Law Management

Hacking Cases Focus on Memo to a Murdoch

2012-02-12T02:29:00.001-08:00

By SARAH LYALL and RAVI SOMAIYA- New York Times

Published: February 11, 2012

LONDON — As dozens of investigators and high-powered lawyers converge on Rupert Murdoch’s News International in the phone hacking scandal, attention has focused on the printout of an e-mail excavated three months ago from a sealed carton left behind in an empty company office.

David Moir/Reuters

James Murdoch in 2009.

Addressed to Mr. Murdoch’s sonJames, it contained explosive information about the scale of phone hacking at The News of the World tabloid — information James Murdoch says he failed to take in because he did not read the whole e-mail chain.

The e-mail returned to cause trouble for News International, the British newspaper subsidiary of News Corporation, several weeks ago when the company said that it had been deleted from Mr. Murdoch’s computer. Even as people familiar with the investigations said the e-mail and its convoluted history will form a crucial part of the inquiry into allegations of a cover-up, the scandal appeared to be widening on Saturday, as senior journalists at News Corporation’s Sun tabloid were arrested.

Tracing the story of the e-mail, which was found in November and first became publicly known in December, also sheds light on the intrigue surrounding Mr. Murdoch, the company’s heir apparent, and on efforts to protect him from the scandal.

Embroiled in three separate police operations, a parliamentary investigation, a judicial inquiry and a flurry of civil suits with potentially hundreds more waiting in the wings, News Corporation has begun to provide information that suggests a broader sweep of hacking activity at News International than was suspected even recently and more widespread knowledge within the company of past efforts to cover it up.

This new level of cooperation includes the release of damaging material from an internal investigation that is being overseen by executives who, observers say, are using it to consolidate their power within the company, a move that could come at James Murdoch’s expense.

“There’s no good way out of it,” a former News International executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigations. “If you put up your hand and say, ‘I’m going to investigate myself and here’s what I found’ and you’re not very open and full about it, then it looks like just another cover-up.”

A Stunning Find

When The News of the World was closed in disgrace last summer, its newsroom was locked down by security guards. In mid-November, News International says, investigators searching the seized materials found a storage crate that, judging from a sticker on top, had come from the office of Colin Myler, the paper’s last editor. It contained a hard copy of an e-mail sent from Mr. Myler to James Murdoch on June 7, 2008 — in reality a chain of e-mails that included correspondence with Tom Crone, then an in-house lawyer.

“Unfortunately, it is as bad as we feared,” Mr. Myler wrote, speaking of an impending lawsuit that threatened to reveal that voice-mail hacking at the paper was endemic.

Last summer, senior News International officials said that in that crucial period in 2008, Mr. Murdoch had neither been told about nor shown documentation of the extent of the illegality at The News of the World. The discovery of the e-mail, said one former official with knowledge of the situation, was completely unexpected.

Why did it take so long to come to light? Linklaters, a law firm working for News International, said that a junior employee found it in November, but that senior officials at the firm did not know about it until December.

In addition, Linklaters told the Commons Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, Mr. Myler’s electronic copy had been lost “in a hardware failure” on March 18, 2010,” while Mr. Murdoch’s electronic copy had been deleted on Jan. 15, 2011 during an “e-mail stabilization and modernization program.”

Big corporations routinely delete old e-mails. Between April 2010 and July 2011, News International discussed e-mail deletion with HCL Technologies, which manages its e-mail system, on nine occasions, according to a letter HCL wrote to Parliament last summer.

Most of the reasons were mundane. But in January 2011, HCL said, News International asked whether HCL was capable of helping “truncate” — meaning delete — “a particular database” in the e-mail system. The question came shortly after disclosures in a civil suit brought by the actress Sienna Miller raised fears that material about widespread phone hacking at The News of the World might become public.

News International did not explain why it wanted the deletion. HCL said it could not help and told the company to look elsewhere.

It is not clear whether the “stabilization and modernization program” that deleted the Murdoch e-mail was linked to News International’s request to “truncate” data. But it is clear that on Jan. 15, when the deletion took place, the company knew it was facing civil and potentially criminal inquiries. A month earlier, reacting to new information from the Miller and other cases, it had suspended the News of the World’s news editor, Ian Edmondson, on suspicion of phone hacking, and handed some material to the police.

Questions of Timing

“They were aware that it was highly likely the police were going to reopen the investigation,” said a person with knowledge of the police operation. Indeed, the police formally began Operation Weeting, their new phone hacking investigation, 11 days later.

At every step of the inquiry, the company has said it is cooperating fully and producing relevant documents. A News International spokeswoman declined to comment for this article.

A lawmaker involved in the investigations of News International said the company’s primary objective from the beginning was to protect James Murdoch, and everything else was secondary to that.

News International has given a variety of explanations for where its e-mails are and whether the ones it says it cannot find were deleted, lost in computer malfunctions or simply mislaid. In December 2010, a News of the World editor told a court in Scotland that “many e-mails had been lost when they were being moved to an archive in India.” That same month, a company lawyer said that News International could not retrieve e-mails written more than six months earlier. Neither of those statements was true, the company admitted later.

Last month, the High Court judge presiding over the civil lawsuits brought by hacking victims castigated News International for what he called its “startling approach” to e-mail. Even after the company received a formal request for documents, said the judge, Geoffrey Vos, “a previously conceived plan to delete e-mails was put in place by senior management.”

Speaking of News Group Newspapers, a division of News International, Justice Vos said that “they are to be treated as deliberate destroyers of evidence.”

At every step of the way, News International has declared that it is doing its utmost to investigate wrongdoing. In 2007, for example, the company told Parliament that it had conducted an investigation by asking an outside law firm, Harbottle & Lewis, to examine 2,500 e-mails, and that the investigation had cleared senior editors of wrongdoing.

Many of those supposedly cleared were later arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and other charges. And Harbottle & Lewis said later that the investigation had, in fact, been requested by News International to answer allegations in an unfair dismissal claim brought by a former employee involved in phone hacking — not to look for more phone hacking at the paper.

News International has pledged to police itself better. Under the aegis of its four-person Management and Standards Committee, it says it will comb through and make available every piece of potentially pertinent material.

Dozens of people — lawyers, forensic accountants, forensic computer technicians and, sometimes, police officers — gather daily at a site in Thomas More Square here, where News International is based, searching through 300 million e-mails and other documents stretching back a decade.

“Pooling data together is a complex matter,” said a person with knowledge of the standards committee. “What is recoverable is a very technical operation.”

Mr. Murdoch, who is News Corporation’s deputy chief operating officer and chairman and chief executive of its international division, relocated to New York recently as part of a long-planned move meant to help ease him into place to eventually take over News Corporation from his father. But the younger Mr. Murdoch’s position seems much more precarious than it did a year ago. Last month, he resigned from the board of GlaxoSmithKline, Britain’s biggest drug company, and last summer his dream of helping News Corporation take over all of British Sky Broadcasting shattered to pieces in the wake of the hacking scandal.

People in New York say that Mr. Murdoch is confident he will survive the storm back in London. But questions still abound about what he knew, and when.

When he got the 2008 e-mail, News International was facing a major potential disaster: a lawsuit brought by Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, who said that his phone had been hacked and that he had proof.

That is what the e-mail told Mr. Murdoch. Farther down in a short message chain, there was mention of a “nightmare scenario” of legal repercussions, and an acknowledgment that The News of the World “knew of and made use of the voice mail information” it illegally acquired from Mr. Taylor’s cellphone.

Mr. Myler’s e-mail was sent on a Saturday afternoon. Mr. Murdoch replied minutes later, agreeing to a meeting that Tuesday and telling Mr. Myler he would be home “if you want to talk before.”

Soon afterward, Mr. Murdoch approved a settlement of more than $1.4 million to Mr. Taylor, an unprecedented amount for such a case.

In December, he said he had not read the whole e-mail. “I am confident that I did not review the full e-mail chain at this time or afterwards,” he said in a letter to the Commons culture committee. “I would also like to take this opportunity to reaffirm my past testimony that I was not aware of evidence that either pointed to widespread wrongdoing or indicated that further investigation was necessary.”

Contradicting Mr. Murdoch’s testimony, Mr. Myler and Mr. Crone told Parliament they had informed him about the damaging aspects of the Taylor lawsuit. Mr. Murdoch has consistently denied this, declaring that he approved the settlement because of his lawyers’ advice, not because he knew the underlying details.

Jo Becker contributed reporting from New York.

Work and Health Statistics in Australia

2012-02-12T01:32:00.000-08:00

INTRODUCTION

The impact of work on people’s health is complex and multi-faceted. Evidence suggests that work can be beneficial for people’s physical and emotional wellbeing, quite apart from the financial rewards associated with employment. (Endnote 1) Yet there are also aspects of work that can pose risks to workers’ health and safety.

Along with the effect on individuals’ health and wellbeing, workplace injuries have an economic impact on the broader community in the form of medical and legal expenses, as well as the costs associated with retraining, and loss of productivity and morale among co-workers. Safe Work Australia has estimated the cost of work-related injuries as $57.5 billion dollars in 2005-06, or 5.9% of Australia's gross domestic product. (Endnote 2)

This article explores the relationship between work and health through data on work-related injuries and fatalities. While this data illustrates the direct impact that work can have on employees’ health, there is also evidence that the physical and psychosocial aspects of work, though more subtle and gradual, can nonetheless have a significant impact on health over the longer-term. (Endnote 3) (Endnote 4) For example, recent evidence suggests that even seemingly innocuous aspects of some jobs such as long periods of sitting down can increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and premature mortality. (Endnote 5)

DATA SOURCE AND DEFINITIONS

This article draws on data from the ABS 2007-08 National Health Survey, and the work-related injuries topic of the ABS 2009-10 Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS). The MPHS collected information on the most recent work-related injury experienced by people aged 15 years and over, (excluding those living in Very Remote areas) who worked at some time during the 12 months to June 2010.

A work-related injury is any injury, illness or disease which first occurred in the 12 months prior to interview, where a person suffered either physically or mentally from a condition that arose out of, or in the course of employment. Included are work-related injuries that occurred while commuting to and from work, outside of work but while on duty, or during work breaks. Injuries suffered by workers residing as patients in hospital at the time of interview were not included, while injuries that resulted in death prior to data collection were not measurable.

Types of injuries or illnesses and how these occurred have been classified based on the Types of Occurrences Classification System. (Endnote 6)

The injury rate for all employed persons and for those by sex and age are calculated by dividing the number of injured workers by the number of people employed (in that group) at any time in the 12 months to June 2010. Injury rates for all other groups (e.g. industry and occupation) are calculated by dividing the number of injured workers by the number of people employed (in that group) at the time of interview.

In this article, white collar workers include Managers, Professionals, Community and Personal Service Workers, Clerical and Administrative Workers, and Sales Workers as defined in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) major occupation groups. Blue collar workers are those categorised in ANZSCO as Technicians and Trades Workers, Machinery Operators and Drivers, and Labourers.

WORK AND GENERAL HEALTH

Self-assessed health is considered a good proxy indicator of the overall health of a population. Research has shown that self-assessed health is a strong predictor of mortality and morbidity, and provides an insight into how people perceive their own health. (Endnote 7)

In 2007-08, over half (56%) of the Australian population aged 15 years and over rated their own health as excellent or very good. A further 29% rated their health as good, while 15% rated their health as fair or poor. Women were slightly more likely than men to rate their health as excellent or very good (57% compared with 55%). These figures have remained steady since the previous survey in 2004-05.

People in paid work tend to rate their health as better than people who are outside the workforce. In 2007-08, almost two-thirds (63%) of Australians in employment rated their own health as excellent or very good, and only 9% as fair or poor. Of those who were unemployed, half (50%) rated their health as excellent or very good, and 18% as fair or poor. Of those people not in the labour force, 42% rated their health as excellent or very good, while 28% considered their health to be fair or poor. This pattern was similar for men and women, though the difference in self-assessed health between those in and out of the workforce was more pronounced for men.

SELF-ASSESSED HEALTH STATUS(a) BY LABOUR FORCE STATUS - 2007-08

(a) People aged 15 years and over.
Source: ABS 2007-08 National Health Survey

In considering the relationship between health and labour force status, it should be noted that poor health is the reason why many people are not in the labour force. Furthermore, people are more likely to experience poor health as they age, particularly later in life when many people are retired from paid work. Indeed, the proportion of people who rated their health as excellent or very good in 2007-08 declined with age (from 67% of people aged 15-24 years to 36% of people aged 65 years and over). However, the disparities in self-assessed health between those in and out of the workforce were still evident, even when controlling for the effects of age.

SELF-ASSESSED HEALTH(a) BY AGE - 2007-08

(a) People aged 15 years and over.
Source: ABS 2007-08 National Health Survey

Among employed people, self-assessed health varied considerably according to the type of work they did. After controlling for the effects of different age profiles, blue collar workers were 16% less likely than white collar workers to rate their own health as excellent or very good. Professionals had the highest levels of self-assessed health with 70% rating their health as excellent or very good. High proportions of Clerical and Administrative Workers (67%) and Community and Personal Service Workers (65%) also rated their health as excellent or very good. By contrast, only half (50%) of Machinery Operators and Drivers, and 54% of Labourers rated their health as excellent or very good.

SELF-ASSESSED HEALTH(a)(b) BY WHITE COLLAR/BLUE COLLAR OCCUPATION - 2007-08

(a) Employed people aged 15 years and over.
(b) Age standardised to the employed population aged 15 years and over.
Source: ABS 2007-08 National Health Survey

WORK-RELATED INJURIES

Along with the positive effect that work can have on individuals’ health and sense of wellbeing, people also encounter risks to their health and safety in the workplace. Of the 12 million people who were employed at some time during the 2009-10 financial year, 5.3% (640,700 people) experienced at least one work-related injury or illness.

The work-related injury rate in 2009-10 was 53 injuries per 1,000 people employed, down from a rate of 64 per 1,000 in 2005-06. The fall in the overall work-related injury rate since 2005-06 was driven by a reduction among men (from 74 to 55 per 1,000), while the rate among women remained steady (at 51 per 1,000).

Men accounted for 56% of people who experienced a work-related injury in 2009-10 (356,500 men compared with 284,300 women). While the rate of work-related injuries was similar for men and women, the higher number of work-related injuries among men was largely due to the fact that men made up more than half (54%) of those who were employed at some time during the year.

By age

Workplace injury rates vary across age groups. In 2009-10, the injury rate for men was similar across the age groups from 15 to 44 years (between 59 and 51 injuries per 1,000 workers). The injury rate was high among men aged 45-54 years (at 66 per 1,000), and was lower among men aged 55 years and over (at 47 per 1,000). Among women, the injury rate among those aged between 25 and 44 years (44 per 1,000) was lower than among those aged 45 years and over (59 per 1,000).

The fall in injury rate for men between 2005-06 and 2009-10 was evident across those aged between 15 and 44 years, but was particularly marked among men aged 15-24 years (from 95 to 59 per 1,000 workers). (Endnote 8) There was little change in the injury rates for women across the age groups.

WORK-RELATED INJURY RATES BY AGE AND SEX

(a) Injuries per 1,000 workers.
Sources: ABS 2009-10 Multipurpose Household Survey

By occupation and industry

The types of risks to which people are exposed in the workplace vary considerably according to the type of job they do and the industry in which they work. The risks associated with different work environments are reflected in the rates and types of injuries across occupation and industry groups.

In 2009-10, the highest rates of injuries were found among the more manual, blue collar occupations groups such as Labourers (88 per 1,000), Machinery Operators and Drivers (86), and Technicians and Trades Workers (78). There was also a high injury rate among the white collar occupation group, Community and Personal Service Workers (84). The lowest injury rates were among the white collar occupation groups such as Clerical and Administrative Workers (32 per 1,000), Professionals (42) and Managers (45).

Men make up the majority of workers in the blue collar occupation groups with high workplace injury rates (i.e. Labourers, Machinery Operators and Drivers, Technicians and Trades Workers). Women, on the other hand, predominate in many of the white collar occupation groups with lower workplace injury rates (i.e. Clerical and Administrative Workers, Sales Workers). Women who worked in the blue collar occupations were just as likely to suffer a work-related injury as men were. However, among some white collar workers (i.e. Managers, Sales Workers and Professionals), the rate of work-related injuries was considerably higher among women than men, with women in these occupations reporting high rates of chronic joint or muscle conditions.

The work-related injury rates indicate that workers in some industries face greater risks than others. Some of the highest rates of workplace injuries in 2009-10 were found among the Accommodation and Food Services (84 injuries per 1,000), Arts and Recreational Services (77) and Transport, Postal and Warehousing (74) industries. People working in other industries including the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry (24 injuries per 1,000) faced comparatively lower risks.

WORK-RELATED INJURY RATES BY OCCUPATION GROUP(a) - 2009-10

(a) Occupation data are classified according to the ANZCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, 2006 (cat. no. 1220.0).
(b) Injuries per 1,000 workers.
Source: ABS 2009-10 Multipurpose Household Survey

TYPE OF INJURY

There is a wide variety in the type and severity of injuries suffered in the workplace, ranging from fractures and crushing injuries resulting in internal organ damage, to minor cuts and strains. Of the most recent workplace injury suffered in 2009-10, around one-third of those reported were sprains or strains. This was the most common type reported by men (17 per 1,000 workers) and women (15 per 1,000) alike. Other common types of workplace injuries included chronic joint or muscle conditions (9 per 1,000 persons employed) along with cuts or open wounds (8 per 1,000 persons employed).

TYPE OF INJURY SUFFERED(a) - 2009-10

(a) Most recent injury during the 12 months to June 2010.
(b) Includes burns.
(c) Includes injuries resulting in internal organ damage.
(d) Injuries per 1,000 workers.
Source: ABS 2009-10 Multipurpose Household Survey

The type of injuries suffered also varied according to occupation. The rate of sprains and strain injuries was considerably higher among blue collar workers (24 per 1,000 persons employed) than white collar workers (15 per 1,000). Blue collar workers were also more likely than white collar workers to suffer chronic joint or muscle conditions (14 per 1,000 compared with 9 per 1,000) and cuts or open wounds (19 per 1,000 compared with 5 per 1,000).

WORKER'S COMPENSATION

According to data from Safe Work Australia, there were 134,800 serious workers' compensation claims in Australia in 2007-08. This equates to an incidence rate of 13.8 serious claims per 1,000 employed people. Men lodged two-thirds of all serious claims with an incidence rate of 17.8 serious claims per 1,000 employed people, almost double the rate among women (9.4 claims per 1,000 employed people). The incidence rate of serious claims declined 15% between 2003-04 and 2007-08 for both men and women.

Despite having a lower incidence rate than men, women spent more time off work due to serious claims. In 2007-08 the median time lost from work for a serious claim was 4.8 weeks for women and 3.6 weeks for men. The time lost due to serious claims increased from a median of 3.6 weeks to 4.0 weeks from 2003-04 to 2007-08. At the same time, the average payment for serious claims increased from $5,500 to $6,900, with the average payment for men in 2007-08 slightly higher than that for women ($7,000 compared with $6,700). (Endnote 9)

Not all work-related injuries result in serious workers’ compensation claims. Indeed, comparison of compensation claims with the data from the ABS 2005-06 Multipurpose Household Survey indicates that serious workers’ compensation claims represents only one in five work-related injuries. Despite this, the decline in serious workers compensation claims is broadly consistent with ABS data on work-related injuries. However, while the decline in the rate of work-related injuries has been apparent only for men, the rate of serious workers’ compensation claims has declined for men and women alike.

TIME OFF WORK

Apart from the obvious health impacts, work-related injuries also have a significant effect on workers and businesses due to the time spent off work. Almost half (44%) of people who suffered a work-related injury in 2009-10, however, did not miss any work due to their most recent work-related injury, while 7% missed only part of a shift or day’s work. Around one in five (22%) missed between one and four day’s work, and 27% (or 172,900 people) missed five or more days. The distribution of time spent away from work following a work-related injury was similar for both men and women, and across the age groups.

TIME OFF WORK DUE TO WORK-RELATED INJURY(a) - 2009-10

(a) Most recent injury during the 12 months to June 2010.
(b) Includes those who are yet to return to work.
Source: ABS 2009-10 Multipurpose Household Survey

The time people were absent due to their most recent workplace injury differed according to the type of injury suffered. The longest absences were associated with stress and fractures. More than half (55%) of people who suffered stress or other mental conditions were absent from work for five days or more. Similarly, 53% of workers who suffered fractures were away from work for five days or more.

Cuts and open wounds, and crushing injuries were associated with relatively short absences from work. More than half of those who suffered a cut or open wound (56%), or a crushing injury (57%) did not miss any work due to their injury.

WORKPLACE FATALITIES

While the majority of work-related injuries are minor, resulting in little or no time off work, there are rare occasions when they result in death. The Australian Government's National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 set targets to lower the incidence of fatalities by 20% over the decade to 2012. Data from Safe Work Australia indicates that the number of fatalities had fallen by 10% (to 134) over the five years to 2007-08. The number of work-related deaths rose sharply in 2008-09 (to 151) before falling again in 2009-10 (to 111 deaths). By 2009-10, the overall workplace fatality rate had fallen to a low of 1.0 per 100,000 workers.

WORKPLACE FATALITIES

Data on workplace fatalities are sourced from Safe Work Australia’s Notified Fatalities Statistical Report 2009-10.

Workplace fatalities includes workers (both employees and self-employed) who suffer a fatal injury at work. It includes deaths notified to workplace health and safety authorities and generally does not include work-related deaths due to traffic accidents on public roads.

It also excludes bystanders (i.e. passers-by or visitors to workplaces) who suffered a fatal injury as a result of another person’s work activity.

The workplace fatality rate is the number of workplace fatalities per 100,000 people employed on average over the 12-month period.

The increase in workplace fatalities in 2008-09 was driven by an increase in deaths among people aged 15-24 years, with the fatality rate increasing from 0.7 per 100,000 workers in 2007-08 to 1.2 in 2008-09.

Of the 111 people who died in workplace incidents in 2009-10, the vast majority (95%) were men. Twenty nine of the people who died were workers aged 15-34 years, 49 were aged 35-54 years, and 33 were aged 55 years and over. The fatality rate among workers in 2009-10 increased with age, from 0.7 per 100,000 workers aged 15-34 years, to 1.0 among 35-54 year olds, and 1.8 among workers aged 55 years and over. Though the fatality rate among workers aged 55 years and over has been trending downwards in recent years it is still more than double that of younger workers.

WORKPLACE FATALITY RATES BY AGE

(a) Fatalities per 100,000 workers.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Notified Fatalities Statistical Report 2009-10

As with work-related injuries, fatalities were concentrated among particular industries and occupation groups, reflecting the relatively dangerous and hazardous working conditions experienced in some sectors. In 2009-10, around 80% of workplace fatalities occurred in the goods producing industries including Construction (28 deaths), Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (26), Manufacturing (15), Transport and Storage (14) and Mining (6). Since the total number of fatalities is influenced by the number of people working in each industry, a better comparison can be gained by looking at the relative fatality rates. The highest fatality rate in 2009-10 was in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry (6.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers). This was almost double the rate in the Mining industry (3.5), and almost three time that in the Construction (2.8), and Transport and Storage (2.7) industries. Though a large number of fatalities occurred in the Manufacturing industry, the fatality rate was on par with the average across all sectors. There have been fluctuations in the fatality rate across these industries over recent years, with a large spike in 2007-08 in the Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry, and Mining sectors, followed by a continuation of the long-term downward trend.

WORKPLACE FATALITY RATES BY SELECTED INDUSTRIES(a)

(a) Industry data classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification, 1993 (cat. no. 1292.0).
(b) Fatalities per 100,000 workers.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Notified Fatalities Statistical Report 2009-10

Workplace fatalities were more common among those who worked in blue collar occupations. In 2009-10, almost three-quarters of those who died in workplace accidents worked as either Intermediate Production and Transport Workers (36 deaths), Tradespersons and Related Workers (23), or Labourers and Related Workers (21). The most common cause of fatalities in 2009-10 were vehicle incidents (23 deaths), followed by falls from a height (18), being hit by moving objects (17), and being hit by falling objects (17). These were consistently the most common causes of workplace deaths, accounting for around two-thirds of all workplace fatalities since 2003-04.

OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE INDICATORS

Establishing a causal link between occupational factors and long-term health conditions is difficult given that many such health conditions have multiple causes and often involve long latency periods. (Endnote 10) For example, mesothelioma, a usually fatal cancer, typically occurs 20 to 40 years after exposure to asbestos.

While taking these caveats into account, Safe Work Australia publishes Occupational Disease Indicators in order to monitor trends in occupational disease. The indicators present information on eight disease groups, primarily based on workers’ compensation claims data.

Over the period from 2000-01 to 2007-08, the indicators show falls in the rates of five of the eight disease categories: musculoskeletal disorders, mental disorder, infectious and parasitic diseases, contact dermatitis, and cardiovascular disease. Rates for the other three categories, noise-induced hearing loss, respiratory diseases, and occupational cancers, either remained stable or showed no clear trend over the period. (Endnote 11)

OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE INDICATORS(a)

Disease	2000-01	2007-08

Musculoskeletal disorders	14,380	11,207
Mental disorders	1,111	839
Noise-induced hearing loss	490	469
Infectious and parasitic diseases	86	66
Respiratory diseases	143	95
Contact dermatitis	155	116
Cardiovascular disease	48	30
Occupational cancers	34	37

(a) Claims per million employeesSource: Unpublished data from Safe Work Australia

OHS TRAINING

One of the key planks in efforts to reduce the number of injuries and deaths in the workplace is adequate training in occupational health and safety (OHS). Indeed, part of the Australian Government's National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 is to raise awareness of the importance of OHS programs, and encourage excellence in OHS practices. (Endnote 12) Of the 640,700 people who experienced a workplace injury during 2009-10, the vast majority (82%) had received formal OHS training in their job prior to the injury. This represents a considerable increase since 2005-06 when only 58% of injured workers had received formal OHS training.

Of all people who were employed at some time during the 2009-10 financial year, 70% had received formal OHS training in their current job. The proportion of men who had received OHS training (73%) was slightly higher than the proportion of women (66%). Workers aged 55 years and over were slightly less likely to have undertaken OHS training than their younger counterparts (61% compared with 70%).

PROPORTION OF INJURED WORKERS(a) WHO RECEIVED FORMAL OHS TRAINING

(a) Who had suffered a work-related injury at some time in the 12 months to June 2010.
Source: ABS 2009-10 Multipurpose Household Survey

The prevalence of OHS training across occupations tends to reflect the relative risks. OHS training was more common among the occupations with the highest rates of workplace injuries such as Technicians and Trades Workers (79%), Community and Personal Service Workers (78%), and Machinery Operators and Drivers (76%). The rate of formal OHS training was lower among lower skilled white collar occupations including Clerical and Administrative Workers (63%) and Sales Workers (66%). Men were more likely than women to receive OHS training across both white and blue collar occupation groups, indicating that even within occupation groups, men are more likely to do the kind of work for which OHS training is deemed important.

There were particularly high rates of OHS training in the Mining Sector (92%), along with the Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services industry (87%), Public Administration and Safety (84%) and Health Care and Social Assistance (84%) industries. The proportion of people in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry who had had formal OHS training was very low (52%), despite the relatively high injury rate. This may be due to the high proportion of self-employed people working in the sector, and could indicate that much of the OHS training in this sector is conducted on an informal basis.

LOOKING AHEAD

Over the past two decades successive governments at both the federal and state/territory level have made concerted efforts to reduce rates of workplace injuries and fatalities. The Australian Government's National OHS Strategy 2002-2012 aimed to raise awareness of the importance of OHS, improve collection and analysis of workers’ compensation data, and harmonise the states and territories’ work health and safety legislation. (Endnote 12) Initial indications suggest that the focus on OHS may be paying dividends with increased rates of OHS training, and declining rates of both workplace fatalities and injuries. These trends will need to continue in coming years to meet the reduction targets.

ENDNOTES

1. Butterworth P, Leach LS, Strazdins L, Olesen SC, Rodgers B, and Broon DH, 2011, The psychosocial quality of work determines whether employment has benefits for mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, <www.oem.bmj.com>.

BACK TO ARTICLE

2. Safe Work Australia, 2009, The cost of work-related injury & illness for Australian Employers, Workers and the Community, <www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au>.

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3. Warren JR, Hoonakker P, Carayon P, and Brand J, 2004, Job characteristics as mediators in SES-health relationship, Social Science & Medicine, 59: 1367-1378.

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4. Stansfeld S, and Candy B, 2006, Psychosocial work environment and mental health: a meta-analytic review, Scandinavian Journal of Work and Health, 32: 443-462.

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5. Hamilton M, Hamilton D, and Zderic T, 2007, Role of low energy expenditure and sitting in obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, 56: 2655-2667.

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6. The Types of Occurrences Classification System was developed by the Office of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council, now renamed Work Safe Australia.

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7. For more information see ABS, 2004-05, Self-assessed health in Australia: A snapshot, 2004-05, cat. no. 4828.0.55.001, <www.abs.gov.au>.

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8. Though the graph indicates that the injury rate has fallen among men aged 45 years and over, the difference is not statistically significant.

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9. For more information see Safe Work Australia, 2011, Compendium of workers’ compensation statistics Australia 2008-09, <www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au>.

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10. Safe Work Australia, 2010, Occupational Disease Indicators, <www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au>.

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11. While there was a fall in the rate of workers’ compensation claims for respiratory diseases, hospital separation rates remained relatively stable.

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12. Safe Work Australia, 2002, National OHS Strategy 2002-2012, <www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au>.

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HAVE YOUR SAY

Please direct all statistical enquiries to the National Information and Referral Services (NIRS) by emailing client.services@abs.gov.au

Articles in Australian Social Trends are designed to provide an overview of a current social issue. We aim to present an interesting and easy-to-read story, balanced with appropriate statistics. The articles are written as a starting point or summary of the issues, for a wide audience including policy makers, researchers, journalists and people who just want to have a better understanding of a topic. For people who need further information, we provide references to other useful and more detailed sources. Tell us if we are achieving this aim by emailing social.reporting@abs.gov.au

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‘Honour’ crime: Three women killed ‘for loose morals’

2012-02-04T18:39:00.001-08:00

Police arrest one of the two suspects who admits to killing wife, sister and mother-in-law.

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

Kot Chuttha police have arrested a man who has admitted to killing his wife, Samina, her sister (his brother’s wife) and their mother in collusion with his brother in a Dera Ghazi Khan village.

Talking to The Express Tribune at the police station, Ismaeel said he did not believe he had committed a crime. “My wife and her sister (his brother’s wife) had loose morals. They deserved death. I can’t let my wife talk to other men,” he said. He said he had caught Samina (his wife) talking to a man over cell phone.

The suspect said he and his brother, Imran, had shot and killed Samina and Zarmina, their wives, and their mother, Kulsoom, on Friday night. “Their mother was to blame for it. She had failed to raise her daughters in accordance with our traditions. I had warned her (mother-in-law) several times to control her daughters,” he said.

According to the FIR registered on a complaint filed by the father of the deceased sisters, Mukhtar, the suspects had came to his house on Friday night to ask their wives to return home with them.

Mukhtar said Samina and Zarmina had left their husbands’ home a week ago and had been living at their parents’ house in Basti Damraywala. He said his daughters had married the suspects about six months ago. He said whenever the deceased visited him they complained about their husbands’ behaviour. “They would always complain about their husbands beating them and quarreling with them,” he said.

During Friday’s visit, Mukhtar said, the suspects had started quarrelling with his daughters and their mother over their refusal to accompany them back home. “I was in a room next door and could hear the arguments,” he said.

Suddenly, he said, he heard gunshots and the women’s cries. “They had killed my daughters and wife. There was no way I could defend myself against them so I thought the best course was to escape and report the matter to the police,” he said. “I rushed out of the house by jumping over the back wall to escape,” he said.

Talking to the Tribune, several residents of Basti Damraywala said whenever the suspects came to visit their in-laws they would complain about their wives’ conduct.

SHO Malik Ramazan said a police team had caught Ismael on Saturday while he was trying to escape to the Tribal Area adjacent to Dera Ghazi Khan.

He said two police teams were raiding the nearby villages to arrest his brother.

The SHO said an FIR had been registered against the suspects under Section 302 of the PPC.

Police have sent the bodies to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital for a post mortem examination.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2012.

Does India have a case in Kashmir?

2012-02-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

The writer is a director with Hill Road Media and a former editor of the Mumbai-based English newspaper Mid Day and the Gujarati paper Divya Bhaskar aakar.patel@tribune.com.pk

If so, what is it?

The Pakistan case is straight: Let Kashmiris decide whether they want to live as Indians or as Pakistanis. This is supported by the United Nations Security Council resolutions beginning with No 38 in 1948 and going on to No 123 in 1957. The resolutions seek a direct vote, what is called a plebiscite, among people in Jammu & Kashmir on their future. The UN said it would administer this vote, and called for India and Pakistan to demilitarise the state.

The Kashmiri case is slightly less straight. Some of them want accession to Pakistan (the Jamaat-e-Islami’s Ali Shah Geelani of Sopore and Muslim Conference’s Mirwaiz Umar Farooq of Srinagar are its champions) through a plebiscite. Some of them (for instance Yasin Malik’s JKLF) want a vote that adds independence as a third option. Some of them (all Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, most Shias and some Sunnis, including the ruling National Conference and the opposition PDP) are fine with India.

Though Nehru agreed to the plebiscite plan at first, he later backed off. India’s case on the plebiscite is defensive, and rests on technicalities. One is the Security Council resolutions’ sequencing of troop withdrawal. Pakistani was asked to withdraw its troops first. Secondly, India points to the state Jammu & Kashmir Assembly’s acceptance of the accession to India in 1954. This is meant to be a substitute for the plebiscite (though the UN specifically said it could not be). A third, unofficial, reason is that much time has passed and the resolutions have somehow become irrelevant. Kofi Annan said the same thing when as secretary-general he was pressed on this matter. After the resolutions of 1957, the UN lost interest. Then the wars of 1965 and 1971 eclipsed the Kashmir issue. The world was more concerned that the subcontinent be at peace than it was about resolving the original problem.

Most Pakistanis may not be aware that the Kashmir issue went to the United Nations because Nehru took it there. Till that time, there were two parties to the dispute, India and Pakistan. The Security Council’s resolution added a third party, the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Nehru went there because he believed India was the aggrieved party. He believed that Hari Singh’s accession was legal and that the only matter for discussion was how to get Pakistan to vacate the raiders Jinnah had sent in. The other thing some Pakistanis might not know is that Maududi thought the jihad in Kashmir was un-Islamic. This was because it was launched with freelancers and not by the state officially, as Maududi thought was prescribed in Islam. In a letter to Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, Maududi said that the April 1948 ceasefire signed by Pakistan was binding on all citizens, regardless of the merits. In prescribing the plebiscite, the UN took a broader, more humanitarian view of the problem than merely as some land dispute, and India was in trouble. After that, Nehru shifted focus from trying to get the bits Pakistan had won militarily, to trying to secure the acquiescence of the local population.

In time, even this did not work out. The state’s prime minister, Sheikh Abdullah sensed the unease of some if not most Muslims in staying with India. His politics began to reflect this, and an alarmed Nehru dismissed Abdullah and jailed him. This began a sequence of Indian meddling in the state’s politics. The Kashmiri complaint was that Delhi did mischief and kept upending its leadership. This was true.

This resulted in the Kashmiri revolt that began under Benazir Bhutto’s first term. A parallel development was the forming of the jihadi groups in Pakistan. One group, the Hizbul Mujahideen, was supported by the Jamaat-e-Islami under its third Amir, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who broke with Maududi’s wisdom. The Deobandi Harkatul Ansar (later renamed Harkatul Mujahideen after an American ban, and still later renamed Jaish-e-Muhammad) and the Salafi Lashkar-e-Taiba rose to lead the jihad. The violence continued till India sent troops to the border after Jaish attacked its parliament. Under pressure, then president Pervez Musharraf backed down, and banned the groups in 2002. The jihad in Kashmir ended almost immediately and today the violence is almost totally gone. The theatre of these groups has now become Pakistan.

Next week we shall again pick up the thread of what, if any, case India has on Kashmir.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2012.

Rival ‘Islamic’ social media site calls for Facebook boycott

2012-02-04T18:36:00.001-08:00

Millat facebook attempts to challenge Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook which is planning for a $5bn IPO.

LAHORE:

The creators of a locally-based, ‘Islamic’ social networking website launched in 2010 have called on Muslims to delete their accounts on the “blasphemous” Facebook and switch to Millat Facebook.

Speaking at a conference on the topic ‘Blasphemy by Facebook and Role of Muslim Youth in Social Media’, MFB founder and CEO Umar Zaheer Mir said that world’s biggest social networking website had hurt millions of Muslims when it hosted a competition of blasphemous drawings in 2010.

Mir said that all Muslims should delete their Facebook accounts and switch to MFB to strengthen Islam and guard the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) honour. This suggestion was later endorsed by the participants at the conference in the form of a resolution, which also demanded that the government ban all websites that offended religious sentiments.

Mir said Muslims were not against the use of modern technology, but against its misuse. He said liberty did not mean having the freedom to hurt others’ feelings. He said they had launched MFP just two days after the Lahore High Court had temporarily banned Facebook in 2010.

Asked why he was accusing Facebook of blasphemy now when the site had not hosted blasphemous caricatures and almost two years after the competition, Mir told The Express Tribune that their opposition to the website would continue.

“First, it is almost Eid Miladun Nabi. Secondly, Facebook is about to launch its initial public offering (IPO) soon and we want to send them a message, that we will be there at every step to counter it,” he said.

He said MFB had registered 300,000 users within 10 days of launching and now had 500,000 users. “MFB has more features than Facebook. All Muslims should not only use it but also delete their accounts on Facebook,” he said, adding that MFB was a non-commercial website dedicated to Islam. “We are spending about Rs3.5 million per annum running the site but we are not taking donations or hosting ads,” he said.

He said MFB was being supported by Global IT Vision, a software house and IT consultancy. Global IT Vision was behind recent advertisement campaigns for Tehreek-i-Insaf in which residents of Lahore and Karachi received voice messages from Imran Khan inviting them to party rallies.

Other prominent participants in the conference included Advocate Waleed Iqbal, grandson of Dr Javed Iqbal, PTI Secretary General Ijaz Chaudhry, Mufti Muhammad Khan Qadri, Vice Admiral (r) Javed Iqbal and Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique.

Mufti Qadri said the linking of Islam with terrorism and extremism was a conspiracy against a peaceful religion. He said Facebook had deliberately provoked Muslims by hosting the blasphemous caricatures competition. He said the United Nations should take action against Facebook.

Advocate Iqbal said he was in favour of the use of modern technology, but within limits.

Ijaz Chaudhry said Muslims should play their role to protect the Holy Prophet’s (pbuh) honour. He said all political parties should contribute in this regard. He appreciated MFB and its team.

Siddique said Facebook had hurt millions of Muslims by declaring blasphemy as allowed under the right to freedom of expression.

On May 19, 2010, the LHC banned Facebook from being accessed in Pakistan, after Siddique filed a petition accusing it of hosting the blasphemous caricatures competition. MFB was launched on May 25, 2010. Five days later, the ban on Facebook was lifted. The site had over six million registered users in Pakistan as of February 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2012.

Road Accident: Four children killed in van-bike collision

2012-02-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

KHANPUR:

Four children were killed in a collision between a motorcycle and a van in Khanpur on Friday.

Police identified the deceased as 15-year-old Muhammad Nawaz, eight-year-old Iqra, 10-year-old Imtiaz and 10-year-old Sikandar.

They said Nawaz was taking his three siblings to school on the motorcycle which collided with a speeding van coming from the opposite direction near Deenpur Chowk in Muhammadpura.

The three pillion riders died on the spot. Nawaz was taken to Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital where he passed away.

Police said they had seized the van and were carrying out raids to arrest the driver who had fled the scene following the accident.

SHO Jam Manzoor said Nawaz was driving the motorcycle without a licence as he was ineligible for it.

He said an FIR had been registered against the van driver under section 337A, 279/320, 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2012.

Acid attack: As one victim ‘forgives’ her attacker, the other is threatened to follow suit

2012-02-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

Eman said that after spending a month in hospital, she still has to go back daily to have her bandages changed and medicine applied.

KARACHI:

A rejected proposal led to an acid attack that scarred two young women for life but the man who did it has made it out of jail after barely a month.

According to police reports, Kamran went to a residence in Surjani Town on December 25 after his proposal for Zahrah (not her real name) was turned down by her family. As he attacked Zahrah with acid, Eman (not her real name) tried to save her but ended up burning as well. An FIR was registered against Kamran and his accomplice, Azeem, by Zahrah’s family and the men were taken into custody within two weeks. “I did my job,” said the investigating officer Jamal Khan. “I caught both the accused men, charged them accordingly and presented them in court with all the evidence.”

But in a turn of events, Zahrah and her family stepped back and decided to forgive Kamran. “He barely spent a month in custody, 15 days in jail and another 15 in prison,” said Khan. There are unconfirmed reports that Zahrah’s family and Kamran agreed on a monetary settlement.

This leaves Eman, who received 24 per cent burns, still reeling from the attack. She recently learnt that she may need to undergo another round of surgery to save the mobility in her right arm. “I’m very scared and Kamran and his friends have been threatening us if we don’t sign the mafi nama (forgiveness certificate),” she told The Express Tribune. “It is unbelievable that he has managed to get out so quickly after what he did.”

Eman said that after spending a month in hospital, she still has to go back daily to have her bandages changed and medicine applied. These daily trips cost her about Rs800 to Rs1,000 a day. “My father is the only earning member in the house and as it is, we are struggling with the finances. We do not need the extra stress of this person harassing us.”

Eman has been disappointed by political leaders, who had promised to stand by her when the case had initially come under the media’s radar. “I have called the human rights minister, Nadia Gabol, at least 15 times but she does not have the time to entertain my calls and asks me to wait a month before my case can be looked into,” Eman said. “But I need help now. In a month, I may lose my arm.”

Officer Khan has said that unless one of the two victims appears in court, on February 10 to testify against Kamran, he might be released.

This is unfortunately the way most of these cases end up. According to Zohra Yusuf of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in at least 90 per cent of the violence against women cases, the accused goes scot-free. “This only happens when the victims feel insecure, especially when the attackers are let out on bail,” she said. “But it is the police’s duty to make these women feel safe. If they had the assurance that they would receive justice, they would be more confident about pursuing a case.”

Yusuf urged the law enforcement agencies to prevent women from being pressured, such as in this case. “The police and judiciary cannot absolve itself by saying that the two parties have come to a private settlement,” she argued. “Crimes are not committed against an individual, they are committed against a society.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2012.

"US Wanker Styled Hut Hut Cops" Details of 'surprise assault' on Dotcom mansion

2012-02-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

NZ Herald

As Kim Dotcom prepares to fight back for his seized assets this week, we go inside the inner sanctum where the multi-millionaire was at the time of the FBI-ordered raid.

Details of the arrest of internet mogul Kim Dotcom reveal a high-octane assault by Kiwi cops, who kicked in doors and rousted nannies from bed at gun point.

There are claims the US-instigated raid also separated Dotcom's 27-week pregnant wife Mona from her children and held her under armed guard in the rain.

Dotcom has labelled the "surprise assault operation" by about 80 police officers as unnecessary and "remarkable in its inappropriateness".

He said police staff on the January 20 raid would have known of the vulnerability of his wife, who is pregnant with twins. An ambulance took her to hospital that night complaining of cramps and pain.

Dotcom will this week begin the fight to regain some of the millions of dollars seized in the worldwide raids.

Papers have been filed with the High Court at Auckland which claim freezing orders used to seize his fortune have gone too far and money should be returned.

Yesterday, the Herald on Sunday was given exclusive access to the Coatesville mansion, north of Auckland, and members of the 50-strong staff who worked there.

Dotcom is behind bars awaiting extradition to the US on charges of copyright infringement. His security chief, Wayne Tempero, is facing a firearms charge after officers found two shotguns in gun safes fitted with pistol grips.

Dotcom said he met Orewa community Constable Jason Homan the day before the raid. He said it was later discovered Homan secretly filmed the mansion to provide intelligence for the raid.

In documents on the court file, Dotcom said the recording meant police were aware of the "vulnerability of my wife".

"In that state she was particularly susceptible to any anxiety and distress or shock such as must have been anticipated to have been the result of the strategy and tactics employed by the authorities."

He said the assault failed to take into account "the safety, welfare and wellbeing of my wife and children".

Tempero claimed police also failed to help when Mona Dotcom became ill the evening after the raid.

He said she and her children had moved to another house on the property for the evening when she began to experience abdominal cramps.

Landlines at the property had been cut off, cellphones confiscated, and all vehicles removed.

Tempero said he went to the mansion about 10.30pm to ask remaining police for help. "I went to them and said Mrs Dotcom needs to go to hospital. They said you need to ring 111 and call an ambulance," said Tempero.

He returned to the other house where, eventually, a cellphone was found. It took more than 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive and take her to North Shore Hospital.

He said the raid featured "cowboy" police officers wearing T-shirts, jeans and even a fitted bandana known as a durag, popular in US street culture.

Tempero said the officers who kicked in unlocked doors and rousted nannies from bed with M4 automatic rifles "needed to get a new job".

"It was a home invasion by New Zealand police at the urging of the United States Government," Tempero said.

"If they had just turned up to serve the warrant, Mr Dotcom would have complied."

Tempero took the Herald on Sunday on a tour showing the path taken by police officers.

He said the first sign of police arriving was the scream of rotor blades as a helicopter landed outside the house, whipping white dust and pebbles into a cloud.

He said he could barely make out the helicopter hovering just above the ground when two men in civilian clothing emerged in body armour with automatic rifles.

"Not once did they say they were police," said Tempero - contrary to the claims of officers.

Tempero said he was handcuffed while other armed police spread out through the mansion and across the property. From where he was cuffed on the ground, he could see armed officers running into the children's quarters.

The rooms used by the nannies, close to the children's room, have splintered door frames. The nannies have said the doors were unlocked and armed police stormed in shouting, "Do you have any guns or bombs?"

Tempero said he was cuffed and taken to a grassed area used by police to detain occupants. Security guards were brought from the front gate in a van with two police dogs.

Other staff were brought out - some cuffed and others not - as four teams of armed officers took separate entrances into the mansion where they faced locked doors. The Dotcoms' quarters were private, with some doors sealing automatically.

Officers hammered at the Dotcoms' bedroom door as, across the grand stairwell, Mona Dotcom emerged from the room she slept in during her pregnancy. "She thought he'd had a heart attack or something had happened in the pool," said Tempero.

She was able to put on a dressing gown before being led downstairs to join others on the grass.

Tempero said the pregnant woman stood for about an hour in drizzle, overseen by two armed police officers.

Officers had also secured Mona Dotcom's two younger brothers, aged 11 and 14. Tempero said the boys were playing XBox in Dotcom's games room when confronted by officers, who directed them outside with rifle muzzles.

After a time, Tempero said he was asked where Dotcom was hiding. He said he initially told officers he did not know because he could not see the Mercedes-Benz car normally used to return Dotcom home.

When police continued to ask, Tempero said he agreed to show them the panic room built by the home's original owners.

Under standard security instructions, Dotcom was to take shelter in the panic room while Tempero secured Mona and the children.

He said he showed the officers the cupboard concealing the entrance to the panic room.

Next to it was a badly damaged dumbwaiter which officers mistook for the entrance and attempted to sledge hammer through.

After showing them how to get in, officers headed upstairs to arrest Dotcom.

He said Dotcom was brought out of the mansion and led past his wife Mona. Tempero, who was also there, said Dotcom spoke as he passed.

"He said 'copyright infringement' while shaking his head. He couldn't believe it."

Top cop defends Dotcom raid conduct

Police are satisfied the right tactical decisions were made when Kim Dotcom was arrested, says the officer in charge.

Detective Inspector Grant Wormald would not reveal why police carried out the surprise assault. However, he confirmed the Special Tactics Group - the most highly trained armed officers in the force - were involved.

Dotcom's lawyer, Paul Davison QC, had already raised with him an allegation that officers had failed to help Dotcom's wife Mona. "It is a serious allegation. If that's the case, it's a matter I'd like to see resolved."

But he said Mona Dotcom's needs earlier in the day had been anticipated and considered. "I'm more than happy we had sufficient staff there and were able to look after her in a reasonable manner."

Wormald confirmed most officers were in civilian dress, but a few Armed Offenders Squad and £ officers were in black police-issue coveralls. The presence of an inspector in full dress uniform should have been assurance it was a police operation.

He was surprised it had taken two weeks for other new allegations to emerge. He was unaware of claims that nannies had been confronted at gunpoint or Dotcom's security guards had been transported with dogs.

"If these allegations are true, there is a manner in which a complaint can be made. I don't believe the accuracy is necessarily there."

He said the allegations would be investigated if a formal complaint was made.

NZ today?

2012-02-04T16:15:00.001-08:00

The rational and disciplined leaders of society have become irrational and undisciplined. Their moral mandate and communal understanding has died, only the appearance remains, but eventually even this will wither. The traditions, habits and laws which gave form to the community will slowly be discarded by each subsequent generation. The result will be increasing communal dementia with diminishing communal strength — a society floundering into increasing senility. The widespread adoption of political rhetoric accepted with emotional hysteria by the gullible public and translated to their voting habits stands as damning proof that the public have progressed beyond stupidity and has now reached dementia. Maybe time for the bright to take control before they to catch stupidity. A nation dying where too many welfare leaches are draining the country dry- too many scummy trash bums and baggy arses on the books and too many are breeding more of the same...hmmmm...so do I fight or give in and join the ranks of whining junk food eating bums scoffing their faces, puffing their stinky smokes, demanding no oil or mineral mining, no offshore ownership but demanding a free ride for them

New Food Legislative Controls

2012-02-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Elderly Prisoner Numbers in US Soar

2012-02-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Prison Officials Ill-Prepared to Run Geriatric Facilities

The most rapidly growing group of people in US prisons are men and women older than 55. Elderly prisoners often cannot readily climb stairs, haul themselves to the top bunk, or walk long distances to dining halls. They are more likely to suffer from incontinence, dementia, or chronic – and sometimes terminal – illnesses, and to need special treatment.

Yet prison officials are hard-pressed to address the mounting needs of these prisoners or provide them with appropriate housing, a new report says.

Human Rights Watch found that the number of prisoners age 65 or older grew at an astonishing 94 times the rate of the overall prison population between 2007 and 2010. Long sentences mean that many current prisoners will not leave prison until they become extremely old, if at all.

But older prisoners incur medical costs that are three to nine times as high as those for younger prisoners. Most prison officials are not prepared to handle this vulnerable population, as they grapple with strained budgets, prison architecture not designed for common age-related disabilities, limited medical facilities, and lack of support from elected officials. The result is a situation where human rights violations become all the more difficult to avoid.

Saudis Arrest Praying Christians

2012-02-02T18:19:00.001-08:00

Ethiopian Christians Abused in Prison and Set to be Deported

Thirty-five Ethiopian Christians had gathered to pray during the advent of Christmas, in the home of one of the Ethiopians, when police burst in and arrested them.

The men and women remain in prison and have been told they will be deported, including those with valid residency papers.
Of those arrested, 29 were women. When they were jailed, the women were forced to strip and were subjected to a body cavity search. Officers kicked and beat the men in prison, and insulted them as “unbelievers.”
The Ethiopians, speaking via telephone from prison, said that about 10 days after being arrested, some in the group were taken to court, where they were forced to affix their fingerprints to a document without being allowed to read it. Officials told the group that they were being charged with “illicit mingling” between unmarried people of the opposite sex.
In October, Saudi Arabia, together with Austria and Spain, founded the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, located in Vienna.
The Saudi government should start interreligious dialogue by ensuring toleration of freedom of all religions at home.

Lawyers Control the Power on Behalf of Others

2012-02-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

Regulatory control is set by the government who are advised by the lawyers who are employed by the bankers.
Each year more and more of the red tape destroys macro and micro economic engines. The facts are that more lawyers equals lower growth, lower GNP.

As for the legal club- members don’t need to be just friends, they just need to be attracted to the same aims, monopoly power and more income.

In the USA the big money controls all the seats in power- Democrats or Republicans ?- in the hidden back rooms, they are the same teams.

How the Financial World was broken - Commodity Futures Modernization Act

2012-02-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

Published on Thursday, February 2, 2012 by TruthDig.com

The Democrats Who Unleashed Wall Street and Got Away With It

by Robert Scheer

That Lawrence Summers, a president emeritus of Harvard, is a consummate distorter of fact and logic is not a revelation. That he and Bill Clinton, the president he served as treasury secretary, can still get away with disclaiming responsibility for our financial meltdown is an insult to reason.

Yet, there they go again. Clinton is presented, in a fawning cover story in the current edition of Esquire magazine, as “Someone we can all agree on. ... Even his staunchest enemies now regard his presidency as the good old days.” In a softball interview, Clinton is once again allowed to pass himself off as a job creator without noting the subsequent loss of jobs resulting from the collapse of the housing derivatives bubble that his financial deregulatory policies promoted.Former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, right, share a laugh in 2006. Both men share blame for the economic collapse of 2008. It was Clinton’s financial deregulation that legalized the merger of commercial and investment banks, creating institutions that were both risky and too-big-to-fail.

At least Summers, in a testier interview by British journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy of Channel 4 News, was asked some tough questions about his responsibility as Clinton’s treasury secretary for the financial collapse that occurred some years later. He, like Clinton, still defends the reversal of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, a 1999 repeal that destroyed the wall between investment and commercial banking put into place by Franklin Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression.

“I think the evidence is that I am right about that. If you look at the big players, Lehman and Bear Stearns were both standalone investment banks,” Summers replied, referring to two investment banks allowed to fold. Summers is very good at obscuring the obvious truth—that the too-big-to-fail banks, made legal by Clinton-era deregulation, required taxpayer bailouts.

The point of Glass-Steagall was to prevent jeopardizing commercial banks holding the savings of average citizens. Summers knows full well that the passage of the repeal of Glass-Steagall was pushed initially by Citigroup, a mammoth merger of investment and commercial banking that create the largest financial institution in the world, an institution that eventually had to be bailed out with taxpayer funds to avoid economic disaster for millions of ordinary Americans. He also knows that Citigroup—where Robert Rubin, who preceded Summers as Clinton’s treasury secretary, played leading roles during a critical time—specialized in precisely the mortgage and other debt packages and insurance scams that were the source of America’s economic crisis.

Even Clinton, in a rare moment of honest appraisal of his record, conceded that his signing of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA), legalizing those credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations, was based on bad advice. That advice would have had to come from Summers, his point man pushing the CFMA legislation, which Clinton signed into law during his lame-duck days.

When the British interviewer reminded him of Clinton’s comment, Summers, as is his style, simply bristled: “Again, you make everything so simple, when in fact it’s complicated. Would it have been better if the whole financial reform legislation had passed in 1999, or 1998, or 1992? Yes, of course it would have been better. But … at the time Bill Clinton was president, there essentially were no credit default swaps. So the issue that became a serious problem really wasn’t an issue that was on the horizon.”

That is a lie. Credit default swaps had been sold at least since 1991, and collateralized debt obligations of all sorts quickly became the rage during the Clinton years. Summers surely remembers that Brooksley Born, the legal expert on such matters that Clinton appointed to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), warned about the ballooning danger of those unregulated derivatives. Born, who served with Summers as one of four members of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, tried repeatedly and in vain to get her colleagues to act. When her pleas fell on deaf ears she issued a “concept release” calling attention to an unregulated derivatives market that was even then spiraling out of control.

The CFMA legislation that Summers pushed and Clinton signed was a specific rebuke to Born’s efforts. As Summers testified at the time before a Senate committee: “As you know, Mr. Chairman, the CFTC’s recent concept release has been a matter of great concern, not merely to Treasury, but to all those with an interest in the OTC [over-the-counter] derivatives market. In our view, the Release has cast the shadow of regulatory uncertainty over an otherwise thriving market—raising risks for stability and competitiveness of American derivative trading. We believe it quite important that the doubts be eliminated.”

Those doubts were eliminated by the new law exempting all of that troubling OTC derivatives trading from all existing regulations and regulatory agencies. Summers argued in his congressional testimony that there was no reason for any government regulation of what turned out to be tens of trillions of dollars in toxic assets:

“First, the parties to these kinds of contracts are largely sophisticated financial institutions that would appear to be eminently capable of protecting themselves from fraud and counterparty insolvencies and most of which are already subject to basic safety and soundness regulation under existing banking and securities law.

“Second, given the nature of the underlying assets involved—namely supplies of financial exchange and other financial instruments—there would seem to be little scope for market manipulation of the kind seen in traditional agricultural commodities, the supply of which is inherently limited and changeable.”

Has any economist ever gotten it so wrong?

The Rinehart decision: "Poor judgement Award" to Justice Michael Ball

2012-02-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

Today the Australian media splashed details of the Rinehart family internal communications after a Supreme Court Justice Michael Ball rejected an application for the matters to be kept away from public viewing.

Personally I find the judges decision appalling. He has exposed private information and weaknesses in the Rinehart's security arrangements that basically invites the criminal world to look them over.

If I published details about private matters relating to judges security I would be in court of contempt and locked up.

So who is Justice Michael Ball?

Justice Michael Ball (Supreme Court of New South Wales)

Justice Ball graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1978. In 1981-1982 Justice Ball served as a senior law reform officer at the Australian Law Reform Commission under the chairmanship of Michael Kirby, and worked on what later became the Insurance Contracts Act 1984. Justice Ball, in partnership with David Kelly, is the author of the Insurance Legislation Manual: Principles of Insurance Law in Australia & NZ and the insurance chapter in Halsbury’s Laws of Australia. In 1983 Justice Ball joined Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson). He became a partner of that firm specialising in litigation in 1987. His Honour was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW on 13 April 2010.

NSW: New Supreme Court Judge appointed

March 12, 2010

NSW Attorney General John Hatzistergos has announced the appointment of solicitor Michael Ball to the bench of the Supreme Court of NSW.

Mr Ball has been a partner at law firm Allens Arthur Robinson (previously known as Allen Allen & Hemsley) since 1987. He has given advice on mediation and litigation in professional negligence, contract law, trade practices disputes and corporations law.

"In recent years, Mr Ball has focused on large and complex litigation, including the lengthy C7 case in the Federal Court," Mr Hatzistergos said.

The 54-year-old is a member of the Law Society of NSW Costs Working Group, which examines issues relating to the fees solicitors charge clients.

Mr Ball has also worked for the Australian Law Reform Commission and co-authored publications on insurance law, including the Insurance Legislation Manual, Principles of Insurance Law in Australia and New Zealand, and the insurance sections of Halsbury's Laws of Australia.

"I welcome the appointment of Mr Ball, a highly skilled litigation lawyer, with more than three decades of experience in the legal profession," Mr Hatzistergos said.

Mr Ball will be sworn in as a Supreme Court judge on April 13.

So who did Justice Ball's former law firm act for ?

http://www.enotes.com/topic/Allens_Arthur_Robinson

Allens Arthur Robinson: Offices: Law firm in Singapore
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We operate in Singapore through Allens Arthur Robinson TSMP, a joint law venture ...BHP Billiton in a number of mineral exploration/development projects, ...
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25 Nov 2004 – Allens Arthur Robinson acted for BHP Billiton Limited on its successful off-market share buy-back of 180.72 million shares at a total cost of ...
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We advised BHP Billiton on its recent buy-back, the largest off-market buy-back in Australian history. Lead partner on the transaction, David Wenger, and Lawyer ...
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Within Foreign firms, Allens Arthur Robinson is a second tier firm, ... Allens Arthur Robinson TSMP's clients include BHP Billiton, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and ...
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Allens Arthur Robinson: Media release: Allens acts for Rio Tinto on ...
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3 Aug 2010 – Allens Arthur Robinson has acted for Rio Tinto on its recently announced binding agreement with Chalco, a subsidiary of the Chinalco, ...
Allens Arthur Robinson: Media release: Allens acts on Rio Tinto ...
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19 Mar 2010 – Allens Arthur Robinson has acted for long-standing client Rio Tinto on its non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinalco ...
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14 Dec 2010 – Allens Arthur Robinson has advised leading international mining group and long-standing client Rio Tinto on an agreement to assume direct ...
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2010 RTL-THA Agreement - Rio Tinto
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2010 RTL-THA Agreement. Rio Tinto Limited and. Tinto Holdings Australia Pty Limited.Allens Arthur Robinson. 530 Collins Street. Melbourne 3000 Australia ...
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18 Jan 2012 – 14 December 2010 | Allens Arthur Robinson has advised Rio Tinto on an agreement to assume direct management of the Oyu Tolgoi ...

Australian Media today

Judge rejects Rinehart fear that media exposure would put family at risk Daughter’s email to Gina Rinehart reveals family feud

Being crowned the richest woman in in the Asia-Pacific region doesn't inure you to family trauma.

Despite the best efforts of mining and media giant Gina Rinehart to keep the spat with her children private, fascinating emails from her progeny have become public thanks to a case in the NSW Supreme Court where three of the kids are suing Gina over control of a family trust.

The emails show that the Rineharts, like many families, worry about money and safety. But the bar is considerably higher.

In particular, 27-year-old Hope Welker told her mother last year that she was down to her last $60,000, complained that she didn't have the money to protect herself or her children, and said she could not afford staff such as a chef (worth $250,000), bodyguard ($100,000) or housekeeper ($55,000) that her less wealthy friends could afford.

In emails released yesterday in the NSW Supreme Court, it's revealed that Hope wrote to her mother in July 2011: "I don't think you understand what it means now that the whole world thinks you're going to be wealthier than Bill Gates – it means we all need bodyguards and very safe homes!"

"Especially the children who are small and easily targeted for kidnap."

"No country (not even Singapore) is safe, I don't have the money to protect myself or my children and it scares me."

"I should have enough money to have a bodyguard, housekeeper and cook."

"Even my friends who have nothing compared to your wealth have more staff."

Hope added that she could not live in Australia or Singapore because it would be "horribly unfair" to expose her children to the media spotlight.

"It's hard enough being a kid let alone the peer pressure that comes from being the wealthiest one in the country," she says.

"I really do need a safer apartment but ironically I can't afford it!"

Her Australian-based sister Bianca Rinehart wrote to her mother on August 4 last year that she could not afford to properly protect herself, requesting Gina to either "sponsor" security personnel or make funds available to do so.

Bianca also drew attention to the Madeleine Pulver case in Sydney last year, in which a man entered her family home and put a collar bomb on the teenage girl.

Bianca wrote: "Chum no doubt you heard about the unnerving situation yesterday involving a bomb and an 18-year-old girl at a home in Mosman."

"Thank goodness Hope and family have moved overseas as we all otherwise would have been so much more concerned."

The emails were written shortly before the women, plus brother John, launched a bid with her siblings to remove her mother as trustee to the family's multimillion-dollar trust, which controls a quarter of the family business Hancock Prospecting. Only Ginia Rinehart has sided with her mother.

Justice Michael Ball ruled yesterday that the safety of Gina's children and grandchildren would not be breached by allowing these details to be released.

However, the full details of the case remain suppressed until at least March 9 following a decision by the High Court earlier this week.

Rinehart loses suppression order bid

By court reporter Jamelle Wells, wires

Updated February 03, 2012 10:39:43

Australia

's richest person Gina Rinehart has lost an application for a new suppression order on her family trust court case.

After an urgent hearing in the High Court on Wednesday, Ms Rinehart won the right to keep details of legal action taken against her by three of her children secret until March 9.

But late on Thursday afternoon her lawyers lodged an application in the New South Wales Supreme Court seeking a permanent suppression order on the new ground of "safety fears" for herself, her children and grandchildren if the case is reported.

The court was given an "expert" report on security that said members of the billionaire's family would be at risk from foreign governments and terrorists if the suppression order was lifted.

Justice Michael Ball ruled against the application.

He said Ms Rinehart's lawyer submitted that if the case received publicity it was "likely, or at least it may, attract the attention of persons who could constitute a threat to the parties to the litigation".

"There can be no doubt that there is considerable media interest in this litigant," Justice Ball said.

He also agreed that publicity of the proceedings might attract unwelcome comment or attention to the parties.

"But I think the same is true of any of the conduct that those parties may engage in."

Unwelcome comment or attention was not sufficient to establish the necessity to protect the litigants' safety by a suppression order, the judge said.

"It seems to me, if it were otherwise, a suppression order would be justified on that ground in respect of any proceedings involving a person with a significant public profile," he said.

Justice Ball said an affidavit by Ms Rinehart's lawyer attached material which was available in the public domain about the parties.

It also attached correspondence between them expressing concerns about their personal security in regard to publicity the case had attracted.

But the judge said he did not see how suppression of this material was necessary to protect their safety.

He noted the three children suing their mother did not want the suppression orders, even though they were said to be related to their safety.

'Safety risks'

The court was given a 44-page "expert" report on security prepared by consultancy Control Risks Australia Pacific.

It said members of the Rinehart family would be at risk from organised crime, petty criminals, deranged persons, maleficent employees or business partners, competitors, issue-motivated groups, foreign governments and terrorists if the secrecy order was lifted.

The report listed some case studies where increased media reporting has led to security threats.

The case studies are of soccer player David Beckham and his family, English singer Joss Stone, American television presenter David Letterman, Mexican football player El Gato, The Pulver family and Australian cardiac surgeon Victor Chang.

In an email revealed in court between Ms Rinehart and her eldest daughter Hope Rinehart Welker, the latter said "I don't think you understand what it means now that the whole world thinks you're going to be wealthier than Bill Gates - it means we all need bodyguards and very safe homes."

Three of Ms Rinehart's four children are involved in a dispute with her over a trust set up by their grandfather Lang Hancock before he died.

The proceedings against Ms Rinehart have been brought by Ms Rinehart Welker, John Langley Hancock and Bianca Hope Rinehart.

A fourth child, Ginia Rinehart, has sided with her mother.

Ms Rinehart is Australia's richest person with a personal wealth estimated to top $10.3 billion.

This week she upped her ownership of Fairfax Media, the publisher of The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, from 5 per cent to a reported 13 per cent.

ABC/AAP

WHERE MONEY COMES FROM AND HOW TO GET MORE OF IT

2012-02-01T21:44:00.001-08:00

A rich American comes into a small country town that is going through tough times and most folk in business are struggling to pay their bills.

He goes into the local pub to see if he can book a room. He is told that in these tough times they only have one they use. The American says, he is not sure if he will stay or not and will leave $100.00 deposit while he has a look around town and then decide. He advises he will be back in three hours.

The Publican takes the hundred dollars and runs and pays his bill of $100 at the Grocers.

The Grocer grabs the hundred dollars and runs and pays his bill of $100 to the Mechanic

The Mechanic takes the hundred dollars and runs and pays the Builder the $100 he owes him

The Builder takes the hundred dollars and runs and pays the Hardware man the $100 he owes him

The Hardware man takes the hundred dollars and runs and pays the Carrier the $100 he owes him

The Carrier takes the hundred dollars and runs and pays the Hooker the $100 he owes her.

The Hooker takes the hundred dollars and runs and pays the Publican the $100 she owes him

The three hours are up and the American arrives back at the hotel and says he won’t stay; he has seen enough of the town and will move on

The publican takes the hundred dollars he received from the Hooker and gives him back his deposit.

What happened here?

The free enterprise system was in full swing, a heap of debts were paid around town and the American went his weary way unaware of what he had caused to happen in a depressed market in a sleepy town.

To fix the woes of everyone, socialists included, the rate that money is transacted governs the cash flow of all enterprise who generate all jobs including all those within government as taxes is where the government get their money to pay their employees and pay their bills.

Sure it’s a fanciful story, however it describes in succinct detail how the flow of money governs the economic game for all.

Those that have the crazy notion that the government should own and fix everything are wrong. Just as the Berlin Wall fell,

Communism in Russia fell, and free enterprise has stepped into China, the life styles we all enjoy or struggle with is governed entirely by the success of enterprise. Government is only a highly inefficient administrative system that creates excessive needs for cash that suck the wellbeing out of everyone, especially those who see it as the solution to their ills.

When government make it easier instead of harder for businesses to produce, pay taxes, employ people and make profits the better off we will all be.

If you think all this is all a fallacy, go check with any economist in any University worldwide. Within their teachings is the origin of this story.

Jane Cadzow suggest media’s job is to provide a balanced perspective on their stories- What Crap!

2012-02-01T21:41:00.000-08:00

It almost makes me puke when I heard Fairfax writer Jane Cadzow suggest media’s job is to provide a balanced perspective on their stories. What crap. The media are among the planets greatest bigots.

It is human nature for people to make decisions which are rooted in self-interest. They do not need to collude to promote interests they share and left wing journalists are by nature anti business and never willing to try to take the time to understand. It's just not in their DNA.

Fairfax writer Jane Cadzow profiles Gina Rinehart.

http://media.smh.com.au/business/businessday/gina-rineharts-secretive-life-2929188.html

Gina Rinehart and Fairfax Media

2012-02-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

Gina Rinehart has proven to be an exceptionally gifted entrepreneur, who is well focused on protecting our wealth while moving our nation ahead. Those of us who witness her magic here in Western Australia both admire and salute her.

So we find this move on the sleepy media both exciting and visionary for what potentially may lay ahead.

This could go beyond owning a few papers. It could be a start to modernising this nation who up until now, have been victims subjected to the “idiot club” a membership of boring media and poor performing politicians in power.

All of us are in this together: teachers, plumbers, policeman, shop owners and investors who have witnessed government red tape destroying the economic engines of our nation. Yet media ignore that problem tending to prefer a focus on trivia.

Example- Ever read any media story about politicians protected by a law called crown immunity? That should be front page news because it is legal permission that failure is ok.

Dick Smith and others have been screaming about this madness for years. The crown immunity system has been allowing foolish Government management causing us endless lost opportunity. When good people who become victims of governing foolery complain, they get ignored …and the media stay silent.

Meanwhile, outside in the real world, the world of struggling students, parents, business people, the retired etc, we are all seeing opportunity slipping by as we all gasp for those last breaths of hope that common sense may arrive before it is too late.

I hope Gina makes more than a financial investment in media. I am hoping she shakes the hell out of it and makes the changes democracy needs and creates a voice for the people that resonates and gets common-sense and some relief to this madness.

Below is the Sydney Morning Herald article on her investment-

Rinehart has many obstacles to becoming princess of print

Click to play video

What is Gina Rinehart up to?

Mining mogul has a low opinion of government, taxes and journalists and that's why she's buying Fairfax shares, says senior business columnist Adele Ferguson.

There's been some excitement on the bourse and in media boardrooms this week over Gina Rinehart's move on Fairfax Media. It seems the West Australian iron ore magnate is angling for a seat on the Fairfax board to add to her $165 million berth at the Ten Network.

Rinehart is keen to take her original 4 per cent stake of Fairfax to about 15 per cent. She bought the first shares for $100 million and is likely to spend close to $200 million on this raid.

But what are the real implications in this venture?

There's been speculation that the Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, might move to block Rinehart's attempted takeover of Fairfax – if indeed that's what it is. The grounds for such a move would perhaps be that she's not a fit and proper person to own media assets because of her alleged political bias. Rinehart is a vocal opponent of the Labor government and its resource rent tax scheme. The timing of Rinehart's grab has created talk about the blocking move by Canberra. She's made the play as the final report of theConvergence Review on media and communications is due to be handed down, and in the knowledge that the current convoluted and unworkable media ownership rules will be changing.

Blocking any takeover is open to the regulators under provisions of the Trade Practices Act dealing with matters of public interest. A strong case would have to be made that Rinehart's control would lessen media competition. There is no "media" law that prevents her actions now and even less under the proposed new regulator.

But, for me, the timing is coincidental. Rinehart is buying Fairfax shares under the existing rules, which limit audience share across platforms and across markets. She is therefore entitled to increase her stake in Fairfax – while holding significant shares in Ten – as long as she does not control the companies and her combined media assets do not constitute a breach of the "three-and-two" rule (where companies are allowed to own up to two media outlets — TV, radio and newspaper — in a single area).

There's also the issue of the government's legislative and political timetables to consider. Filling in the substantial missing detail in the Convergence Review's recommendations is going to take months, if not years. The timeline could stretch well beyond the next election cycle. We will be playing by the old rules for a while yet.

Rinehart's decision to move now can be explained without recourse to conspiracy theories or invoking the "evil witch of the West" stereotype. She is cashed up; the Fairfax share price is ridiculously low (down from about $5 five years ago to less than 90 cents today) and by taking a chunk of stock she gains leverage over the company at a time when it needs to transition from being primarily about ink on paper to being truly converged and multimedia.

Rinehart may well be thinking long-term and looking for business synergies, cost-savings and profit-taking by joining up her investments in Ten and Fairfax. She would effectively then be able to either harmonise these business units to create a going concern, or sell-off strategic assets once the new ownership rules and content regulations are in place.

Whatever her motives, Gina Rinehart still has to play by the rules. She cannot easily move to positions of control of both Ten and Fairfax Media under the current cross-media ownership regulations without a fight. Under the mooted new rules she would also have to pass the public interest test.

Having said that, I don't think it is useful to demonise Rinehart and suggest that she has an ulterior personal and political motivation for taking on Fairfax. She has strong and very conservative political views and she has been spending some of her inherited mining wealth on anti-government campaigns in recent months, but I am not sure that Gina Rinehart is another Kerry Packer or Rupert Murdoch waiting in the wings.

Rinehart is incredibly rich and she has seen an opportunity to buy a media asset while it is at or close to the bottom of its share price cycle.

What we should be concerned about is that this share market play makes a mockery of the idea that the news media and the press are somehow bastions of free speech and freedom of expression.

According to her own family, Rinehart is a tough woman and as hard as the ore her father dug out of the Pilbara to create her vast fortune.

She will have to be resolute if she is to take on Fairfax journalists who have fiercely defended their independence in the face of perceived corporate interference. Readers of Fairfax publications may also not take too kindly to Rinehart's editorial line.

Her solution might be, as some have suggested, to wrestle control of the major Fairfax dailies and leave the rump to be sorted by the board. This scenario rests on Rinehart's motivation being influence rather than profit.

Rinehart's multimillion-dollar raid on the Fairfax share cupboard just goes to show that the adage "freedom of the press belongs to those who can afford to buy one", still applies in convergent Australia.

Rinehart's estimated wealth is staggering – she's rumoured to be one of the richest people on the planet – so she can easily afford to buy Fairfax and whatever she damn well wants, but there are many hurdles to jump before she can claim the throne as Australia's princess of print.

Martin Hirst is an Associate Professor and journalism discipline co-ordinator at the School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/rinehart-has-many-obstacles-to-becoming-princess-of-print-20120201-1qsuk.html#poll

Sydney pirate pay TV outfit offering 1000 channels for $50 a month raided

2012-02-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

Click for more photos

Police raid alleged Ashfield pirate pay TV outfit

Police raided the Ashfield premises Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Supplied

Police have raided the Sydney arm of an alleged global piracy outfit which they say was selling unlicensed pay TV subscription packages offering over 1000 channels for $50 a month.

Police allege an Ashfield shop in Sydney's west, trading as QMC Mart, is part of a global piracy operation which private investigators say is worth $70 million a year with 150,000 customers.

The raid, conducted shortly after midday yesterday, was sparked by TVB Group, a Chinese language content giant that hired a private investigation firm to dig up dirt on the alleged piracy operation.

Detective Inspector Eric Coffen, of Ashfield Police, said a 42-year-old man was charged and granted conditional bail to appear at Burwood Local Court on February 22.

He was charged with "possessing a device with the intent to be used to make infringing copy" and "distributing infringing copy of a work with intent to trade/profit".

Police seized computer equipment, nine USB network access keys and records "pertaining to the distribution and sale of those", Inspector Coffen said.

The raid follows a similar one conducted on December 14 in Hurstville, Sydney’s south, which saw a man arrested for allegedly selling $500 set-top boxes and unlicensed pay TV subscription packages offering 1000 channels for $90 a month.

Michael Speck, former head of Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), was contracted to lead both investigations.

He has so far identified 100 Australian customers from records seized at yesterday’s raid who were using the service and said they would be pursued as they were "receivers of stolen property".

He said they likely found out about the service through Asian newspapers which were advertising it in Sydney.

"This international operation and the Australian representatives have shown absolutely no fear of detection or prosecution and have openly advertised on a range of online [websites] and local newspapers." he said.

While some of the channels on offer were Asian language, the police brief and forensics report allege that many of the 1000 channels offered western content from providers including MTV, Discovery, ESPN, CNN, HBO, Fox, BBC and NBC.

Television programs on offer, they said, included Heroes, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Superman and Family Guy, while movies include Tin Tin, The Tower Heist, Hangover II, Mr Popper's Penguins and Pirates of the Caribbean.

The brief and report also said the service offered a 3D movie channel offering predominantly western titles and provided "several infringing adult entertainment channels offering over 600 current or recent adult movies".

The USB network access keys also beared the Apple logo and text "iPad TV6", according to the brief, although Apple, according to Mr Speck, hadn't shown any interest in pursuing the alleged pirates for trademark infringement.

Mr Speck said the international operation had been in existence for over a year and that the Australian representative had been operating for about eight months.

The raid was the result of a sting conducted by the private investigators who relied on undercover, surveillance and forensic investigations to establish the case.

"This is $70 million that is never going to be spent on legal businesses or services," William Bush, one of the investigators, said. "This is a concerted attack on the legitimate operators and their customers by people interested in profiting from the work of others and it needs to be stopped."

Facts support that Banks do Control the World

2012-01-31T21:44:00.000-08:00

AS PROTESTS against financial power sweep the world this week, science may have confirmed the protesters' worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.

The study's assumptions have attracted some criticism, but complex systems analysts contacted by New Scientist say it is a unique effort to untangle control in the global economy. Pushing the analysis further, they say, could help to identify ways of making global capitalism more stable.

The idea that a few bankers control a large chunk of the global economy might not seem like news to New York's Occupy Wall Street movement and protesters elsewhere (see photo). But the study, by a trio of complex systems theorists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, is the first to go beyond ideology to empirically identify such a network of power. It combines the mathematics long used to model natural systems with comprehensive corporate data to map ownership among the world's transnational corporations (TNCs).

"Reality is so complex, we must move away from dogma, whether it's conspiracy theories or free-market," says James Glattfelder. "Our analysis is reality-based."

Previous studies have found that a few TNCs own large chunks of the world's economy, but they included only a limited number of companies and omitted indirect ownerships, so could not say how this affected the global economy - whether it made it more or less stable, for instance.

The Zurich team can. From Orbis 2007, a database listing 37 million companies and investors worldwide, they pulled out all 43,060 TNCs and the share ownerships linking them. Then they constructed a model of which companies controlled others through shareholding networks, coupled with each company's operating revenues, to map the structure of economic power.

The work, to be published in PLoS One, revealed a core of 1318 companies with interlocking ownerships (see image). Each of the 1318 had ties to two or more other companies, and on average they were connected to 20. What's more, although they represented 20 per cent of global operating revenues, the 1318 appeared to collectively own through their shares the majority of the world's large blue chip and manufacturing firms - the "real" economy - representing a further 60 per cent of global revenues.

When the team further untangled the web of ownership, it found much of it tracked back to a "super-entity" of 147 even more tightly knit companies - all of their ownership was held by other members of the super-entity - that controlled 40 per cent of the total wealth in the network. "In effect, less than 1 per cent of the companies were able to control 40 per cent of the entire network," says Glattfelder. Most were financial institutions. The top 20 included Barclays Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and The Goldman Sachs Group.

John Driffill of the University of London, a macroeconomics expert, says the value of the analysis is not just to see if a small number of people controls the global economy, but rather its insights into economic stability.

Concentration of power is not good or bad in itself, says the Zurich team, but the core's tight interconnections could be. As the world learned in 2008, such networks are unstable. "If one [company] suffers distress," says Glattfelder, "this propagates."

"It's disconcerting to see how connected things really are," agrees George Sugihara of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, a complex systems expert who has advised Deutsche Bank.

Yaneer Bar-Yam, head of the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI), warns that the analysis assumes ownership equates to control, which is not always true. Most company shares are held by fund managers who may or may not control what the companies they part-own actually do. The impact of this on the system's behaviour, he says, requires more analysis.

Crucially, by identifying the architecture of global economic power, the analysis could help make it more stable. By finding the vulnerable aspects of the system, economists can suggest measures to prevent future collapses spreading through the entire economy. Glattfelder says we may need global anti-trust rules, which now exist only at national level, to limit over-connection among TNCs. Sugihara says the analysis suggests one possible solution: firms should be taxed for excess interconnectivity to discourage this risk.

One thing won't chime with some of the protesters' claims: the super-entity is unlikely to be the intentional result of a conspiracy to rule the world. "Such structures are common in nature," says Sugihara.

Newcomers to any network connect preferentially to highly connected members. TNCs buy shares in each other for business reasons, not for world domination. If connectedness clusters, so does wealth, says Dan Braha of NECSI: in similar models, money flows towards the most highly connected members. The Zurich study, says Sugihara, "is strong evidence that simple rules governing TNCs give rise spontaneously to highly connected groups". Or as Braha puts it: "The Occupy Wall Street claim that 1 per cent of people have most of the wealth reflects a logical phase of the self-organising economy."

So, the super-entity may not result from conspiracy. The real question, says the Zurich team, is whether it can exert concerted political power. Driffill feels 147 is too many to sustain collusion. Braha suspects they will compete in the market but act together on common interests. Resisting changes to the network structure may be one such common interest.

When this article was first posted, the comment in the final sentence of the paragraph beginning "Crucially, by identifying the architecture of global economic power…" was misattributed.

The top 50 of the 147 superconnected companies

1. Barclays plc
2. Capital Group Companies Inc
3. FMR Corporation
4. AXA
5. State Street Corporation
6. JP Morgan Chase & Co
7. Legal & General Group plc
8. Vanguard Group Inc
9. UBS AG
10. Merrill Lynch & Co Inc
11. Wellington Management Co LLP
12. Deutsche Bank AG
13. Franklin Resources Inc
14. Credit Suisse Group
15. Walton Enterprises LLC
16. Bank of New York Mellon Corp
17. Natixis
18. Goldman Sachs Group Inc
19. T Rowe Price Group Inc
20. Legg Mason Inc
21. Morgan Stanley
22. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc
23. Northern Trust Corporation
24. Société Générale
25. Bank of America Corporation
26. Lloyds TSB Group plc
27. Invesco plc
28. Allianz SE 29. TIAA
30. Old Mutual Public Limited Company
31. Aviva plc
32. Schroders plc
33. Dodge & Cox
34. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc*
35. Sun Life Financial Inc
36. Standard Life plc
37. CNCE
38. Nomura Holdings Inc
39. The Depository Trust Company
40. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
41. ING Groep NV
42. Brandes Investment Partners LP
43. Unicredito Italiano SPA
44. Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan
45. Vereniging Aegon
46. BNP Paribas
47. Affiliated Managers Group Inc
48. Resona Holdings Inc
49. Capital Group International Inc
50. China Petrochemical Group Company

* Lehman still existed in the 2007 dataset used

Graphic: The 1318 transnational corporations that form the core of the economy

OWS Stands With Farmers, Says Enough! to Monsanto

2012-01-31T17:45:00.001-08:00

Movement is calling for protests to support 60 family farmers, small seed businesses, organizations challenging Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seed

- Common Dreams staff

The Occupy Wall Street movement has highlighted the tremendous corporate greed and power that has benefited the 1%.

One company helping the 1% is Monsanto. Food Democracy Now!writes that:

Monsanto’s seed monopoly has grown so powerful that they control the genetics of nearly 90% of five major commodity crops including corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and sugar beets.

Monsanto's genetically modified seed can contaminate non-gmo fields allowing the company to sue for seed theft. Food Democracy Now! continues:

In many cases farmers are forced to stop growing certain crops to avoid genetic contamination and potential lawsuits. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto admits to filing 144 lawsuits against America’s family farmers, while settling another 700 out of court for undisclosed amounts. Due to these aggressive lawsuits, Monsanto has created an atmosphere of fear in rural America and driven dozens of farmers into bankruptcy.

Today, the Occupy movement is seizing the moment to highlight this corporate power.

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) writes:

On January 23, over 20,000 people poured into the streets of Berlin to say that they have had enough of industrial agriculture. The demands made in Germany can be heard all over the world starting with fair treatment of farmers and consumers, safe food, an end to food speculation and a respect for nature and the welfare of animals.
[Today], in New York City, the Occupy Wall Street movement is calling forprotests to support 60 family farmers, small and family-owned seed businesses, and agricultural organizations that are challenging Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seed in federal court.
Like the Germans, it time for us to say, “We’ve had enough!” of Monsanto’s agriculture. From super weeds to pest resistance in corn, genetically modified seeds have failed. Now Monsanto is turning to even more dangerous productswith new varieties that will only increase the amount of herbicides in the environment.
At the heart of industrial agriculture is a long running conflict between corporations and farmers on who will control food production. Occupy Wall Street has come out on the side of farmers and all who eat to say, “We’ve had enough!”

Writing on the Care2, Beth Buczynski adds this background:

On January 31st, family farmers from across the county will take part in the first phase of the OSGATA et al. v. Monsanto court case filed to protect farmers from genetic trespass by Monsanto’s genetically modified (GMO) seed, which can contaminate organic and non-GMO farmers’ crops and open them up to abusive lawsuits.
As a result of aggressive lawsuits against farmers with contaminated crops,Monsanto has created an atmosphere of fear in rural America and driven dozens of farmers into bankruptcy.
But farmers are fighting back! The Federal District Court judge has agreed to hear oral arguments in this landmark case to decide whether or not this case will move forward.
Occupy Wall Street Food Justice, Occupy Big Food and Food Democracy Now! will assemble in solidarity with farmers on the front lines of the struggle against corporate domination of our food system.

Live stream can be seen here:

* * *

A current petition at Signon.org urges President Obama to end FDA ties to Monsanto.

The Washington Post reports:

In 2009, President Obama appointed Michael Taylor as a senior adviser for the FDA. Consumer groups protested the appointment because Taylor had formerly served as a vice president for Monsanto, the controversial agricultural multinational at the forefront of genetically modified food.A two-year-old Food and Drug Administration appointment is stirring up online protests once more.
In 2009, President Obama appointed Michael Taylor as a senior adviser for the FDA. Consumer groups protested the appointment because Taylor had formerly served as a vice president for Monsanto, the controversial agricultural multinational at the forefront of genetically modified food.

The petition adds that:

Taylor was in charge of policy for Monsanto's now-discredited GM bovine growth hormone (rBGH), which is opposed by many medical and hospital organizations. It was Michael Taylor who pursued a policy that milk from rBGH-treated cows should not be labeled with disclosures. Michael Taylor and Monsanto do not belong in our government.

Frederick Ravid, who began the petition, writes:

This unthinkable linkage between food safety and corporate interests that have little regard for the public health must be stopped. This example of a "fox watching the henhouse" is inexcusable. President Obama must reverse this unimaginably dangerous policy and isolate the FDA from corporate influence.

Last year, Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association wrote more on Monsanto's influence on the Obama White House:

Obama's Administration, like the Bush and Clinton Administrations before him, has become a literal "revolving door" for Monsanto operatives.Obama has not come though on his 2008 campaign promise to label GMOs. His unilateral approval of Monsanto's genetically engineered alfalfa, overruling the federal courts, scientists, and the organic community, offers the final proof: don't hold your breath for this man to do anything that might offend Monsanto or Corporate America.
Obama's Administration, like the Bush and Clinton Administrations before him, has become a literal "revolving door" for Monsanto operatives. President Obama stated on the campaign trail in 2007-2008 that agribusiness cannot be trusted with the regulatory powers of government.
But, starting with his choice for USDA Secretary, the pro-biotech former governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack, President Obama has let Monsanto and the biotech industry know they'll have plenty of friends and supporters within his administration. President Obama has taken his team of food and farming leaders directly from the biotech companies and their lobbying, research, and philanthropic arms:
Michael Taylor, former Monsanto Vice President, is now the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods. Roger Beachy, former director of the Monsanto-funded Danforth Plant Science Center, is now the director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Islam Siddiqui, Vice President of the Monsanto and Dupont-funded pesticide-promoting lobbying group, CropLife, is now the Agriculture Negotiator for the US Trade Representative. Rajiv Shah former agricultural-development director for the pro-biotech Gates Foundation (a frequent Monsanto partner), served as Obama's USDA Under-Secretary for Research Education and Economics and Chief Scientist and is now head of USAID. Elena Kagan, who, as President Obama's Solicitor General, took Monsanto's side against organic farmers in the Roundup Ready alfalfa case, is now on the Supreme Court. Ramona Romero, corporate counsel to DuPont, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as General Counsel for the USDA.