With around 11,000 teenage mothers in receipt of parenting payment, that's a heck of a lot of money for the taxpayer to be paying to support teenagers who have a child. Do the math - multiply $625.90 which is the government payment by 11,000... about $6.39741684 million dollars a fortnight!
The Prime Minister's tough love budget gets the seal of approval from me.
Teenage mums' welfare payments will be suspended six months after the birth if they do not follow Centrelink orders under Julia Gillard's "tough love" Budget.
Once their child reaches 12 months, teenage parents must attend school to finish year 12. If they skip class, they will lose their parenting payment of up to $625.90 a fortnight.
This should have been done years ago and not just to balance the budget - many young people accept little or no responsibility. There will of course be people who disagree with getting teen mums back to school for an education or working see here.
HOWEVER, there are other things that need to be taken into consideration and further planning and action must be done for this to be workable -
1. I disagree with enforcing this when the baby is at such a young age - it is better by far to wait until the baby is 12 months old.
2. Another problem I can see is where does the baby go while the mum is at school? There aren't enough childcare centres and placements as it is - does the government also have a plan to build enough childcare centres to accommodate these babies?
3. And when the mother has completed year 12, what then?
4. Changes made to single parent pensions (now called parenting payment) - at present, single parents must work a minimum of 15 hours per week when their youngest child turns 6 or they lose the pension.
5. With the government's new tough love budget, when the teen has completed year 12 will they be expected to work even though their child is under the age of 6 years?
Cuts to Disability Pensions
Is Julia Gillard and her razor gang going to slash disability pensions? The Australian Human Rights Commission's disability discrimination commissioner has backed calls to get people off the disability pension and back into work. And is that fair? Pensioners are already living below the poverty line - are they going to go in a downward spiral of further poverty to pay for the Queensland floods? Don't get me wrong, there is a huge damage bill to not only Queensland but Victoria as well, and we as taxpayers will all share the cost, but cutting pensions? Seems to me Ms Gillard is targeting the wrong people - why not start with cutting the wages of our Members of Parliament? Cut the freebies and perks and taxpayer-funded travel in the name of "on government service" - let them drive their own cars to and from work and pay for their own petrol out of their own pockets. I do - I pay for mine, nobody pays me petrol money.
And pensions for former Prime Ministers are way above the ordinary pensioner.
Kevin Rudd will get $600,000 a year for life when he leaves politics.
John Howard gets a multi-million dollar pension. Mr Howard will retire on a pension worth up to $330,000 a year or he could take a $1.5 million lump sum payout and an annual pension of about $165,000 a year.
And what about all the other former prime ministers, how much would they be getting I wonder?
We've all heard the old saying, there's one law for the rich and another for the poor.
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Kangaroo
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
24. Anzac Day - Lest we forget
Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallopoli Peninsular to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The landed at Gallipoli on April 25 and met fierce resistance form the Turkish defenders. The campaign dragged on for eight months.
At the end of 1915 the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and severe hardship. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
We honour those Diggers and all Diggers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Below is an Anzac tribute I made compiled of original photoshots from World War One, including the Landing at Anzac Cove, Passchendaele, marches and photos taken by soldiers.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
23. Murder and a Sex Scandal
All I can say is thank Le bon Dieu that one judge has the whit to hand out a decent sentence.
Arthur Phillip Freeman who threw his four year old daughter off the West Gate Bridge has been sentenced to life in prison. Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan sentenced Arthur Phillip Freeman, 37, to life in jail with a non-parole period of 32 years for the murder of four-year-old daughter Darcey as he sought revenge against her mother during a custody battle.
Little Darcey died hours after being thrown 80m from the bridge by her father on January 29, 2009.
Above: Darcey Freeman as a flower girl at a relative's wedding. Source: Herald Sun
Prosecutors called for Freeman to be jailed for life without parole, while his lawyers had pleaded for a minimum term.
When he handed out the sentence, he said he understood the argument that he be "locked away forever", but he did not think Freeman was "beyond redemption". The Judge said "Whatever happens, you will spend what many consider will be the best years of your life in prison. One of the unfortunate features of this case is that others blame themselves, but they should not."
Said Justice Coghlan - "You are responsible for it and nobody else. The earliest date you can be released is 29 January 2041, when you will be 67 years old."
I guess because he (the Judge) thought the murdering little swine was not "beyond redemption" he was being lenient in not locking him up for the term of his natural life.
What I don't understand is how come it took the jury five days to reach a verdict?
And I suppose all the bleeding hearts will come out now in defence of the murdering monster with lines like oh the poor man was having a mental episode and wasn't in full possession of his faculties at the time, he's not guilty on the grounds of insanity.
Yeah well pull the other one - it's got bells on it. What really angers me is these parents who don't get their own way in a custody battle go and kill their child/children. Why don't they top themselves - why is it always the children?
Another murdering little cretin is Robert Farquharson who killed his three sons on Father's Day in 2005 to get revenge on his ex-wife. He drove them into a dam, left them in the car but managed to save himself. He's been convicted twice.
To be continued............
Arthur Phillip Freeman who threw his four year old daughter off the West Gate Bridge has been sentenced to life in prison. Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan sentenced Arthur Phillip Freeman, 37, to life in jail with a non-parole period of 32 years for the murder of four-year-old daughter Darcey as he sought revenge against her mother during a custody battle.
Little Darcey died hours after being thrown 80m from the bridge by her father on January 29, 2009.
Prosecutors called for Freeman to be jailed for life without parole, while his lawyers had pleaded for a minimum term.
When he handed out the sentence, he said he understood the argument that he be "locked away forever", but he did not think Freeman was "beyond redemption". The Judge said "Whatever happens, you will spend what many consider will be the best years of your life in prison. One of the unfortunate features of this case is that others blame themselves, but they should not."
Said Justice Coghlan - "You are responsible for it and nobody else. The earliest date you can be released is 29 January 2041, when you will be 67 years old."
I guess because he (the Judge) thought the murdering little swine was not "beyond redemption" he was being lenient in not locking him up for the term of his natural life.
What I don't understand is how come it took the jury five days to reach a verdict?
And I suppose all the bleeding hearts will come out now in defence of the murdering monster with lines like oh the poor man was having a mental episode and wasn't in full possession of his faculties at the time, he's not guilty on the grounds of insanity.
Yeah well pull the other one - it's got bells on it. What really angers me is these parents who don't get their own way in a custody battle go and kill their child/children. Why don't they top themselves - why is it always the children?
Another murdering little cretin is Robert Farquharson who killed his three sons on Father's Day in 2005 to get revenge on his ex-wife. He drove them into a dam, left them in the car but managed to save himself. He's been convicted twice.
To be continued............
Sunday, February 6, 2011
22. Cyclone Yasi
Destruction From The Skies
We knew about Cyclone Yasi - all Australians knew by Tuesday (1 Feb) and that it would be bad - worse than Cyclone Larry which hit the Queensland coast in 2006 and far worse than Cyclone Anthony which was a Category 2 with winds up to 155 km/ph and hit the Queensland coast on 30 January - just a few days earlier.
Above: Predicted path of Cyclone Yasi
Although meteorologists try and predict the path of a cyclone, the cyclones themselves can go either way and turn in a different direction. It was thought that Cairns would be the focal point, but when this huge monster smashed into the Queensland coast, it was Mission Beach where it made landfall. Mission Beach is 138 kms south of Cairns.
Above: TC Yasi in the Pacific Ocean
Above: Cyclone Yasi on 1 Feb
A huge monster. By 7.00am on the 2 February, Cyclone Yasi was upgraded to a Category 5 with possible winds of up to 300km/ph.
Above: Cyclone Yasi nears Queensland
Above: Cyclone Yasi and Australia
Like Napalm
Queensland residents have said that when TC Yasi hit, it was like a napalm bomb had gone off and its fury was ten times worse that Larry.
One day you have a picturesque three-acre property on a hill overlooking South Mission Beach and Dunk Island, complete with its own rainforest, the next you are looking at devestation on a grand scale. Trees stripped bare, everything in sight broken, branches everywhere, your house is gone, the road has lifted, and the howling winds like a jet engine go on for hours while the rain pounds down.
A frightening prospect.
Size of Yasi & World Comparisons
To give you so,e idea just how big TC Yasi was, the three photos below show the cyclone over the USA, Asia and Europe.
Above: TC Yasi superimposed over the USA
Above: TC Yasi over Asia
Above: TC Yasi superimposed over Europe
Above: Cyclone Yasi and Hurricane Katrina
The pictures below are from ABC News.
Above: Tully Heads resident returns to ruin
Above: Power lines down at Cowley
Towns Closed To Public
Following a request for privacy by distressed locals, Police have closed of Tully Heads and Tully to the general public. Police said residents returning to their badly damaged homes wanted to be left alone to begin the clean up.
The seaside towns were among the hardest hit when the category five Cyclone Yasi slammed into the coast late on Wednesday night.
Police say the entire Tully Heads and Tully areas have been closed - the locals will wear marked wrist bands to gain access.
Above: Tully home peeled open
Above: Toilet left standing after Cyclone Yasi
Above: Silkwood home hit by Yasi
Above: Sign shows Tully residents' resilience
Above: Tully home hit hard
Above: Marina in ruin after Cyclone Yasi
Above: Banana farm inundated by Cyclone Yasi floodwaters
The banana crops have been almost wiped out bar a few. When Cyclone Larry hit five years ago, bananas went up to $13 a kilo.
No Imported Bananas
It is with relief I heard that Coles Supermarket has promised they will not import cheap bananas from overseas. This is something I am very pleased about - so what if banans cost 13 bucks a kilo, or even $20, I'd rather pay $10 for two bananas or go without than have an imported crop from overseas. When I was a child, fruit and vegetables were not available all year round like they are today - they were only in the fruit shops when they were in season. And that's how it should be. Too many people are used to having all their fruit and veg year round and they're pretty tasteless anyway.
Above: Banana plantation destroyed by Cyclone Yasi
Above: Cardwell's foreshore washed to sea
Town Faces Disaster Again
Above: House toppled in Innisfail
Innisfail, a small sugar cane town 30 kms from Mission Beach was almost wiped out after Cyclone Larry and now faces another battle.
Above: House destroyed in Mission Beach
Above: Ocean laps over The Strand in Townsville
Above: Oceans churns in the wake of Yasi
A C-17 Globemaster and two C-130 Hercules aircraft flew from Amberley Airbase to Cairns on Saturday with essential supplies. There will be further flights transporting such things as bottled water, baby formula, disposable nappies and tinned food.
Cairns residents, meanwhile, could have their power restored. Local power supplier Ergon Energy says it believes it will have the high voltage backbone of most of its electricity network in Cairns restored by Sunday night.
Power was reconnected to almost 15,000 customers on Friday night, leaving about 21,000 homes and businesses in Cairns without power.
Where There's A Will There's A Way
Beyond this place of wrath and fears, looms but the horror of the shade.
Yet the menace of the years, finds us unafraid.
It matters not how charged with punishment the scroll;
We thank whatever gods may be, for our unconquerable soul
From "Invictus" by William Henley.
Few in the tropics would know much about Henley's poem Invictus. Let alone the words or order.
But here in the Deep North it resonates. There is something different in our DNA. There is a sense of the tough, pioneering spirit of life on the last frontier up here.
This latest big blow is testament to our unconquerable soul.
Cyclone Yasi is just the latest test of our character. Make no mistake, this was no fizzer. Flying over Ground Zero, it looks like 150km stretch of the coast has been bombed.
In a sweep by helicopter from Cairns to Ingham, a distance of about 260km, the full extent of the devastation can be seen. The blessing was that Cyclone Yasi - a female Fijian baby name meaning sandalwood - did not unleash its payload directly on the main population centres of Townsville or Cairns. That would have been carnage.
But there is one image, out of many, that captures the wrath of the most powerful cyclone in Australia's recorded history. From the air, it is the sight of about 70 luxury yachts, motor cruisers and catamarans, piled high like a child's discarded toys and flung into waterfront living rooms.
Down on the ground, emotions are raw. Jim Wickerson, 58, looks like Santa Claus. He is a big, burly bloke, scared of nothing. Except a Fijian female called Yasi. READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.
We knew about Cyclone Yasi - all Australians knew by Tuesday (1 Feb) and that it would be bad - worse than Cyclone Larry which hit the Queensland coast in 2006 and far worse than Cyclone Anthony which was a Category 2 with winds up to 155 km/ph and hit the Queensland coast on 30 January - just a few days earlier.
Although meteorologists try and predict the path of a cyclone, the cyclones themselves can go either way and turn in a different direction. It was thought that Cairns would be the focal point, but when this huge monster smashed into the Queensland coast, it was Mission Beach where it made landfall. Mission Beach is 138 kms south of Cairns.
A huge monster. By 7.00am on the 2 February, Cyclone Yasi was upgraded to a Category 5 with possible winds of up to 300km/ph.
Like Napalm
Queensland residents have said that when TC Yasi hit, it was like a napalm bomb had gone off and its fury was ten times worse that Larry.
One day you have a picturesque three-acre property on a hill overlooking South Mission Beach and Dunk Island, complete with its own rainforest, the next you are looking at devestation on a grand scale. Trees stripped bare, everything in sight broken, branches everywhere, your house is gone, the road has lifted, and the howling winds like a jet engine go on for hours while the rain pounds down.
A frightening prospect.
Size of Yasi & World Comparisons
To give you so,e idea just how big TC Yasi was, the three photos below show the cyclone over the USA, Asia and Europe.
The pictures below are from ABC News.
Towns Closed To Public
Following a request for privacy by distressed locals, Police have closed of Tully Heads and Tully to the general public. Police said residents returning to their badly damaged homes wanted to be left alone to begin the clean up.
The seaside towns were among the hardest hit when the category five Cyclone Yasi slammed into the coast late on Wednesday night.
Police say the entire Tully Heads and Tully areas have been closed - the locals will wear marked wrist bands to gain access.
The banana crops have been almost wiped out bar a few. When Cyclone Larry hit five years ago, bananas went up to $13 a kilo.
No Imported Bananas
It is with relief I heard that Coles Supermarket has promised they will not import cheap bananas from overseas. This is something I am very pleased about - so what if banans cost 13 bucks a kilo, or even $20, I'd rather pay $10 for two bananas or go without than have an imported crop from overseas. When I was a child, fruit and vegetables were not available all year round like they are today - they were only in the fruit shops when they were in season. And that's how it should be. Too many people are used to having all their fruit and veg year round and they're pretty tasteless anyway.
Town Faces Disaster Again
Innisfail, a small sugar cane town 30 kms from Mission Beach was almost wiped out after Cyclone Larry and now faces another battle.
A C-17 Globemaster and two C-130 Hercules aircraft flew from Amberley Airbase to Cairns on Saturday with essential supplies. There will be further flights transporting such things as bottled water, baby formula, disposable nappies and tinned food.
Cairns residents, meanwhile, could have their power restored. Local power supplier Ergon Energy says it believes it will have the high voltage backbone of most of its electricity network in Cairns restored by Sunday night.
Power was reconnected to almost 15,000 customers on Friday night, leaving about 21,000 homes and businesses in Cairns without power.
Where There's A Will There's A Way
Beyond this place of wrath and fears, looms but the horror of the shade.
Yet the menace of the years, finds us unafraid.
It matters not how charged with punishment the scroll;
We thank whatever gods may be, for our unconquerable soul
From "Invictus" by William Henley.
Few in the tropics would know much about Henley's poem Invictus. Let alone the words or order.
But here in the Deep North it resonates. There is something different in our DNA. There is a sense of the tough, pioneering spirit of life on the last frontier up here.
This latest big blow is testament to our unconquerable soul.
Cyclone Yasi is just the latest test of our character. Make no mistake, this was no fizzer. Flying over Ground Zero, it looks like 150km stretch of the coast has been bombed.
In a sweep by helicopter from Cairns to Ingham, a distance of about 260km, the full extent of the devastation can be seen. The blessing was that Cyclone Yasi - a female Fijian baby name meaning sandalwood - did not unleash its payload directly on the main population centres of Townsville or Cairns. That would have been carnage.
But there is one image, out of many, that captures the wrath of the most powerful cyclone in Australia's recorded history. From the air, it is the sight of about 70 luxury yachts, motor cruisers and catamarans, piled high like a child's discarded toys and flung into waterfront living rooms.
Down on the ground, emotions are raw. Jim Wickerson, 58, looks like Santa Claus. He is a big, burly bloke, scared of nothing. Except a Fijian female called Yasi. READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
21. Assange To Escape From Police At The Top Of Some Stairs
POLICE said they expected Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to attempt an escape, probably at the top of a long flight of stairs.
Following Mr Assange's arrest, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson confirmed there would be nothing they could do if he broke free but then accidentally tripped and hit every step on the way down.
Stephenson said Mr Assange would be held for questioning at a central London police station but due to a problem with the central heating they would have to keep moving him between floors.
He added: "Unfortunately the lifts are going to be broken the entire time he is custody."
He said: "I wish Mr Assange was not going to break his neck later this afternoon, but there is nothing my officers can do to stop him.
"They will shout something like 'hey you' or 'stop escaping' but he will be too quick for them.
"Also he will have forgotten to tie his shoelaces."
Sir Paul dismissed claims that the arrest was political but admitted international warrants were controversial and that it would have been more efficient to use the British system of pretending Mr Assange is a Brazilian electrician.
Meanwhile governments across the world were celebrating Mr Assange's arrest and imminent escape, stressing that history proves if you focus all your efforts on stopping one man then the thing you don't like will just go away. Source here
Note
We are aware the Julian Assange has been granted bail. This is submitted for the irony.
Following Mr Assange's arrest, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson confirmed there would be nothing they could do if he broke free but then accidentally tripped and hit every step on the way down.
Stephenson said Mr Assange would be held for questioning at a central London police station but due to a problem with the central heating they would have to keep moving him between floors.
He added: "Unfortunately the lifts are going to be broken the entire time he is custody."
He said: "I wish Mr Assange was not going to break his neck later this afternoon, but there is nothing my officers can do to stop him.
"They will shout something like 'hey you' or 'stop escaping' but he will be too quick for them.
"Also he will have forgotten to tie his shoelaces."
Sir Paul dismissed claims that the arrest was political but admitted international warrants were controversial and that it would have been more efficient to use the British system of pretending Mr Assange is a Brazilian electrician.
Meanwhile governments across the world were celebrating Mr Assange's arrest and imminent escape, stressing that history proves if you focus all your efforts on stopping one man then the thing you don't like will just go away. Source here
Note
We are aware the Julian Assange has been granted bail. This is submitted for the irony.
20. At a Glance: Wikileaks Cables
Timeline
28 Nov: First cables released
29 Nov: US brands cable leaks an "attack on the international community" and says criminal investigation ongoing
29 Nov: Former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin calls for Mr Assange to be "pursued with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders"
3 Dec: Wikileaks forced to change web address after coming under cyber attack
3 Dec: Sweden issues new European arrest warrant for Mr Assange over sex crime allegations but wording is wrong
6 Dec: Sweden issues new warrant and passes it to police in UK
7 Dec: Mr Assange is arrested in London after voluntarily walking into a police station
I really fear for the safety of Julian Assange if he is extradited to Sweden. Gerard Batten, a UKIP MEP, said the Assange case highlighted the dangers of the European arrest warrant.
He said: "I don't know of the quality of the evidence in Mr Assange's case but it does seem that he is involved in political turmoil and intrigue and there are a lot of people keen to shut him up and there is nothing a court in the UK can do to look at the evidence before they extradite him."
Analysis by Clive Coleman
BBC News legal affairs analyst.
At a full hearing, which is not likely to take place for some weeks, Mr Assange will be able to raise his arguments against extradition.
The "fast-track" European arrest warrant system is based on the concept that all the participating countries have legal systems which meet similar standards, and fully respect human rights.
If Julian Assange is to avoid extradition he would need to show the warrant is politically motivated. This has been argued successfully in the past by Russian oligarchs, though Sweden has a better judicial record than Russia.
Or he would need to use technical arguments - arguing the warrant does not show specifically what law has been broken. But most technical mistakes could be resolved eventually and the warrant reissued.
Wikileaks Cables
Read KEY REVELATIONS AND QUOTES FROM WIKILEAKS' release of thousands of US embassy cables pertaining to Afghanistan, Australia, Baltic states, Burma, China, China - Africa, Cuba, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Koreas, Libya, Libya - UK, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia - Hezbollah, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, UK, UK - Royal Family, United Nations, United States.
28 Nov: First cables released
29 Nov: US brands cable leaks an "attack on the international community" and says criminal investigation ongoing
29 Nov: Former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin calls for Mr Assange to be "pursued with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders"
3 Dec: Wikileaks forced to change web address after coming under cyber attack
3 Dec: Sweden issues new European arrest warrant for Mr Assange over sex crime allegations but wording is wrong
6 Dec: Sweden issues new warrant and passes it to police in UK
7 Dec: Mr Assange is arrested in London after voluntarily walking into a police station
I really fear for the safety of Julian Assange if he is extradited to Sweden. Gerard Batten, a UKIP MEP, said the Assange case highlighted the dangers of the European arrest warrant.
He said: "I don't know of the quality of the evidence in Mr Assange's case but it does seem that he is involved in political turmoil and intrigue and there are a lot of people keen to shut him up and there is nothing a court in the UK can do to look at the evidence before they extradite him."
Analysis by Clive Coleman
BBC News legal affairs analyst.
At a full hearing, which is not likely to take place for some weeks, Mr Assange will be able to raise his arguments against extradition.
The "fast-track" European arrest warrant system is based on the concept that all the participating countries have legal systems which meet similar standards, and fully respect human rights.
If Julian Assange is to avoid extradition he would need to show the warrant is politically motivated. This has been argued successfully in the past by Russian oligarchs, though Sweden has a better judicial record than Russia.
Or he would need to use technical arguments - arguing the warrant does not show specifically what law has been broken. But most technical mistakes could be resolved eventually and the warrant reissued.
Wikileaks Cables
Read KEY REVELATIONS AND QUOTES FROM WIKILEAKS' release of thousands of US embassy cables pertaining to Afghanistan, Australia, Baltic states, Burma, China, China - Africa, Cuba, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Koreas, Libya, Libya - UK, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia - Hezbollah, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, UK, UK - Royal Family, United Nations, United States.
19. Wikileaks - Collateral Murder By U.S. Soldiers
Collateral Murder
Wikileak video COLLATERAL MURDER is an eye-opener.
On July 6, 2010, Private Bradley Manning, a 22 year old intelligence analyst with the United States Army in Baghdad, was charged with disclosing this video (after allegedly speaking to an unfaithful journalist). The whistleblower behind the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, has called Mr. Manning a 'hero'. He is currently imprisoned in Kuwait. The Apache crew and those behind the cover up depicted in the video have yet to be charged. To assist Private Manning, please see bradleymanning.org.
5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff.
Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-sight, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.
The U.S. military claimed the victims died in a battle that took place between U.S. forces and insurgents.
"There is no question that coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force."
- Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Bleichwehi, spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad.
Among the dead were two Reuters employees - Saeed Chmagh, a respected Reuters driver and assistant and Namir Noor-Eldeen. Namir, aged 22 came from a family of journalists and was considered one of the best war photographers in Iraq.
As I watched these videos, I was filled with a growing disgust, not just for the cold-blooded murder - and make no mistake, it was murder, but at the contempt exhibited by the U.S. soldiers and their behaviour. They wanted to kill these people, they could barely wait for the signal to finish off the wounded man lying on the ground.
They, and their bosses are despicable and morally reprehensible.
It was after viewing these that I felt nothing but scorn for a government that covers its wrong doings and hounds a man for showing the world the truth.
Wikileak video COLLATERAL MURDER is an eye-opener.
On July 6, 2010, Private Bradley Manning, a 22 year old intelligence analyst with the United States Army in Baghdad, was charged with disclosing this video (after allegedly speaking to an unfaithful journalist). The whistleblower behind the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, has called Mr. Manning a 'hero'. He is currently imprisoned in Kuwait. The Apache crew and those behind the cover up depicted in the video have yet to be charged. To assist Private Manning, please see bradleymanning.org.
5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff.
Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-sight, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.
The U.S. military claimed the victims died in a battle that took place between U.S. forces and insurgents.
"There is no question that coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force."
- Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Bleichwehi, spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad.
Among the dead were two Reuters employees - Saeed Chmagh, a respected Reuters driver and assistant and Namir Noor-Eldeen. Namir, aged 22 came from a family of journalists and was considered one of the best war photographers in Iraq.
As I watched these videos, I was filled with a growing disgust, not just for the cold-blooded murder - and make no mistake, it was murder, but at the contempt exhibited by the U.S. soldiers and their behaviour. They wanted to kill these people, they could barely wait for the signal to finish off the wounded man lying on the ground.
They, and their bosses are despicable and morally reprehensible.
It was after viewing these that I felt nothing but scorn for a government that covers its wrong doings and hounds a man for showing the world the truth.
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