"It's essential that the make-up of the armed forces reflect society".
David Cameron, former British PM.
"The ADF should reflect the diverse society that is Australia today".
Marise Payne, Australia's Minister for being the 1st woman defence minister.
Why?
Doesn't anyone ever question these people?
What does that bit of politically correct nothingness mean?
Should every platoon have a drug-addict, a few crooks, some non-English speakers?
How about "Australia's Defence Forces should employ the best of the best. It should be an exclusive and highly discriminatory group inculcated with long-held values that created one of the finest fighting forces in the world".
Studies in the US repeated over the past decade or so put the number of young people who can't meet the cut for military service at about 70% - as reported in Time:
Do we really want our military to reflect the slovenly, gender-fluid, entitled, lazy, disloyal, selfish elements of society?
I'll give you one more quote - this one from Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery:
We must be very careful what we do with the British infantry. Their fighting spirit is based largely on morale and regimental esprit de corps. On no account must anyone tamper with this. - Lord Montgomery of Alamein
My money's on Monty.
And here's the most recent pretend-everyone's-the-same craziness.
The Victoria Police Muslim Association (VPMA) hosted its annual Iftar dinner with Victoria’s Muslim community to commemorate Ramadan on Tuesday night.
More than 200 people, including local youth from neighbouring schools and mosques, as well as respected community leaders came together at the Bosnia-Herzegovina Islamic Society in Noble Park, to mark the end of a day’s fast with Victoria Police members.
Among the attendees were Victoria Police’s Acting Chief Commissioner Wendy Steendam, Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill, Commander Stuart Bateson, President of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Islamic Society Mirsad Dzelalagic, and Aboriginal Elder Aunty Elaine Taylor.
Established in September 2013, the VPMA was formed to promote social harmony and cohesion, and raise the profile of Muslims working in Victoria Police with Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton as its proud patron.
Representing the Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, Acting Chief Commissioner Wendy Steendam said she was honoured to host the fourth VPMA Iftar Dinner.
“Victoria Police is proud to have hosted Iftar dinners since 2005 to strengthen friendships and build harmony and trust through the powerful act of sharing of food, hospitality and reflection.”
“We are proud of our relationship with the Islamic community. Hosting Iftar dinners is a way of publically displaying our continual commitment to strengthening our partnership with the Islamic community.”
“We are grateful to the Bosnia-Herzegovina Islamic Society for allowing us to host our event in their beautiful space, testament to their dedication in embracing and supporting their local communities.
“Victoria Police values our vibrant and multi-faith communities. We embrace the many backgrounds and faiths of our society and support everyone’s right to be themselves and practice their beliefs, safely and confidently.”
“These events are important ways to connect people, encourage respectful conversations and learn more about the people in our communities.
“On behalf of Victoria Police, I would like to wish our Muslim community, including our employees, a happy and blessed Ramadan.”
ENDS
Victoria Police can't get control of noisy parties featuring marauding African gangs.
It stands by and watches 4 taxpayer owned vehicles getting trashed - without a single arrest, or a single charge.
But when it comes to Islam it's prepared to pretend it's all vibrant, multi-faith and respectful conversations with connected people.
On the other hand......here's Victoria Police promoting harmony, cohesion and raising the profile of Victoria's Catholics.
Watch as Iftar patron Graham "The Job Stresses Me Out" Ashton and the boys publicly display VicPol's continual commitment to strengthening its partnership with the Catholic community - demonstrated by its treatment of the world's 2nd most senior Catholic.
(Allege something against Bill Shorten and Victoria Police flick you to the kerb. Same for Gillard, Cain, Murphy, Wilson etc. But allege something against a senior Catholic cleric and you'll find yourself in a warm embrace.)
Meanwhile, back at Jihad central.
Graham Ashton knows what side his morning box of donuts are buttered on!
Iftars are all the rage since Daniel Andrews took over!
Even if the Council of Imams condemns Australia at the UN.
No offence detected. No further action against them.
Exhibit Two
10 years jail for private sector bosses.
"If you deliberately and dishonestly underpay your workers, if you deny or deprive them of what is rightfully theirs, you will face jail." Premier @DanielAndrewsMP has announced a re-elected Labor government will criminalise wage theft. #7Newspic.twitter.com/Ysmjk7o23S
For most people, using a public toilet is a no-brainer, but for Mildura transgender woman Aurora, the thought fills her with dread.
"Half the time I won't leave the house because it's too hard to find a toilet that I feel safe in using," she said.
"I am scared of violence and scared of being judged."
The 25-year-old said she had been threatened a number of times for using men's toilets during her transition.
"Some females were complaining that I was using the [female] bathroom, so when I used the male bathroom, someone threatened to do some disgusting things to me."
Finley, 24, is transitioning to a man, and did not anticipate that performing one of the most basic daily functions would see him withdrawing from society.
"I've been in lots of situations where I've just left events because I've needed to use the toilet and I wasn't feeling confident."
Finley believes transitioning takes time.
"There is no set time where you start passing as a certain gender, so even if you're just transitioning from one to another, you don't know when to transition toilets," Finley said.
Schools get on board for safety
While there are no laws to enforce councils to have gender-neutral toilets, the education sector is making ground.
Mildura local Steve said he was not sure if he would like an open door policy for the city's toilets.
"While I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, I'm not sure I would want my daughter sharing a toilet with someone who used to be a man and might still look like a man," he said.
An older Mildura man, who did not want to named, suggested there was an option for a separate toilet for the trans community.
"I think they need to have their own space so everyone in the community feels comfortable," he said.
"They pay rates just like everyone else and they should be able to go to the toilet if they need to, without feeling scared or potentially scaring anyone."
But others like Mildura resident Fiona said she did not see what the big deal was.
"I couldn't care less if a transgender woman was using the toilet while I was in there, and I would hope my daughter felt the same," she said.
"Targeting transgender people as the only group who commit crimes in public toilets is ridiculous."
Countering stigma associated with being transgender
Transgender Victoria executive director Sally Goldner said more conversation and less legislation was needed to counter the stigma associated with the transgender community.
Instead, she said more needed to be done to protect everyone from violence no matter what their orientation was.
"We are like every human with a body," Ms Goldner said.
"We need to go to the toilet, wash our hands and leave. So why we would face [prejudice] is utterly illogical."
Council considers unmarked bathrooms
While nothing has been set in stone, Mildura Rural City Council is working on a 10-year plan to improve the region's public toilets, with gender-neutral toilets an option.
"Having gender-neutral cubicles is certainly what we are looking to do," asset services manager Mike Mooney said.
"We have heard there is a need for it, but up until now we haven't had the opportunity to do anything about that.
"This is what this [10-year public toilet strategy] is about."
This is the media scrum for Cardinal George Pell's first appearance at court on historic child sexual offence charges.
There was no attempt to stop the reporting - indeed the state appears to be facilitating it.
We've come to regard this level of media interest and publication as normal.
Compare and contrast Cardinal Pell's appearance with the protections afforded the following men on trial in the UK for historic sex offences against children.
(For more information on the UK's Muslim paedophile gangs click here. Here is the full list of defendants via The Sun. )
First Trial
Amere Singh Dhaliwal, 34, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., is accused of 54 charges, including 21 charges of rape and 14 charges of trafficking with a view of sexual exploitation. Dhaliwal is accused of charges against eleven different girls from 2004 to 2011.
Irfan Ahmed, 32, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with nine offences including making an indecent image of a child.
Zahid Hassan, 28, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with 20 offences including six charges of raping a girl aged 13 or under.
Mohammed Kammer, 32, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with two offences including rape of a girl under 15.
Mohammed Aslam, 29, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with two offences including rape of a girl under 15.
Abdul Rehman, 30, from Sheffield, South Yorks., was charged with seven offences including raping a girl under 15.
Raj Singh Barsran, 32, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with three offences including sexual touching of a girl over 13.
Nahman Mohammed, 31 from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with three counts including trafficking a person for sexual exploitation.
Zubair Ahmed, 30, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with two offences including raping a girl under the age 15.
Hamzha Saleem, 37, from Old traddford, Gtr Mancs., was charged with three counts including human trafficking.
Second Trial (Robinson's arrest)
Mansoor Akhtar, 25, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with three offences including attempted rape of a girl under the age of 13.
Mohammed Asaf Akram, 31, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with 14 offences including four charges of raping a girl of thirteen or under and one charge of threatening to kill.
Wiqas Mahmud, 36 from Huddersfield, West Yorks.., was charged with three offences of rape of a girl under 15.
Nasarat Hussain, 28, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with five offences including rape of a girl under 15.
Sajid Hussain, 32, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with five offences including rape of a girl under 15.
Mohammed Irfraz, 28, from Huddersfield, West Yorks.., was charged with eight offences including false imprisonment.
Faisal Nadeem, 30 from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with three counts including raping a woman 16 or over.
Mohammed Azeem, 31, from Bradford, West Yorks., was charged with three offences including rape of a girl under 15.
Zulquarnian Dogar, 29, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with two offences including sexual touching of a female aged 13 or over.
Manzoor Hassan, 37, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with four offences including inciting the sexual exploitation of a child aged between 13-17.
Third trial set to last for six weeks.
Niaz Ahmed, 53, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with three offences including sexual assault on a female.
Mohammed Imran Ibrar, 32, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with four offences including arranging the commission of a child sex offence.
Asif Bashir, 32, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with five offences, including three counts of raping a woman 16 or over.
Everton la Bastide, 50, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with two offences including sexual touching a girl of 13 or over.
Saqib Raheel, 30, from Dudley was charged with two offences including trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Usman Khalid, 29, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with three offences including assaulting a girl under 13.
Aleem Javaid, 27, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with two offences including supply of a class B drug.
Mrs Naveeda Habib, 38, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged on one count of neglect of a child.
Mrs Shahnaz Malik, 55 from Huddersfield, West Yorks., was charged with one count of neglecting a child.
ENDS
There was no media scrum to record the walk of shame for these alleged sex ring members.
Just one man with a mobile phone - Tommy Robinson.
On 22 May last year Tommy Robinson (it's a pseudonym, his real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) was sentenced to 3 months jail, suspended for 18 months for trying to film defendants in similar circumstances to those that got him locked up on Friday last.
Mr. Yaxley-Lennon, on 8th May of this year in the course of ongoing proceedings for allegations of rape faced by four defendants at this court, that trial still in fact being in progress, you attended, together with another, and carried out some filming.
Your intention in being at this court and in carrying out the actions that you did was, on your own account, to film the defendants.
You were told very clearly by security staff at this court that you were to stop filming and that if you were to film then you would be potentially committing an offence and may be held in contempt of court.
These were deliberate actions on your part. They were deliberate actions intending to take photographs of the defendants; they were actions which you continued to take, despite having been told that you should not do it, and I find, as a clear logical inference, that your intention on coming into the court building was to seek out the defendants, who you referred to in the way in which we have all seen and heard.
The sentence, therefore, that I pass upon you, is one of three months' imprisonment which will be suspended for a period of 18 months. That will be suspended. There will be no conditions that need to be attached to that suspended sentence, but you should be under no illusions that if you commit any further offence of any kind, and that would include, I would have thought a further contempt of court by similar actions, then that sentence of three months would be activated, and that would be on top of anything else that you were given by any other court. In short, Mr. Yaxley-Lennon, turn up at another court, refer to people as "Muslim paedophiles, Muslim rapists" and so on and so forth while trials are ongoing and before there has been a finding by a jury that that is what they are, and you will find yourself inside. Do you understand? Thank you very much.
Last Friday, Tommy came under the gaze of Judge Geoffrey Marson QC.
You can see the Judge with one of the police officers who arrested Tommy, peering down at Mr Robinson from the court building.
And this is what happened next.
Tommy Robinson has been arrested in Leeds court for reporting on grooming gangs. More updates to follow pic.twitter.com/iEPDoNOKHM
Tommy was arrested for "incitement" and breaching the peace.
Within a few hours, Tommy was brought before Judge Marson who sentenced him to 13 months imprisonment for breaching the undertaking associated with his suspended sentence.
Tommy's producer says Tommy was assiduous in abiding by the terms of the suspended sentence.
RT spoke to Robinson’s producer, Caolan Robertson shortly after Tommy was taken away.
“Their case has been going on for about a year,” Robertson said. “Tommy had all the publicly available information… and on that live stream he repeated the information that was already public. We were very careful with language [as to not risk being held in contempt of court].”
You could have read that in RT's report which was online for a while on Friday and is archived here.
But it's been removed - along with pretty much every mainstream media report that appeared on Friday.
That's because Judge Marson ordered that none of the details of Tommy's arrest, trial and sentence can be made public.
Now compare and contrast again with the way Cardinal Pell and other non-Muslim defendants are treated.
I understand Tommy may have been released from prison in the past few hours.
I hope that is so.
If you feel strongly about his case you might care to sign a petition in his favour here.
Here's Andrew Burrell's report in The Weekend Australian today - Andrew was in court and spoke to Ralph shortly after he was discharged.
I'm sure the prospect of Ralph securing the documents (and other material) he refers to in this report had the shivers suited up and ready to run up a few prominent if bent spines.
AWU bagman Ralph Blewitt cries foul as case dropped
Former union bagman Ralph Blewitt in Perth. Picture: Colin Murty.
The Australian
Former union bagman Ralph Blewitt says 31 fraud charges against him were suddenly dropped this week after he signalled an intention to subpoena 593 “incriminating” documents and to call Julia Gillard and a Federal Court judge as witnesses.
Speaking outside the Perth District Court yesterday after the charges were formally withdrawn, Mr Blewitt said he was “bloody annoyed” at the collapse of the case because it meant those guilty of crimes in the long-running affair were now unlikely to ever be prosecuted.
The court was told admissions made by Mr Blewitt to the trade unions royal commission would not be admissible in the case, which related to the alleged embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars from an Australian Workers Union slush fund. The charges were withdrawn due to “no reasonable prospect of conviction”.
Although Mr Blewitt had admitted his involvement in the scandal, he pleaded not guilty to the 31 fraud charges because he said he was “purely and simply a bagman”.
The AWU slush fund was set up in the early 1990s by then union boss Bruce Wilson with legal assistance from Ms Gillard, who was his girlfriend at the time. Money from the AWU Workplace Reform Association was used to partly fund the purchase of a house in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in 1993. The association was supposed to promote training and safety on construction sites.
Ms Gillard has repeatedly and vehemently denied knowing the fund was to be used in a fraud.
The royal commission found she had been “casual and haphazard” in her work at law firm Slater & Gordon but had not committed offences, and was not aware of Mr Wilson’s conduct.
Mr Blewitt yesterday said he had lined up a senior barrister to run the case and had begun moves to subpoena 593 documents held by the Director of Public Prosecutions. “I suspect the reason these charges have been dropped today is that they do not want me to get access to those 593 incriminating documents that have vital information in them that would go to the heart of additional crimes committed by parties involved in the AWU fraud,” he said.
Mr Blewitt said he had planned to call Mr Wilson, Ms Gillard and a former Slater & Gordon solicitor, Bernard Murphy, who is now a Federal Court judge, to give evidence.
Extraordinary. The Commonwealth Director of Prosecutions reveals her funding for prosecuting serious financial crime runs out in 12 mths. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BANKING ROYAL COMMISSION! #estimatespic.twitter.com/nX79aRG5OP
She also apparently pretended to tell the truth to authorities about her welfare claims.
And pretended to have less than $6000 annual income instead of the $84K she was really pulling in.
Shame she's not a former prime minister with friends like Michaelia Cash to watch her back.
Rachel Dolezal, who posed as a black woman, charged with welfare fraud
Dolezal, who legally changed her name to Nkechi Diallo in 2016, allegedly stole over $8,000 in food stamps and $100 in child care assistance from August 2015 until last November, KHQ-TV reported Thursday.
The probe into Diallo, 40, began last March after her autobiography, "In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World," was published.
Investigators learned Diallo said she was receiving public assistance and that she reported she was making less than $500 a month.
But court documents showed she made nearly $84,000 between August 2015 and September 2017 without reporting it, according to KHQ.
When confronted by investigators last month, Diallo said she "fully disclosed her information" and didn't answer further questions.
Diallo has also been hit with perjury and false verification for public assistance charges. She faces 15 years in prison.
The man says he wants to admit and expiate his guilt and repay his debt to his community. He's been denied that. Bit like a Catholic in the confessional, "Bless me Father for I have sinned" copping "Shut the f*ck UP" from the priest.
