Author: Kev

Retired infantry officer. Conservative by nature and politics; Happily married and father and grandfather of eight. Loves V8 powered Range Rovers, Golden Retrievers, good books and technology and think there should be open season on Greenies. Born in the mid forties and overdue for servicing but most parts still work.

New Chief Justice appointed

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ROBERT French broke new ground yesterday with a tribute to the role of indigenous people in Australia’s history as he was sworn in as the nation’s 12th Chief Justice.

“The history of Australia’s indigenous people dwarfs, in its temporal sweep, the history that gave rise to the constitution under which this court was created,” he said. “Our awareness and recognition of that history is becoming, if it has not already become, part of our national identity.”

I just hope he remembers he is charged with interpreting the law for all 21 million Australians not just a few hundred thousand of them.

Politics

Mark Dodd reports creates fury

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Mark Dodd who never misses a chance to denigrate our military provides info in the form of a beat up about battle field security of prisoners in Afghanistan

SUSPECTED Taliban militants arrested by Australian special forces in Afghanistan have been detained in “dog pens” in actions that have left Australian Muslim groups outraged and prompted a protest from the Afghan ambassador in Canberra.

As a matter of interest I wonder how the local Muslim groups become aware of the situation. I can just imagine Mark phoning the local Muslim organizations saying “I have a FOI report and you should be outraged…could you give me an outraged statement please?

Mark continues

The use of dog pens appears to contravene the Geneva Convention covering the treatment of prisoners of war.

No it doesn’t.

Article 25 of the Convention states: Prisoners of war must be quartered in conditions as favourable as those enjoyed by the detaining power.

Article 25 is talking about the long term incarceration of POWs once they have been removed from the battle field. When initially captured, prisoners are secured in any way possible, ie with ropes, handcuffs or ziplocks and a rifle at their head until they can be evacuated rearward. The soldiers have to keep a constant armed vigil over them and if they can be confined in some cage then all the best for the sleep patterns of the soldiers.

But there are cultural sensitivities at play over the use of dog pens. Islamic decrees warn Muslims against contact with dogs, which are regarded as unclean.

Cultural sensitivities at play! We are talking about the Taliban here. I can’t believe that they have the temerity to call dogs unclean.

UPDATE: Mark Dodd phoned taking umbrage at my opening line and quiet reasonably so, I might add. I had gained an opinion of a certain alacrity on Mark’s part to publish articles that put the ADF in a negative light but as he explained, he often publishes what he is given by defence. That being the case, and with further reading of his work beyond that which had previously caught my eye, I must agree and will not be so cavalier with the ‘ever ready to denigrate the ADF’ line.

I will however maintain the right to an opinion when I feel my old regiment is under attack and not recognized for it’s sterling service.

My point on Article 25 of the Geneva Convention referring to conditions after the PWs have been removed from the battle zone has not been answered though and I can only suggest the lawyer offering the opinon to Mark look at it a little closer. There has been more than one occassion in the past where I have been involved in guarding PWs in the field where we have simply had to make do with what we had available – with the guy mostly static, on the ground, blindfolded, with their arms tied behind their back and a rifleman dedicated to keeping them that way.

PW cages or prisons are generally not the responsibility of Infantry.

War on Terror

Fairfax in trouble

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It must be all giggles in The Australian headquarters as Fairfax journalists and staff eat their own entrails. Mike Carlton has just been sacked for not filing his column during a strike by the journalists and other media staff in Sydney and Melbourne.

While Fairfax plummets further into obscurity The Australian will surely pick up the slack in circulation and all the better for the country, I might add.

The story is replete with strikes, the mandatory strike breakers and a hero although Jaspan could only be a hero in a left-wing rag.

I wonder if any are thinking…maybe if we hadn’t drifted so far left in a centrist country…..

Politics

Education watch

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Julia Gillard on ABC has trouble convincing Lyndal Curtis the the ALP education policy is original.

LYNDAL CURTIS: But you’re introducing the same element of compulsion that the Howard government proposed on transparency.

JULIA GILLARD: No, we’re introducing a very different system. And the important difference, the most important difference to understand is this. The Howard government went to State and Territory Governments and said, we want transparency in order to hold you up to public ridicule and to play a political blame game. We want transparency to help batter Labor Governments around the country.

A few points, Julia
1 The Howard government didn’t say that,
2. It wasn’t their intent, and
3 They were trying to do what you say you are trying to do.

There is no question that what Rudd and Gillard are trying to do has some merit, as most Coalition policies have merit, but the telling point is will the states and territories roll over for the Feds?

The local ALP boys run the education systems and the teacher’s unions and members are a part of their power base thus it’ll take a lot of beating over their respective heads with baseball bats before they come to the party. Transparency is not a natural policy of the Left and the Left lead the state’s debate on education.

Once again, just because Rudd has said it will happen, that it is his plan, doesn’t make it so.

Good idea, good luck!

Politics

Happy birthday Sir Don

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As we come down from a high post Olympics it might be time to remember Don Bradman, born 100 years ago today and forever enshrined as one of the greats of cricket. In this article we read he wasn’t just on top of cricket but excelled everywhere he competed.

Even some American observers appreciated the importance of Bradman to cricket: “He was Babe Ruth without the swagger,” Baltimore Sun journalist Bill Glauber once wrote. “Joe DiMaggio without Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jordan without the endorsements.”

Twice as good as the leading pack he set records that more than likely will never be beaten.

Another measure where Bradman’s record is superior is the performance comparison within the chosen sport. Bradman’s average of 100 (rounded off to the nearest run) in 80 Test innings makes him twice as good as the next group of batsmen, whose averages fall between 40 and 60.

In other words, he was worth the Chappell brothers, Ian and Greg, or the Waugh brothers, Steve and Mark. There were many fine players with averages in the 30s. For instance, Bradman was worth the combination of Paul Sheahan, Kim Hughes and Joe Darling, all top class, who would be selected for their country in any era.

Go read and remember how great he was.

Uncategorized

Democrat Convention

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I listened to the ABC report on the Democrat Convention in Denver. Michelle Obama spoke but her earlier comment “…first time in my life I’m really been proud to be an American” didn’t get a rerun. Ted Kennedy spoke emotionally and eloquently about the achievements of others – his brother Jack and quoted Martin Luther King’s I have a dream but he didn’t mention Chappaquiddick

Understandable too, but some people have long memories and if I was Obama I would just as soon not have Ted’s support.

I wonder if the ABC will give the Republican Convention to be held next week, the same sort of coverage.

Politics, US Politics

So what?

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FOR seven minutes there was silence on the Indonesian island except the sounds of two men dying and a priest singing Amazing Grace.

A Irish Catholic priest, officiating at an execution in Indonesia, says the men took seven minutes to die after having been shot. The execution squad of 12 had only three weapons armed with live rounds and the rest with blanks.

I’m not sure why authorities insist on this ‘some rifles load with blanks’ line. I presume it is to help the poor guys doing the executing – ie maybe my rifle had a blank and thus I didn’t kill him’ but if a soldier doesn’t know the difference between firing a blank or a live round he shouldn’t be in the game.

I’m not big into executions but if you are going to do it then let’s not stuff around. Have 9 out of a dozen rifles loaded with live rounds and the rest with blanks.

In fact this makes so much sense I am beginning to doubt the Priest’s story. Nowhere in the article does it say the men were executed one at time and I can’t believe that the authorities expected three rounds to do the job on two people – that would mean one of those to be executed was only targeted by one rifleman. Thus, they would have been executed separately in which case each guy would have taken three rounds in the chest.

That’s enough.

Looks like a beat-up to me but either way I don’t care. Some of the hundreds killed by the soon to be executed Bali Bomber Barbarians would have taken a lot longer to die that 7 minutes.

War on Terror

Grocery Watch not being watched

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Shoppers have shunned the Federal Government’s grocery pricing website, prompting industry experts to label it a waste of taxpayers money.

After being branded a “basket case” because it only listed once-a-month grocery prices, the $13 million website recorded a drop of 2.1 million visitors in its second week.

Opposition finance spokesman Peter Dutton said considering the website’s total cost of $13 million over four years, the number of hits from the past fortnight roughly worked out to about $10 a user, per year.

“It would be cheaper for Wayne Swan to stand outside Coles with gift vouchers,” he said.

Another pointless initiative that will soon be forgotten.

Politics

On the money

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An embarrassed Australia has apologised to Prime Minister Helen Clark over the circulation of a briefing note outlining her “tight control” and saying her leftwing beliefs & foreign policy outlook was shaped by her anti-Vietnam war views.

It might not be diplomatic but it’s on the money.

I always remember her as the one who scrapped the New Zealand Airforce.

Says it all really.

Politics

Economics or social engineering?

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Just heard on National radio

Wayne Swan accuses the opposition of being economically irresponsible for threatening to block the alcopop tax.

Economically irresponsible? I thought the tax was aimed at socially engineering young girls away from alcopops.

In a speech to the National Press Club, Mr Swan said the measure had been introduced to target teenage consumption of the drinks. “And all of the medical evidence and all of the scientific evidence and all of the behavioural evidence indicates that they are responsive to price,” Mr Swan said.

And all the rest of the evidence, including Swan’s words, indicates that the tax was just that, a tax with revenue in mind.

Politics
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