Australia

I'm doing the usual Friday night drinking, playing music, watching the footy.

Archive/non-paywall link.

The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has told her visiting Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that Australians are “shocked” at the suspended death sentence imposed on the writer Dr Yang Hengjun.

Wong raised the Australian citizen’s case – along with human rights more broadly – during a meeting that was largely aimed at stabilising the previously turbulent relationship with Australia’s largest trading partner.

Serial rapist given reduced sentence for having the cognitive level of a 14 year old boy. He has been a known rapist for decades but they will still let him out to do it again.

From wikipedia:

In 1976, Pinder was found guilty of unlawful carnal knowledge of a teenage girl in Miami, Florida. He was given five years probation.[21][22]

In 1992, Pinder faced charges of attempted sexual assault. He was convicted by the Western Australian Supreme Court and was sentenced to 18 months' jail.[23][24] In the following year he was also found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl; the three offences had occurred between 1988 and 1990.[21] In 1996, he was sentenced to five years' jail for sexual offences involving a 15-year-old girl.[25][26] In 2001, he was acquitted in the New South Wales District Court on a charge of raping a 19-year-old woman the previous year.[27] In 2013, he was arrested on a charge relating to an alleged rape in 1987. He was cleared in August 2016.[28]

In 2021, Pinder was arrested and charged with stalking a woman in Sydney. He was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment.[29] In April 2023, he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault that occurred in November 2009 and March 2021.[21] In March 2024, he was sentenced to eight years prison for the two assaults.[20]

Pinder was assaulted in prison in 2021 and 2023, requiring him to undergo CT and MRI scans for his injuries.

I had no idea we were anywhere near 27 million. Here's an archive.org link.

Guardian's piece | Migration rose by one-third last year to lift Australia’s population by a record 659,000

Even ScoMo would be proud. Escaped in a cloud of diarrhea

Protest organiser Tsewang Thupten told the crowd it was important to send a strong message to the visiting Chinese dignitary about his country's appalling human rights record.

"We will never be silent! We will never be silent. We will have courage. We will have courage. We will never stop! We will never stop!" protesters chanted.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who met with Chinese counterpart Mr Wang earlier on Tuesday, told media that she pressed him about the suspended death sentence handed to Australian writer Yang Hengjun, and also on unwinding its remaining restrictions on Australian's goods.

He's passed EVERY test. He's more Aussie than anyone I know!

On Wednesday (March 20), China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to Australia to take part in the Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue, a longstanding format where they will discuss trade, security, and other bilateral and international issues. During the visit, the Australian government should move beyond statements of concern and make clear their intention to seek accountability for China’s ongoing human rights violations.

[Edit typo.]

For those of you who missed the post the other week Lemmyvision is a contest where participating country-based communities (like ours) nominate a song from our country (Australia) and there will be some voting to determine the winner.

If you have a song that is Australian or some ideas comment them here (and maybe why you should vote for i + a link). They will be added to a post (released on 25/03) where they will be voted on to select our official nomination. This post will be closed on 24/03 sometime AEST.

Update: It has been confirmed that the earliest a song can be released to be eligible is 1/1/2023

Proactive policing

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-17/nsw-police-shot-western-sydney-man-bradley-balzan-inquest/103592578

@australia
#police
#ProactivePolicing

1L juice for comparison. You guys got these at your local? First time getting them in Brisbane. I use the paper bags for collecting recycling so the new size sucks for this.

• In short: Australia will resume its funding to the primary aid agency operating inside Gaza, UNRWA.
• Funding was paused by several nations after Israel claimed several workers had links to the October 7 terror attack by Hamas.
• What's next? The government has committed additional support to Gaza, including assistance in delivering aid drops.

Predictable NIMBY opposition, but this is a needed change to boost density in NSW cities resulting in increased housing affordability and allowing more people to live without being tethered to a car.

• In short: A berry weighing 20.4 grams has broken the Guinness World Record for the heaviest blueberry.

• The average weight of a blueberry is between a gram and 3.5 grams.

• What's next? The country's largest berry producer, Costa Berries, says it will continue research into the quality and size of its blueberries.