Australian Politics
Julian Assange reaches plea deal to free himself
I am rather pleased to see this. He was to a degree a free speech warrior and to think of a fellow Australian in a horror American prison was very unpleasant
Julian Assange has boarded a plane out of the UK after leaving the maximum security prison he spent almost 2000 days in, as part of a US plea deal over espionage charges the WikiLeaks founder has pleaded guilty to.
Assange has spent more than a decade holed up and imprisoned in London, largely to avoid being sent to the US.
Assange is expected to plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to obtain and distribute classified information, according to a court document and people familiar with the matter, over the website’s publication of thousands of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables about America’s actions in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s.
The plea is expected to take place on Wednesday morning in Saipan, a US territory in the western Pacific.
Assange is believed to be en route to Bangkok, from where he will head to Saipan, which is the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands and an estimated 18 hours flying time from Sydney.
He is expected to be sentenced to the 62 months he has already spent in a London prison, and be allowed to return to his native Australia after his sentencing, according to the people.
Prosecutors had been in talks with Assange to resolve the 2019 case, The Wall Street Journal reported in March, with one sticking point being Assange’s desire to never set foot in the United States.
To enter a felony plea, defendants generally have to show up in person in court.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accepts US plea deal
Assange’s team had floated the possibility of pleading guilty to a misdemeanour, the Journal reported, which would mean Assange could enter the plea remotely.
The Justice Department and Assange’s legal team reached a compromise under which Assange wouldn’t have to travel to suburban Virginia, where the original case is filed, and prosecutors could still get a felony plea, the people said.
The plea deal offers a neat solution to what was becoming an increasing political headache for the US government.
Earlier this year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he hoped the US could find a way to conclude the case against Assange, and lawmakers there passed a motion calling for Assange to be allowed to return to his native home. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also weighed in, saying that the British courts should not extradite Assange to the US.
In February, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, said Assange shouldn’t be extradited to the US to face trial, saying he suffered from “depressive disorder” and was at risk of being placed in solitary confinement.
“Politically he is in a much better position than he was six months ago,” says Stella Assange, Julian Assange’s wife, during an interview with the Journal last month. Stella Assange hinted that their family was willing to accept a plea deal to get him out of a British high security prison where she said he is suffering health issues and lives in a cell alone.
“As his wife and the mother of his children … I want him to be free,” she said.
Assange’s mother, Christine Ann Hawkins, hailed the “quiet diplomacy” that helped secure her son’s freedom, and said she was “grateful” his ordeal was over.
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Actually speaking your mind? Now there’s an idea
The pitchfork brigade is coming, but Danielle Harvey doesn’t care.
Harvey, who is director of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, says she is determined to push back against “cancel culture” by platforming “contrarians”.
“I really don’t want to live in a world that doesn’t allow people to ask questions and hear different opinions,” she told The Australian, as she prepared to unveil a line-up of speakers that includes Jews concerned about rising anti-Semitism, defenders of JK Rowling, and men speaking out about a more positive masculinity.
Harvey says she wants to bring “hard conversations” to the masses, adding: “It’s up to you whether you want to buy a ticket.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by former editor of The Age Michael Gawenda and headliner Josh Szeps – both journalists who believe many festivals have a “lack of respect for an audience’s intelligence”.
Her stance comes after anti-Israel agitators this year interrupted theatre events; annoyed audiences by jeering at Jerry Seinfeld; and targeted writers festival organisers in the hope of cancelling events by Jewish authors, among them Deborah Conway.
Big Oil protesters have thrown paint at the Mona Lisa and Stonehenge, and anti-Israel forces have caused havoc in Britain, with the Hay, Wimbledon and Edinburgh writers festivals suffering a catastrophic loss of funding.
The UK investment firm, Baillie Gifford, this year cancelled all of its sponsorship deals with literary festivals and while few organisers have been prepared to speak about the issue, the Edinburgh festival director, Jenny Niven, said there had been “intolerable” pressure on her team.
Gawenda, author of My Life As A Jew, said he was disappointed not to be invited to speak at the Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide festivals this year. He rejects the notion that ideas can be “dangerous” saying: “Why can’t you discuss these things without people being bullied into silence? I think it’s ridiculous to call these ‘dangerous ideas’. The only thing that’s dangerous about them is that some people will want to cancel you for discussing them.”
Gawenda mourns the performance of “bravery” akin to discussing such concepts in the festival’s line up, suggesting “we’ve reached a point now where people feel unable to discuss virtually anything without feeling threatened that they will be targeted for holding this position … (it’s) a pretty pathetic point in terms of public debate that you need a festival to discuss these issues (that are) being faced every day in universities, in work, in the media. We can’t be dictated to in this way.”
Harvey laments the habit of arts festivals “blasting themselves” by being reluctant to platform “challenging ideas”, telling The Australian the contest of ideas was paramount.
“If we provoke ire from different corners of society, so be it. I think more arts festivals need to realise you’re not actually meant to be for everyone,” she says, adding: “One of the hardest things to do is to be curious these days.
“We try and make space for all sides to be represented – we look at it as less of a binary and more of people’s disciplines and ideas rather than their views; what are they experts in, tackle the same problems from multiple angles and test ideas.”
In response, FODI has invited resident “bad feminist” Roxane Gay, host of The Witch Trials of JK Rowling podcast Megan Phelps-Roper, black conservative Coleman Hughes, and Jews Don’t Count author and comedian David Baddiel.
Also invited is podcaster Szeps, who quit the ABC earlier this year, saying he wanted to be able to have “free conversations about controversial issues”.
“My whole professional mission is about having conversations that aren’t cookie cutter or predictable like I would have to do at previous jobs, particularly the public broadcaster,” he says.
“We need to find a way to have conversations without constant fear of having our lives ruined for not sticking to a script.”
He says he has experienced a “relaxation” in the shoulders since quitting his old job to charge towards an “intellectually diverse community.”
Under the theme “sanctuary”, the festival attempts to create an “alternative safe space” for attendees, where contentious ideas come to the forefront and are discussed.
US psychologist Jean Twenge will unravel the impact of smartphone access on young people, while Talking Politics podcaster David Runciman flirts with extending the vote to six-year-olds (and considers the impact it would have on democracy).
She aims for events in which “point-scoring and gotcha moments” are absent.
“We’re letting everybody say their piece, speak to their area of expertise and it’s their ideas,” she says.
The move isn’t without trepidation, since the inclusion of iconoclasts can have “serious consequences” she says.
The festival has previously hosted Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie and anti-Putin punk band Pussy Riot.
Last year’s controversy centred around the inclusion of “the last taboo” – a conversation about intimate connections between humans and animals, wrongfully condemned as a celebration of bestiality.
“We don’t seek out controversy,” says Harvey, but “shining a light on certain topics will force people used to not having nuanced conversations into state”.
“It’s a really complex time,” she says, adding: “If you don’t get out of the news that you consume and seek out different opinions, you may be unwittingly walking towards a very, very bad path.
“We’re not here to preach. We’re here to inspire. This festival exists because people still need to make a choice to be critical and curious. To me, that’s what the sanctuary needs to be.”
The festival program also includes “Stacks of Danger” tours affording punters the chance to peek at concealed works at the State Library NSW, hidden for “various sensitivities”, and an intimate Last Supper dinner where guests – without phones – can participate in dinner party conversation with stars of the line-up.
A horror film night, curated by Talk to Me writer-director Danny Phillippou, will canvass the best psychological primal fear narratives of all time.
“We’re looking for people who are genuinely curious, have experience and expertise, whether that’s through study, lived experience – we want them to tell us their thoughts,” Harvey says.
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The Callide disaster
In a government-owned business, nobody cares
A damning report has found organisation chaos and cost-cutting at the Queensland government’s CS Energy were major contributors to a power plant explosion that pushed up energy prices for consumers across the east coast.
The findings are contained in a draft report of forensic engineer Sean Brady, released by CS Energy on Tuesday after months of pressure from The Australian newspaper, amid a fight for control of the privately-owned half of the Callide C plant.
The release comes after Queensland Premier Steven Miles ordered a review of the operations of state-owned power provider CS Energy, and said special advisers will be appointed to the board in the wake of revelations its own decisions have been blamed for the catastrophic explosion at the Callide C power plant in 2021.
Dr Brady’s draft report found that CS Energy failed to “implement effective process safety practices that would have increased the likelihood of identifying and managing the risks” associated with installing new equipment at the plant.
The explosion was caused when Callide’s main turbine tripped, and back-up battery systems failed to alert workers that the generator was drawing - rather than delivering - power to the grid.
The turbine subsequently exploded after hydrogen used to cool the turbines caught fire. The catastrophe took out power to almost 500,000 Queensland customers, and the loss of Callid C - still to return to full capacity - has helped push up energy prices across the National Electricity Market.
Dr Brady’s draft review points to a litany of failures across CS Energy, with the failure to source an adequate battery charging system that was “fit for purpose” leading directly to the explosion.
But the forensic engineer’s review of organisational factors also pointed to major failings by the company’s management, board - and of the state government, which is CS Energy’s sole shareholder.
CS Energy has two significant structural influences. As a government-owned corporation it is obliged to meet shareholder mandates, as well as meet the annual performance indicators contained in the Statement of Corporate Intent,” the draft report says.
“In the years leading up to the incident, these mandates focused on cost savings, and performance indicators were dominated by financial and production metrics, as well as personal safety-related metrics.”
The company’s board responded by setting management metrics focused on personal injury, plant availability and financial performance - which did not include a focus on the management of process safety, the draft report says.
“Between 2017 and the incident in 2021, Callide experienced significant turnover of key roles. This turnover would make it difficult to maintain a process safety focus,” Dr Brady’s report says.
Between 2017 and the May 2021 explosion, Dr Brady says, the Callide power station had four different general managers, three different maintenance managers and five different production managers.
“CS Energy implemented a swirl of at least 6 major initiatives across the organisation which impacted sites in a short period of time prior to the incident. This would also make it difficult to focus on process safety.”
Mr Miles said on Tuesday the government will appoint special advisers to the CS Board and ordered the Queensland Treasury department to review CS Energy’s management and structure to ensure the company is “aligned to deliver on the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, optimise energy transition and ensure downward pressure on consumer prices, while maintaining operating and business performance”.
“The maintenance of directions date back to 2012 when Tim Nichols and the LNP were in charge,” he said.
“What we take responsibility for is what we do now and it makes sense that for the last period of time our focus was getting the generators back up and running and that will be done in the next few weeks.”
The Premier’s decision comes after The Australian revealed the draft conclusions of forensic engineer Sean Brady into the Callide C explosion included criticism that CS Energy’s purchasing decisions led to the disaster and were not “fit for purpose”.
CS Energy has previously said the explosion was ultimately caused by the failure of battery back-up systems, but – based on draft findings by Dr Brady – the federal court was told on Monday that the systems failed because a battery charger installed by CS Energy was “not fit for purpose”.
CS Energy has fought for months to keep Dr Brady’s report from public view, but findings read to the court – in a hearing aimed at slowing the sales process of the half of the generator owned by private investors – include criticism of both CS Energy and its board, and the state government mandate that helped strip the company of cash.
“The decision to replace the battery charger was made by someone not responsible for that process. In going to market CS Energy focused solely on price, with little or no technical input or oversight. The technical specifications that had been submitted for the charger did not establish or require that the battery charger could actually operate within its systems,” the court was told.
“And unsurprisingly, the product they got was not fit for purpose.”
Mr Miles on Tuesday stood by Energy Minister Mick de Brenni and said he remained the best person to lead reforms in the energy sector.
“I haven’t yet been able to read the entire technical report, but it finds that it was caused by a new battery charger, an upgrade to the battery charger, replacement of the battery charger,” he said.
“Mick De Brenni is the minister best placed to implement these strong reforms.
“He’s overseeing the recommissioning of the Callide generators that will occur, that will be finished over the next few weeks.”
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Odd verdict: Former pilot Greg Lynn found guilty of murdering Carol Clay, not guilty of murder of Russell Hill
I felt very sorry for the couple concerned in this. A terrible way for love to end
For the past five weeks, Gregory Stuart Lynn, 57, had been facing trial after denying he was responsible for the deaths of Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, in the state’s remote High Country.
The couple, childhood sweethearts who had reconnected later in life, vanished a day after arriving at Bucks Camp in the Wonnangatta Valley on March 19, 2020.
Mr Lynn was taken into the court room by security shortly before 1pm on Tuesday, wearing a black suit, blue shirt and silver tie.
He remained emotionless as the jury foreperson delivered their verdict: not guilty of the murder of Russell Hill, but guilty of the murder of Carol Clay.
The group was thanked by Justice Michael Croucher and led from the room.
Mr Lynn’s son, who attended to hear the verdict, remained silent as he left the courthouse alongside one of his father’s lawyers.
Mr Hill’s family took a back exit out of the court precinct to avoid the pack of about 15 reporters and camera operators. They are expected to release a statement through Victoria Police later on Tuesday.
Mr Lynn’s barrister, Michael McGrath, and counsel assisting did not entertain any questions of appeal or reaction from the press pack. Mr McGrath marched away from the courthouse, mute and expressionless in the wake of the verdicts.
For much of the trial, Mr Lynn kept his head down and could be seen writing notes in two packed yellow manila folders titled, in block letters, “Greg Lynn court records”.
Led into court by two custody officers daily, the former Jetstar captain would smile and wave at his wife, Melanie, as she stood waving enthusiastically from the upstairs public gallery.
It was a simple defence put forward by his legal team; could the prosecution disprove his account of their deaths being accidental beyond reasonable doubt.
Taking the stand at his trial, Mr Lynn maintained he was innocent of murder but said he deserved to be punished for the efforts he took to hide his involvement.
“All I can say to their families is that I’m very sorry for your suffering,” he said.
Prosecutors, led by crown prosecutor Daniel Porceddu, had alleged the former Jetstar captain killed the pair deliberately and without lawful justification in the evening of March 20.
They were unable to outline the specific circumstances of the deaths, other than Mrs Clay was shot in the head, but argued it was likely after a dispute with Mr Hill.
After his arrest in November the following year, Mr Lynn told police Mrs Clay was accidentally killed when his shotgun discharged as the two men struggled for control.
He said Mr Hill had made a “ridiculous” accusation he was hunting too close to camp, and threatened to lie to police that Lynn had shot through camp.
Mr Lynn said he was annoyed, and made the “childish” decision to blare music from his car, where Mr Hill stole the hunter’s shotgun between 9pm and 10pm.
“I wasn’t trying to provoke a response. I just thought if he could be rude, I could be rude too,” he said.
After the accidental discharge, Mr Hill, he said, came at him with a knife screaming; “she’s dead”, and fell on the blade as the two men fought a second time.
The jury heard Mr Lynn took steps to hide he was involved, including cleaning and burning the campsite and dumping their bodies off the Union Spur track after driving throughout the night.
He then went home and attempted to move on with his life.
“My plan was to disappear and, um, for a long time I thought I had,” he said.
At trial, Mr Porceddu alleged Mr Lynn’s efforts were taken because he knew the forensic evidence would be able to prove or disprove his account.
He suggested the only reasonable explanation for the “extreme” acts was because Mr Lynn knew he had murdered the pair.
“The accused’s story is indeed a series of very unfortunate events. Like the book series of that name, it is also a complete fiction,” Mr Porceddu had argued.
Defence barrister, Dermot Dann KC, told the jury his client believed his career and home life would be ruined and that he feared he would be wrongly blamed for the deaths.
“He thought he was going to be blamed for the deaths and he was 100 per cent correct,” he said.
After his arrest in November 2021, the jury was told, Mr Lynn had answered questions from detectives over a two-day period and directed them to the location where he burnt the bodies.
“I didn’t want to have to do it. It was a horrific thing, I was sick several times,” he said.
Mr Dann said police had two and a half years to test whether his client’s account was false and were unable to prove anything he said was a lie.
He told the jury the prosecution had asked the jury to fill the gaps in their case with speculation, breaching rules by “making things up”.
“It just smacks of a prosecution case that’s just gone off the rails,” he said.
He said his client had been “overcharged” and had offered to plead guilty to a destruction of evidence charge before the trial began.
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Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM -- daily)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)
https://awesternheart.blogspot.com (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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Evelyn Rae, a conservative Australian political commentator
Sahara Ray is undoubtedly a good-looking woman. Since she is Australian-born there is even a possibility that we may be distantly related. I hope she recovers soon from her encounter with Guillain-Barré syndrome
Margo Robbie -- a beautiful australian
My son Joe at ANU
One of the happiest pictures ever -- Cleo Smith, aged 4
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