Magnet

Peregrination

2008-08-26T16:51:00.001+08:00

Yellow moon

2008-08-20T00:27:00.005+08:00

Caught stuff

2008-08-11T23:49:00.003+08:00

Perth lawyer Josephine Pepe was found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice when she advised inmate and corrupt former detective Gary Fitzgerald not to give evidence about her boyfriend. Judge Fenbury suspended Pepe's 12 month sentence on compassionate grounds after she alleged her boyfriend at that time was on drugs and had bashed her daily, prompting her to give the advice under duress. The judge also said it was inevitable that Pepe would no longer be able to work as a lawyer.

A Perth detective sergeant copped 22 charges from the Crime and Corruption Commission of unauthorized access of a police computer. The CCC charged him with with corruption, 2x 'playing a police video interview to an unauthorised person,' and 'taking photos of himself having sex with a woman and emailing them to other people without her consent.'

Election on the way

2008-08-09T14:46:00.011+08:00

Ding-dong: The Truth in sentencing law is dead

Last week the West Australian Attorney General Jim McGinty announced new laws will be introduced by the State Government so offenders who commit "the most serious of crimes" spend more time in jail 'than ever before.'

In what appears to be the most eerie of timing, the chair-sniffing head of the state opposition Bra-Snapper Buswell resigned as the leader of the Shadow Ministry replaced by Canal Colin.

One day later came the announcement of the State election to be held on September 9.

AG Jim McGinty's long-running feud with the Liberal-run newspaper, The West Australian - the only daily in WA, in the lead up to election is enough to fill even the bravest Labor pollie's heart with 'the fear of crime.'

Notably, Premier Alan Carpenter also tried to get on-side with the media last week. Carps had a sudden change of heart in support of shield laws for journos - a distinctly different tune to the one played for the duration of the MEAA(WA)'s campaign for greater protection of journos in the face of Crime & Corruption Commission scrutiny. It was only a fortnight ago Mr Carpenter said that during his lengthy career as a Channel 2 reporter, the media had coped well without shield laws and though they may not be necessary, they would inevitably be passed because of the persistent nature of the media.

When The Werst began running with the truth in sentencing debate, Chief Justice Martin spoke about it at the opening of Law Week in May, to eradicate some of the public misapprehensions about the appropriateness of sentencing by the state's judiciary.

The CJ also discussed questions of the appropriateness of media coverage and the effect that incomplete and unbalanced reporting {in this one-horse town} can have on public perceptions. He said the fear of crime generated by such media coverage, in addition to factors that could shorten the length of a sentence, such as early guilty pleas and the ‘truth in sentencing’ law, could potentially affect the way the public perceives the effectiveness of sentence lengths.

The Prison Reform Group of WA laid claim to a witch-hunt by The West for full-length sentences, no parole and no time off for good behaviour, by focusing on the Truth in Sentencing law. PRGWA spokesperson Dr Steels said,‘sentencing should not be dictated by the whims of newspaper editorials or the gut instinct of talk back show hosts, but rather, it must work and be in accord with the highest national standards of probity and effectiveness.’ The PRGWA requested the creation of a sentencing advisory council, but that idea was passed over in favour of a review by the DPP.

Dr Steels also advised that under the changes, Aboriginal youth currently comprising 78.5% of detained juveniles-seen repeatedly before the courts due to systemic discrimination, inadequate legal representation and no magistrates in their home towns, could find themselves locked up for extended periods.

He said the changes will also maximize the differences between the 'justice' served out to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders, and added that it will further impact on the muster numbers of Indigenous children. Earlier this year the Police Commissioner had to ban kids from adult (police) lockups, where they were being sent due to overflowing juvenile detention centres.

Shadow Attorney General, Christian Porter, said he considered the affect on Indigenous people of the changes would be negligible. He also said the impetus from the opposition for the changes was because it made good public policy sense for people to be confident in the criminal justice system(which people?).

In his 2008 Law Week address CJ Martin said,

There is a widespread public perception that the judiciary are weak and ineffective when it comes to imposing sentences, and that even serious offenders are often spared sentences of imprisonment. While I can understand how this perception has been created, it is completely wrong. The figures show that more people are being sent to prison for longer periods than ever before. The courts are keen to improve the level of information available to the public on these issues.

The CJ said as soon as possible after a judgement is made, all the information relating to that judgement is put on the Court website.

The introduction of legislation, the AG said, will allow the judiciary to simply use their discretion in the more serious(or is that more reported?) cases.

But, as the whole 'truth in sentencing debacle' erupted out of the media debate relating to just one case, Yates V WA, statements like this one(particularly prior to an election) should have alarm bells ringing:

"the existing law had to be changed because it didn't reflect the intention of Parliament,"(or, The West Australian, it would seem). "It is vital that the public have confidence in sentencing by the courts. The Government’s new sentencing scheme should be more easily understood and supported by the general public."

Under the new laws, the Director of Public Prosecutions will be given powers to apply to the Court to re-sentence any offender sentenced after August 1 in accordance with these new provisions. This will apply to prisoners who, relying on the Yates decision, receive a reduced sentence either initially or on appeal. A legislative solution is the best way to remedy this problem. Accordingly, there will be no High Court appeal in relation to the Yates case.

The Magnificent 7 & the 3 Stooges

2008-07-29T00:27:00.006+08:00

Yesterday the Perth District Court found that the City of Belmont councillor, Janet Powell, had not perjured herself when giving evidence in a misconduct restraining order hearing almost two years ago.

Councillor Brenda Martin, new to Belmont Council at the time, applied for a misconduct restraining order(MRO) when a former-councillor who lived across the road from her, pursued her aggressively in a manner she found intimidating.

Ms Powell told the Magistrate's Court at the MRO hearing for Brenda Martin, that the same former councillor had previously assaulted her & grabbed her by the neck when she was also new to council. She added that the man had to be pulled away from her and physically restrained by two people.

The District Court decision came after a nerve-wracking year-long wait, and a week-long trial, during which evidence was heard from witnesses to the assault.

The trial highlighted budget concerns at the DPP which over the last few years have been a focus for the media spotlight, detailing staff shortages and poorly-researched cases.

All evidence presented to the District Court had previously been supplied at length to the Cannington CIB, who proceeded with the charges despite overwhelming evidence that Powell had not perjured herself when she spoke of the assault.

The basis of the Cannington Detectives' case, that came about as a result of Janet Powell testifying when Martin required a Misconduct Restraining Order against the same man, flies in the face of government initiatives of 'zero tolerance' to violence against women.

In summary, QC Tom Percy told the court how the DPP's QC Ian Marshall had started with a 'Magnificent 7(witnesses),' but had ended up with the '3 musketeers,' as the prosecution's case against Powell rapidly disintegrated.

Anti-association laws - curbing disorganized crime

2008-07-27T06:26:00.002+08:00

South Australia is set to introduce anti-association laws for 'bikies'(who exactly decides who fits in this category, one might well ask?) this month, with the inquiry by the Parliamentary Committee on the Australian Crime Commission still yet to be finalized.

The laws have been criticized by the legal fraternity, because in their implementation it's inevitable they'll encroach on basic freedoms Australians expect to have - the right to assemble and the freedom of association.

Depending on one's demographic and upbringing, over 6 family gatherings or meetings with friends in a year, could find one incarcerated(no fines) for 5 years.

It is fairly safe to say that the proponents and supporters of this legislation haven't ever been motorcycle club members - they've never been labelled as either 'bikies' or 'bikers.' Nor is it apparent that they belong to any ethnic minority or religious groups that incur any particular prejudice, & a first-hand understanding of disadvantage may well have bypassed them. It is, as such, rather unsurprising that they fail to see the potential for this legislation to infringe on basic rights and freedoms, the sorts of rights and freedoms that many double income/kids & mortgage-type citizens take for granted will be there on Saturday, when they actually have time to associate or assemble.

One of the problems of legislation like this, like the public interest disclosure laws hurried through parliament in each state that effectively silence whistleblowers, is that it draws mainstream media coverage only when it affects political refugees, it would seem.

So without Fourth Estate scrutiny, one of the unhindered insidious effects of this law is that it lessens the burden of proof of 'criminality' to an assumption, a suggestion at best - without appropriate checks and balances in place for those in privileged positions of authority who can decide just who could potentially be considered a 'criminal' at some point in the future as a result of the discussions(the content of which doesn't have to be monitored, of course)that they have with their friends and family.

South Australia is one of the few states without any overseeing anti-corruption body and there has been a long history of public interest disclosures relating to corruption within the public service there, that have failed to be investigated since the closure of the federal body, the National Crime Authority.

Any inquiry into the application of these laws needs to also examine whether it is appropriate for a state in which there is no higher means of government accountability, to have the power to arrest people for merely meeting, & not committing a 'crime.'

Figures in other states have indicated that annually gang-related crime totalled less than one percent of offenders arrested, although the South Australian government has refused to release their figures, despite claiming a dire need to constrain the solo big bad bogeyman, 'bikies,' aka "the poisonous tentacles of crime" - but how long will it be before another group is also claimed to be a out of hand(a 1% outlaw)problem needing to be 'controlled'? Why have those South Australian gang-related arrest figures not been released to the public?

The SA laws would entitle the state Attorney General to issue a control order, based on secret intelligence(with no need to justify the intell to anyone else) from the police commissioner upon any citizen regardless of any prior criminal record or not.

Any senior South Australian Police officer would also be able to issue a public safety order based on as little as suspected connections to members of clubs.

Both control orders and public safety orders not only restrict who a person is permitted to speak, email or meet with, but also the areas a person is allowed to travel to or through - is it sounding like Eastern Europe yet? If it doesn't try this on for size - there is also an idea of satellite monitored tracking devices being used on bikes in conjunction with front and rear plates, that have potential to do a lot more than simply identify speeding motorists.

There are many reading this who will readily cite mainstream media stories that tell of violence and intimidation by 'bikies,' but the same media who write those stories will also be controlled from meeting with any sources other than the police - will that yield balanced reporting, no, & the police will have more control than they do already over a dying news media.

A witness to the fabrications pushed in the msm over the last 35 years, Eddie Withnell, spoke to the Committee about the bias delivered to readers by journos largely reliant on police sources to meet their daily copy.(his submission to the Parliamentary Committee on the ACC can be read here)

For those of you who don't realize, it is now unlawful to discriminate in employment on the basis of prior & irrelevant criminal records. The head-in-the-sand policy that makes the wider public believe, via the media & via the police, that criminals are pariahs rather than just another part of a society(someone's sibling, parent or nanna) desperately in need of community cohesion, is as out of step as these new laws, which have the capacity to turn virtually anyone into a criminal.

To assume 'guilt by association' is perhaps human nature, but should it be a part of our law? Guilt by association laws have come under fire from the United Nations and are most frequently seen in application to fears of terror acts, such as in the Haneef case, in which Dr Haneef was vilified and deported only to later be allowed back into the country with no case answer for.

Those who have a loved one convicted of a crime will most likely know the burden of being pursued or harassed, often unrelentingly - assumed an accomplice. Those of you reading this who have a conviction will know that you are never considered by the police, the media & as a result society, as 'rehabilitated,' & it serves as one of the biggest contributing factors to a lack of employment and subsequent recidivism that creates a lifelong cycle of poverty & offending behaviour.

It's these divisions, historically created by bigoted, suspicious minds and opportunistic, lazy investigators, that have been the source of some of WA's more public injustices over the last decade. In WA we've had demonstrated for us spectacularly over recent years, the immoral stigma of 'criminality' visible in a number of false murder convictions, that have been over-turned, which should serve as a timely reminder - in theory at least, with regard to the introduction of the anti-association laws.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mick Jagger, the only knight of the British realm to cavort & wiggle his tushy in white lycra hotpants on international television, yesterday turned 65 y/o.
In an era marked by right-wing conservatism, The Rolling Stones enforced rebellion and gave the world permission to be angry in songs such as Gimme Shelter, protesting the horror of war, at that time in Vietnam, but today as relevant as ever.

D'oh

2008-07-26T15:38:00.001+08:00

A breakthrough??

2008-07-26T13:03:00.002+08:00

This has got to be a turn for the books, although someone nicknamed The Magnet could be forgiven for having doubts about the veracity of their claims.

Out of the blue

2008-07-14T00:06:00.007+08:00

You know it's not everyday that a humble blogger gets to meet one of their own fans, let alone one of those who cop such a hard time on this blog & it's true, that there are certain spin-affected sections of the public sector that do attract more attention than others here at the Magnet.

So this toon is for Brock, a devoted SA Magnet reader, & until a recent change in comments policy after a trolling incident, he was a regular commenter here.
{I particularly liked the opinions you gave on the Jan 4 post, they showed so much empathy for the grieving families.} Thx so much for your delightful conversation whilst I endeavoured to work on Tuesday evening.

The Perth Blues Club hosted a great blues night for NAIDOC week with Indigenous musicians from all over Oz, including local jazz vocalist Lois Olney

singer/guitarist Clint Bracknell

world/r&b fusion duo Djiva,

and songstress Candice Lorrae.

Brock, I look forward to your return so I can post your photo here(how remiss of me - ladies, he looks like a short version of Christian Bale) for all my girlie mates in the Blogosphere who have a bit of a thang for boys in uniform(blue ones, that is).

It's always great to get feedback it's good to know you & your mate enjoyed the 'free hugs day' news feed & I think, from your apparent interest in the local Indigenous community, you'll get a lot out of the NAIDOC feed this week.

Thanks again for going out of your way to check in at the gig just to say hi & that you were moved to try your hand at journalism as a result of reading my work - what an outstanding effort, good luck with the whistleblowing issues.

Some of our other SA readers have expressed a similar interest in turning from policing to journalism. We do have a very dedicated readership here at The Magnet, made up of those who have a keen interest in human rights and civil liberties.

Thanks

2008-07-04T00:20:00.002+08:00

Any artist brave enough to get up on stage wearing this gear has got to qualify as a hero. The small challenges & accomplishments that become just an everyday part of people's working lives are seldom weighed by their impact, even when they are as memorable as Sly's headwear.

Devilishly good

2008-06-29T02:00:00.002+08:00

So they're called the Perth Demons, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve a little divine intervention. Tell me he's playing & I'm a convert...

Questions over investigation of WGV death

2008-06-29T00:52:00.004+08:00

West journo, Michael Bennett, was no slouch when he spotted differences in police accounts of the circumstances surrounding the hanging death of a 24 y/o Aboriginal woman, Kirsty Anne Slater, in a park in White Gum Valley. Bennett's sporadic contributions vastly improve the daily's Indigenous affairs reporting, which tragically fall to lesser journos all too frequently & usually at the expense of 3% of the community.

'Seasoned' WAPOL investigator, Donald Campbell, explained in the Coroner's Court last Thursday, that it was because he had examined 'hundreds of suicides' that he did not enquire about the suspicious circumstances that the family and other officers had complained about, and failed to take the family's statements that the girl had not been suicidal prior to her death. One officer said he had been concerned by, 'the fact that she was laying backwards and her feet were flat on the ground.'

High profile Perth lawyer, John Hammond, who recently volunteered his services for the Fitzroy Crossing inquiry into foetal alcohol syndrome, was pointed in his questioning of Campbell, enquiring if the reason he had not followed up on the concerns was because the girl was Indigenous & a mental health patient. Campbell rebuked Hammond's line of questioning as 'repulsive' and 'offensive.' Readers can only speculate whether the Slater family may have been similarly affronted by Campbell's investigation.

Squares get bombed in Nimbin(that's news in Nimbin)

2008-06-29T00:08:00.007+08:00

Nimbin Ban the Bomb Pic found here presumably by Tracey H
A chillout venue for Nimbin residents who don't take 'hard' drugs was bombed with a 'home-made' explosive device, that police claim was most likely to be a firecracker(& for the Irish contingent - yes, Nimbin is a small town). For a number of years there's been speculation about the encroachment of 'harder' drugs onto the grassy knolls of naughty Nimbin.

Is it possible that the atypical police raids(by the riot squad, no less) in April that were *allegedly* exclusively on pot heads while heavier dealers were left untouched, may have created greater division within the once happy hippie community?

Rather unsurprisingly, police claim this isn't the case.
"There is definitely not a gang problem in Nimbin," a police spokesperson said(are there enough people in Nimbin to form a gang?). Residents are suggesting rifts have formed between those who do, and those who don't, as a result of their actions to curb drug deals in the back alleys of the NSW town.

What do you stand for?

2008-06-28T22:13:00.007+08:00

Mob 0141 Australia (WA) 5/6/2008
Perth - Convention Center, National Native Title Conference 2008

FARA tells us that the Burrup rock art is now on the national Aboriginal land rights agenda and participants of the Stand Up at the 2008 Native Title Conference, represented Aboriginal communities from all over Australia, including Gulf of Carpentaria Aboriginal activist Murrandoo Yanner.

A vigil was held before the NT opening dinner, for the 40,000 y/o Burrup rock art that to the West Australian government seemingly ranks a very distant second to industry in the state which annually produces a third of the nation's GDP.

Earlier at the conference, Ngarluma and Balyku Aboriginal custodians for the Burrup Peninsula and the Pilbara's Abydos/Woodstock region and members of FARA also presented "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt cheap: the WA Government's assault on Aboriginal cultural heritage".

The "Murujuga Declaration" by one of the traditional owners of Murujuga, Robyne Churnside(republished below in full)(thanks to FARA), outlines an ongoing threat to the cultural heritage on the Burrup by Woodside and other companies.

THE MURUJUGA DECLARATION
Statement by Robyne Churnside, traditional owner of Murujuga (the Burrup Peninsula) read at the protest against the Pluto project by Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi custodians at Woodside’s Pluto LNG lease, 17 November 2007.1

Woodside says they have not destroyed any rock art on the Burrup Peninsula, just‘moved’ it. My people say that once a piece of rock art left by our ancestors is removed, our song line, our sacred site, is destroyed forever. Aboriginal people believe that the Burrup is a powerful and dangerous place, and that bad things will happen to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people if it is disturbed.

For nearly forty years, Woodside and other companies have made billions of dollars from our country. But what benefits have we, the Aboriginal custodians of the Burrup, seen from the mining boom? While white mining executives live in luxury in Peppermint Grove in Perth, today, in 2007, there are still 15 Aboriginal families in Roebourne living in houses made of asbestos!

Our people said we were happy for Woodside to build the gas plant on our country, as long as they didn’t damage our rock art, our sacred sites, our library for future generations. We asked them to put the plant nearby, somewhere where our cultural heritage, our stories would be safe.That’s what we said to Woodside, the Western Australian Government and the Federal Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, but instead, they were too greedy, and didn’t listen to us. When our old people signed the BMIEA Agreement with the State government in 2003, we thought they would be true to their word. Woodside and the Western Australian Government promised to protect our cultural heritage, but instead they told us a lot of lies. Woodside has not even followed the section 18 conditions set down by State Minister, Michelle Roberts, legalizing Woodside’s destruction of our rock art.

The WA Aboriginal Heritage Act gives mining companies permission to legally destroy Aboriginal heritage in Western Australia under whitefella law, but doesn’t even follow whitefellas’ own law. It gives a right of appeal to white developers who ask the Minister for permission to destroy our heritage, but not to the Traditional Owners who own that heritage. So it goes against whitefellas’ own law, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. WA Environment Minister David Templeman’s EPA approval for Woodside’s Pluto project was also probably invalid. Woodside paid archaeologists and anthropologists to come here and destroy our rock art on Pluto A and B leases. None of them got permission from our old people to do this.

1 For a news report on the protest, see ‘Protest at Pluto ruffles feathers’ Pilbara News, 21 November 2007.
2 By doing this, they breached their own professional codes of ethics, as well as the Burra Charter and the UNESCO Statement on the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage.

When my goombarli [brother-in-law] Wilfred Hicks asked Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull to protect our cultural heritage on Pluto B and move the Pluto plant somewhere else less dangerous, he waited until three days after his own Government was dissolved in October, and then told his offsider, Mr John Cobb, to send a fax to my goombarli telling his decision. John Cobb told Wilfred that in his opinion, ‘the Pluto B area does not meet the criteria under the Act for an Aboriginal protected area’. Woodside and the WA Government think they have the right to do whatever they like with our country here, which they call ‘Pluto B’, an area that is part of what we call‘Murujuga’.

We say Murujuga is still our country, through our ancestors and our dreaming. We say it is still our right under Aboriginal Law to come here, to hunt, collect bush tucker and bush medicine, light fires, conduct ceremonies and make decisions about this country. We have come here today to show people around the world that whatever Woodside, the State and Federal Governments say, we still have the right to enter our land, to exercise our native title rights here and to defend and protect it from the greed and destruction brought upon it by the Western Australian Government and Woodside.

Robyne Churnside is a member of the Ngarluma native title group, Pilbara Native Title Service Executive Committee, Equal Opportunity Commission Discrimination Committee and convenor of the Roebourne Strong Women’s Group.

You Tube opens up people powered news

2008-06-21T21:28:00.002+08:00

All too often the media's responsibility to inform (or entertain, for that matter) is out of balance with their need to generate revenue, with mainstream content considerably worsened by flacks' spin merely regurgitated by over-worked & underpaid hacks.

As newspaper and hard copy circulations decline, as is & will inevitably be the natural course of things, the internet offers a more diverse range of news and information sources.

Though even citizen news websites such as the national Norg network that was started in Perth by former 'The West Australian' journo Bronwen Clune, are susceptible to the nefarious spinners & spammers, the diligence of hard working grass roots indy media helps to keep a strong foundation in local real news & commentary that's more organic & sourced in alternative ways at a street-level.

You Tube has joined in the indy media networks by creating its own news hosting website, and though it is still in its early days, it promises to yield great opportunity to disseminate real news.

Old school journo Bill Rowlings, CEO and secretary of Civil Liberties Australia, delivers a comprehensive range of real news and views from a variety of authors and sources oozing street cred on the national body's website, relating to civil liberties, human rights, and the creep of Big Brother in Oz.

Other alternative news sources for people who actually want to know what's happening around them, can be found at sites like The City News from Sydney.

It was reported by The Australian that one journalist from the independent City News was arrested and charged under 'move along' laws, for monitoring (at a safe distance) the body search and arrest of youths in a public place.

Unbeknownst to Joe Public, there is a constant and monumental amount of pressure(not to mention sometimes downright intimidation) placed on freelance and independent journalists, in order to control and dictate content openly or by stealth, of what government media offices and larger corporations consider a somewhat renegade threat requiring pre-emptive damage control.

This is apparent, for example, in West Australia's GMO's policy to allow only journalists from mainstream media outlets rather than registered sole contractors(i.e. stringers and freelancers) to be informed in advance of media conferences and releases by state government ministers thus eradicating a level playing field in the media market so as to curb independent content. Although that is merely one way that original and independent content is stifled.

However, the bottom line is that if you're dissatisfied with your msm news content, have your say by taking your web traffic to indy media sites such as those listed and be free of brainwashing via advertising & spin.

The Magician

2008-06-15T14:00:00.002+08:00

It's funny the people you meet when you're on the road.

Police shooting - Rolph inquest begins

2008-05-27T20:49:00.006+08:00

The inquest into the death in police presence of Daniel Rolph, commenced today in the Perth Coroner's Court.

Local police knew of Daniel Rolph's bipolar condition when they followed him in a 'OJ style' low-speed pursuit to his Floreat home, followed him in, and then shot him dead when he became defensive.

It was revealed in court today that the investigating officer DS Terry Rakich reported to the Coroner only the evidence of the two attending officers, and left out the eye-witness evidence of Daniel Rolph's father.

There's a big difference in the point of view between this earlier story from Gabrielle Knowles, and this story, with the only apparent change being an additional journo... and then the elephant in the room (ie. the faults in Rakich's report), didn't rate a mention.

Not all journos can attend the lengthy coronial hearings all day every day of each inquest, very few in fact(some at the state's only daily have trouble just staying awake), but the omission of independent evidence in the police internal investigation, is a fairly vital piece of information to miss.

The November and March inquests into the deaths in custody of Karl Woods(35)& Karl Nightingale(35), both heard evidence that the police internal investigations were intrinsically flawed, having left out and replaced damaging evidence from police officers and independent witnesses.

The Crime and Corruption Commission's 2006 review of improvements made to WAPOL since the 2003-04 Kennedy Police Royal Commission, showed that the majority of WA internal police investigations were substantially flawed.

The Crime and Corruption Commission also outsource many of their investigations to WAPOL officers.

Police fail as party-poopers

2008-05-08T17:25:00.004+08:00

Despite locals warnings to "come in peace or not come at all" to the Nimbin Mardi Grass, Lismore police have no doubt incurred the karmic wrath of a number of the regulars at the annual Mardi Grass festival including the Ganga Faeries.

Curiously, last month 50 riot squad officers were mustered by the Lismore chief to raid the town of peace & lerv, renowned internationally for its irreverent rejection of laws prohibiting the use and possession of marijuana.

The raid resulted in the seizure of cannabis related items, with 8 people arrested and 4 kilos of the drug seized, but could the absence of heroin in those seizures indicate a decline in opiate use that was so prevalent there in the past?

The era of zen policing in Nimbin would seem to be over, after anticipatory raids on both the 2007 and 2008 Mardi Grass marred the usual festivities, for which thousands of people gather to celebrate an alternative way of life and immerse themselves in a culture devoid of the gangs, crime and militant policing commonly associated with 'drug use' in the urban concrete jungles of Australia's major cities.

According to Nimbin Hemp Embassy president, Michael Balderstone, much of the push to change the culture at Nimbin is being generated by the Lismore Council whose keen interest in the safety and organization of the event directly preceded the 'April Fool's Day raids.'

Pot-heads who felt the full force of the riot squad, cast doubts over the basis for the raid, saying that police largely had ignored the hard drugs such as amphetamines and heroin and let major dealers get away, although senior police said the raids and ongoing presence was in a bid to take a tough stance against drugs. They later claimed to have seized hard drugs, although the spin at the time of the first raids in early April, listed solely cannabis.

During the Mardi Grass Lismore Star reported,'a drug-dog operation stopping cars just outside Nimbin resulted in 44 drug detections, with 27 being issued cautions. Officers conducted 54 driver drug-tests, with three testing positive. Two of 317 people given random breath tests returned low range PCA readings."

This year a record 15,000 would-be hippies attended the festival, even though the number of activities and facilities had been reduced by police closures.

Time for a change

2008-05-08T15:07:00.003+08:00

Out to lunch

2008-04-07T20:08:00.003+08:00

TDM has been offline for a couple days during format changes, but it's been drawn to my attention that the content is not mine to lock away, but shared knowledge & discussion between TDM & readers. So back online it is - although the template and format changes will continue & there will probably be some content changes as well.

Back soon...

April Fool's routine

2008-03-31T22:08:00.004+08:00

There simply had to be an alternative to Talking Heads(David Byrne) to deliver this message...

More shorts

2008-03-29T02:54:00.003+09:00

Police appeal for information from the public about evidence found at the Kings Park grave of Corryn Rayney.

More information on Karl Nightingale, who died in WAPOL custody in 2006.

Hit run charge against police officer's son, dropped.

I've heard some reports of daylight savings boycotts, but as yet I haven't seen anything official... thank goodness it's over for another year - whose bright idea was it to make Perth's hot days longer and sunnier??

VicPol release an apology to John de Jong for a roadside drug test they publicized, the results of which, were incorrect.

"Fat Tony' Mokbel has used the fair trial argument to try to prevent his extradition to Australia, on the grounds that yawn-worthy & class-biased crime series, Underbelly, will have prejudiced potential jurors.

@ Mo'Spherical

2008-03-28T19:43:00.004+09:00

Queen of the bike beats, Cileo plugs a bike-powered gig in Brunswick on Saturday.

Zoe trots out her x-rated version to kindly spell out the leadership dilemma for the Libs, who seem to be a little oblivious to the obvious. Is the problem more deeply rooted - could Nick Possum be right? Civil Liberties Australia buys into the debate - calling for the Prime Minister to examine rules and procedures governing how Australia formally declares war.

Belated congrats to the Man that Cooks & Toni on BabySpice. Another belated congrats to eclectic blogger, Pat the Media Dragon, on his Name Day. And from Sydney to Lebanon, the reach of Jozef's name day knows no bounds.

Call me a bit behind the times but TDMs slowly digging its way out of a work-related black blog-hole. Happy SPD to Mac & the rest of the Irish Contingent.

Twenty stares death in the eye and subsequently ponders the big questions.

Full moon follies & equinoxial shorts

2008-03-23T22:00:00.007+09:00

Johnny Montani was arrested today at Perth Airport by the Major Crime Squad, in relation to a re-trial for the murder of Kevin (Mick) Woodhouse in May 2004. Montani first went to trial in 2006 over the death, but Justice McKechnie dismissed it within 20 minutes.

The Police Commissioner has appealed for people to stop shining high-powered lasers into the cockpit of the police helicopter, 'this is not fun, this is serious,' he said. I wonder how motorists et al feel about the pilot's indiscriminate sweeping with the chopper's high-powered spotlight?

A perfect spot for mineral exploration. FARA have some more Stand-ups planned over the coming weeks. Hats off to them for the one earlier this month outside The Werst - they would have lerved that.

1) Friday 4/4 at 12-1pm outside Kingfisher Gallery, 49 Colin Street, West Perth (enter off Richardson St)
2) Sunday 6/4, 9am - on the Burrup Peninsula, Half way along Hearsons Cove rd.
3) Sunday 6/4, 12 noon - at the Perth Sun Fair Festival, Oak Lawn, UWA (off Hackett Drive) - an environmental fair with loads of interesting stalls and entertainment.

Another WAPOL officer arrested on child sex offences, yesterday.

Last week the Acting Deputy Commissioner announced a move which will see WAPOL officers manning children's crossings.

A local stick-up crew caught on camera for targeting the Home Building Society on four occasions around the metro area. Good descriptions & footage of the mid-week offenders would suggest their days of running amok are numbered. Police didn't release the total amount netted in the robberies.

Very sadly, the Green Machine threw in the towel this week, deciding to leave the world of pro-boxing on a high note. Big ups to the Machine for the 25-3 win/loss ratio.

(NB this hip hop track GreenLeaves by Teknish has a few teensy weensy profanities)

More wild & woollies in the Port town when the Spring Equinox coincided with the full moon. For those who don't know Freo's traditional population is comprised of a unique contrast of hippies and crooks, & is currently being over-run with yuppies in Perth's land grab.

Easter greetings

2008-03-23T13:49:00.003+09:00