Edward Snowden sabotages British security

Don Snowden

Edward Snowden is directly responsible for harming British vital covert operations, including the surveillance of terror groups and criminal networks.  And so is The Guardian newspaper.  He stole 58,000 top secret British security documents that are now in the hands of Moscow and Beijing.

Sir David Omand, former head of Government Communications HQ and Homeland Security Adviser to David Cameron said "It's the most catastrophic loss to British intelligence ever, much worse than Burgess and Maclean in the 1950s."  And if you are old enough to remember that episode, you know that this situation is very serious.

Andrew Parker, Director General of MI5 said the behaviour of The Guardian was irresponsible and had done enormous damage to Britain's ability to thwart al-Qa'da and put the lives of security agents at risk by sending family and personal information across borders.

David Cameron sent the Cabinet Secretary and senior officials to The Guardian to discuss destroying computer hardware but the result of that meeting is not known.

When Don Snowden arrived in Russia recently, he looked tired. Although he still considers his son a "whistleblower" rather than a criminal, the gravity of the situation is etched on his face. He's already met with Edward and it was an undercover, secret affair - hiding around corners is something this US Coast Guard veteran from Pennyslvania isn't used to.

But it seems that Edward is doing just fine, surviving on donations from support groups like WikiLeaks.  Earlier this week, a group of four retired US ex-intelligence workers and activists handed Snowden an award called the Sam Adams Award - a symbolic candlestick.

WikiLeaks published the photo and so did The Guardian, said to be the first authenticated image of Snowden since he arrived in Russia. Snowden is seen holding the award for integrity in intelligence, with former US government officials Coleen Rowley and Thomas Drake, ex-US officials Jesselyn Raddack and Ray McGovern and (second right) UK WikiLeaks journalist Sarah Harrison, a British citizen who has been with Snowden ever since he arrived in Russia.

Snowden has received many job offers but hasn't yet decided on what direction he will take.

His father said he wasn't sure if his son would ever return to the US and it's hard not to feel sorry for him, he is another victim of Edward's righteous indignation.  I wonder if he thinks it was worth it.

More opium poppy crops for Australia

Tasmanian crop

Tasmania supplies almost half the world's opiates and as the demand for pain relief grows, so too does the need for codeine and morphine.

The three poppy processing companies in Tasmania - TPI, GlaxoSmithKline and Tasmanian Alkaloids - control the seed, breeding and harvest.  They are now looking to the mainland for expansion and will be conducting trials in Victoria next year.

Returns from poppies in Tasmania vary from $4,000 per hectare on the most productive soils down to $2,000 per hectare on sandy loam soils. Understandably, Tasmanian growers would like to keep exclusive growing rights in Tasmania, but this now seems unlikely because of the state's inability to supply a reliable amount of poppy straw.

The straw, once a waste product before the 1930s, is now a by-product of the poppy seed harvest after a chemical process was invented to extract morphine from it.  Today, poppy straw is the source of 90 per cent of the world's supply of legal morphine (for medical and scientific use) and illegal morphine which can be processed into heroin.

Crop near Katherine, NT

TPI is asking for permission to grow opium poppy on the Tipperary cattle station in the Northern Territory, after a successful trial near Katherine. TPI Managing Director Jarrod Ritchie said the yield and quality were comparable to crops grown in Tasmania but there's a huge bonus - poppies trialed this year in the NT were ready for harvest in almost half the time it takes a crop to mature in Tasmania. 

"Ultimately, matching our growth in line with market growth, it could end up being 10,000 hectares per annum" Mr Ritchie said.

Unfair outrage over expenses, says Peter Reith

Peter Reith says he doesn't like talking about a politician's expenses, yet he's written an article about it in The Drum today. Not surprisingly, he's come out in support of Tony Abbott, George Brandis and Barnaby Joyce who all had to pay back travel expenses not considered kosher. And he knows how it feels because it happened to him when he was Workplace Relations Minister.  He racked up a phone bill of $50,000 and admitted he had given his son his card, a clear breach of the rules.

He writes:  I got done over on one of these issues because I told my 19 year old son how to ring me in case of an emergency whilst he was on a driving trip to WA.  He never had an emergency and I never thought about it again for five years when Telstra told me of fraud on my telecard.  I immediately initiated the matter with the Finance Department who had been paying huge telephone bills for five years without ever having the common sense to tell me about it.  The Finance Department does not have a good record in managing these issues and a new set of rules is unlikely to bring an end to claims scandals.

Peter Reith was a senior cabinet minister in the Howard government from 1996 to 2001.  He was at the forefront of the Waterfront dispute involving Patrick and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).  Union members were eventually replaced by non-union staff.  Some think it was a tragic day for the union movement while others think he did a fantastic job that put an end to ongoing waterfront strikes.

In 2001, when he was Defence Minister, Reith was informed that asylum seekers had thrown their children overboard in order to be rescued.  Later when his office learnt that it wasn't true, he didn't correct the statement and allowed four weeks of the election campaign to pass before admitting it was a lie. 

The accusation that asylum seekers were prepared to kill their own children to get into Australia was a low act and he let the Australian people believe it for four weeks.  To this day, he refuses to admit he did anything wrong. "I relied on the advice of the Chief of the Defence Force for the comments I made" he said.

Mr Reith thinks that claiming expenses to attend a wedding is okay. Today he writes:  As for weddings, they are a social occasion. Politicians go to lots of social occasions to talk with constituents and all sorts of people from different elements of our society.  Social events are a form of networking for politicians.  It is a compliment to go to a wedding and a great opportunity to get to know someone in a way you would never have at a public meeting.  To be invited to a wedding of a shock jock seems a political opportunity not to be missed.  Politicians need those sorts of contacts to do their job and that often means an opportunity to put across their policy or other matter of government business.  MPs should be able to travel anywhere in Australia without specifying who they meet.

Sophie Mirabella's wedding

Nice try Mr Reith, but some of us aren't buying it.  

Tony Abbott's travel expenses debate

Tony Abbott has been using his travel expenses to compete in sporting events. While in Opposition, he was persistent and successful in keeping Labor's indiscretions at the forefront of the daily news, but now we learn that the LNP aren't as squeaky clean as we thought they were.  He was very quick to point the finger at others who had rorted their travel expenses and it doesn't matter how many times he says he was entitled to make those claims, it doesn't make it right.

Why should taxpayers pay for Tony Abbott's fitness regime?  When he hops on his bike, runs in a marathon or swims in a race, surely they are leisurely pursuits, not political ones.  If that's what he chooses to do outside Parliament, that's his business, but let him pay for it himself.

But they're all at it.

Mark Dreyfus

Labor's attack dog Mark Dreyfus has been patting himself on the back for exposing Govenor-General George Brandis QC for not paying his own way to a wedding outside Sydney but yesterday he was caught for doing it himself.  He decided to pay back $400 he claimed for two nights accommodation in Canberra when he was actually skiing at Perisher. He said it was an "administrative error" as if that makes it okay.

These revelations, although trivial, have left the electorate devastated and angry.  To learn that our well paid politicians are so greedy, they would deliberately lie for a few hundred dollars is beyond contempt. We, in our ignorance and naivety, expected better.

Nick Xenophon

Even the most honest man I can think of, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, had to repay money to the Finance Department.  He thought it would be cheaper to use self-drive hire cars instead of taxis in Canberra but apparently hire cars are not allowed in that city under the rules.

It's obvious that new rules have to be drawn up to make it crystal clear to everyone, especially staff who are ultimately responsible for the claims, what's justifiable and what isn't.  And in my book, weddings and sporting events shouldn't qualify.

Tattoo removal unsafe and unregulated

To get the valuable information consumer magazine Choice offers, it costs $1.91 a week.  Most people think it's an additional expense they can do without until the fridge or the washing machine packs up. Choice gives consumers access to hundreds of independent online tests and reviews on just about everything we buy.  This week they have released some information about their investigation into tattoo removal, and it's a real concern.

The way the laws stand at the moment, there's a good chance you will be badly burnt or scarred for the rest of your life because tattoo removalists in Australia are not required to have any medical training. But they make you think they have by using medical-sounding assurances like "certified laser practitioner" or "accredited clinician."  All this means is that they have done a course offered by the maker of the laser.

Socceroos fan Brendan Perry donated right arm to Aussie icons

Last year Dr Cathy Reid, secretary of the Australasian College of Dermatologists raised concerns and called for a national regulation scheme but so far, nothing has happened.

From the Choice article.

Removal techniques have come a long way since the days of skin grafting, skin removal or the use of infra-red and other non-medical lasers. Best practice these days dictates that unwanted tattoos be gradually broken apart through the use of Q-switched lasers set to specific wavelengths depending on skin type and the colour and location of the tattoo.

The lasers are used in short bursts that break up the ink; the immune system then goes to work and gets rid of the dispersed particles over the course of many months and treatments (up to 15 treatments, six to eight weeks apart, for multicoloured tattoos).

Dr Phillip Bekhor, director of the Laser Unit at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital said "In Victoria, your local butcher could sideline in laser tattoo removal, and many removers scar up a lot of patients before they develop any real skill.  In reality, the process is extremely slow, not every colour responds well, and it can be painful.  It's an invasive procedure with the capacity for injury" he said.

The cheaper versions of the Q-switched laser or worse, the use of IPL lasers, are the main cause of a botched tattoo removal and here's the bottom line - proper Q-switched machines cost $150,000 and an IPL laser costs between $10,000 and $15,000.

Tattoo removal is a growing industry and will become an essential service in the future, yet there are still no regulations in place.  It's an obvious money spinner and doesn't cost much to set up business - rent a shop, buy a cheap machine and away you go.  Many beauticians now offer tattoo removal with an IPL laser.

So be careful, and spread the word. 

Sydney parties with the Navy

Sydney had a huge party on the harbour this long weekend.  It was all part of the International Fleet Review, celebrating 100 years to the day, since the Royal Australian Navy fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour.  

The event included 40 warships from around the world including the UK, US, France, Spain, Japan, China, India, 16 tall ships, 60 aircraft and 8000 sailors from 17 nations.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and family with Prince Harry

With so many ships involved, arrival times into the harbour had to be staggered.  Singapore's Endeavour was first through the heads followed by Jebat from Malaysia and then China's spectacular Qingdao. Next came warships from Great Britain, India, New Zealand and then our own Navy came into view.  HMAS Sydney led the way, followed by HMAS Perth, Darwin, Parramatta, Bundaberg, Diamantina and Huon.

HMAS Sydney

Barangaroo Wharf was host to the British destroyer HMS Daring,  the American cruiser USS Chosin, and Australian warship HMAS Parramatta.  The public were invited to come aboard and 50,000 tickets sold out quickly.

 HMS Daring

The crew of Young Endeavour were elated to have the honour to lead the Tall Ships entry.  Leut Caitlin Guest said sailing through Sydney Heads greeted by hundreds of pleasure craft all hooting their sirens and horns was an amazing experience.

The DIDP-N is a seven month program that provides indigenous youth in far north Queensland with education, training, life skills and confidence to embark on a career in the Royal Australian Navy.  

Other tall ships taking part included the steel-hulled Cape Horner Picton Castle (Canada);   Lord Nelson (England);  Tecta (Netherlands); James Cook's magnificent HMB Endeavour replica (Sydney);  the 100ft gaff rigged schooner South Passage (Brisbane); the Norwegian built 1939 square rigger Coral Trekker (Airlie Beach);  the 1911 Bark Europa (Netherlands);  the iron-hulled James Craig (Sydney); and the Deptford built brig Lady Nelson replica (Hobart).

And the party continued well into the night.

Prince Harry flew in for the celebrations and as usual, was a huge hit wherever he went.  

China's one child policy

Li Xue studying law at home

If you break the thirty year old rule by having a second child in China, you must pay a fine, usually based on the income of the family. Recently an article was written about 20 year old Li Xue, the second child of a couple who refused to pay the fine - 5 years income.

Bai Xuling

Because she has no ID card or household registration, officially Li Xue doesn't exist.  If you don't have hukou, you don't have a life. She's never been to school, can't even buy a train ticket, has no medical insurance and can't get a job.  She said it's also unlikely she will ever marry and have children.

But if you have plenty of money, the problem is easily overcome. Wealthy families have no trouble getting a school place for an undocumented child and many others make hefty "donations" to save their child from a life of misery.

Li's parents Li Hongyu and Bai Xuling are both disabled and should have been allowed a second child, but officials imposed a hefty fine for their failure to get approval in advance and Bai's state-run employer sacked her for breaching the rules.  They have spent years pleading with officials to overturn the fine and the family live on less than 2,000 yuan a month.

Another horror story about China's one child policy is on Sky News today.  Liu Xinwen 33 was six months pregnant with her second child when she was forced to abort her son.

At 4am her front door was kicked in and two dozen officials charged into her home.  They pinned her husband to the sofa and dragged her out of the house.  She was taken to hospital and injected with an abortion-inducing drug.

Officials refused to tell her husband where they had taken her and it took him five hours to find out.  But it was too late, he reached her side just minutes after she was given the injection to abort.  The baby died in her womb and was delivered the next day.  She was forced to sign papers saying she agreed to the abortion and if she didn't sign, they said her husband would be arrested.  Quou Guoqiang took a picture of his wife showing the foetus in an orange bucket next to her bed.

Liu Xinwen had a contraceptive coil fitted and was surprised when she discovered she was pregnant again at four months.  Fearing an abortion, they decided to keep it a secret and pay the fine after it was born but somehow, authorities found out.

Qhou Guoqiang and  his 10 year old son

Chinese watchers were predicting that urbanization was the way forward for China - that they intended to expand their cities and liberalize the laws.  Instead they continue the Hukou system and murder six month old babies in the womb.  

Although the Chinese government say the strict policy has helped millions of people leave poverty behind and become middle-class, it still remains the oldest and cruelest form of state control.