Humble servant of the Nation

“God bless you, please make it quick”

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Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the execution of Ronald Ryan. Just before 8 o’clock on the morning of February 3, 1967, Ryan declined a sedative but took a sip of whisky and walked calmly to the gallows trapdoor at Pentridge Prison.

Ryan addressed his executioner directly, “God bless you, please make it quick.”

Ryan’s supporters and opponents of the death penalty observed a three-minute silence. Protesters assembled outside Pentridge Prison in vigil.

The circumstances of his death at the hands of the state have led to great myth-making about Ryan. He has been variously painted as a bit of a larrikin, driven to crime by circumstance and little worse than a kite flyer (passer of bad cheques).

The truth is he was a career criminal and his crimes before his penultimate arrest, included what we would call today aggravated burglary and robbery in company.

His arresting officer on that occasion was Bryan Harding. I’ve known Harding for many years. He was an outstanding police officer and at various times headed up the Fraud and Homicide squads in Victoria. Harding is retired and now in his 80s; he remembers Ryan as a hardened criminal who showed little or no remorse for his crimes and gave nothing away under questioning.

Full column here.

792 Comments

  • Henry Blofeld says:

    Is PM Malcolm Turnbull “shagged” Mr Insider? Not looking good for “Mr Mansions’ is it?

  • BASSMAN says:

    Leigh Sales v Scott Morrison…7:30
    Considering the Looters were elected on a three year 24/7 scream about:-

    1. Debt….now just on half a trillion!
    2. Electricity prices….Which are far higher under the Looters

    It is truly amazing not ONE question was asked about these. GULP!

    • Razor says:

      Of course electricity prices are higher! The subsidisation of renewables is killing us!

      • Dismayed says:

        Still peddling false information razor. You just cant stop can you. “The highest prices this year have come in the states with the least amount of large scale renewable energy, Queensland and NSW.” “the average pool price in Queensland last week was $319/MWh. Even more appallingly, the average pool price at 4.30pm in 2017 has been $886/MWh, and at 5pm it has been $1,332. As Leitch notes, “the Queensland State owned Generators are having a lend of consumers.” “The most expensive has been Queensland, with virtually no large scale renewables. Over the first five weeks, it has averaged $229/MWh – for so called “cheap” coal and gas.”

      • BASSMAN says:

        Mate it went up LOOOOOONG before that. Electricity went up 70% BEFORE THE CARBON TAX WAS EVER INTRODUCED. Then it went up after that due to the gold plating of the wires/poles and greedy sellers of power. You forgot the BILLIONS the miners get in subsidies. You are speaking biased tosh.

    • smoke says:

      paying the mortgage

    • Carl on the Coast says:

      Aww diddums, she mucked up your intertainment for the evening Bassy, eh.

    • Razor says:

      Very informative piece Milt.

    • Jean Baptiste says:

      Thirty odd years ago even the stupidest conservative politicians realised that AGW was going to kill us all Then the fossil fuel interests bullied them into abandoning the quest for solutions.
      Now we are “f*cked”. We have murdered our grandchildren.
      Even if we stopped now, in fact if we stopped now it could even be worse, it wont help.
      Good luck trying to die of old age before facing up to that truth , it’s too late for that.
      Except for Carl who is 103 and will peg out 110. How do I know that? It’s the speed limit and old goody two shoes would never go over the speed limit.

      Bless you. All Gods are Great!

      • Milton says:

        Jean Baptiste – blame the Godless Chinese, Jean. They began their quest banning kids and now they are killing grandchildren.

  • Mac says:

    Lou oTOD, fortunately our course doesn’t have any bunkers – but we do have sand greens. I always encourage any members who have complaints about dogs on the course to put their complaints officially to the club’s captain and he will adjudicate. Thus far I haven’t received one 🙂

  • John O'Hagan says:

    The latest Trump idiocy of the day: like something out of Infowars, he claims the media deliberately do not report terrorist attacks because “the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that”.

    True to form, instead of trying to make their boss appear reasonable somehow, Team Trump doubles down as they are probably required to do, by publishing a long list of terror attacks that they say were not reported. It is immediately obvious that they were, and thoroughly. The initial passing fib is turned into an elaborate lie, but the T-Team doesn’t even blush. Amateurs.

    http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/feb/06/donald-trump/donald-trump-wrong-media-not-reporting-terrorism-a/

    Interestingly, a number of right-wing terror attacks such as the Canadian mosque attack were not on the list, presumably because they felt that was covered plenty.

    • BASSMAN says:

      More serious is the politicisation of the scientific community.
      Trumper is allowing no statements or findings to be issued unless they are first vetted by his political lobby.
      Specifically this is aimed at climate scientists and those aligned with renewable energy research.

  • Dismayed says:

    Alternative facts abound in QT today and whenever the coalition talk. Oh the humanity.
    “Turnbull and Frydenberg have been banging on all summer about the high prices in Victoria and South Australia, attacking their decision to focus on renewables and the resulting coal closures. Which states have had the cheapest wholesale prices in 2017? Victoria and South Australia.”
    “The highest prices this year have come in the states with the least amount of large scale renewable energy, Queensland and NSW.” “the average pool price in Queensland last week was $319/MWh. Even more appallingly, the average pool price at 4.30pm in 2017 has been $886/MWh, and at 5pm it has been $1,332. As Leitch notes, “the Queensland State owned Generators are having a lend of consumers.” “The most expensive has been Queensland, with virtually no large scale renewables. Over the first five weeks, it has averaged $229/MWh – for so called “cheap” coal and gas.”
    http://reneweconomy.com.au/like-trump-turnbulls-energy-policy-is-based-on-alternative-facts-25100/

  • Dismayed says:

    Interesting to note the majority of “flyover” states or Red states as some like to call them in the US receive more in Federal funding than they contribute in tax revenue’s according to the IRS. How will dictator trumps plans to downsize government help these states? Without the Federal funding the states will be in worse positions than already. Dictator trump has conned the people of those states with his “nationalistic” and divisive hate rhetoric. The old pea and thimble trick has always seemed to work in those Red states.

  • BASSMAN says:

    I must apologise to Rodent. I quoted him as saying Trump was polling 87% support when it should have been 57%. according to Rodent.

    I am a BAAAAAAAAAAAAD man!

    Latika Bourke (Fairfax journalist) interesting comment. She says she has some info that Bernardi decided to leave after telling Turnbull he is about to be set upon and he didn’t want to be around to mop up the blood.

    If she is on the drip, I can see why. Ever seen a picture of her! Must be that Mediterranean Diet.

  • BASSMAN says:

    Bernardi received only 2043 first preferences below the line on the South Australian Senate ticket at the July election but was elected on the strength of 329,516 above the line votes for the Liberal Party. This compares with 25,777 below the line votes for Nick X and 11,018 for Simon Birmingham the top candidate on The Looter ticket.

    One would think Cori would just shut up, enjoy the likes of his 3 month taxpayer free trip to the USA and trouser his huge salary and perks for the next 5 and a half years and just enjoy life!
    Instead? He is helping bring down a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad government.

  • Rodent says:

    The Guv’nor 09:44pm.
    I agree entirely with you ,now that politics is transforming into disasterous on both major sides.
    The days of “spontaneous applause ” is long gone knowing no such articulate leader can gather public interest anymore. We can’t even have sustainability in majors with positive result after last few years MPs breaking out finding a media camera to dangle in front of their apponents saying they are steering us into a future of a “doomsday scenario” that will head us into quicksand.
    Malcolm, must conjecture and advocacy over him, sees much stagnation ahead with waffling along the old terms of I have the capacity to inject programs just at a time Bernardi is in a mindset of a lethal departure leaving the flames still burning behind him. God knows on this tumultuous year ahead of projected outcomes no doubt with rhetric,social engineering will continue .

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