Free Republic

The Rise of Middle Eastern Crime in Australia by Tim Priest I BELIEVE that the rise of Middle Eastern organised crime in Sydney will have an impact on society unlike anything we have ever seen. In the early 1980s, as a young detective I was attached to the Drug Squad at the old CIB. I remember executing a search warrant at Croydon, where we found nearly a pound of heroin. I know that now sounds very familiar; however, what set this heroin apart was that it was Beaker Valley Heroin, markedly different from any heroin I had seen. Number Four...

A leader of Australia's Roman Catholic church has barred a group of liberal followers from using a church venue to hold a conference at which a gay rights activist was to speak. Cardinal George Pell, who has refused to give communion to gays and once called homosexuality "a greater health hazard than smoking," said it would be unsuitable for the liberal Australian Reforming Catholics group to meet on church property. It was not immediately clear what the gay activist planned to speak about. Pell also forbade liberal Bishop Pat Power from celebrating Mass at the event, which has been moved...

Environment ACT will not say if protesters have disrupted a kangaroo cull at Googong Dam overnight. Six members of the Animal Liberation Group spent last night at the dam in a bid to stop the cull. The cull began at the weekend, with plans for licensed shooters to destroy about 800 animals. Environment ACT says because of the drought, the kangaroo population has reduced ground cover to minimal levels, posing a threat to the quality of one of Canberra's main water supplies. The protesters have urged the Government to consider other methods such as fencing and have vowed to stay...

A distraught mother's scream 24 years ago that a dingo snatched her baby from a campsite near Ayers Rock in the Australian Outback ignited one of Australia's most enduring mysteries. An elderly man's claim that he retrieved the infant's bloodied body from the jaws of the wild dog has revived the case and -- if true -- could finally lead to the discovery of Azaria Chamberlain's body. Two-month-old Azaria disappeared from a campsite near the giant Ayers Rock monolith, also known by its Aboriginal name Uluru, in 1980. Her mother, Lindy Chamberlain, now remarried and known as Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, was...

CANBERRA -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Wednesday reaffirmed the government's opposition to signing the Kyoto protocol on greenhouses gases, arguing it would harm the resources industry and cost jobs. "Australia won't ratify the Kyoto protocol until ratification of that protocol will protect the long-term national interest of this country," Howard told parliament. "We're not blinded by some mythical belief that by ratifying the Kyoto protocol you're going to bring untold benefits to Australia," said Howard. He was responding to a question from major opposition Labor Party leader Mark Latham, who pointed to Russia's decision to speed up ratification...

Olympic legend Mark Spitz believes security concerns may see the United States withdraw from the Athens Games. Spitz, who won seven swimming golds in 1972, says heightened terrorist fears may prompt drastic action from the US. "I would say that about six months ago it was highly unlikely," Spitz told BBC Five Live. "But each day it becomes more probable than not that ongoing conversations will take place as to how important it is to put athletes in harm's way." A spokesman for the US Olympic Committee said: "Today there is absolutely no consideration given to the notion our team...

CANBERRA -- As Australia's foreign minister, I respect the right of countries to take decisions they perceive to be in their national interest. But I do not always agree with the choices they make. The announcement by Spain, and subsequently, by Honduras, to withdraw troops from Iraq is a case in point. It is perhaps understandable that Spain's new government would want to withdraw its troops from Iraq. After all, this had been Prime Minister Zapatero's position for some time. Spain's decision, however, is extremely disappointing. For there has never been a greater need for the international community to pull...