Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Hurricane not as bad as thought ..


Hurricane
Originally uploaded by Sydney Weasel
* Police might have sensibly removed badges during APEC.
* Police probe Hicks
* Rudd 'Thin Skinned'

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hundreds of APEC police removed badges: photos
September 19, 2007 - 3:16PM
Source: ABC
The Human Rights Monitors group has released photographs of more than 200 police it says failed to wear proper identification badges during the APEC protests in Sydney earlier this month.

The group's coordinator, Dale Mills, says the pictures are being released in response to Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione's claims that only a few police officers were not wearing tags.

Mr Scipione yesterday released the results of a police inquiry into the matter, which cleared police of any wrongdoing.

He said police had legitimate fears the pins and plastic on the badges could be used against them.

But Mr Mills has ridiculed Mr Scipione's claims.

"These are the imaginings of a police officer's mind. They don't exist in reality," he said.

"If police officers can't defend themselves against having badges removed, then one shudders to think how they'd defend themselves against having batons and pepper spray and guns removed."

Following the inquiry, all officers rostered for protests will be issued with cloth name tags in future.

But Human Rights Monitors and the Greens have called for an independent probe into police behaviour during the APEC protests.

The NSW Ombudsman has received seven complaints about the behaviour of police.

Anonymous said...

Police probe Hicks on range of topics
September 19, 2007 - 5:05PM
Source: ABC
Federal and South Australian Police have spent almost two hours interviewing convicted terrorism supporter David Hicks at Yatala Prison in Adelaide.

The former Guantanamo Bay inmate is due for release at the end of the year.

Hicks's lawyer David McLeod says the questioning covered a broad range of subjects, mainly relating to other investigations.

But he says Hicks was able to offer little help.

"David has been asked every question on this planet other than who's gonna win the next election and, on each occasion, he's answered the questions consistently and he didn't deviate from that today," Mr McLeod said.

"When David arrived at Yatala he was pasty-faced, he was overweight. Now ... his features have returned, his health has returned.

"The fact that he has been given this second chance at life, almost being reborn, is something that is not lost on him."

Anonymous said...

PM says Rudd 'thin skinned'
September 19, 2007 - 1:45PM
Source: ABC
Prime Minister John Howard says federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd is being thin-skinned over Government criticism.

Mr Rudd has accused the Coalition of embarking on a fear and smear campaign in the lead up to the federal election.

But Mr Howard says the Government is simply pointing out facts.

"If Mr Rudd regards a criticism of him as a smear campaign, then he's got a very thin skin," Mr Howard said.

"I mean it is perfectly legitimate to attack somebody's lack of substance, a smear campaign is when you say things about somebody's private life which is unrelated to the performance of his public duties and I'm not into that."

Mr Rudd says the coalition is increasingly behaving like a negatively driven opposition rather than a government.

"Why isn't Mr Howard now talking about his plans for housing affordability, right now, why isn't he talking about his plans for climate change right now, why is he not talking about his plans to fix the problem we have with trades training in schools right now?" he said.

"They've not been put forward, it's a campaign of consistent negativity against the Opposition."