PRIME Minister John Howard said he did not use talks today with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to seek clemency for six Australians on death row in Bali.
Six members of the Bali Nine drug ring are fighting to escape the death sentences they received over a failed attempt to smuggle heroin into Australia in April 2005.
Mr Howard said the case came up "naturally" during his talks in Bali today with Mr Yudhoyono, as part of a broader discussion about a possible prisoner exchange treaty between the two countries.
"It's quite inappropriate to be raising issues of clemency at this time, quite inappropriate and I have not raised them because those matters are still before the courts," Mr Howard said.
"I have complete respect for the court processes here in Indonesia. (I mentioned to the president) that there was a sensitivity and interest in the case (but) the overwhelming majority of Australians understood and strongly supported the anti-drug laws of Indonesia."
"I think young Australians ... who pretend that they don't know the consequences of trafficking in drugs in Indonesia, or in other parts of Asia, are deluding themselves.
"My warning to Australians is don't mess with the laws of other countries - you can't expect that Australian law will follow you around the world."
Mr Yudhoyono would not be drawn on whether he would consider clemency for the six.
"Drug-related crime is a very serious crime for Indonesia," he said.
"We take strong measures to fight that kind of crime to save our future, to save our generations.
"Of course we are cooperating in this matter with the government of Australia to do our best in preventing those crimes happening here in Indonesia.
"I assure you, we are maintaining our communication and consultation while respecting the law that is practised in each country, Indonesia and Australia."
Bagelblogger: When exactly is a good time to raise issues of clemency Mr Howard? Once all avenues of the justice process are extinguished, and Indonesia's fast paced capital punishment system steps in?
Knowing the influence public opinion and the media has over the Indonesian Justice system (Please spare me the protestations), I would have thought now was a better time than ever.
You're cavalier attitude to the pending execution of these Australians will be translated into an implied consent for Indonesia's partial and unfair justice system.
Any Justice system that awards inmates from one religion, and not others has to be seen for what it is, a poll driven and opportunistic travesty of justice.
Here we have the Bali bombers and their cohorts receiving sentences as low as 2 years whilst 3 Australians are facing long Jail terms and 6 may pay for your indifference with their lives.
I don't think for a second these 9 Australians are 'innocent angels' but the process the AFP has played in this affair, the promises the AFP made and have broken, and your inactions are more than criminal Prime Minister Howard.
References:
News.com.au: No clemency plea for Bali Nine inmates from PM
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This sounds like a good idea?
WITH property prices in Caulfield skyrocketing for the average – or larger than average – Jewish family, interest is being sought to establish a new Jewish community in a more affordable part of Melbourne.
A group of charity-minded individuals have held a couple of meetings to test whether members of Melbourne’s various Orthodox communities would be interested in moving their families elsewhere. Suggestions have ranged from Altona in the west to Frankston and Dandenong in the south.
The purpose-built satellite Jewish community would consist of several houses, a synagogue, sports facilities, recreational areas and shops. It would also likely need an eruv around its perimeter.
The price of building a new Jewish suburb is still being considered, but the group’s spokesperson, Ruvi Herzog, thinks that if enough people express interest, it should be completed by late 2010.
Herzog is realistic about the difficult choice families will have to make to move away from their local shul, from Jewish schools and from their ageing parents.
“As far as a Jewish community is concerned, you would need to have 100 [families] and in terms of the religious community, because part of it would have to be religious, I think you would need 25 or 30 religious families [to make it possible],” he said.
The faraway community would be open to all Jewish people, irrespective of their religious ideology. Herzog admits, though, that there is probably not much incentive for more secular members of the community to join.
“It’s definitely not a religious project, I mean [observant] Jewish people are bound ... to being in certain areas.
“Without being unfair, without being religious, you really don’t have those restrictions.”
Herzog is looking to create the satellite Jewish community as a not-for-profit project. He is a major donor to the Adass Israel community and helped found Hatzolah, the Jewish emergency-response service.
Bagelblogger: This in my opinion is a great idea, and will possibly not only alleviate a drastic affordable housing shortage in some areas of Melbourne, but may very well enable some Jews to live more observant lives.
The truth is that Orthodox Jews need to live within walking distance of their shule and for this very reason the prices in surrounding areas are driven up. For some, it is beyond being affordable.
References:
AJN: ‘Shtetl’ plan for outer Melbourne
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Heightened Visa Checks are causing accusations of profiling.
Mark Dunn, July 18, 2007 12:00am
NEW laws that demand Arabs seeking visa entry into Australia provide the names of their parents and grandfather hint at racial and religious profiling, according to a leading Islamic group.
"It would be pretty naive to think there is no religious profiling going on (with visa applicants), even if it's not officially recognised," said the Islamic Council of Victoria's spokesman, Waleed Aly.
Australian security agencies had asked for the new regulations that require extra personal information from Arabic visa applicants to include the names of their parents and grandfather.
Other visa applicants, including those from China and Russia, are also being required to provide additional information about the spelling of names and ancestral names before being granted entry to Australia.
The Federal Government has insisted there is no racial or religious profiling in Australia's immigration programs.
Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews' spokeswoman said the changes would help in the proper identification of applicants and their character.
"The question that has been included in the new form (about Arabic grandfathers) is designed to enable more accurate and higher-quality identification of visa applicants," she said.
But Mr Aly said his own experiences had shown him racial and religious characteristics were focused on by border officials.
Mr Aly said despite random searches being conducted at Australian airports, he had become used to always being stopped and questioned, and that many Australian Muslims knew that they would come under special attention, especially at airports.
"They disproportionately focus on people who are Muslim or who appear to be Muslim," he said.
All visa applicants aged 16 and older wanting to visit Australia must fill out a character assessment form, which identifies their siblings and parents.
But regulations brought in this year require Arabic, Chinese and Russian visa applicants to provide extra detail.
For Russian citizens they must include their patronymic or ancestral name, and Chinese applicants must provide their name in commercial code numbers, which relates to Chinese characters, and in English.
Bagelblogger: What a joke. The simple fact is in addressing the serious problem of Terrorism you need to rationalise your resources. The cold hard truth is its far more likely for a potential terrorist to be Muslim than any other religion. To ignore such statistics is simply foolhardy to say the least. Denial of this is 'PC' madness.
If Muslims resent the extra attention that this brings to their travel plans and lives then there really is a simple solution. Ensure that within their sub culture it becomes unacceptable to be a terrorist and kill innocent people. When there is a major shift in attitudes within the Muslim community then the probability of a Terrorist being Muslim will be diminished and hence the limited resources government agencies do have will be directed in more appropriate demographic groups.
Don't complain to the government, complain within your own culture which promotes and advances acceptable notions towards terrorist acts.
With the penchant for actively voicing concerns within the Muslim community at perceived injustices, a valid question arises; when was the last mass Muslim protest against Islamic terrorism rather than the usual orchestrated self serving protest at infringed rights?
References:
Herald Sun: Visa laws 'unfair' to muslims
Picture Credit: ABC
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That's not snow, thats ice and frost, mid this morning.
NSW in grip of coldest July since 1986
Tuesday Jul 17 16:09 AEST
Snow and icy winds are predicted to hit western NSW on Wednesday as the entire state continues to shiver in the coldest July temperatures in two decades.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says even the NSW central west city of Dubbo, which is just 300 metres above sea level on the western plains, could see some snow.
"It's not impossible. It's possible the city will get a little bit of a dusting," BOM senior meteorologist Peter Zmijewski said.
The bureau is predicting that snow will fall in many areas as low as 600 metres - a contrast to Victoria, where it is expected to be as low as 400 metres on the Dandenongs - and that the cold spell will be accompanied by isolated rain.
Mr Zmijewski warned graziers across NSW of impending very cold south-westerly winds and wet weather on Tuesday night, ahead of even cooler temperatures on Wednesday.
He said the temperatures would probably not be as cold as the state had already experienced, but would feel colder because of the chill factor.
"The maximum temperatures are going to plunge ... because of cold southwesterly winds," he said.
"Because of the chill factor in the wind, it is going to feel much colder."
Sydney on Tuesday recorded a low of 3.7 degrees celsius - its coldest July temperature since 1986, while Richmond in Sydney's north-west recorded a minimum of minus 3.7 degrees.
In 1986, Sydney's temperature fell to 3.1 degrees.
Mr Zmijewski said the extreme temperatures were the result of a high pressure system producing clear skies and low winds.
"For the last few days there has been a strong high ... clear skies, little wind and moisture," Mr Zmijewski said.
"And it is winter after all."
Bagelblogger: Mr Bagel is so cold, I'm sitting here with 4 blankets on, 2 jumpers, 2 tops and a polar jacket and I'm still cold... To those use to sub zero temperatures this might seem a little bizarre, but what is a worry is its the middle of the day, we haven't even seen the night yet. We live were its 5 degrees colder than Sydney, last night was below 0 degrees.
We're currently going through a tonne of firewood every 2 weeks.
By the way did I tell you it's cold?
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Australians could be the target of imminent terrorist attacks in Indonesia, including Bali, the Federal Government has warned in a revamped travel alert.
Right: Alexander Downer. [File]
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, numerous attacks are being planned against Westerners, despite the recent arrests of "high-level operatives" of Jemaah Islamiah.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the department had been receiving reports for some time about possible attacks from groups associated with JI, which is linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda. "People should be awake to that," he said, despite "a sense in the community" having taken hold that the terrorist threat in the region had dissipated.
"The reason we've reissued the travel advisory is that, in the context of a number of high-profile arrests in recent times in Indonesia, we still nevertheless remain very concerned about the possibility of terrorist attacks and those terrorist attacks could be imminent," he said.
"It can't be ruled out."
The warning does not change the overall level of threat to Australians.
"We're not predicting an attack at a particular location," Mr Downer said. "We're just reminding people that terrorist attacks are possible in Indonesia."
The warning came as Prime Minister John Howard announced for Australia what he billed as the world's best border-security arrangements, set to take effect ahead of both the Sydney meeting of Asia-Pacific heads of government and the federal election.
The new deal, which involves better data matching and more extensive background checks, was unveiled in the wake of the probe of the links of foreign-trained doctors in Australia to the recent failed terrorist attacks in Britain. The border-security initiative was bolstered by a pledge from Attorney-General Philip Ruddock to consider amending anti-terrorist legislation to extend the detention and questioning time of suspects, if he received advice from police or security services that it was warranted.
The department's warning on Indonesia specified Western targets.
"We continue to receive reports indicating that terrorists are planning attacks against Western interests, against a range of targets, including places frequented by foreigners," it said.
"If you are in Indonesia, including Bali, and are concerned for your safety, you should consider departing. If you do decide to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, you should exercise extreme caution."
Attacks could take place at any time and could be imminent. The warning referred to the Bali and Jakarta bombings of 2002, 2004 and 2005 and noted "these areas are a priority target for terrorists".
Eighty-eight Australians were killed in the 2002 bombings, for which nine terrorists have been found guilty.
Aussie Bagel: I wonder how many months it will be before: "John Howard announced for Australia what he billed as the world's best border-security arrangements"
becomes a pie slapped in John Howards face. Probably enough time for us all to duck under our Fridge Magnets.
References:
The Canberra Times: JI plans terror attacks: Downer
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Always Fresh: Aussie Bagel
