SIR THE PIRATE

Ολυμπιακοι και Κινα

2008-08-31T22:44:00.003+10:00

Οι Ολυμπιακοι Αγωνες ηρθαν και εφυγαν και η ζωη ξαναγυρισε στο σημειο που μας αφησε πριν την εναρξη των αγωνων.

Οι Κινεζοι οπως ειδαμε καθαρισανε τους παντες και τα παντα (σχεδον) και πηρανε τα πιο πολλα χρυσα μεταλλια, αν και οι Αμερικανοι κορδονωνται γιατι αυτοι πηραν τα πιο πολλα συνολικα...τελος παντων.

Η Αυστραλια επεσε λιγο στον τελικο πινακα μεταλλιων. Ηρθε εκτη, ανω μεχρι τωρα επιανε τη τεταρτη θεση.

Οσο για την Ελλαδιτσα...καταφερε να παρει τεσσερα, συνολικα. Καλα κι αυτα απο το τιποτα.

Η μεγαλη εκπληξη ομως ηταν η Βρετανια αφου πηρε την τεταρτη θεση, μετα την Κινα, την Αμερικη και τη Ρωσια. Οπως λενε πηγες οι Βρετανοι εχουν ξοδεψει, και συνεχιζουν να ξοδευουν, εκατομυρια δολλαρια για να μπορεσουν να ... κερδισουν περισσοτερα μεταλια, αφου οι επομενοι αγωνες προκειται να γινουν στο Λονδινο!

Αυτο ομως που εκανε μεγαλη - πολυ μεγαλη-εντυπωση σε ολους ομως ηταν η τελετη εναρξης (και η τελετη στο τελος) των αγωνων. Ειδικα εκεινο το κοριτσακι που "τραγουδησε" (οι Κινεζοι ξερουν να ξεγελουν τον κοσμο), και τα πυροτεχνηματα που ηταν φτιαγμενα ειδικα για την τηλεοραση (αφου αυτα τα "ειδικα" δεν τα ειδαε κανενας στο σταδιο, παρα μονο οσοι ειδαν τηλεοραση), και πολλα αλλα.....

Μπραβο Κινεζοι, καλα τα κανατε!

Παρ' ολα αυτα ομως, ας λεμε και του στραβου το δικιο, οι αγωνες ηταν καλοι. Οπως ειπε και προεδρος Mr Rogge, οι αγωνες ηταν "exceptional". Μπραβο τους.

(Αν και πολλοι Αυστραλοι, εδω περα, ακομα θεωρουν τους Ολυμπιακους του Συδνευ, ως τους καλυτερους Ολυμπιακους, και αλλοι τετοιοι αγωνες δεν εχουν ξαναγινοι, αλλα και ουτε προκειται να ξαναγινουν ποτε!!!!)

Παντως χρειαζονται τετοια πραγματα για να μας κανουν να νιωθουμε τι ειδος ανθρωποι ειμαστε!

Αυτα.

ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΙ ΑΓΩΝΕΣ ΠΕΚΙΝΟΥ

2008-06-17T19:58:00.001+10:00

Οι Αυστραλοί αθλητές στίβου είπαν «όχι» στην τελετή έναρξης του Πεκίνου

Οι υπεύθυνοι της κινεζικής Επιτροπής Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων εξέφρασαν την βαθιά απογοήτευσή τους για την απόφαση της αυστραλιανής ομάδας στίβου να μην λάβει μέρος στην τελετή έναρξη των Αγώνων, στις 8 Αυγούστου, επικαλούμενη την ρύπανση του αέρα του Πεκίνο.

Σύμφωνα με την απόφαση της Αυστραλιανής Ομοσπονδίας Στίβου, οι αθλητές θα παραμένουν στην βάση τους, στο Χονγκ Κονγκ, κατά την διάρκεια της έναρξης των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων, όπου λαμβάνουν παραδοσιακά μέρος οι αθλητές όλων των αγωνισμάτων, προκειμένου να συνεχίσουν το πρόγραμμα της προετοιμασίας τους.

Παρά το γεγονός ότι αθλητές και από άλλες χώρες αποφάσισαν μεμονωμένα να μην λάβουν μέρος στην τελετή έναρξης, αυτή ήταν η πρώτη επίσημη αθλητική ομοσπονδία που πήρε απόφαση να μην λάβουν μέρος οι αθλητές της στην έναρξη.

Το γεγονός αυτό ανησύχησε σοβαρά τους Κινέζους διοργανωτές που έχουν καταβάλλει υπεράνθρωπες προσπάθειες, φιλοδοξώντας να σημειώσουν μεγάλη επιτυχία οι Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες του Πεκίνου.

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Μπορεί να "έχουν καταβάλλει υπεράνθρωπες προσπάθειες", παρ' όλα αυτά όμως, οι Κινέζοι αντιμετωπίζουν τεράστια προβλήματα...
Αφού είναι τόσο δύσκολο να αναπνέει ο κόσμος....πώς θα τρέξουν οι αθλητές....
Ίσως να κουβαλάνε μαζί τους και μπουκάλι οξυγόνου.... ποιος ξέρει.
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Η ιστορία αυτή άρχισε όταν ένας Αυστραλός αθλητής, επιστρέφοντας από το Πεκίνο όπου είχε λάβει μέρος σε φιλικούς αθλητικούς αγώνες στο κεντρικό Ολυμπιακό στάδιο, πριν ένα μήνα, παραπονέθηκε για την ατμοσφαιρική ρύπανση και σταμάτησε να προπονείται μία βδομάδα λόγω αναπνευστικού προβλήματος.

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Ας περιμένουμε λοιπόν μια κάποια λύση....

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Monkeys control robots

2008-05-29T23:18:00.003+10:00

I came across the following story while reading the newspaper today. I found it to be quite impressive indeed. Its seems to me that if more people had the ability to act in a similar fashion to the hero of the story then the world would be a much better place.

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Monkeys control robots with brain power

May 29, 2008 - 9:41AM

Scientists have trained monkeys to manipulate a robotic arm solely with brain power and could soon help amputees and paralysed stroke victims do the same.

Immobilised monkeys with electrode filaments inserted into their cerebral cortext learned within days to reach out with the free-standing prosthesis, pluck a tasty morsel with a pincer-like claw and pop it in their mouths.

When the path of the arm, positioned next to the shoulder, was deliberately blocked, the animals simply willed it around the obstacle with their minds.

Details of the research are published in the Nature journal.

AAP

http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/monkeys-show-brain-power/2008/05/29/1211654171158.html

Strange but True!

2008-05-20T23:24:00.003+10:00

Here is a strange story from Greece, about a little girl and her "twin"!

Twin found in nine-year-old's stomach

A nine-year-old girl who went to hospital in central Greece suffering from stomach pains was found to be carrying her embryonic twin, doctors said.

Doctors at Larissa General Hospital examined the girl and surgically removed a growth they later discovered was an embryo more than two inches long.

"They could see on the right side that her belly was swollen, but they couldn't suspect that this tumour would hide an embryo," hospital director Iakovos Brouskelis said.

The girl has made a full recovery, he said.

Andreas Markou, head of the hospital's pediatric department, said the embryo was a formed foetus with a head, hair and eyes, but no brain or umbilical cord.

Markou said cases where one of a set of twins absorbs the other in the womb occurs in one of 500,000 live births.

The girl's family did not want to be identified, hospital officials said.

AP
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/twin-found-in-nineyearolds-stomach/2008/05/16/1210765106098.html

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The following is a very unusual and unfortunate way to go....

Spitting match proves deadly

A Swiss man died when he fell from a hotel balcony during a spitting match with a friend, a Swiss newspaper has reported.

The daily Blick said the 29-year-old man took a run-up from inside the room so he could spit further, but lost his balance and plummeted 6.4 metres to the street below. He died in hospital.

The man had suggested the contest when he and two friends returned from a disco to their hotel in Cadempino in Switzerland's Italian-speaking Ticino canton in the early hours.

One of the men went to sleep, but the two others decided to see who could spit furthest from the balcony of their room.

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/spitting-match-proves-deadly/2008/05/14/1210444472552.html

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And here's what NOT to do with your barbeque!

Man barbecues car by mistake

A man barbecued his own car by mistake following a mishap at a grill party in southern Germany, police said.

The 37-year-old poured a beaker of petrol onto the smouldering charcoal of his balcony grill in order to coax it into life, prompting a tongue of flame to shoot out.

A friend standing next to him panicked and dropped the cannister containing the petrol, causing it to ignite and spill on to the man's car parked below.

The car went up up flames.

Two other vehicles were damaged in the blaze, which police said caused no injuries but more than 30,000 euro ($50,000) worth of damage.

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/man-barbecues-car-by-mistake/2008/05/12/1210444275678.html

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The following story is rather unpleasant, especially if you plan to do what you shouldn't!

Angry wife severes husband's penis

A housewife in the Philippines cut off her husband's penis while he was sleeping in their house because she suspected he was having extra marital affairs, a police officer said.

Police officer Rolly Lipata said 37-year-old Lenly Bayabado had long suspected her younger husband's infidelity, prompting her to cut off his organ.

Lipata said neighbours rushed the screaming victim, 32-year-old Joelito, to a nearby hospital in the Manila suburban city of Pasig after the attack.

Bayabado underwent several hours of operation so his organ could be re-attached, but hospital sources said there was no guarantee he would still be able to perform sexually.

Bayabado denied he was cheating on his wife and said he will not file charges against her because he wants to keep the family intact for the sake of their four children.

DPA
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/angry-wife-severes-husbands-penis/2008/04/10/1207420587420.html

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The following is a sort of reminder that justice is not always blind!!! Thieves do get their just rewards....

Thief deposits loot with victim

Three days after stealing a rare collection of coins, a thief in Germany took them to the bank for safe keeping - and delivered them into the hands of the man he had robbed.

"I don't think the thief was expecting that," said a spokesman for police in the western city of Dortmund.

Soon after the thief made the deposit, a bank worker handling the coins recognised them as the set worth some 50,000 euro ($A85,630) that had been stolen from his house.

Police tracked down the 36-year-old suspect and arrested him, securing a haul of other stolen goods in the process.

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/thief-deposits-loot-with-victim/2008/04/16/1208025223077.html

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Afghanistan

2008-04-28T22:19:00.000+10:00

Australia's participation in the Afghanistan conflict has produced another unpleasant statistic. Another Australian soldier has been killed by the Taliban, and we are hearing the usual condolences about what a great husband and father he was and a great Australian and all the rest of it.

All these are just words to try to justify the unjustifiable and to ease the pain a little for those closest to the dead man.

Here's a link to the Australian newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald article on the story:
He lived his dream: Aussie commando's widow
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/commando-lived-dream/2008/04/28/1209234690844.html

Makes you think about war and death and lies and politicians.

ANZAC DAY

2008-04-25T23:20:00.005+10:00

Australians are a relatively new country with a short history, if we exclude the native Aboriginal people.

The Australian Aborigines have one of the longest histories in the world. They have lived in Australia for at least 60 000 years, but scientists have said that evidence suggests that Aborigines have lived in Australia for 100 000 years, while some believe that they may have lived here for 200 000 years.

It is common, however, when speaking of Australian history to, unfortunately, refer to 'modern', European-related history, the history made predominantly by European-descended Australians.
In recent years the history of the Aboriginal people is being taught more and more, but there is a long way to go yet.

Australians, because they lack a history to rival other nations' history, and probably because they haven't had wars like other nations have had (such as the American War (of Independence)
against the British, the American Civil War, the Greek War of Independence, the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and so on), love to make a big thing out of anything that
might make them feel good about themselves.

Take the ANZAC Legend, for example. Primarily this is story to rival any nation's story, with a twist.

ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. It refers to those Australian and New Zealand soldiers who voluntarily went to fight, on the side of Britain, against the Turks, in World War I (WWI).

The particular event that has created the 'Legend", is the military campaign at Gallipoli, in Turkey, in 1915.

It started with Churchill's idea to create a new battle front against the Germans, because the Allies were unable to break through German lines on the Western Front and elsewhere. There was stalemate and so a new Front was created.
The idea was to open up a supply line for the Russians through the Dardanelles, to help them in
the war against the Germans and Austrians, on the Eastern Front.
So the Allies (Britain, France etc) planned to redirect their efforts there, and force Germany to do the same, so there would be some relief in the Western Front.
Turkey would be knocked out of the War, the Allies would take over the Gallipoli area, they
would control Constantinople, and would be able to open up a supply route to Russia.

Great plan, if it could work! It did not!

Soldiers who took part in this campaign were mostly from Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand. But it was the Australians and New Zealanders (the ANZACs), who really made history.
Unfortunately it all started terribly. Plans of this campaign had been made public by the British, weeks in advance, so the Turks were prepared! The ANZACs were given wrong information and outdated maps about the landing area. They landed at the wrong place and, of course the Turkish troops were ready for them. When the landing of the ships took place on the early morning (dawn, about 4.30 am) of 25th April, 1915, it was a total disaster. Thousands of ANZACs were killed by Turkish gunfire from the top of the hills, on the coast.
Somehow the landing did take place. What followed was the same as what happened on the Western Front. Fighting and death for the next nine months. Almost 9 000 Australians and many others, died. Thousands more were wounded.
Eventually the British and allied generals realised the futility of the campaign and decided to put an end to it. An evacuation (withdrawal of everyone) took place at the end of November and beginning of December, 1915. Incidentally, this evacuation was the most successful part of the whole Gallipoli campaign, because no one died!!

However the important thing about this story is really that it marked Australia as a nation. It showed Australia could stand up alongside any other country and be counted. It showed Australia was a country with an independent spirit. Its people loved freedom and were prepared to fight for it anywhere.
It marked Australia as a new nation. It symbolised Australia's coming of age. Up to that time it had just followed Britain and had been part of Britain. Australia was an English colony (1788-1901).
On the 1st of January, 1901, Australia became an independent country; a Federation of six states and two territories. It kept the British monarch as its Head of State, and certain other links, but essentially it was an independent country. Gallipoli was a chance to prove its worth.
Australians volunteered to go to war, to fight away from their homes. They fought just as bravely as any other soldier. They sacrificed their lives for freedom, even though Australia was not really threatened (at least directly).

And so a legend was born about the Australian spirit. A myth was created about the brave, courageous Australian soldiers, and the birth of the Australian spirit. It was not really false because these soldiers did volunteer and so many were killed.
Perhaps the story became a little too big. This was, after all, not a victory! It was really a defeat, a disaster! And yet Australians commemorate it as if there's nothing better to remember. Well...there isn't. It is the only thing we have.

The people most responsible for the promotion of this legend were Charles Bean (official War correspondent, and the official government historian) and a British war correspondent, Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett. They both sent reports from the Gallipoli Front back home, writing about the bravery
and self sacrifice of the Australians.
At the time Australians responded with great enthusiasm to these reports. The government wanted more volunteers for the war, and it got them with the help of the positive reports of C. Bean and E. Ashmed-Bartlett.

And so every year we commemorate this event. It is not a bad thing. It is good for our history. But it should not be forgotten that many more Australians also fought and died elsewhere during WWI. For example on the Western Front there were many more Australian deaths than in Gallipoli. In recent times moves are being made to redress this imbalnce and recognise the self sacrifice of other Australians too, particularly those on the Western Front, rather than concentrating on Gallipoli at the expense of all other campaigns.

It should be said, however, that the annual ANZAC celebration (or more correctly, commemoration) includes the sacrifices made by all Australians in all wars, including their contribution in the latest wars in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.

And so this is the ANZAC Legend.

Conservative thinking - Συντηρητική Οικονομία

2007-07-26T23:58:00.000+10:00

Φαίνεται πως όλοι οι συντηρητηκοί πολιτικοί, σ' όλον τον κόσμο σκέφτονται ακριβώς με τον ίδιο τρόπο. Έτυχε να ρίξω μια ματιά στην Ημερήσια (στο Ινερνετ), και είδα το παρακάτω άρθρο.

Με την πλάτη στον τοίχο
H γνώμη της "Η"
ΗΜΕΡΗΣΙΑ 31/3/2007 6:58:54 μμ

Μέρες που είναι, ζει και η κυβέρνηση το δικό της δράμα -ή μάλλον μια άνευ προηγουμένου τραγωδία. Πολλά από τα «σεμνά και ταπεινά» που διακήρυττε σε όλους τους τόνους ο κ. Καραμανλής ως αρχηγός της αξιωματικής αντιπολίτευσης αποκαθηλώνονται και απομυθοποιούνται με τρόπο αγοραίο: το ταμείο είναι μείον στα ασφαλιστικά Ταμεία και τα ομόλογα αποδεικνύονται πράγματι υψηλού ρίσκου, που κουρελιάζουν την κυβερνητική αξιοπιστία.

Ο πρωθυπουργός καυχιόταν μέχρι τώρα ότι η οικονομία ήταν το δυνατό χαρτί της κυβέρνησης. Κι όμως, κάθε μέρα που περνά αποκαλύπτεται ότι στο πεδίο της οικονομίας εκτυλίσσεται ένα σκάνδαλο με έκταση και ζημιές, που ακόμα δεν είναι εύκολο να αποτιμηθούν ούτε κατά προσέγγιση. Κάποιοι, αντί να διαχειριστούν «με μηδενική ανοχή στη διαφθορά» περιουσίες που δεν τους ανήκαν, όρμησαν στο «ψητό» νομίζοντας ότι ανακάλυψαν το δικό τους «Ελντοράντο» και επιδόθηκαν σε ένα ξεδιάντροπο πλιάτσικο.

Αυτό που μου έκανε εντύπωση ήταν αυτά περί το δυνατό χαρτί και η οικονομία κλπ. Κάτι σάχλες που τις ακούμε κάθε μέρα εδώ στην Αυστραλία από τη δική μας κυβέρνηση,
του πρωθυπουργού, John Howard. Ο John Howard φοβάται πως θα χάσει τις ερχόμενες εκλογές, προς το τέλος του χρόνου, και επαναλαμβάνει τις ίδιες τρίχες όπως ο Κωστάκης ο μαλάκας.
Ο κόσμος εδώ έχει συχαθεί τα ψέματα αυτής της κυβέρνησης και ειδικότερα του John Howard, και τα opinion polls δείχνουν το Εργατικό κόμμα να προηγείται της κυβέρνησης με μεγάλη διαφορά - γύρω στα 56% για τους Εργατικούς και 44% για την κυβέρνηση. Αυτό συνεχίζεται τώρα εδώ και 6-7 μήνες!
Ελπίζεται πως οι Εργατικοί θα κερδίσουν τις εκλογές, αλλά.....θα πρέπει ναπεριμένουμε μέχρι την ημέρα των εκλογών. Ο John Howard είναι πολύ πονηρός..... ποιος ξέρει τι μπορεί να κάνει μέχρι τότε....

Australia's shame

2007-07-24T00:04:00.001+10:00

This business with the Mohamed Haneef case that's been going on for some time now, is going from bad to worse, from dumb to dumber.
The government it seems wants to be seen as being tough on terrorism, so they've got this poor man,
whom they have connected to a 'terrorist' group in Britain , in gaol. He is from India and has been working in Australia as a doctor, apparently on a work visa. He has been, loosely, connected to some cousins in Britain, who have been arrested on terrorist charges. So far nothing concrete has been established against this man, by the police, despite the fact that he has been under arrest and has been interrogated intensely by the Australian Federal Police. He has now been stripped of his work visa by the Australian Minister for Immigration. He applied for bail, to be let out of gaol, while waiting for his case to be heard in court. He was granted bail by the court judge, but the Immigration Minioster immediately cancelled his work visa, which means this man can not be free. He will have to be incarcerated at the Immigration Detention Centre, at the suburb of Villawood, until his case goes to court. Very possibly he will be deported back to India. The government is looking for a way out of the mess it has created.
The sad thing is the the opposition Australian Labor Party is supporting the government action, mainly due to political
reasons, as it does not want to be seen as being weak on security issues.

Here is the latest story on the issue from the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper:

Another tall story blown sky-high
Craig Skehan
July 23, 2007

Yet more confusion … the federal police commissioner has dismissed reports of a plot to attack the Q1 building, above centre, involving the detainee Mohamed Haneef, pictured with his wife, Firdous Arshiya.

PERHAPS thoughts of September 11 and its burning skyscrapers came to mind when investigators found a photograph of Mohamed Haneef and his family posing outside the Q1 residential tower on the Gold Coast.

The 77-storey, 322.5-metre landmark - the world's tallest residential building - has become a photogenic attraction in itself in the middle of Surfers Paradise. But in the age of terrorism, you want to watch where you point your camera.

In Haneef's case, his tower photograph prompted reports in Sunday newspapers of a terrorist plot to blow up the landmark. His lawyers said it was the first they had heard of it. Then it fell to the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, to publicly declare the claims false.

It was the last thing Mr Keelty needed after weeks of controversy over the Haneef case, including British police sources describing Australian police as "a laughing stock" after the revelation that the crucial claim against the doctor - that his SIM card was found at the scene of a Glasgow bombing attempt - was false.

"We will be taking the extraordinary step of contacting Dr Haneef's lawyer to correct the record," Mr Keelty said.

The Herald understands Haneef's lawyers were contacted by the federal police late yesterday.

The tower photograph was the subject of some police questioning after Haneef was arrested on July 2, but nothing was put to him to suggest it was regarded as potentially sinister.

But yesterday's report, in News Ltd newspapers, said that police found "images of a Gold Coast building" and its foundations in a raid on Haneef's apartment. The report said investigators were looking at documents referring to the "destruction of structures" and information that Haneef was one of a group of doctors who had been learning to fly in Queensland.

In his statement, Mr Keelty denied the federal police were the source of the leak.

"There has been significant misreporting on many aspects of this case," he said.

Earlier, Haneef's solicitor, Peter Russo, said the report was "fanciful and wrong". He asked why, if police believed such a plot existed, they had not raised it in court, or in the information provided to the Immigration Minister, Kevin Andrews, as he weighed cancelling Haneef's work visa.

Mr Andrews cancelled the visa after Haneef was granted bail on a charge of recklessly providing support to a terrorist organisation.

Haneef's wife, Firdous Arshiya, told the Herald that she and her husband had taken many photographs around Surfers Paradise because it was "the most happening place on the Gold Coast". The new reports were laughable, she said from her home in Bangalore, India.

"I guess the AFP does not know what to do now. If this was the case that they have found some more evidence against my husband, then why are they planning to deport him as soon as possible?"

She was reacting to reports that some unnamed Government MPs, concerned about the controversy, would prefer to see Haneef simply removed from Australia.

Sources said Haneef would not seek an injunction to stop deportation - if the Federal Government tried to do so without proceeding to trial - because he was desperate to see his wife and new baby.

Meanwhile, Indian Government sources said there had been no reply to their request for a copy of a confidential section of a police brief used by Mr Andrews in ruling on Haneef's visa.

That information is expected to be presented at Federal Court hearings due to begin on August 8 to decide on an appeal against his visa being revoked.

And another article:

Terrorism as diversion? Please explain, minister
David Marr
July 23, 2007

FOR A few exciting hours yesterday Mohamed Haneef seemed more evil than we had ever imagined. The doctor was not just lending his SIM card to his family firm of terrorists in Britain, he was checking out local skyscrapers to destroy. The target wasn't Glasgow, it was the Gold Coast.

Until Mick Keelty spoilt the whole thing in the afternoon by declaring there was no truth to the newspaper reports, a frisson of fear hung in the air. This was terrorism as entertainment, with the victim locked in a Brisbane prison unable to contradict the latest tabloid speculation.

According to yesterday's "exclusive" reports, this man is so sinister that the Australian Federal Police have been examining information "which indicated the Gold Coast doctor planned to leave Australia the day before or after September 11 - the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York".

Are we talking September 11 last year? According to the transcript of Haneef's interrogation released last week, September 11 2006 was the day he arrived in Australia with his wife, Firdous Arshiya, to begin work as a resident doctor at a Gold Coast hospital.

But coming or going, what on earth does it prove? Terrorism is supposed to have changed our world, but it hasn't changed the way criminals are detected. The same old rules apply. Crooks are not caught by backyard gossip and idiotic speculation but by bringing logic to bear on facts.

Was that tiny weapon of mass destruction - Haneef's SIM card - found at the scene of the crime in Glasgow? No. Perhaps the overcoat he left also with his cousin turned up in the blazing Jeep Cherokee driven into the airport terminal? Apparently not. Was he roaming Surfers Paradise looking for a target to destroy? Not according to the police.

It seems we're just where we were last Friday: the public case against Haneef has entirely collapsed. Perhaps there is something in the Immigration Minister Kevin Andrew's dossier of "protected" - the new jargon for secret - information that explains the charging of Haneef and the cancelling of his work visa. If so, it's time we knew.

"For God's sake," Peter Beattie said to Canberra last week, "explain to Australians why you have taken this course of action."

Haneef would have read all about his latest fiendish plots yesterday morning at Brisbane's Wolston Correctional Centre. The denials were published after he was locked back in his cell. His lawyer, Peter Russo, said yesterday: "I hope there are decent prison officers on tonight who have seen the news and go and tell him."

No plans to release Iranians, Gates says April 7, 2007

2007-04-07T23:53:00.000+10:00

The following is an interesting article, especially when considered in the light of recent events involving some British soldiers and Iran, as well as some actions and reactions by the US.

"WASHINGTON: The US had no plans to release five Iranians captured in Iraq and accused of supporting Iraqi insurgents, the Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, said.

Mr Gates rejected speculation that the US was preparing to release the group or allow consular access to them as part of a deal under which Iran released 15 British sailors and marines accused of entering Iranian waters.

"There's no inclination right now to let them go," he said in Washington on Thursday when asked about the fate of the five Iranians.

Iraqi and US government officials were discussing if there could be some Iranian access to them, he said. "But as far as I know, there's no requirement for that. I don't think that consular access is being considered. I think the issue is whether there's some other means by which some other access might be given."

Mr Gates' comments appeared to fall short of a statement by a US military spokesman, Major General William Caldwell, who told reporters in Baghdad that a consular request to visit the five Iranians was "being assessed".

The five Iranians were arrested by US forces in the northern city of Arbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, on January 11. The US accuses the men of being members of the elite al-Quds Brigade of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Officials have remained vague about the fate of the five, declining to say where they are being held.

Agence France-Presse"
From The Sydney Morning Herald.

It is interesting to see what might have happened had the case been reversed. If the British soldiers were, say, Iranians, and the government of Iran was, say the American government!
It probably does not take much imagination to guess what would have happened. Part of the answer is provided in the article, above.
What hypocrites these politicians are! A point in case is the affair involving a young Australian man by the name of David Hicks. Apparently he converted to Islam a few years ago and he visited several countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan. Apparently he got involved with Al Quaeda, although it is not very clear how deeply. He was arrested by the Americans during the war against the Taliban.
The Americans also arrested other Westerners, including some British citizens whom they set free after the British government intervened on its citizens behalf.
However the Australian government of John Howard did not intervene with the Americans, on behalf of D. Hicks. It suited, politically for the Australian governmwent to do nothing and just accept the US actions on Hicks.
Hicks languished in the American prison of Guantanamo Bay for five years. According to reports (denied by the Americans and the Australian government) Hicks was tortured and treated like an animal, in chains.
Hicks was not charged with anything during all this time. Finally, five years later, an agreement has been reached. Hicks had to agree that he "agreed with the actions of Al Quaeda, or something to that effect, and he would serve nine months in prison in Australia. He is to return to Australia sometime soon. But he is not allowed to speak to ANYONE about his ordeal or the agreement with the Americans, or anything else, at least for the next year or so.
In the meantime, the popularity of the Australian government has been going down. The opposition Labor Party has been riding high in the polls. Australians are unhappy with the lies of John Howard and he is worried about his chances in the elections due to be held later this year.
This D. Hicks affair is an unpopular issue and John Howard wants to get rid of it very quickly. This explains his recent half hearted pathetic attempts to "bring Hicks home", etc etc.

All of this is happening in a democratic country, like the US and Australia. And what did the Iranians do with those soldiers they captured in their territorial waters? Sure, Iran used the affair for its own propaganda. But did they throw those soldiers in their Guantanamo Bay prison?
Did they hold them in chains, without charges, for years...

Democracy is in the eye of the beholder. Freedom is just but a dream.
Justice has just gone out the window.

No plans to release Iranians, Gates says April 7, 2007

2007-04-07T22:57:00.000+10:00