Friday, August 25, 2006

Daily Rant Friday


Taj Mahal
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel.
Once a great religion, capable of inspiring majestic art, Islam is now captured by those who claim such greatness impossible. We aren't fighting against mere stupidity, we are fighting for a glorious future, The nay sayers claim western values have diminished Islam. In fact, Islam is better than that. Islam needs to assert itself over those frauds who would diminish it with terrorist apologia.
===
Taj Mahal
"Like a solitary tear suspended on the cheek of time” - Tagore

18 comments:

DaoDDBall said...

Child porn's global web
By Gary Hughes
Friday, August 25, 2006 at 12:04am

It started with the Queensland police seizing a child pornography video showing the abuse of three young girls speaking a foreign language. It finished half-way around the world with arrests of men in Belgium and Italy. If you need proof that the global child pornography industry has to be tackled on a global level, here it is.

The video seized in Queensland was sent to Interpol’s human trafficking unit with a request for help in identifying the language the two girls were speaking, Interpol says in a statement on the case.

It was established the girls, aged nine and 11, were speaking Flemish. Interpol then called in Belgian police, who examined backgrounds in some of the video shots and worked it had been taken in the city of Bruge. Images of the girls were circulated to local police in Bruge, where an officer recognised one.

The house where the girls lived was put under surveillance and eventually raided. The father, who was identified as the man abusing the girls on the video, was arrested and charged. A third victim on the video, a seven-year-old girl not related to the two sisters, was also identified.

But the operation didn’t stop there. According to Interpol, the father told police the video of him abusing the girls had been made by a photographer in living in Italy who he had contacted via email. Interpol’s bureau in Rome was alerted and the photographer was arrested at his home, where more evidence was found.

“This case highlights that no matter where in the world the evidence is found, or where in the world the abuse was committed, we have the resources to identify those responsible,” said Anders Persson of Interpol’s Trafficking in Human Beings unit.

“The dedication of the officers involved around the world…has saved three young girls from continued abuse, and almost certainly prevented other innocent victims from falling prey to such attacks.”

Interpol’s Child Abuse Image Database (ICAID) contains hundreds of thousands of pictures of victims from around the world. Image recognition software is used to compare details of where the abuse took place to connect images from the same series of abuse or images taken in the same location with different victims.

Once a country of origin is established, the images are sent to police in the countries concerned. The ICAID also allows Interpol to assist ongoing investigations by providing a mechanism for alerting authorities when new images are found

http://blogs.news.com.au/news/crime/index.php/news/comments/child_porns_global_web/

It's nice to know a supranational organisation is capable of effective work. This case is indicative of how the world can fight evil.

On the down side, we have to hope that the father wasn't a thief, terrorist or politician, because his right to privacy has been infringed and it will probably now be impossible to charge him.

DaoDDBall said...

Red light catches mayor
By Gary Hughes
Friday, August 25, 2006 at 12:02am
An Australian red light and speed camera supplier has been involved in helping the FBI charge a US mayor with taking a bribe. The mayor had allegedly sought a US$2750 bribe from camera company Redflex for agreeing to have his town install and use its products. But Redflex, which supplies traffic cameras to 90 cities in the USA, called in the FBI after handing the mayor the cheque.

http://blogs.news.com.au/news/crime/index.php/news/comments/red_light_catches_mayor/

It's just a coloured light. Yet it has put a stop to the activity of a poly we don't want in office.

In Australia, our state pollies long ago worked out they could raise so much more revenue through installing the devices.

DaoDDBall said...

Kroger: too many old Liberals are back-stabbers
Michael Kroger, Liberal legend, admits:

We do have (former federal leader) John Hewson, (former party president) John Valder and (former prime minister) Malcolm Fraser who, despite being an old friend of mine, is a constant critic of the federal Government, and Jeff Kennett.

The Liberal Party does have a cultural problem in the sense that these former leaders seem to find it necessary to bag the Government, or various sections of the Government, whenever they find the opportunity.

Is that what you get when your side of politics promotes individuals, not tribes? Certainly Labor finds that the Bob Hawkes and Paul Keatings are more likely to bite their tongues rather than seem disloyal to the collective.

Or do the Liberals simply have a unhappy history of picking lousy leaders?

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/kroger_too_many_old_liberals_are_back_stabbers/#commentsmore

I don't know of Valder.

Fraser was always a git. His great work was to dump Gorton, which brought on McMahon and, arguably, allowed the election of Whitlam .. twice. Fraser then accepted the invasion of Timor, the rise of Mugabi, the killing fields of Cambodia and the success of Bob Hawke, and working to keep Howard in opposition.

Hewson was a Peacock replacement, designed to keep Howard from office, in fulfilment of Fraser's agenda.

It would be a pity if these yokels had Australia under federal ALP as well as state ALP.

DaoDDBall said...

Judging Marcus
http://blogs.news.com.au/news/crime/index.php/news/comments/judging_marcus/#commentsmore

I have no love for this man, but I think the entire investigation suspect. I can think of many other public figures who are not held to this standard. I recall my sister telling me that a state poly (in the US, where she lives) had to resign after it was discovered he was being blackmailed by his former (gay) lover. He'd been discovered committing fraud and taking bribes. I explained to my sister she didn';t need to tell me all that. All I needed to know was that he was a Democrat Party polly.

Thing is, corrupt practise is de rigeur for the left. While Marcus Einfeld is famed for his liberal interpretation of law, his judgements are not questioned .. even now.

If Einfeld has form for corruption, if this goes deeper, I want to know. However, current events suggest the former justice of little more than 'being a Democrat.'

DaoDDBall said...

The list of the papers which fell for the Hezbollah hoax. Will they correct the record?

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_list_of_the_papers_which_fell_for_the_hezbollah_hoax_will_they_correct/#commentsmore

I really appreciated the clinical SMH describing the hundreds killed by 'precision guided weapons,' suggesting that Israelis were targetting civilians.

I feel sorry for the Israelis, the real victims in this hate driven media barrage.

DaoDDBall said...

A student speaks

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/a_student_speaks/

I like it. I like the sentiment and the thought that lead to it. I've heard a school student do better, recently, but I can't tell you anything about that.

I am a little concerned if this is an assesment task. I see no mention of 'sorry' or 'stolen generation' or war crimes. The Dismissal of Whitlam, Medibank and the study of US Empirialism should be mentioned as well.

DaoDDBall said...

SBS talks to its friends

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/sbs_talks_to_its_friends/

Lies and exaggeration are part and parcel of terrorisms war using the media. I'm curious, Liv of Melbourne, how biased do you suppose the map to be? Do you mean those grey splotches exaggerate the damage caused, that infrastructure still stands in those places?

I think you have a point, I've seen that ambulance shot .. there is bias. I've seen an innocent, unarmed man gunned down by UN endorsed Palestinians .. and he wasn't Jewish. I don't think the press covered that story enough either.

DaoDDBall said...

Loewenstein's integrity question

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/loewensteins_integrity_question/

I grew up with people like Loewenstein. They are hurtful and abrogate responsibility as it arises.

I am in a position where I can publish (through a vanity press) my autobiography. I haven't named names, it's about me. It details some systemic corruption, and I understand that should I publish I will lose my public service job. I would not use my enemies in that way. Clearly Loewenstein is a bigot, and not worth my time.

DaoDDBall said...

Crazy John isn't

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/crazy_john_isnt/

I think he makes a very good, unde- reported point. Not so Crazy.

DaoDDBall said...

Playthings of terrorists

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/playthings_of_terrorists/

http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=38431

I suspect Roth is being held to an unfair standard. If his organisation reports accurately, the BBC won't refer to it, neither will US press, and so the ABC and SMH won't hear about it.

I believe Roth has acted indiscriminately, promoting every anti semitic statement without fear or favor.

DaoDDBall said...

Torture Works

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_bottle_of_water_torture/

Torture works. I know this because my friends, from my youth, are lefties. Over the years, I've said some things in agreement with that I now cringe to remember. Lefties make terrible friends: They never give, only take. Lefties think that sacrifice is wrong. Even personal sacrifice.

DaoDDBall said...

Ridiculous Victorian Law

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_a_very_scary_laugh/

I find it hard to take anything the pentecostal movement says too seriously. I was a uni student once. It still hurts. :D

However, I find it equally hard to take Islamic leaders seriously either, even though many exercise the power of life and death.

DaoDDBall said...

Tree worshippers monster farmer
Wondered why the green religion is weakest among those who live in the greenest electorates?

A NATHALIA farmer who cut down 28 storm-damaged grey box trees for firewood and fence posts has been told to plant 1080 trees and lock them up in a covenant to avoid court action.

It gets worse.
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/tree_worshippers_monster_farmer/
http://bundarrahdays.blogspirit.com/

For the sake of argument, lets say Victoria vote out those ALP who created those laws. Will Bailleau rescind them?

DaoDDBall said...

Fairfax journalist Anne Summers gets a touch of the Terry Lanes.

Summers says:

My research showed that in 2002, nine of the country’s vice-chancellors were women. Today that number is three.

Facts say:


That is incorrect: there are currently eight female vice-chancellors serving in Australia, with an additional female vice-chancellor to take office in the new year.

Since the appointment of Australia’s first female vice-chancellor in 1987, the number of female vice-chancellors has significantly increased, reaching its highest point of female representation in 2004 when there were 10 serving female vice-chancellors.

(John Mullarvey, CEO, Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee)

It’s not been a good year of Age columnising for Summers. An earlier column in which she berated Hillary Clinton, claiming “Clinton has cosied up to the leading members of the ‘vast right-wing conspiracy’”, was followed by this:


An article on Saturday’s Opinion page by Anne Summers incorrectly claimed that Hillary Clinton, if she secured the Democratic Party nomination, would need an extra 34 electoral college votes to win the 2008 US presidential election. In fact, she would need 18 extra votes. The article also incorrectly said that the last presidential poll was in 2002, instead of 2004. The mistakes were made by the writer.

Still, should we demand facts from the chairman of Greenpeace?

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/anne_summers_walks_down_terrys_lane/

Ms Summers seems to have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Summers
It is surprising a Fairfax journalist would criticise a possible US president. Even making up fake associations to do it. I don't think Greenpeace would knowingly go for that sort of thing either. Maybe Ms Summers knows something the world doesn't.

DaoDDBall said...

Say goodbye if former judge Marcus Einfeld accuses you of driving his car. Death cannot be far away.

First there was this:

He was already being investigated for blaming a different Australian academic, also living in Florida, over a $77 speeding fine in January.

It was later discovered she died three years ago.

Then there came this:

When confronted with the apparent contradiction, Mr Einfeld told the Daily Telegraph his car was being driven by another Professor Brennan, who also subsequently died in a car accident in the US.

And now this, from the mother of another woman blamed by Einfeld:

“My daughter’s been living in America for 10 years, for heaven’s sake,” she said.

“As for her being here in 1999. Well, my husband died in June of that year and my daughter had to rush over for the funeral.”

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/beward_the_curse_of_the_einfeld/#commentsmore

Gotcha! also mentions that there is a suggestion that academic credentials may be inflated, with two PhD's from disreputable institutions accused of selling them.

DaoDDBall said...

A big election issue developing:

HOUSE prices have jumped sharply despite repeated interest rate rises, providing new evidence of a housing affordability crisis.
A lack of new housing and a tight rental market were yesterday blamed...

Much of the inflated price of a new house and land comes from the land having been made expensive by its scarcity, thanks to planning restrictions.

Please explain: Why on earth in a country as vast as Australia is urban land for housing scarce and expensive? I blame green theology…

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/ripleys_real_estate_short_of_land_in_australia_and_other_tall_stories/#commentsmore

Taking the Wiki figures of land area for Victoria and NSW, totalling 1,028,058 square km or 1028058000 quarter acre blocks.

The world pop of 6.5 billion (including terrorists and fairfax journalists) divides into this land at 6.32 every quarter acre.

The Australian dream is available to the world in Victoria and NSW, with room for 2.3 kids, one set of grandparents and a couple.

You'll have to see Mr Bracks or Mr Iemma about keys to the locks ..

DaoDDBall said...

By Gary Hughes
Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 12:02a

A vehicle is stolen every six minutes in Australia. That adds up to about 85,000 thefts per year – one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the western world. And the cost of almost $1 billion is passed back to drivers in the form of higher insurance premiums. Which state or territory has the highest rate of theft? You’ll be surprised.

According to the latest figures from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, the ACT is the car theft capital, recording a rate of two thefts for every 1000 registered vehicles. The other states and territories in order were:

NSW 1.7 thefts per 1000 registered vehicles.
Northern Territory 1.5
South Australia 1.5
Tasmania 1.3
Victoria 1.1
South Australia 1.1
Queensland 0.9

And the place where you were most likely to get your car back is Tasmania, where 92 per cent of stolen vehicles were recovered (which is one advantage of living on an island) . The state where you are least likely to see your wheels again was WA, where the recovery rate was only 61 per cent.

Other recovery rates were:
SA 78 per cent
ACT 78 per cent
NT 75 per cent
QLD 70 per cent
VIC 67 per cent
NSW 63 per cent

In the first quarter of 2006 18,733 vehicles worth $137 million were stolen around Australia. That brought the total stolen for the 12 months to the end of March 2006 to 76,959.

Improved anti-theft devices in newer cars has seen a decline in late model vehicles being stolen. Not only are older cars more likely to be stolen, they are less likely to be recovered.

In 2005 half the cars not recovered were older models worth less than $6000. More than 75 per cent of the vehicles not recovered were worth less than $15,000, while only 6 per cent of those never seen again were “top end” vehicles worth more than $30,000.

It is thought that the high number of older cars not being recovered reflects the fact that they are more likely to be stripped to meet the high demand for second hand parts for these models.

Here were the top targets of car thieves in the first quarter of 2006:
Holden Commodore VN, VH, VL
Ford Laser KB, KC, EA
Ford Falcon EA, XF
Hyundai Excel X3
Tarago YR22

http://blogs.news.com.au/news/crime/index.php/news/comments/hot_wheels/

Thanks for the reminder Garry :D

The second worst day of my life was when I woke up for work at 6 am, left the shared house by 7 am and discovered my car had been stolen as I'd slept, less than three metres away.

I called police then insurance. Police told me I should catch public transport to report the theft to the inner suburb station. Insurance said all I could do was report to the police and wait 28 days.

I called work to take the day off. Quizzed my flatmates, one of whom, a left wing druggie, I believe got it stolen.

Walked to the police station in an adjacent suburb. Identified myself. Discovered there was an outstanding warrant for my arrest relating to a failure to vote, once, when I was unregistered (??!!).

I subsequently cleared the warrant issue. I waited 28 days and was told by Insurance I needed to wait a further 28 as I'd not filled out forms. My Ford Fairmont Ghia, 8 years old in '95 was never recovered. I'd booked to have the engine immobiliser fixed the next day. I was about $15k in debt with no assets, worked fulltime and held two part time jobs and was completing a master's degree at Uni.

DaoDDBall said...

By Gary Hughes
Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 12:02a

A vehicle is stolen every six minutes in Australia. That adds up to about 85,000 thefts per year – one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the western world. And the cost of almost $1 billion is passed back to drivers in the form of higher insurance premiums. Which state or territory has the highest rate of theft? You’ll be surprised.

According to the latest figures from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, the ACT is the car theft capital, recording a rate of two thefts for every 1000 registered vehicles. The other states and territories in order were:

NSW 1.7 thefts per 1000 registered vehicles.
Northern Territory 1.5
South Australia 1.5
Tasmania 1.3
Victoria 1.1
South Australia 1.1
Queensland 0.9

And the place where you were most likely to get your car back is Tasmania, where 92 per cent of stolen vehicles were recovered (which is one advantage of living on an island) . The state where you are least likely to see your wheels again was WA, where the recovery rate was only 61 per cent.

Other recovery rates were:
SA 78 per cent
ACT 78 per cent
NT 75 per cent
QLD 70 per cent
VIC 67 per cent
NSW 63 per cent

In the first quarter of 2006 18,733 vehicles worth $137 million were stolen around Australia. That brought the total stolen for the 12 months to the end of March 2006 to 76,959.

Improved anti-theft devices in newer cars has seen a decline in late model vehicles being stolen. Not only are older cars more likely to be stolen, they are less likely to be recovered.

In 2005 half the cars not recovered were older models worth less than $6000. More than 75 per cent of the vehicles not recovered were worth less than $15,000, while only 6 per cent of those never seen again were “top end” vehicles worth more than $30,000.

It is thought that the high number of older cars not being recovered reflects the fact that they are more likely to be stripped to meet the high demand for second hand parts for these models.

Here were the top targets of car thieves in the first quarter of 2006:
Holden Commodore VN, VH, VL
Ford Laser KB, KC, EA
Ford Falcon EA, XF
Hyundai Excel X3
Tarago YR22

http://blogs.news.com.au/news/crime/index.php/news/comments/hot_wheels/

Thanks for the reminder Garry :D

The second worst day of my life was when I woke up for work at 6 am, left the shared house by 7 am and discovered my car had been stolen as I'd slept, less than three metres away.

I called police then insurance. Police told me I should catch public transport to report the theft to the inner suburb station. Insurance said all I could do was report to the police and wait 28 days.

I called work to take the day off. Quizzed my flatmates, one of whom, a left wing druggie, I believe got it stolen.

Walked to the police station in an adjacent suburb. Identified myself. Discovered there was an outstanding warrant for my arrest relating to a failure to vote, once, when I was unregistered (??!!).

I subsequently cleared the warrant issue. I waited 28 days and was told by Insurance I needed to wait a further 28 as I'd not filled out forms. My Ford Fairmont Ghia, 8 years old in '95 was never recovered. I'd booked to have the engine immobiliser fixed the next day. I was about $15k in debt with no assets, worked fulltime and held two part time jobs and was completing a master's degree at Uni.