Saturday, November 24, 2007
Soldiers are deserting the US Army at the highest rate since 1980.
The US Army has announced about nine in every 1,000 soldiers deserted in the year to 30 September 2007, compared with seven in every 1,000 the previous year.
Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this year, compared with 3,301 last year.
(Source: Forbes [US])
The US Army has announced about nine in every 1,000 soldiers deserted in the year to 30 September 2007, compared with seven in every 1,000 the previous year.
Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this year, compared with 3,301 last year.
(Source: Forbes [US])
The British Police Federation refused to help an Asian officer who was the victim of racist harassment from colleages, and was then framed for theft and jailed - but did help his persecutors, including destroying documents.
Sultan Alam sued the police for racial discrimination after a series of incidents, culminating in a Ku Klux Klan poster being left on his desk.
Months later he was charged with handling stolen car parts. He was convicted, jailed, and dismissed from the police force, ending a 13 year career. Mr Alam maintained that he'd been framed.
He twice sought help from the Police Federation to clear his name, asking them to fund an appeal against his conviction after new evidence came to light. The Federation refused both requests.
After a two and a half year investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service found that four officers should be charged with criminal offences for framing him. The Police Federation paid for the legal defence of all four officers.
A tribunal has found that a Federation official also destroyed documents in an attempt to thwart Mr Alam.
The strain of his ordeal led to the break-up of his first marriage. On release from prison he first made a living by driving a taxi and now runs a mobile phone shop.
(Source: The Guardian [UK])
Sultan Alam sued the police for racial discrimination after a series of incidents, culminating in a Ku Klux Klan poster being left on his desk.
Months later he was charged with handling stolen car parts. He was convicted, jailed, and dismissed from the police force, ending a 13 year career. Mr Alam maintained that he'd been framed.
He twice sought help from the Police Federation to clear his name, asking them to fund an appeal against his conviction after new evidence came to light. The Federation refused both requests.
After a two and a half year investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service found that four officers should be charged with criminal offences for framing him. The Police Federation paid for the legal defence of all four officers.
A tribunal has found that a Federation official also destroyed documents in an attempt to thwart Mr Alam.
The strain of his ordeal led to the break-up of his first marriage. On release from prison he first made a living by driving a taxi and now runs a mobile phone shop.
(Source: The Guardian [UK])
Labor leader Kevin Rudd says he will take a 'tough' stance on border security, including turning back boats carrying asylum seekers.
Mr Rudd told the Australian newspaper that a Labor government would take asylum seekers rescued from leaking vessels to Christmas Island, but would turn back seaworthy boats.
He also said Labor would not lift the current intake of African refugees.
The measures bring Labor broadly into line with the Coalition's policies.
Mr Rudd added that a Labor government would aim to deter asylum seekers by using the threat of detention, and Australia's close ties with Indonesia.
He said that "you need a detention system" because "you cannot have anything that is orderly if you allow people who do not have a lawful visa in the country to roam free."
(Source: The Australian)
Mr Rudd told the Australian newspaper that a Labor government would take asylum seekers rescued from leaking vessels to Christmas Island, but would turn back seaworthy boats.
He also said Labor would not lift the current intake of African refugees.
The measures bring Labor broadly into line with the Coalition's policies.
Mr Rudd added that a Labor government would aim to deter asylum seekers by using the threat of detention, and Australia's close ties with Indonesia.
He said that "you need a detention system" because "you cannot have anything that is orderly if you allow people who do not have a lawful visa in the country to roam free."
(Source: The Australian)
Monday, November 19, 2007
Two former instructors at the Victoria Police academy say they were denigrated and ostracised because they had investigated police suspected of corruption.
The two detectives left their roles as instructors late last year after concerns were raised about their treatment, as well as the difficulty faced by one of the detectives in getting his complaints properly investigated. One detective is on leave while the other is at a country station.
Both officers had previously worked for the Ceja taskforce, which investigated widespread corruption in the drug squad.
It is believed some of the concerns related to the behaviour of other instructors towards them, including referring to them as "the filth", a common derogatory term among police for anti-corruption investigators.
(Source: The Age)
The two detectives left their roles as instructors late last year after concerns were raised about their treatment, as well as the difficulty faced by one of the detectives in getting his complaints properly investigated. One detective is on leave while the other is at a country station.
Both officers had previously worked for the Ceja taskforce, which investigated widespread corruption in the drug squad.
It is believed some of the concerns related to the behaviour of other instructors towards them, including referring to them as "the filth", a common derogatory term among police for anti-corruption investigators.
(Source: The Age)
The chief executive of Macquarie Group, Allan Moss, was able to pay tax of 25 per cent on a $6 million options bonus he received last year, a lower rate than bus drivers pay on their overtime.
The tax treatment available to Mr Moss, the highest-paid chief executive in Australia with a salary of $33.5 million last year, means he can pay tax on his options gains at nearly half the top income tax rate of 45 per cent.
More than 2000 high income earners on the staff options plan at Macquarie Group can choose not to pay income tax on the bulk of the gains they may receive from their options.
The complex but effective tax treatment has been revealed in a staff options handbook released by the bank to the stock exchange last week, showing how staff can use a little-known section of the 1936 Income Tax Assessment Act.
Mr Moss's ability to pay tax of 25 per cent on his options gains compares with the 30 per cent tax rate a Sydney bus driver must pay on any overtime.
The average New South Wales wage earner on a salary of $61,500 also pays a higher effective tax rate - 26 per cent - than Mr Moss was able to pay on his options payout.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
The tax treatment available to Mr Moss, the highest-paid chief executive in Australia with a salary of $33.5 million last year, means he can pay tax on his options gains at nearly half the top income tax rate of 45 per cent.
More than 2000 high income earners on the staff options plan at Macquarie Group can choose not to pay income tax on the bulk of the gains they may receive from their options.
The complex but effective tax treatment has been revealed in a staff options handbook released by the bank to the stock exchange last week, showing how staff can use a little-known section of the 1936 Income Tax Assessment Act.
Mr Moss's ability to pay tax of 25 per cent on his options gains compares with the 30 per cent tax rate a Sydney bus driver must pay on any overtime.
The average New South Wales wage earner on a salary of $61,500 also pays a higher effective tax rate - 26 per cent - than Mr Moss was able to pay on his options payout.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
Over half the Australian population has inadequate access to primary health care, according to government statistics.
Figures from the Department of Health and Aging show that 12 million Australians, 59 percent of the population, live in "districts of workforce shortage" for doctors.
Health Minister Tony Abbott said that 'crisis' was "a much overworked term."
(Source: The Age)
Figures from the Department of Health and Aging show that 12 million Australians, 59 percent of the population, live in "districts of workforce shortage" for doctors.
Health Minister Tony Abbott said that 'crisis' was "a much overworked term."
(Source: The Age)
Saturday, November 17, 2007
A six year old girl who was left brain-damaged at the hands of her parents will receive unsupervised visits from her mother, despite the Department of Community Services claiming it could "end in tragedy."
DOCS director-general Dr Neil Shepherd wrote that "the course that has been embarked on may end in tragedy". However he was unable to prevent the visitation order made by the courts.
Both the girls' parents were charged with abuse after she arrived at hospital aged 10 months, with a fractured skull, underfed, and covered in bruises and scars.
Her foster mother says that the girl has already had several visits with her biological mother, and has complained of being locked out of the house, of her mother's male friends threatening to put her in a washing machine.
"She is absolutely petrified" she said.
"I have no problem with her seeing her mother in supervised visits, but it has to be in her best interests and when she comes home sobbing and banging her head against a wall that is not in her best interests."
(Source: Daily Telegraph)
DOCS director-general Dr Neil Shepherd wrote that "the course that has been embarked on may end in tragedy". However he was unable to prevent the visitation order made by the courts.
Both the girls' parents were charged with abuse after she arrived at hospital aged 10 months, with a fractured skull, underfed, and covered in bruises and scars.
Her foster mother says that the girl has already had several visits with her biological mother, and has complained of being locked out of the house, of her mother's male friends threatening to put her in a washing machine.
"She is absolutely petrified" she said.
"I have no problem with her seeing her mother in supervised visits, but it has to be in her best interests and when she comes home sobbing and banging her head against a wall that is not in her best interests."
(Source: Daily Telegraph)
A Labor candidate and former union leader has bought a luxury beachfront terrace for almost a million dollars, miles away from the electorate he's standing in.
Former ACTU leader and current Labor Party candidate Greg Combet and his wife paid $940,000 for a beachfront terrace in Newcastle. The terrace is over 10km away from the electorate of Charlton, where Mr Combet is standing.
Mr Combet has rented a flat in Charlton, but intends to move out once the election is over.
(Source: Daily Telegraph)
Former ACTU leader and current Labor Party candidate Greg Combet and his wife paid $940,000 for a beachfront terrace in Newcastle. The terrace is over 10km away from the electorate of Charlton, where Mr Combet is standing.
Mr Combet has rented a flat in Charlton, but intends to move out once the election is over.
(Source: Daily Telegraph)
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Roughly half of all wage deals checked by the Coalition's workplace watchdog have failed the "fairness test" and been sent back to employers for correction.
The Workplace Authority confirmed that 26,833 agreements had been rejected for failing to comply with minimum standards since the Prime Minister introduced the test in May - 49.2 per cent of those that have been fully checked. Another 142,000 agreements have yet to be fully checked.
The standards are meant to ensure that employees who lose conditions such as overtime receive some compensation.
(Source: The Australian)
The Workplace Authority confirmed that 26,833 agreements had been rejected for failing to comply with minimum standards since the Prime Minister introduced the test in May - 49.2 per cent of those that have been fully checked. Another 142,000 agreements have yet to be fully checked.
The standards are meant to ensure that employees who lose conditions such as overtime receive some compensation.
(Source: The Australian)
Quote of the Moment:
"Iraq has 115 billion barrels of known oil reserves. That is more than five times the total in the United States. And, because of its long isolation, it is the least explored of the world's oil-rich nations. A mere two thousand wells have been drilled across the entire country; in Texas alone there are a million. It has been estimated, by the Council on Foreign Relations, that Iraq may have a further 220 billion barrels of undiscovered oil; another study puts the figure at 300 billion. If these estimates are anywhere close to the mark, US forces are now sitting on one quarter of the world's oil resources. The value of Iraqi oil, largely light crude with low production costs, would be of the order of $30 trillion at today's prices. For purposes of comparison, the projected total cost of the US invasion/occupation is around $1 trillion."
"Who will get Iraq's oil? One of the Bush administration's 'benchmarks' for the Iraqi government is the passage of a law to distribute oil revenues. The draft law that the US has written for the Iraqi congress would cede nearly all the oil to Western companies."
"In terms of realpolitik, the invasion of Iraq is not a fiasco; it is a resounding success."
Jim Holt, in the London Review of Books.
"Iraq has 115 billion barrels of known oil reserves. That is more than five times the total in the United States. And, because of its long isolation, it is the least explored of the world's oil-rich nations. A mere two thousand wells have been drilled across the entire country; in Texas alone there are a million. It has been estimated, by the Council on Foreign Relations, that Iraq may have a further 220 billion barrels of undiscovered oil; another study puts the figure at 300 billion. If these estimates are anywhere close to the mark, US forces are now sitting on one quarter of the world's oil resources. The value of Iraqi oil, largely light crude with low production costs, would be of the order of $30 trillion at today's prices. For purposes of comparison, the projected total cost of the US invasion/occupation is around $1 trillion."
"Who will get Iraq's oil? One of the Bush administration's 'benchmarks' for the Iraqi government is the passage of a law to distribute oil revenues. The draft law that the US has written for the Iraqi congress would cede nearly all the oil to Western companies."
"In terms of realpolitik, the invasion of Iraq is not a fiasco; it is a resounding success."
Jim Holt, in the London Review of Books.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Two of Victoria's most senior police officers have been accused of releasing confidential information about a murder investigation, which was then passed on to one of the suspects.
Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby admitted police media director Steve Linnell showed him classified information relating to the murder of Shane Chartres-Abbott.
An Office of Police Integrity hearing was told that some of the information was quickly relayed to one of the targets of the murder investigation, Police Association delegate Detective-Sergeant Peter Lalor, via Police Association secretary Paul Mullett.
Detective-Sergeant Lalor is accused of giving Mr Chartres-Abbott's address to the hitman hired to kill him in 2003.
(Source: Herald-Sun)
Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby admitted police media director Steve Linnell showed him classified information relating to the murder of Shane Chartres-Abbott.
An Office of Police Integrity hearing was told that some of the information was quickly relayed to one of the targets of the murder investigation, Police Association delegate Detective-Sergeant Peter Lalor, via Police Association secretary Paul Mullett.
Detective-Sergeant Lalor is accused of giving Mr Chartres-Abbott's address to the hitman hired to kill him in 2003.
(Source: Herald-Sun)
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
The actual amount of tax paid by companies is moving further away from the supposed 'company tax rate', according to new figures.
UK-quoted companies reduced their effective tax rates from 26.6% in 2000 to 22.1% in 2004, using techniques such as registering their business in 'tax haven' countries.
The company tax rate in Britain was 30% in both years.
(Source: The Guardian [UK])
UK-quoted companies reduced their effective tax rates from 26.6% in 2000 to 22.1% in 2004, using techniques such as registering their business in 'tax haven' countries.
The company tax rate in Britain was 30% in both years.
(Source: The Guardian [UK])
Saturday, November 03, 2007
London's police force has been found guilty of endangering the public, over the fatal shooting of a man they mistook for a suicide bomber.
London police shot 27-year-old Jean Charles de Menezes seven times in the head on a train, after wrongly identifying him as terrorist suspect Hussain Osman.
The police's lawyer, Ronald Thwaites QC, claimed that Mr de Menezes had "moved in an aggressive and threatening manner."
However Anna Dunwoodie, who was in the same carriage as Mr Menezes when he was shot, said that he "did nothing out of the ordinary".
"It didn't feel to me like I was in the middle of a police operation," she said.
"The men who came running in seemed quite chaotic. I'd describe them as slightly hysterical.
"Jean Charles, to my knowledge, did nothing out of the ordinary.
"I didn't notice him until he had a gun pressed to him. It felt to me like he was someone who was being picked on at random because he was nearest to the door.
"We all ran to the sound of gunshots."
During the trial, police produced a composite picture of de Menezes and Hussain Osman, designed to show that the two men looked very similar and thus that it was understandable that police mistook one for the other.
However prosecutor Clare Montgomery QC said that the photo had been altered, "by either stretching or resizing so the face ceases to have its correct proportions".
Forensics consultant Michael George told the court that the composite image could not have been produced using Powerpoint software.
He said the two images used to make the picture appeared to have a "greater definition" than the composite picture, and produced an alternative composite in which the two faces had different skin tones and their mouths and noses were not aligned.
(Source: BBC website, The Guardian [both UK])
London police shot 27-year-old Jean Charles de Menezes seven times in the head on a train, after wrongly identifying him as terrorist suspect Hussain Osman.
The police's lawyer, Ronald Thwaites QC, claimed that Mr de Menezes had "moved in an aggressive and threatening manner."
However Anna Dunwoodie, who was in the same carriage as Mr Menezes when he was shot, said that he "did nothing out of the ordinary".
"It didn't feel to me like I was in the middle of a police operation," she said.
"The men who came running in seemed quite chaotic. I'd describe them as slightly hysterical.
"Jean Charles, to my knowledge, did nothing out of the ordinary.
"I didn't notice him until he had a gun pressed to him. It felt to me like he was someone who was being picked on at random because he was nearest to the door.
"We all ran to the sound of gunshots."
During the trial, police produced a composite picture of de Menezes and Hussain Osman, designed to show that the two men looked very similar and thus that it was understandable that police mistook one for the other.
However prosecutor Clare Montgomery QC said that the photo had been altered, "by either stretching or resizing so the face ceases to have its correct proportions".
Forensics consultant Michael George told the court that the composite image could not have been produced using Powerpoint software.
He said the two images used to make the picture appeared to have a "greater definition" than the composite picture, and produced an alternative composite in which the two faces had different skin tones and their mouths and noses were not aligned.
(Source: BBC website, The Guardian [both UK])
Quote of the Moment:
"I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."
Alan Greenspan, former head of the United States Federal Reserve, in his memoir.
"I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."
Alan Greenspan, former head of the United States Federal Reserve, in his memoir.
