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US: Alaska state governor and former VP candidate resigns
"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s decision to not only opt out of running for re-election but to resign as governor at the end of the month underscored the Republican lawmaker’s commitment to “no more conventional politics as usual,” as she said today in her announcement. But if Palin is serious about a 2012 presidential bid against President Barack Obama, how smart of a decision was it to bow out of the only public office she’s ever been elected to before the end of her first term?"
US: Take your guns to church
"Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church here, is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on “God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry.” And on Saturday night, he (invited) his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to “celebrate our rights as Americans!” as a promotional flier for the “open carry celebration” puts it." Submitted by CE.
SA: Finks and Rann Government go head-to-head on anti-bikie laws
"The Finks Motorcycle Club and the Rann Government will go head-to-head over the state's controversial anti-bikie laws in three weeks' time. The Supreme Court yesterday referred the club's claims - that the Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008 is unconstitutional - to the July 23 sitting of the Full Court."
JAPAN: Legal mumbo-jumbo leads to TV gun charges
"Given this nation's strict gun control law, were police overreacting when they swooped on a TV broadcaster that had allowed a celebrity to handle a hunting rifle during a live broadcast? The Shiga prefectural police insist they were perfectly within their rights, but TV networks are outraged, citing the fact the weapon was not loaded. The incident stems from a show aired Jan. 17 by Biwako Broadcasting Co. Almost four months later, police mounted a search of the premises and confiscated a dozen items, including a script and a DVD of the show." Submitted by WM.
AUS: What have we done to deserve this?
"Labor might have dropped her but taxpayers have given the former senator Ruth Webber an extraordinary $48,516 consolation prize. The former ALP official has lodged a bill of $8086 a month for air travel under the Gold Pass scheme. The revelation comes amid calls for an independent audit of the "gravy plane" scheme after the Herald yesterday revealed former MPs had taken 20,000 free flights since 2001, worth $8.3 million."
SOUTH AFRICA: Licence may be valid, but no guarantee police will return firearm
"Gun owners from across Cape Town have been streaming into dealerships in the vain hope of retrieving the weapons they either sold or handed over voluntarily, in the wake of a Pretoria High Court ruling that the old licences are still valid. Previously, gun owners who missed the deadline for licence renewals were expected to hand in their weapons to police by midnight on Tuesday. But that changed with the High Court ruling on Friday, after police were apparently unable to cope administratively with the licensing burden, in line with the Firearms Control Act." RELATED: Gun owners get reprieve
US: Gun rights, gun slobs and sloppy reporting
"Two columns earlier this week appear to have struck some nerves in the shooting community, in a positive way. There is ample evidence beyond my say-so that shooters have no use at all for slobs in the woods who take their trash onto public land, dump it and shoot it to pieces and then drive off and leave the eyesore for everyone else to share. Accounts on two similar forums, from gun owners around the country also tell of personal efforts to clean up some of these trashy areas. Equal disdain was expressed on another forum, demonstrating that hunters are not the beer-swilling ignorant caricatures seen in too many editorial cartoons, but people who do care about the environment."
AUS: Former federal MPs claim more than $8.3 million in free flights
"Former federal MPs are flying high on the gravy plane by claiming an astonishing 20,000 taxpayer-funded flights around Australia since 2001 worth more than $8.3 million. A special investigation by the Herald, based on documents obtained under freedom of information, reveals 272 former politicians and widows of former MPs have enjoyed holidays and other travel under the Life Gold Pass scheme, despite no longer representing voters. One in four of those in this elite club have claimed more than 100 trips each, with 11 chalking up a bill of more than $100,000. This is on top of generous superannuation benefits."
QLD: Trial finds flaws in use of Tasers
"Queensland police on at least a dozen occasions have used a Taser three or more times on the one person, a report has found. Police Minister Neil Roberts and Commissioner Bob Atkinson released the results of a 12-month trial of Tasers, which began in July 2007. While the report found Tasers had been an "effective use-of-force option", it also revealed that on 12 occasions a Taser had been deployed three or more times."
WA: Unlikely allies oppose post office licence renewals
The president of Gun Control Australia, named in an ABC News report as "Rob Crook", says that renewing a firearms licence at the local post office, under a proposal advanced by the West Australian state government, is 'too dangerous' according to the ABC. The report doesn't reveal why Mr Crook believes this, just that "..we think that's bad." Applicants will be able to get applications at post offices and send them to the police for processing under the proposal. Mr Crook has some unexpected allies including Mr Ron Bryant, President of the Sporting Shooters Association of WA, who is 'concerned about the potential effects of removing the face-to-face interaction between applicants and police.' RELATED: ABC
News Report Submitted by WM.
CHINA: Internet filter plans delayed
"China has delayed its controversial requirement that manufacturers include web-filtering software in all new personal computers shipped starting today, a move that illustrates the challenges Beijing faces in its extensive efforts to rein in the internet. The government's apparent retreat follows intense criticism of the software plan at home and abroad." China drops it's plan even as Australia moves closer to web censorship. Politically, we seem to have passed the communists going in opposite directions.
RELATED: Sign the petition
WA: Chaplain fears for society after collapsed teen ignored
'A school chaplain says society is becoming "paralysed by prudence" after an 18-year-old woman was ignored for 30 minutes when she fainted in Perth city centre after donating blood. Canon Frank Sheehan of Perth's exclusive Christ Church Grammar School said people needed to rethink their attitudes, get over their fears and become more compassionate or society would spiral into dark times. "People are paralysed by prudence and the fear related to it," Canon Sheehan said.' Submitted by WM. Submitter's comment: And the silly laws we have that hold responsible any one who tries to help for almost any consequence that may result, do nothing to help the situation.
UK: 71-year-old knocks 21-year-old burglar out cold
"A would-be thief made the worst mistake of his career after breaking into the house of a retired Army boxer. Gregory McCalium, 23, fronted court yesterday with a black eye and a fat lip after he was busted - and subsequently bashed - by 71-year-old Frank Corti in Mr Corti’s house in Oxford, UK. McCalium’s lawyer told the court his client “looked like a car accident.” Submitted by WM. But an unsympathetic judge gave him 4½ years in the jug, anyway. 'That's life'... as Ned Kelly is reputed to have said.
NZ: Police to investigate how man killed in shoot-out got his firearms licence
"Police are to investigate the circumstances in which paraplegic gunman Shayne Sime, killed in a shoot-out with police in Christchurch last night, obtained his firearms licence. Detective Superintendent Brett Kane said Mr Sime had been licensed since 2006 to own sporting shotguns and rifles. He had a criminal history but his last conviction was in 1990 and most of his convictions were for "alcohol-related offending", Mr Kane told TV One's Close Up last night."
NSW: MPs get $77.55 daily meal allowance
"Dozens of MPs will be given a $77.55 a day meal allowance for simply turning up to work, under generous changes to politicians' living allowances. The New South Wales Government will also consider the creation of a new perk that will allow poorly performing MPs to claim a three-month redundancy payout of up to $40,000 when they are disendorsed by their own party."
SOUTH AFRICA: Gun owners get reprieve
"South African gun owners have received a stay on implementation of firearm laws that would have turned many of them into unwitting criminals. I've been following the gun law situation in South Africa for some time, after learning from a CBS News report that "every 26 seconds a woman is raped." I contacted Speak Out, an organization that has risen to prominence as a women's resource when it comes to rape, its prevention, and actions to take in its aftermath."
NSW: Nat/Libs support feral animal culls in national parks, says Shadow Minister
"According to Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Duncan Gay, the NSW Liberal/Nationals will continue “our calls for the NSW Government to support us in protecting native animals through allowing the shooting of feral animals in National Parks”. Mr Gay expressed his disappointment that the Government had not joined the NSW Coalition in their support of the proposal in the Shooter Party’s Game and Feral Animal Bill to allow the hunting of feral animals."
International manhunt for fugitive outlaw motor cycle gang members
"Three outlaw motorcycle gang members are the latest to be targeted in an international Crime Stoppers manhunt for fleeing fugitives. They are Hells Angel David Carrol, wanted in connection with 13 murders, and drug and firearms offences; Paul Eischeid, also a Hells Angel accused of kidnapping and murdering a woman who was stabbed to the point of decapitation; and Outlaw Motorcycle Club member Randy Yager, wanted on charges of murder and arson, among other crimes."
NSW: Woman police officer charged with assault
"A policewoman has been charged with assaulting a man during a domestic dispute in Sydney's south west. Police say a 31-year-old female constable, attached to South West Metropolitan Region, assaulted a 26-year-old man during the disturbance at a home about 7.30pm (AEST) on Friday."
SOUTH AFRICA: Gun owners win court case against government
"The SA Gunowners Association said it was pleased with Friday's Pretoria court ruling that gave more than one million gun owners who have not yet applied for their licences a temporary reprieve. Judge Bill Prinsloo of the city's High Court granted an interim interdict to the SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association, declaring that firearm licences obtained under the old Arms and Ammunition Act would be deemed valid for the time being."
US: Ruger announces SASS commemorative Vaquero
Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. (NYSE: RGR) introduces a special Single Action Shooting Society (SASS®) Ruger® Vaquero® Chambered in .357 Magnum and featuring 4-5/8" barrel and black chequered hard rubber grips that contain the SASS logo in addition to the lower/wider Montado style hammer.
SOUTH AFRICA: 'Police intimidating gun owners and defrauding citizens of their lawful property'
"Police are intimidating South African gun owners and defrauding citizens of their lawful property, black firearm owners said on Thursday. Chairperson of the Black Gun Owners Association of South Africa (BGOASA), Abios Khoele, said the police had "legalised" theft and fraud. "The association is shocked to find that the police are still insisting that they can fine and imprison one million firearm owners and continue to intimidate and defraud citizens of their lawful property," Khoele said in a statement."
NSW: Police ordered to pay compensation for destruction of antique firearms
"A South Grafton man who successfully sued the NSW Police for destroying seven of his firearms is at least $10,000 out of pocket and angry at the waste of public money spent to thwart his quest for compensation. Kevin Hebron was awarded $12,500 compensation for the lost guns, which included an almost irreplaceable antique double-barrelled Italian shotgun, during a civil hearing at Maclean Court on Wednesday." Submitted by WM. 630
VIC: Funeral for gangland shooting victim
"Several hundred mourners have arrived to farewell Desmond "Tuppence" Moran at his funeral in Essendon. Moran, who was murdered in nearby Ascot Vale last week, is the last male member of the family decimated by Melbourne's gangland wars."
Related: Murder suspect bids for bail as she battles cancer
NSW: Alleged bikie associate charged over fatal crash
"An alleged associate of an outlawed motorcycle gang has been charged over a fatal car pile-up near Taree on the New South Wales mid-north coast. On Monday, a 26-year-old man died and at least four other people were injured in the six car crash near Johns River."
NSW: Truck driver shot dead after being caught in crossfire
"A truck driver who was killed after being caught up in a gun fight in Sydney's south-west last night, was shot while he was driving. Police say the 66-year-old was hit by a bullet as he drove past a KFC restaurant on Milperra Road near Bankstown Airport. Up to six men were involved in a gun fight in the car park just before 11.00pm AEST."
WA: 'Dob-in-a-bikie' hotline hailed a success by police
"Police are sifting through a wealth of information on gang activities in WA after receiving 300 calls during its dob-in-a-bikie campaign. About 70 calls to a bikie hotline were received after the campaign was announced two weeks ago and a further 227 were made yesterday during the 16-hour bikie information phone-in."
NSW: Shooters Party will not support Lotteries Bill
"The (NSW) State Government's $500 million plan to privatise lotteries faces defeat after the Government rejected Shooters Party legislation for hunting in national parks. The Shooters Party is withholding support as it wrangles for the Government to give ground on its bill supporting shooting in national parks. But the Deputy Premier, Carmel Tebbutt, said yesterday the Government had no intention of supporting the bill. "The Government has decided it won't be supporting the Shooters bill for hunting in national parks. We don't support hunting in national parks and we don't support hunting of native animals." Submitted by WM.
RELATED: Sliding Rees reads riot act to MPs
NSW: Deer hunter sent a "shiver through the community" ─ one dead, four hurt in six-car pile-up...ho-hum.
"Gunshots fired in Bonny Hills yesterday prompted a full-scale police response and sent a collective shiver through the community. “We investigated and responded as we normally do with these reports,” (a senior police officer) said. “It turns out it was a licensed shooter on private property with the owner’s consent, culling feral deer.” Meanwhile, a tragic road accident that left one man dead was treated in a more credible manner in the same newspaper, Port Macquarie news, and obviously didn't send "a collective shiver through the community." RELATED: Six-car highway pile-up: one dead, four hurt
WA: Police say 'dob in a bikie' campaign is not an admission of failure
"Police have rejected claims that today's dob-in-a-bikie campaign is an admission they have hit a dead-end in their assault on WA's outlaw motorcycle gangs. In announcing the 16-hour bikie information phone-in, Assistant Commissioner for specialist crime Wayne Gregson said the campaign was simply an opportunity for the public to provide police with key intelligence and snippets of information that may help counter gang crime."
NSW: All police to carry Tasers
"Every officer on the beat will carry a Taser gun, following the announcement of a $10 million plan to roll out 1962 Tasers to all frontline police in NSW over the next 18 months. Mudgee police have not been told when more Tasers will be allocated to the Local Area Command (LAC). Crime Manager, Inspector David Payne said Mudgee police had been issued with two of the guns across the LAC when they were introduced across the state in November last year."
CANADA: Gun registry has failed, according to academic
"As Parliament breaks for summer, the opposition is mobilizing to stop a private member's bill to scrap the long gun registry. Yet there is no convincing research showing that the gun registry has saved a single life. In 1991, the homicide rate was 2.7 per 100,000, in 1996, the homicide rate was down to 2.1 and by 2000, it had slid to 1.8. By 2005, the homicide rate had risen to 2.0." Submitted by WM.
NSW: Broken hip for 86-year-old who confronted car thief
"An elderly man who tried to stop a man from stealing his car wound up with a broken hip after being sat on and threatened with a screwdriver on the NSW Mid North Coast yesterday. Police allege a 24-year-old man assaulted two people in an Evans Head house about 12.30pm before breaking into a second house nearby and stealing a screwdriver. He then tried to steal a car at the second house, on Cashmore Street, but was interrupted by its owner, an 86-year-old man."
SA: Bikies challenge tough SA anti-bikie laws
"The challenge against the South Australian Government's tough anti-bikie laws will be heard in the state's Supreme Court today. Control orders placed on bikies in SA have been put on hold pending the challenge by two Finks bikies, Sandro Totani and Donald Hudson." Submitted by WM.
US: Second gun 'turn-in' nets two firearms, same as the first 'turn-in'
"Several hundred people gathered at Miller Park on Sunday evening for a Father’s Day celebration that saw two guns surrendered in an effort to combat community violence. The number of firearms matches those yielded at a gun-surrender event in April, which was the first such event held by Churches United for Service in partnership with the Lynchburg Police Department."
TAS: 'You need a weapon' service station attendant tells robber
"A man who demanded cash from a Bridgewater service station was told by the attendant: "You need a weapon". The 27-year-old, who ended up stealing from the cash register, confronted the attendant at the United service station in Green Point Rd on March 3 last year. John Maxwell Newall today pleaded guilty to a count of stealing in the Supreme Court in Hobart. The father-of-two was at the end of a four day amphetamine binge when he walked into the service station and said "I want the money!," Crown Prosecutor Jane Williams told the court. But the attendant was unmoved. "You need a weapon," he said. "I have to fear for my life. You can't just have the money."
US: Gun laws in Tennessee
“I eat, therefore I hunt”, reads a camouflage T-shirt on sale at Gun City USA, a small gun store in Nashville. But the rows of military-style assault rifles and display cases showing semi-automatic handguns suggest that most of Gun City’s clientele are not looking to shoot game. Even in a recession, business is booming. “It has never been better,” says Dan McGlamery, an affable salesman who owns roughly 90 guns and has a loaded .45 calibre Kimber handgun on his belt..." Submitted by CE.
US: Soaring gun sales in Arizona
"At the National Rifle Association’s 138th annual convention, held this year in Phoenix, Arizona, 65,000 people poured through the doors. They admired the fancy firearms, snacked on grilled buffalo and were happily recruited by shooting associations. Tom Power, of the Texas Gun Collectors Association, says membership has been soaring since Barack Obama took office. Bill Bachenberg, the owner of a shooting range near Allentown, Pennsylvania, has been registering 400 new members a month. “American gun-owners don’t trust this administration,” he says." Submitted by CE.
VIC: Police told to choose sides
"The state's top anti-corruption cop has warned police who are mates with criminals they must decide between the force and their friends. Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius revealed he was also concerned at links between serving members who were being used by disgraced former colleagues. "If someone feels that passionately about maintaining a relationship - and I want to be clear here, we're talking about avoidable relationships, we're not in the business of busting up families - it comes down to a choice," Mr Cornelius said."
NSW: Premier still not convinced on "hunting in parks" bill
"The New South Wales Premier has indicated that the Government is not prepared to totally back a bill by the Shooters Party to open up areas for recreational hunters. The private members bill is due to be debated in Parliament this week and is being opposed by the Greens and the Coalition." Submitted by WM.
ACT: Defence 'roo cull to resume
"An ACT tribunal has ruled the culling of kangaroos on Defence Department land in Canberra can resume. The ACT Government granted a licence to the Defence Department in April to cull 7,000 kangaroos at the Majura site. Around 4,000 were killed in May before a temporary stay was granted by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal."
VIC: Melbourne gunmen were 'gutless pigs'
"Two men who gunned down a Melbourne man in the driveway of his parents' house as his younger cousin looked on are "gutless pigs", the victim's brother says. Homicide squad detectives are looking for two men suspected to have carried out the shooting at Altona North, in Melbourne's west. Altona North man Mohammed Haddara was shot dead as he was getting out of his car in the driveway of his parents' home in Fifth Avenue around 7.45pm on Saturday. Neighbours reported hearing at least three shots.'
QLD. Poll supports taser use
"Queenslanders have backed the use of Tasers by police despite safety concerns following the death of man after he was hit up to 28 times with a stun gun. A Galaxy Poll of 800 Queenslanders last week found 72 per cent backed the rollout, 24 per cent were against and 4 per cent were uncommitted. The support comes as former police have labelled training procedures "lip service" after it emerged no police officer has failed training, despite having to achieve a 100 per cent result in practical and theoretical tests."
JAPAN: (NFR) Nips stung by loss to 'pizza eaters'
Japan (soccer team) captain Yuji Nakazawa has admitted that defeat to “pizza-eating” Australia in their final World Cup qualifier stung badly. The Yokohama defender missed Wednesday’s 2-1 loss in Melbourne with a migraine but did not pull his punches after analysing a tape of the game upon returning to Japan. “We were beaten by pizza eaters,” Nakazawa told Japan’s Fuji newspaper.
QLD: Man arrested for illegal importation of machine gun parts
A 29-year-old Wooroolin man was arrested on Wednesday (17 June) and appeared before the Kingaroy Magistrates Court on two Customs charges relating to the illegal import of MG42 machine gun parts. Customs and Border Protection investigators, supported by Queensland Police, executed search and seizure warrants at the man's residential address where they seized a number of German World War 2 era machine gun parts and components. It is illegal to import armoury or parts of this nature without the relevant Commonwealth written permission.
Women three times more likely to be raped in Australia than in the United States
The United Kingdom and Australia instituted gun bans in 1997. Between 1995 and 2006, women in the United Kingdom suffered a 76.5% increase in rape; by 2007 Australian women experienced a 29.9% increase. Meanwhile, rape decreased 19.1% in America. Today, women are raped twice as often in the UK as America, and Australian women are raped three times as often. Submitted by WM.
WA: State to introduce laws delivering 'unprecedented authority to police'
WA is set to introduce Australia's toughest anti-bikie and organised crime laws, with sweeping new powers delivering unprecedented authority to police. The latest push for uniform bikie laws follows last month's meeting of state attorneys-general, who resolved to implement a national set of guidelines to take on the bikies. The WA proposal is based on the strongest aspects of recent South Australian and New South Wales anti-bikie laws, generally considered the most authoritarian - critics say draconian - in the nation. Here we go again...'my laws are tougher than your laws, nah, n-nah, n-nah-nah'.
VIC: Alleged gunman slipped police surveillance before shooting
One of the men alleged to have shot dead Desmond "Tuppence" Moran in Melbourne is believed to have slipped police surveillance less than an hour before the murder. Geoff "Nuts" Amour, who has been charged over the killing on Monday, had been under investigation for a previous attempt to kill Moran this year. On March 17 a shot was fired at the driver of Moran's car, hitting the steering wheel. Moran, who had been drinking, was sitting in the passenger seat while his friend, Mick Lindsell, was the designated driver. 629
