdi Rashid, the one burned person on the December 19 boat, told The Australian he was injured during a confrontation with a sailor, who pushed or slung him against an engine.
Kupang police, who originally endorsed the cruelty allegations, have since handed the case over to the National Police, saying they had no evidence other than the accusations of asylum-seekers. The INP has indicated the investigation is now halted.
Originally, Kupang police claimed seven people had been burned badly enough to require hospital treatment but The Weekend Australian has been able to identify six, including the three deliberate cases claimed by Yousif.
Kupang city police chief Tito Basuki Priyanto did not respond yesterday to an interview request.
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said through a spokesman on Thursday that following routine internal inquiries about the December 19 and January 6 turn-back operations there was no evidence of wrongdoing to justify any investigation.
He refused again yesterday to comment on specific allegations but said the serious doubts cast by The Weekend Australian's inquiries "further vindicate the government's response to these earlier outrageous claims and the failure of judgment in the reports that sought to give credence to these claims".
Yesterday Faisal, another passenger on the January 6 boat, described to The Weekend Australian the trouble that erupted on day three of the navy's five-day operation, when the asylum-seekers realised the navy was forcing them back to Indonesia.
Thirteen people, including him, jumped overboard during at least four hours of ensuing protest and, as the boat was halted, the sailors on board left them in the water until they asked to come back aboard. They were made to stay on the deck in the sun. Faisal said some had their hands bound by plastic ties but there was no other punishment.
In the meantime, asylum-seekers were trying to push their way past sailors to get to the boat's lavatory at the lower stern deck.
Faisal said the sailors had refused to allow the 45 passengers to use the lavatory any more than once a day "so people used force to try to get to the toilet".
He thinks, but cannot say for sure as he was not at the scene, that that was when four or people, including a women, were burned.
Yousif says the woman was his wife, Mariam Ahmed, and he agrees she was not deliberately burned, but fell against hot machinery when pushed by a sailor as the boat rocked. He also agreed yesterday that Bowby was burned when blinded by what is thought to be capsicum spray and put his hand on to the machinery.
The next day, Faisal said, there was a fitful protest, but no further clashes; and on the final day, when the sailors departed, there was none. "The people were very tired," he said.
Ali said yesterday he was heavily punched by a sailor and fell to the deck "almost unconscious" when he tried to rally a protest against their turn back. "I yelled at them," Ali said, according to Sharmarke's translation. "I said 'we cannot go back there to Indonesia, we want some better life'."
But Mohamed Hussein, who was also on that boat, said he saw no violent incidents. However, because he was in the middle of the packed, about 10m vessel, he could not see everything that went on. "One guy tried to jump overboard but he was stopped," Mohamed said. "There was also two other guys who went overboard, but they threw them a rope."
Mohamed said no capsicum spray was used: "It was not like the other boat."
Additional reporting: Telly Nathalia, Jared Owens
Australia: Bravo, Scarlett Johansson
Lets Hear It For Scarlett
Miranda Devine
The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)
2 Feb 2014
Pg.17
Bravo, Scarlett Johansson for being that rare celebrity willing to stand against politically correct bullying.
Under pressure from anti-Israel activists, the 29-year-old actress has refused to renege on a deal to promote Israeli company SodaStream, pointing out its West Bank factory employs 550 Palestinians.
Instead, last week she resigned from social justice group Oxfam which wants a boycott of the popular Israeli drink machine, using the same tactics that were used to demonise Max Brenner chocolate shops.
Johansson’s SodaStream ad will air during the Super Bowl tomorrow (Sunday, US time). Not just a pretty face.
Miranda Devine
The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)
2 Feb 2014
Pg.17
Under pressure from anti-Israel activists, the 29-year-old actress has refused to renege on a deal to promote Israeli company SodaStream, pointing out its West Bank factory employs 550 Palestinians.
Instead, last week she resigned from social justice group Oxfam which wants a boycott of the popular Israeli drink machine, using the same tactics that were used to demonise Max Brenner chocolate shops.
Johansson’s SodaStream ad will air during the Super Bowl tomorrow (Sunday, US time). Not just a pretty face.
Adelaide's Fringe Taxpayer Funded Progressive LOONS " Come Heckle Christ" The Progressives Hatred of the GOOD and their love affair with evil.
Pathetic Way to Gain Fame
The Sunday Telegraph
February 2,2014
Pg.17
It’s hard to think of a show designed to be more pathetically offensive to the Christians than the Adelaide Fringe theatre’s “Come Heckle Christ”.
Inviting audience members to shout abuse at a man dressed as Jesus, it bills itself as a comedy act for “Disgruntled former Christians, priests (and by extension sexual deviants), altar girls and boys, atheists, anyone who enjoys yelling at Jesus while watching a dramatic re-enactment of everyone’s favourite fairy-tale: The Crucifixion of Jesus The Christ.”
But if comedians really want to prove how edgy and original they are, why don’t they stage “Come Heckle Mohammed”.
You can imagine the outcry then.
Many ask why is the "caring and sharing" "only we have a monopoly on compassion" Progressive Left, so ready and willing to, at every tax payer funded chance, to mock Jesus Christ and Judeo / Christianity, yet so silent when it comes to the "Religion" of Choice of Sociopath's the world over, Islam?
The Sociopath's "Religion" of Choice for the past 1400 years, hey maybe that's why the "Progressives" are so enamoured with and reluctant to criticize their boy and Ideological Sociopath at Large Muhammed,they, after all,share so much in common with each other,and nothing at all with Jesus Christ,Judeo Christianity.
Disclaimer: the picture above right is an actual picture of the Muslim God /Prophet Warmonger,Slave Trader, Paedophile and Mass Murderer Mohammed if you see this man please do not approach an immediately contact your local law enforcement agency.
The picture to the left is a model portraying a likeness of Jesus Christ for editorial purposes only.
The Sunday Telegraph
February 2,2014
Pg.17
It’s hard to think of a show designed to be more pathetically offensive to the Christians than the Adelaide Fringe theatre’s “Come Heckle Christ”.
Inviting audience members to shout abuse at a man dressed as Jesus, it bills itself as a comedy act for “Disgruntled former Christians, priests (and by extension sexual deviants), altar girls and boys, atheists, anyone who enjoys yelling at Jesus while watching a dramatic re-enactment of everyone’s favourite fairy-tale: The Crucifixion of Jesus The Christ.”
But if comedians really want to prove how edgy and original they are, why don’t they stage “Come Heckle Mohammed”.
You can imagine the outcry then.
Many ask why is the "caring and sharing" "only we have a monopoly on compassion" Progressive Left, so ready and willing to, at every tax payer funded chance, to mock Jesus Christ and Judeo / Christianity, yet so silent when it comes to the "Religion" of Choice of Sociopath's the world over, Islam?
Islam, invented BY Sociopaths FOR Sociopath's.
The Sociopath's "Religion" of Choice for the past 1400 years, hey maybe that's why the "Progressives" are so enamoured with and reluctant to criticize their boy and Ideological Sociopath at Large Muhammed,they, after all,share so much in common with each other,and nothing at all with Jesus Christ,Judeo Christianity.
Disclaimer: the picture above right is an actual picture of the Muslim God /Prophet Warmonger,Slave Trader, Paedophile and Mass Murderer Mohammed if you see this man please do not approach an immediately contact your local law enforcement agency.
The picture to the left is a model portraying a likeness of Jesus Christ for editorial purposes only.
Hollyweird Moon Bat Glenn Close and other Gaia Worshippers,Eco Nazi's and Barking Dog Mad Loons are given the keys to OUR Civilization and permitted to walk amongst us.
As with MOST Hollyweird "Stars" it's all about what they WANT as opposed to what is good.Not so long ago Loons like Close would have been driven / herded into the back paddock and contained long enough for Nature to run its course,in a kindly way of course.
Now with the new " Science", Hollyweird Science prophets, snake oil sales persons like her are promoted to the exalted state of Shaman, Y2K Sales persons,Temperature Control Taxation Spruikers,Witch Doctors, Soothsayers and Crystal Gazers, masters / keepers of the keys to the Idiot in search of a village "Scientist's".
Thanks to Sheik Yer Mami for the original post at WOJ
Hollywood star bats for flying foxes
Caitlin Drysdale
February 1,2014
A HOLLYWOOD heavyweight and a world-renowned scientist have thrown their support behind Cairns' infamous bat colony.
She has written a letter addressing her concerns about the planned relocation of the Cairns CBD flying foxes.
"It deeply distresses me to learn that the Cairns Regional Council, led by its Mayor Bob Manning, is planning to disperse and remove the vulnerable creatures from what can only be described as a unique and ideal location in the town centre," she wrote in the two-page letter.
When Loons and Gaia Worshippers rule Society
I recall a conversation I had with one of these caring and sharing eco warriors out in the field mid 2013 regarding the above video,they assured me that it was a total fabrication, and the proof of that, was that it was a sixty minutes production, and there fore must have been a fabrication, and a distortion of facts. The supporters of the spreading of the lyssavirus infection are very much like the self aquired / volunteer AID's and STD sufferers,they see some natural honour in the spreading of the manifestations of Nature and their sexual perversion of choice,much like the mindset of the Loons in the movie The Omega Man.
Until recently Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens some 200 meters from the Sydney Opera House was over run by these flying Rats, they destroyed numerous age old trees and turned the gardens into their own stinking foul private toilet.
I remember eating at the Australia Square restaurant one evening with family and friends and witnessed scenes reminiscent of Gotham City, the night skies full of Bats circling around the building, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the then AMP Tower, pissing and shitting on all and any below.
I see daily these Flying Rats, flying crapping and pissing some 100 meters from Pre Schoolers as they attend and or delivered picked up from Day Care, but my eco warrior friend assured me they were in no danger.
Whilst lieing on my back a few years ago in my back yard relaxing after mowing the lawn I was conscious of been watched after some minutes of careful observation of the palm trees above me, I saw three of these Bats hanging upside down as they do, due to the fact their legs are not strong enough to hold their weight upright,staring at me as one, sure it was fascinating and novel however I made sure I was not going to be their next target, and moved out of range.
"I sincerely hope that you not only leave the colony where it is, but also maximise accessibility while providing education about flying foxes and their value in a delicate ecosystem."
A letter has also been penned by Dame Jane Goodall, a British primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist renowned for her work with chimpanzees.
"Education by the State Government is extremely important," she wrote.
"The Queensland State and Federal Government handing over power to the councils to act is not in the interest of conservation consideration of the species."
The two letters have been presented to the Cairns Regional Council by environmental activist Noel Castley-Wright.
Mr Castley-Wright will also be approaching other notable Hollywood identities for support.
"Glenn Close is one of many we are aiming at getting, what's wonderful about Glenn is that she's been here so it's credible," he said.
"The people we are approaching have all been here and understand the eco-tourism side of things.
"Eco-tourism is a very special part of Cairns.
"We have something unique here."
But the council maintains it is acting in accordance with State and Federal Government approval.
"Cairns Regional Council has resolved to manage and reduce the impacts of the CBD Flying Foxes colony and then work towards their eventual dispersal from the CBD," a spokeswoman said.
"Council officers are working closely with experts from the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, CSIRO and wildlife ecologists."
Health district warns against handling bats due to deadly lyssavirus threat
Amanda Partridge
Macarthur Chronical Campbelltown
Janruary 28,2014
BATS are popping up in southwest Sydney backyards, prompting a health warning about the deadly dangers of handling the animals.
With native food sources currently limited, bats are increasingly turning to suburban backyards to forage for food. But the South Western Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit has warned residents to keep their hands off the animals, which can carry the deadly Australian lyssavirus.
The virus, which results in a rabies-like illness, is easily passed on from bites and scratches from bats. The virus is very serious and if untreated can be fatal.
"Lyssavirus is rare in Australia and only transmitted through bites and scratches from bats," Public Health Unit director Dr Leena Gupta said.
"People should assume that all bats and flying foxes are infectious, regardless of whether the animal looks sick or not."
Dr Gupta said people who have been bitten or scratched by any type of bat or flying fox should clean the wound for at least five minutes with soap and water as soon as possible.
They should then apply an antiseptic solution and seek urgent medical advice.
"If bitten of scratched you may require a series of injections to protect against Australian lyssavirus infection and the first two need to be given as soon as possible," Dr Gupta said.
"Your GP or local public health unit can provide advice on treatment."
Anyone who comes across an injured or distressed bat should avoid all contact and call WIRES on 1300 094 737.
For more details on the lyssavirus visit health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/infectious/rabiesbatinfection.html.
Health district warns against handling bats due to deadly lyssavirus threat
Amanda Partridge
Macarthur Chronical Campbelltown
Janruary 28,2014
With native food sources currently limited, bats are increasingly turning to suburban backyards to forage for food. But the South Western Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit has warned residents to keep their hands off the animals, which can carry the deadly Australian lyssavirus.
The virus, which results in a rabies-like illness, is easily passed on from bites and scratches from bats. The virus is very serious and if untreated can be fatal.
"Lyssavirus is rare in Australia and only transmitted through bites and scratches from bats," Public Health Unit director Dr Leena Gupta said.
"People should assume that all bats and flying foxes are infectious, regardless of whether the animal looks sick or not."
Dr Gupta said people who have been bitten or scratched by any type of bat or flying fox should clean the wound for at least five minutes with soap and water as soon as possible.
They should then apply an antiseptic solution and seek urgent medical advice.
"If bitten of scratched you may require a series of injections to protect against Australian lyssavirus infection and the first two need to be given as soon as possible," Dr Gupta said.
"Your GP or local public health unit can provide advice on treatment."
Anyone who comes across an injured or distressed bat should avoid all contact and call WIRES on 1300 094 737.
For more details on the lyssavirus visit health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/infectious/rabiesbatinfection.html.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Sydney's Occupied Territories: Islamic Insurgents Occupy Public Parks to use as play grounds as part of illegal Al Amanah College Islamic school expansionist policy.
Trash the neighbourhood make life intolerable for Australian residents then occupy the territory bought up at bargain prices.
"The chief weapon in the quiver of all Islamist expansionist movements, is the absolute necessity to keep victims largely unaware of the actual theology plotting their demise. To complete this deception, a large body of ‘moderates’ continue to spew such ridiculous claims as “Islam means Peace” thereby keeping non-Muslims from actually reading the Qur’an, the Sira, the Hadith, or actually looking into the past 1400 years of history. Islamists also deny or dismiss the concept of ‘abrogation’, which is the universal intra-Islamic method of replacing slightly more tolerable aspects of the religion in favor of more violent demands for Muslims to slay and subdue infidels"
Public outrage over Al Amanah College Islamic school expansion at Liverpool
Jennifer Sexton
Daily Telegraph
January 30, 2014
A CROWDED western Sydney Islamic school is using public parks for play activities after building a hall and toilet block on playgrounds without council approval.
The Al Amanah College at Liverpool has also constructed a playground not much bigger than a basketball court over an area intended to be an off-street turning bay for the safe pick-up and drop-off of students.
Neighbour Tony Geci said he is preparing a report to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after Liverpool Council gave retrospective approval for the building works just two days before Christmas and increased student capacity at the private Islamic primary and high school.
Mr Geci said his family have occupied a neighbouring house for 43 years and the noise and traffic is unbearable and unsafe.
The school is wedged between houses on a suburban Liverpool block and opened in 2002 with 168 students.
By 2008 it had hit 600 students but only in December got retrospective council approval for that capacity.
"It's either incompetence or corruption," Mr Geci said.
Mr Geci said in approving the retrospective works council had ignored the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel's November recommendation that the site was "probably not suitable for an increase in student numbers to 600".
The panel said if the school did want that number of students, a new development application should be lodged. Council made no such condition.
Al Amanah principal Mohamad El Dana rejected suggestions of overcrowding and said modified development applications had met all approvals and certifications required.
"I believe that the council has adequately assessed the modification application including noise and traffic impact, council's planning officers were satisfied that there is no significant impact and recommended approval as stated in the council's report to IHAP," Mr El Dana said.
"The school is committed to provide safe and supportive environment to our students and to the school community in general.
"The school has never used neighbouring parks for regular sporting activities or as playground. However, the school as all other schools can use public parks occasionally on different occasions and events."
Mr Geci is a full-time carer for his ailing 82-year-old mother and before he took on that role in September 2012, he did not believe her complaints about the noise from the school.
"For me personally, it is driving me crazy. I soon realised what mum was on about," Mr Geci said.
He and neighbours have regularly found balls, rocks, a school cap and even a vice-captain's badged thrown over their fences.
"As my neighbour says, his backyard is bigger than their playground," Mr Geci said.
"This is not a religious issue or a racist thing. The kids are not being looked after. How can you, if your really care about the children, put them in a concrete jungle?"
In 2001, Liverpool Council had wanted the school to provide an off-street driveway for safe drop-off and pick-ups off Speed Street. This area is now the small playground that backs onto Mr Geci's yard.
Council also wanted three bus bays to be indented into the school grounds, allowing buses to pull over without obstructing passing traffic.
But the bays were not built and the resulting morning and afternoon traffic is "pandemonium", according to independent Liverpool Councillor Peter Harle.
When The Sunday Telegraph visited this week a queue of mini buses was parked out the front and cars were crossing double yellow lines on a bend to pass by.
A council investigation in 2011 found unauthorised building works and refused to approve a development application for the multipurpose hall.
Senior development planner Lina Kakish wrote to the school saying the illegal works include "construction of a building containing toilets and enclosed areas located over the existing basement car park, and a concrete slab foundation located over this building".
Ms Kakish also told the school large awnings had been moved without appropriate approvals, and trees had been chopped down without permission, according to a letter Mr Geci obtained under Freedom of Information laws.
"Council cannot grant retrospective approval for unauthorised building works," Ms Kakish said in an internal memo.
In February 2011 council issued proposed orders for the demolition of the unauthorised works, but since then the hall was constructed on the concrete slab, with the help of a $3 million grant from the Federal Government Building Education Revolution fund.
Cr Harle said the school began construction of the hall prior to approvals in order to meet the required BER deadlines for validation.
"They simply went ahead with it and took the chance that it would be approved retrospectively and that's exactly what happened," Cr Harle said.
It's meant less space for children's play and Cr Harle is not happy that public parks are being used for the school's own private purposes.
Council certifications had not been obtained to ensure that the appropriate materials and safety measures had been met, Mr Harle said.
"Had a new DA been applied for (the extra student capacity), then the issue of inadequate playgrounds and the use of public open space to compensate for that would also be addressed. Let alone the additional traffic and noise generated as a consequence of a 33 per cent increase in student numbers from 450 to 600. As it is, none of these issues will be addressed," Cr Harle said.
"The chief weapon in the quiver of all Islamist expansionist movements, is the absolute necessity to keep victims largely unaware of the actual theology plotting their demise. To complete this deception, a large body of ‘moderates’ continue to spew such ridiculous claims as “Islam means Peace” thereby keeping non-Muslims from actually reading the Qur’an, the Sira, the Hadith, or actually looking into the past 1400 years of history. Islamists also deny or dismiss the concept of ‘abrogation’, which is the universal intra-Islamic method of replacing slightly more tolerable aspects of the religion in favor of more violent demands for Muslims to slay and subdue infidels"
Australia,Sydney’s Occupied Territories,The SLIME of Multiculturalism jizzed over both sides of politics, when you lay down with DOGS you wake up with Muslims and Multiculturalism.
Hoxton Park Residents vow to fight
Daily Telegraph
January 30, 2014
- Residents to report school to ICAC
- Complaints about unauthorised building works
- Illegal works include toilets and sports areas
- Traffic noise unbearable claim residents
A CROWDED western Sydney Islamic school is using public parks for play activities after building a hall and toilet block on playgrounds without council approval.
The Al Amanah College at Liverpool has also constructed a playground not much bigger than a basketball court over an area intended to be an off-street turning bay for the safe pick-up and drop-off of students.
Neighbour Tony Geci said he is preparing a report to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after Liverpool Council gave retrospective approval for the building works just two days before Christmas and increased student capacity at the private Islamic primary and high school.
Mr Geci said his family have occupied a neighbouring house for 43 years and the noise and traffic is unbearable and unsafe.
The school is wedged between houses on a suburban Liverpool block and opened in 2002 with 168 students.
By 2008 it had hit 600 students but only in December got retrospective council approval for that capacity.
"It's either incompetence or corruption," Mr Geci said.
Mr Geci said in approving the retrospective works council had ignored the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel's November recommendation that the site was "probably not suitable for an increase in student numbers to 600".
The panel said if the school did want that number of students, a new development application should be lodged. Council made no such condition.
Al Amanah principal Mohamad El Dana rejected suggestions of overcrowding and said modified development applications had met all approvals and certifications required.
"I believe that the council has adequately assessed the modification application including noise and traffic impact, council's planning officers were satisfied that there is no significant impact and recommended approval as stated in the council's report to IHAP," Mr El Dana said.
"The school is committed to provide safe and supportive environment to our students and to the school community in general.
"The school has never used neighbouring parks for regular sporting activities or as playground. However, the school as all other schools can use public parks occasionally on different occasions and events."
Mr Geci is a full-time carer for his ailing 82-year-old mother and before he took on that role in September 2012, he did not believe her complaints about the noise from the school.
"For me personally, it is driving me crazy. I soon realised what mum was on about," Mr Geci said.
He and neighbours have regularly found balls, rocks, a school cap and even a vice-captain's badged thrown over their fences.
"As my neighbour says, his backyard is bigger than their playground," Mr Geci said.
"This is not a religious issue or a racist thing. The kids are not being looked after. How can you, if your really care about the children, put them in a concrete jungle?"
In 2001, Liverpool Council had wanted the school to provide an off-street driveway for safe drop-off and pick-ups off Speed Street. This area is now the small playground that backs onto Mr Geci's yard.
Council also wanted three bus bays to be indented into the school grounds, allowing buses to pull over without obstructing passing traffic.
But the bays were not built and the resulting morning and afternoon traffic is "pandemonium", according to independent Liverpool Councillor Peter Harle.
When The Sunday Telegraph visited this week a queue of mini buses was parked out the front and cars were crossing double yellow lines on a bend to pass by.
A council investigation in 2011 found unauthorised building works and refused to approve a development application for the multipurpose hall.
Senior development planner Lina Kakish wrote to the school saying the illegal works include "construction of a building containing toilets and enclosed areas located over the existing basement car park, and a concrete slab foundation located over this building".
Ms Kakish also told the school large awnings had been moved without appropriate approvals, and trees had been chopped down without permission, according to a letter Mr Geci obtained under Freedom of Information laws.
"Council cannot grant retrospective approval for unauthorised building works," Ms Kakish said in an internal memo.
In February 2011 council issued proposed orders for the demolition of the unauthorised works, but since then the hall was constructed on the concrete slab, with the help of a $3 million grant from the Federal Government Building Education Revolution fund.
Cr Harle said the school began construction of the hall prior to approvals in order to meet the required BER deadlines for validation.
"They simply went ahead with it and took the chance that it would be approved retrospectively and that's exactly what happened," Cr Harle said.
It's meant less space for children's play and Cr Harle is not happy that public parks are being used for the school's own private purposes.
Council certifications had not been obtained to ensure that the appropriate materials and safety measures had been met, Mr Harle said.
"Had a new DA been applied for (the extra student capacity), then the issue of inadequate playgrounds and the use of public open space to compensate for that would also be addressed. Let alone the additional traffic and noise generated as a consequence of a 33 per cent increase in student numbers from 450 to 600. As it is, none of these issues will be addressed," Cr Harle said.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
More Cultural Enrichment from Labor Green Loon's VOTE People with some good ole Female Genital Mutilation
Father in court charged with organising infant daughter's circumcision
Emma Page
The Manly Daily
January 28,2014
A MAN who has been charged with organising the female circumcision of his nine-month-old daughter in Indonesia almost two years ago faced Manly Local Court today.
The man, 29, who recently relocated from NSW to Victoria with his family, cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Manly Local Court Magistrate William Brydon granted the suppression order, which forbids the publication of the names of the accused, his wife and the victim.
According to documents tendered to the court, police allege the accused took his infant daughter to Jakarta, Indonesia in 2012 so she could undergo female circumcision, wihch is known in the west as genital mutilation.
NSW Police were alerted to the incident after the child's mother took her to a doctor about six months later.
Following investigations, an officer from the Sex Crimes Command, Detective Kelly Barby arrested the accused at 11am on 31 December 2013.
He was charged later that day at Dee Why Police Station.
The man is yet to enter a plea and will remain on bail until he appears in Downing Centre Local Court on March 25.
Emma Page
The Manly Daily
January 28,2014
A MAN who has been charged with organising the female circumcision of his nine-month-old daughter in Indonesia almost two years ago faced Manly Local Court today.
The man, 29, who recently relocated from NSW to Victoria with his family, cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Manly Local Court Magistrate William Brydon granted the suppression order, which forbids the publication of the names of the accused, his wife and the victim.
According to documents tendered to the court, police allege the accused took his infant daughter to Jakarta, Indonesia in 2012 so she could undergo female circumcision, wihch is known in the west as genital mutilation.
NSW Police were alerted to the incident after the child's mother took her to a doctor about six months later.
Following investigations, an officer from the Sex Crimes Command, Detective Kelly Barby arrested the accused at 11am on 31 December 2013.
He was charged later that day at Dee Why Police Station.
The man is yet to enter a plea and will remain on bail until he appears in Downing Centre Local Court on March 25.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Labor Green Loons VOTE People
Why did police and reporters not mention 200 brawling Africans in the middle of Melbourne?
Andrew Bolt
Herald Sun
January 26, 2014
Victoria Police have been so vilified as racists that they no longer dare to describe a growing problem involving our latest refugee community:
Community workers claim police played down a violent New Year’s brawl between more than 200 youths of African appearance in Melbourne’s CBD for fear of being accused of racism.
Salvation Army staff say Swanston Street was like a “war zone”, with one man carrying a machete and another a knife, as bottles were thrown at police trying to break up rolling fights between two large groups early on New Year’s Day.
Why did police and reporters not mention 200 brawling Africans in the middle of Melbourne?
Salvation Army staff say Swanston Street was like a “war zone”, with one man carrying a machete and another a knife, as bottles were thrown at police trying to break up rolling fights between two large groups early on New Year’s Day.
Major Brendan Nottle, the 2013 Melburnian of the Year, said what he saw indicated serious social problems within the African community… “Rather than take the approach that we’re not going to talk about this for fear of being branded racist, or saying, ‘why are these young people here, why don’t they integrate’, we actually need to say this is a problem and work out a strategic way to address it,” he said…
. A police media spokeswoman said those involved were of varying ethnic backgrounds.
But Anthony McEvoy, who heads the Salvation Army’s youth street team, which runs the “chill-out” zone on the lawns of St Paul’s Cathedral in Swanston Street, said the people he saw brawling looked almost exclusively African.
As I noted last week in response to a judge’s comments, our politicians are importing people who they must know will struggle to fit in - at a cost to the rest of us. In this case again:
Awan Mading, a Sudanese-born volunteer with the Salvation Army, said many young people from the African community had little education and poor job prospects, making them feel excluded…
“So they become frustrated, and some of them drop out of school, hoping they will find a job. But if they don’t have any qualifications or work experience they can’t get employment. So they end up in the street drinking.”
Plus fighting. How on earth is an immigration system with these results in the national interest?
An honest debate needs to be held, without shut-ups screams of “racist”, before more people get hurt.
And note: if police won’t even tell the public the facts about a brawl this huge in the middle of Melbourne, what else are they not saying “for our own good”? And where were the journalists that night?
“So they become frustrated, and some of them drop out of school, hoping they will find a job. But if they don’t have any qualifications or work experience they can’t get employment. So they end up in the street drinking.”
Plus fighting. How on earth is an immigration system with these results in the national interest?
An honest debate needs to be held, without shut-ups screams of “racist”, before more people get hurt.
And note: if police won’t even tell the public the facts about a brawl this huge in the middle of Melbourne, what else are they not saying “for our own good”? And where were the journalists that night?
UPDATE
Incredible. I’ve searched news reports and so far cannot find a single contemporary reference by police or the news media to the brawl - one reportedly involving 200 Africans in the very middle of Melbourne city. How on earth could that not be news? What else are we not being told?
One of our Indigenous Liaison Officers from work was visiting members of her tribe in Melbourne that same day and were sitting on the steps of the cathedral talking to police about the work they are doing in the aboriginal community and that they were looking forward to the kids seeing the fireworks when the whole thing ‘just took off’ as she said. They were there with children and older adults and she said the police tried to keep two separate groups apart but there were bottles and all sorts of missiles tossed at both the police and at each other.
One African snuck up next to them and tossed a bottle through a window of the cathedral, her brother told him off and when the police came to question the guy he denied doing it but all the aborigines that were there who saw him do it said they saw him do it so the police took him away.
She said the police then escorted her and her people away from the area and that they were very courteous and suggested a safer area. One officer told her that no matter how they dealt with this they will be made out to be the bad guys.
Andrew Bolt
Herald Sun
January 26, 2014
Victoria Police have been so vilified as racists that they no longer dare to describe a growing problem involving our latest refugee community:
Community workers claim police played down a violent New Year’s brawl between more than 200 youths of African appearance in Melbourne’s CBD for fear of being accused of racism.
Salvation Army staff say Swanston Street was like a “war zone”, with one man carrying a machete and another a knife, as bottles were thrown at police trying to break up rolling fights between two large groups early on New Year’s Day.
Why did police and reporters not mention 200 brawling Africans in the middle of Melbourne?
Major Brendan Nottle, the 2013 Melburnian of the Year, said what he saw indicated serious social problems within the African community… “Rather than take the approach that we’re not going to talk about this for fear of being branded racist, or saying, ‘why are these young people here, why don’t they integrate’, we actually need to say this is a problem and work out a strategic way to address it,” he said…
. A police media spokeswoman said those involved were of varying ethnic backgrounds.
But Anthony McEvoy, who heads the Salvation Army’s youth street team, which runs the “chill-out” zone on the lawns of St Paul’s Cathedral in Swanston Street, said the people he saw brawling looked almost exclusively African.
As I noted last week in response to a judge’s comments, our politicians are importing people who they must know will struggle to fit in - at a cost to the rest of us. In this case again:
Awan Mading, a Sudanese-born volunteer with the Salvation Army, said many young people from the African community had little education and poor job prospects, making them feel excluded…
“So they become frustrated, and some of them drop out of school, hoping they will find a job. But if they don’t have any qualifications or work experience they can’t get employment. So they end up in the street drinking.”
Plus fighting. How on earth is an immigration system with these results in the national interest?
An honest debate needs to be held, without shut-ups screams of “racist”, before more people get hurt.
And note: if police won’t even tell the public the facts about a brawl this huge in the middle of Melbourne, what else are they not saying “for our own good”? And where were the journalists that night?
Just the type of immigrant / refugee the Labor Green Loons want in Australia, promise to cloth feed and house them and their offspring for life in exchange for their vote for life. Labor Green Loons VOTE People.
“So they become frustrated, and some of them drop out of school, hoping they will find a job. But if they don’t have any qualifications or work experience they can’t get employment. So they end up in the street drinking.”
Plus fighting. How on earth is an immigration system with these results in the national interest?
An honest debate needs to be held, without shut-ups screams of “racist”, before more people get hurt.
And note: if police won’t even tell the public the facts about a brawl this huge in the middle of Melbourne, what else are they not saying “for our own good”? And where were the journalists that night?
UPDATE
Incredible. I’ve searched news reports and so far cannot find a single contemporary reference by police or the news media to the brawl - one reportedly involving 200 Africans in the very middle of Melbourne city. How on earth could that not be news? What else are we not being told?
One of our Indigenous Liaison Officers from work was visiting members of her tribe in Melbourne that same day and were sitting on the steps of the cathedral talking to police about the work they are doing in the aboriginal community and that they were looking forward to the kids seeing the fireworks when the whole thing ‘just took off’ as she said. They were there with children and older adults and she said the police tried to keep two separate groups apart but there were bottles and all sorts of missiles tossed at both the police and at each other.
One African snuck up next to them and tossed a bottle through a window of the cathedral, her brother told him off and when the police came to question the guy he denied doing it but all the aborigines that were there who saw him do it said they saw him do it so the police took him away.
She said the police then escorted her and her people away from the area and that they were very courteous and suggested a safer area. One officer told her that no matter how they dealt with this they will be made out to be the bad guys.
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