Australia

[Michaelangelica]

For some strange reason I get the USA "Drug War Chronicle - DRCNet <drcnet@drcnet.org>
(I'm Irish "It's FREE!")

It always has a case of police corruption in it.

To me the whole war seems pointless - too much money involved to corrupt everybody

Anyway we now have a recent Oz casualty-The Victorian State Police.
Funny, the Commissioner just retired.

Victorian police drug scandal - Google Search

Secret police files leaked to alleged crime bosses

Victoria: another day, another cop scandal - Local News - News - General - The Canberra Times

[cooloola]

Michaelangelica - (replying to first page of this thread, sorry bit behind....)

-'Indigenous Australians' ? nah mate it's Kooris or Murries depending what part of Oz.

[Flying Binghi]

While we're on Oz war history -

William Edward Sing DCM (1886 - 19 May 1943) was an Australian soldier of World War I, and distinguished sniper during the Gallipoli Campaign

Sing was born in Clermont, Queensland, in 1886, of Anglo-Chinese ancestry, to John Sing (of Shanghai, China) and Mary Anne Sing (née Pugh) (of Stratford, England).

Billy Sing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[cooloola]

As I mentioned in my previous post I've only cottoned onto this thread in recent times, being new to hypoghraphy as is....but hey what a great thread and as Leunig says there are leftists to be found spooning porridge in dementia wards... I ought to know... i work in a dementia ward and hey that's where we be found... reading that post I was in stitches.....numerous posts about the weather around the country... at present the skies have been broiling for the last 4 hours and now the heavens have finally opened (Cooloola area inland from Fraser Island).
As for the movie Australia... Buffy asks...I loved it. What I loved was the silence at the end just before the credits rolled when a few notes rolled onto the screen about the stolen generation, then about the new Government in 2008 apologising to the stolen generation and the stillness in that audience as they read those notes. For the last decade (more) I have felt great sorrow for the governments stance on the stolen generation (denial, blame) and when our new Prime ministers first act of parliament was to apologise I felt a cathartic release for all the pain we have experienced...if he achieves nothing else I will be happy...Baz Lurman has paid homage to that apology as well as give us a damn good love story. As for the bombing of Darwin, about time that story was told.

[cooloola]

Thanks F.Binghi for that info on Billy Sing. I went to a slide show in Brisbane in the early 90's and it showed the photos of William Yang, a Chinese Australian who was the biographer/photographer of Patrick White. Willy Yangs photos presented the face of Chinese Australians through life and death in this country.... the exhibition was titled 'sadness' . Willy Yang looked Chinese but as his story unfolded about his ancestors being there during the goldrush days and early darwin and early Atherton Tablelands I realised his Australian history went back farther than my own yet I 'look' like an aussie and he still looks chinese. One of those 'aha' moments. Never again would i judge a person on their looks.

[Flying Binghi]

Shamefaced to the world

...a movie that is a huge grab-bag of cliches - a collation of gaudy images pecked from deserted movie sets by an insatiable bowerbird - isn't just bad storytelling. It's also an exercise in bad faith - a movie allegedly about Australia, defining Australia, that's shot by a man who actually doesn't understand the country, and doesn't like it, either.

Via Andrew Bolt Shamefaced to the world | Herald Sun

[cooloola]

absolutely its a grab bag of cliches as are most big budget hollywood type movies. Not a rabbit proof fence that's for sure but alot of people are going to see it and it does bring up the question of racism, Andrew Bolt may disagree that we are a racist country, but I believe we are. I grew up in the burbs of Sydney, have lived in Brisbane, Townsville and other regional areas of Queensland and in my work as a nurse I see racism. Its like an undercurrent, people don't even know they are racist, 'I'm not a racist but..." all the time. And the group they are racist against the most is Kooris, followed by Asians and Arabs. Those who look obviously foreign or dark skinned.

[Flying Binghi]

cooloola, you may want to have a rethink about Darwin.

You can learn a lot about a place from a visit to the cemetery -

The Gardens Road cemetery is situated at 191 Gardens Road and was
opened on 10 April 1919. The Cemetery served as the official cemetery for
Darwin until 11 December 1970. It’s service to the Darwin community
encompassed two world wars and catered for a fast growing multi-cultural
society including Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Malay, Northern European,
Anglos and Celts. The cemetery exists as a microcosm of Darwin's history
and social associations with representatives from each ethnic group that
made up of the culture of Darwin. The Depression years saw many of the
older, more prominent Darwin families bury their dead, with Japanese divers,
ordinary citizens and a number of servicemen interred in the cemetery.
Darwin City Council

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by cooloola

As for the bombing of Darwin, about time that story was told.

This was kept a"secret" for more than 50 years from Australians.

I loved Clive Robertson, a quirky, NSW, news announcer one night mention the "Brisbane Line"

The so called "Brisbane Line" became a public issue when Eddie Ward, the member for East Sydney, accused the previous Menzies government of having a plan to abandon northern Australia to the Japanese should they invade from the north. This was a view held widely by many civilians in north Queensland during World War 2.

Reminding us of its existence and saying "Well you will be glad to know it is FINALLY working!"
cut to. . .
report of Japanese interests buying half of the Queensland Coast for a swish new golf course/resort!!

[Michaelangelica]

Anti-smoking lobby calls for increase in cigarette prices

Posted 1 hour 20 minutes ago

* Map: Melbourne 3000

New research has found smoking rates in Australia have fallen significantly since 1980.

The Victorian Cancer Council's research shows that in 2007, 19 per cent of adults were regular smokers, compared to 34 per cent in 1980.

The Executive Director of anti-tobacco group Quit, Fiona Sharkie, says smoking rates have fallen for three main reasons.

"Very clearly it's increasing the price of cigarettes, continuing to run anti-smoking television commercials, and also bringing in more and more smoke-free areas," she said.

She says Governments should continue to fund anti-smoking campaigns and consider further increasing the price of tobacco.

"We haven't had a price increase since 2001."

"If we'd continued with the World Health recommendations for the price of cigarettes, we'd be looking at cigarettes costing $19 a pack, rather than the $11 or $12 they cost today," she said.

Anti-smoking lobby calls for

increase in cigarette prices - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Young Aussies turn their back on smoking
3 hours 12 minutes ago. | AAP

The Chaser returns: as a national treasure

Australia is breeding a new generation of non-smokers.

Latest tobacco figures show smoking rates among young people have halved in the past two decades