Category: General news

Peter Nash of New Farm is sitting in a remand cell at the Brisbane Watchhouse, awaiting an extradition hearing which could see him being flown under police escort to the US where he’s facing some very serious charges, indeed.

Nash was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in his New Farm apartment on Friday. He appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court the same day and was remanded in custody. His next court hearing is set down for 19^th February.

Peter Nash, 40, has been indicted in the US for his alleged involvement with the Silk Road website, which claimed to offer a cloak of encrypted anonymity to buyers and sellers who did not wish to have their identities known, taking a commission for its services.

From reports on US news sites, the FBI now has access to some of the conversations on the site.

Peter Nash has been indicted “for conspiracy to traffic narcotics, conspiracy to commit computer hacking and conspiracy to commit money laundering.”

Nash is listed in the indictment as the website’s primary moderator and was allegedly paid between $US50,000 and $US75,000 a year.

If found guilty, he will face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

 

Last weekend, prior to the preselection of the ALP and Greens candidates I wrote “Glasson’s gladiators already waving inanely from behind their bulging bags of helium across the electorate, the ALP is keen to get out there and be seen.”

At the time, the colour to be worn by the ALP was not clear. Rudd had favoured white with our RUDDY this and that in red ink, local member Jackie Trad favours Green in most of her materials.

Now that all parties are preselected and out and about, it is with some relief that I can report the ALP has selected red to represent its left wing, grass roots selection, providing the standard and meaningful choice of red, blue and green for voters who find team colours easier to deal with than policy positions.

With a left leaning Labor light a small l liberal and an environmental Green, we can expect the policy positions to be equally clear cut. Whether or not the mainstream media will see fit to report it that way is another matter.

Hopefully it gives the people of Griffith the opportunity to get out and exercise their democratic muscle in a meaningful manner.

We here at Westender certainly look forward to reporting on the shenanigans as they unfold.

A Xmas delivery scam is hurting many West End residents and business owners as well as transport companies who are not taking care with their delivery protocols.

At one of the spectrum, the scams involve a completely fake courier company pretending to have attempted to deliver non-existent items and then collecting fees via credit card over the phone to “complete” the non-delivery of the non-existent item.

At the other end, legitimate courier companies are simply dropping off cards instead of attempting to deliver items and then collecting fees to “complete” the delivery.

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has released a warning about the scams on its website The ABC has run with the story on National media.

Courier company Toll is being hurt by the scam because it uses notes (pictured) almost identical to the description of the scam notes. Customers are refusing to pay for delivery of items that Toll drivers say they are struggling to deliver at the busiest time of the year.

At least one Westender reader says the company has brought it on itself through sloppy attempts to deliver parcels. “I was at home all morning, and received a note in the mail box claiming they had been unable to deliver it,” he wrote.

The reader said that the waiting time on the customer care number was so long he could not afford to hold. “The note is unaddressed and so I am unaware if it is for me, my flatmate, possibly a neighbour or is, in fact, an example of the scam.”

Westender is keen to hear from other readers who have had a similar experience. Uae the comment feature below to tell us your story.

The Queensland Environmental Defender’s Office has been a West End land mark for decades. Nestled next to Sol Breads across the road from Mick’s Nuts the EDO has taken on governments of all flavours for years – most recently supporting local residents taking on the might of Hangcock Coal in the Gallilee Basin. See related story.

Yesterday, the Abbot Government announced it was cutting off funding to all the EDOs around the country, effective immediately. While we have come to expect a horror story a day from both State and Federal government, this one is particularly nasty.

What it is doing is taking out all the organisations that have the capacity to hold it to account, to make it behave within the law, to make it honour its international and constitutional obligations,

The EDO has posted a cry for help on its front page calling for funding. To donate go to http://www.givenow.com.au/edo To read more about the EDO go to http://www.edo.org.au/edoqld/

Late breaking news:

EDO press release has just arrived

“Yesterday afternoon we were notified without warning by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s department that the Commonwealth Attorney-General had decided to immediately terminate direct funding for Environment Defenders Offices across Australia,” said Jo Bragg, Principal Solicitor of the Environment Defenders Office (Qld).

“This decision by the Federal government demonstrates the lack of respect that this government has for the many Australian communities using the law to stand up for the places they love and keep decision-makers accountable.” said Michelle Maloney, the Chairperson of the EDO. “They are terminating a four-year funding agreement only six months into the term.”

“It is outrageous that the Federal government seeks to silence the voice of communities,” said Jo Bragg. “Our clients are local communities trying to stand up for their local environment. EDO Qld has helped many of Queensland’s communities stand up against powerful vested interests from rural communities concerned about massive coal expansion to groups trying to protect  the Great Barrier Reef. This is a crucial access to justice issue.

“This news comes a week before Christmas, leaving staff and communities unsure of the path ahead. It’s a major blow and puts a big hole in our funding but we would like to reassure our supporters that we remain committed- the earth still needs a good lawyer. The generous assistance of our supporters will help us be a strong voice for Queensland’s communities.

“EDO Queensland will continue to be determined advocates for the many people in our community who share our concern for effective environment protections. We will continue to provide legal expertise and support to the many Australians concerned about the current attack on hard-won environmental protections.”

As kids we are brought up being told that we can trust the police. They are the good guys. Those that will save us if we are in trouble. Maybe not so strange then, when a police officer is caught on camera doing something questionable and it is possibly taken out of context, that the public goes absolutely ballistic.

In a video published on Saturday you can see a man being first allegedly punched by a police officer and then arrested by the three officers in Fortitude Valley Friday night last week.

The video created an instant public outcry on social media and in comment sections of news articles about the incident. The public wanted answers to what really happened and even demanded the police officers to be suspended. Some mentioned that this reminded them of how the police acted when Joh Bjelke-Petersen was Premier of Queensland.

The most interesting, and creative, demand was when a few claimed the police officers should be charged under the new VLAD bill due to its vagueness.

QPS Media Unit published a media release informing the public that the incident was being investigated, but it is here where they failed miserably and allowed concerned members of the public to act as judge, jury and executioners.

With certain investigations it is vital to withhold information. This is to ensure that if a case is taken to court the trial will be fair and not tainted by speculations in the media and social media.

With that said, keeping the lid on too tight, as happened here, encouraged rampant speculation on social media.

The next media release was not really any better than the first. It did state they had spoken to the arrestee, Beau Hall, who had allegedly been punched, and no formal complaint had been lodged.

Shortly afterwards a Brisbane Times article said the three officers had been “vindicated” by CCTV footage that showed the whole confrontation unedited. Unfortunately this footage has not yet been released.

In the Brisbane Times article it was alleged that the officer did not punch Beau Hall, but shoved him with an open hand. The reason for this was, “[He] clenched his fist, pumped his chest out, started to lick his lips and come towards police.”

If this is all it takes to receive such treatment from the police it is understandable why some in the public are concerned and wary around the police.

Joe Ritson who filmed the incident has told 9 News he was threatened with arrest if he continued filming.

Here we have an incident where the police allegedly punch a person, who does not look threatening on film and is outnumbered. To threaten the person filming this incident with arrest as alleged, only makes matters worse.

It would have helped public perceptions of the police if it had been known that the police were responding to a call that Beau Hall allegedly had urinated in the alleyway. It would also help if the public knew that what looked like a punch on the video was instead a shove to defuse a possibly dangerous situation. It is hard to see how letting the public know these two facts would negatively affect a possible trial or fuel the rumour mill on social media.

Instead the QPS Media Unit decided to be very frugal with information. Yet they pride themselves on being good at providing information when receiving requests.

Westender has tried to reach out to QPS Media Unit twice, asking if the CCTV footage will be released, but the requests has not been answered. QPS Media Unit has informed me they do not own the footage and can therefore not release the it, and the incident is still under investigation.

Considering the outcry by the public, releasing the CCTV footage might actually have a true, vindicating effect if the public is allowed to see it with their own eyes.

As it is correct that the footage that is available on YouTube only shows partially what happened and the angel is often a bit awkward.

Many seem to focus on the alleged punch, which later has been stated to be an open-hand shove, but I do not think I am alone being concerned with what seems to be a person that is acting in a non-threatening manner being heavy-handedly arrested. This raises the question, what if a member of the public is mistaken for someone else and is arrested, receiving the same treatment as Beau Hall?

It also raises another concern, will this be common to the lead-up and during the G20 meeting in Brisbane? The possiblity of repeating Friday night’s scenario is increasingly likely now that everyone can easily make recordings with their phones and instantly publish them online at the same time as the police have been given extra powers to handle threats against G20 participants.

Given that such allegations can spread like wildfire on social media it will be very prudent for the QPS Media Unit to be honest and upfront with the public to defuse possible trials-by-social-media. They will also need to work as closely as possible with journalists so the right information can be made available to the public in an attempt to defuse the spread of disinformation on social media: a lack of information can often encourage erroneous speculation.

Below is the video QPS Media Unit claims to have been taken down from YouTube. If the CCTV footage is also made available this article will be updated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WgztzKCB7g

What is your opinion regarding this incident? Could the QPS Media Unit handled it better and do the public need to see the CCTV footage? Post your comment below.

Left -wing candidate for Griffith, Terri Butler, has been preselected as the ALP candidate for Griffith.

The rank-and-file membership of the party fielded over 300 members at the preselection and the vote was more than two thirds in favour of Butler.

With the Greens preselection to take place tomorrow Sunday 18th and Palmer stating publicly that he will not be running a candidate in this by-election the field is ready but the race has not been called.

A February date is widely tipped but depends on the former Prime-Minister Kevin Rudd finalising his correspondence (ie writing a resignation letter to the Governor General) and the Prime Minister calling a date.

Read Terri Butler’s profile by Jan Bowman.