In the wake of the tragic Dallas police shootings, thousands of Melburnians are planning to hold a Black Lives Matter rally on the streets of the city next Sunday. I'm in no position to say whether or not there's an ongoing racism problem in the Victoria Police force in its dealings with ethnic minorities, but if there is, then it should be dealt with.
I also hope that the rally will be peaceful. One worrying trend in recent times is for opponents of these rallies to organise counter rallies in an attempt to disrupt them. These usually end up in violent street clashes that do either side no favours, particularly the professional agitators who seem to delight in these incidents.
By the way, this is my 500th blog posting. Where's my party whistle?
http://www.3aw.com.au/news/thousands-prepare-for-black-lives-matter-rally-in-melbourne-20160710-gq2thc.html
Showing posts with label Crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crime. Show all posts
Monday, July 11, 2016
Saturday, July 25, 2015
The dodgy librarian
Roy Morgan Research periodically releases a survey of the most trusted professions in Australia. The most trusted professions are nurses, medical doctors, pharmacists, and High Court judges.
Librarians don't even rate a mention. Why is this so? The likes of Xiao Yuan don't help matters. Xiao Yuan was a former chief librarian at a Chinese university. He admitted in court Tuesday to stealing more than 140 paintings by grandmasters in a gallery under his watch, and replacing them with fakes he painted himself.
He sold the originals and used the proceeds to buy apartments and other paintings. At the time of writing he was still awaiting his sentence.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
I don't wanna be a pirate
In January 2005 I stayed in Quezon City in the Philippines. One of my most vivid memories of that trip was was walking through MegaMall and repeatedly having local traders surreptitiously attempting to offer me pirated DVDs, which of course I refused to buy.
DVD piracy is rampant in Australia. According to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA), illegal DVDs, which are often openly sold at suburban markets and computer swap meets, deprive the film and television industry of an estimated $82 million in lost revenue annually. Law enforcement agencies claim that international organised crime syndicates use film piracy to finance other activities including drug trafficking, terrorism, and prostitution.
This comes as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which has long been combating film piracy, published a report which alongside markets in the Ukraine, Beijing, Toronto, and Rio, names Caribbean Gardens and Market, a tacky market in suburban Melbourne, as one of the world's worst film piracy hot spots.
In response to this news, one host of a morning talkback radio program invited his listeners to call and answer the question of whether or not they buy illegal copies of DVDs. One caller justified it because he felt that film companies rip off consumers because cinema tickets are too expensive, and it costs $30.00 to buy a legitimate DVD. Never mind that many retailers and discount home entertainment stores often discount these items, using them as loss leaders to attract customers into their stores, so the consumer rarely has to pay full retail price anyway. $30.00 may be the average recommended retail price of a new release, but as with other technology products, if you're patient the price will eventually come down.
Film piracy costs jobs, funds organised crime, and short changes the consumer by giving them an inferior product and film viewing experience. If you sell or buy illegal copies of films, you are committing theft.
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