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.
John O ‘Hagan 12:16pm.
Well said , things are better now.
I have been saying this all along to the reverberations we hearing and whinges out there sooking at our democracy and direction we are taking. Much anticipation to run this country down in negative form , breaches the guidline principles on fast-tracking into pessimism, seems the order of the day. Look at our super we never had years back , stock market gains steadily rising, we may have clouded representation in our courts ,but at least we are better off then the old days of Roger Rogerson or overseas none there for that matter.
As for our modern day activist involvement, at least we can protest in good spirit without getting shot like overseas countries do there. Our lifestyles , we can subject ourselves into choice , not been bullied ,not been steered into who we should vote for . We can express ourselves in a democratic way without been shot at like third world countries . There are all types here ,accentric ,people go ballistic over nothing. people under the spell of pessimism while I am an optimist . Now we can enjoy the freedom ,where overseas countries are starved of that choice .lets just enjoy the privlidges we have without tearing others apart with different views .
On SBS tonight. Trump’s road to the Whitehouse. Could be interesting
Excellent Yvonne thanks for reminding us. I count myself as a “Trumpofile” . Lets hope sweet Jean Baptiste tunes in, I think I noted a flicker of interest in POTUS Trump in his last blog mmmmm and the astute Dismayed too!
While trump is in the white house society and the planet are at risk. he continues to undo all that has been achieved. in less than 2 weeks he has started undoing a century of progress.
I saw a show prior to the US election which showed Trump at a huge dinner and Obama gave a speech in which he basically roasted the Donald. Needless to say the Donald was not best pleased and it seems he is not the type to enjoy being the butt of the joke and to forgive or forget. I think the show made the point that this evening went some way in fuelling Trump’s fire to become POTUS. Like him or not he’s road to the top job is quite an amazing achievement for a political outsider.
Darren :
Education in the English language was very good in South Africa – we knew how to spell and were even taught grammar! You know, those pesky adverbs. adjectives. prepositions and, dare I say it, the much abused apostrophe.
Proverbs too. One that comes to mind is “you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”!
preferred Ms Parker….making reference to horticulture..
Haha – touche, smoke.
There used to be many reports about teachers raping their students and getting away with it. Is this still going on?
Yep. The nderstood yvonne. That is apropos of what…? (I can’t figure out if I’ve offended you somehow or you’ve suddenly decided to inform me of the merits of a South African education).
Don’t worry Darren. No. not having a go at you at all. In fact I agreed with a couple of your previous posts. I’ll leave it at that.
“Take” a horse to water? Too much time spent on punctuation perhaps.
OK JB – will “lead” do? Same thing really!
“Lead” is correct. You take your lunch to work, or take your wife out to dinner.
Must have ben a South Africanism! Apologies
Unless one is having improper relationships with one’s horses. “He takes his horse out to dinner after the races.”
Here is the link Penny. I found it very powerful.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-22/national-press-club:-stan-grant/7189980
Thank you so much TG, thankfully I could open it and found myself in tears at the end, because it was so powerful. As I said I have admired Stan Grant for a long, long time and I hope that we can see him in a position in Australia where he can make a real difference……and I don’t mean politics. I would strongly advise you all on this blog to make the time to view this, if you haven’t already…..because he really is an outstanding person
Everyone seems to want to push him into politics and I have no doubt he would do very well. I’m a bit like you though and would hate to see him constrained by the assumption that politics is the only place he could make a difference. Just the idea of being able to effect real change is a bit of joke under the two party system anyway. I’m not sure what is ahead of him but I wish him Godspeed.
Can anyone explain why this vitriotic fool Richard Di Natalie hates America? His appearance today shows he should go and visit the war memorial and read all the names on the wall after his pain speech today. The alliance with America was crucial for our own survival the contribution America made for us by saving us from Japan occupation. These are the idiots that give rise to emotions in this country. Social cohesion is needed here, not division him now bringing up his usual advocating hate on Americans the usual far left often show. No wonder Greens are falling with voters having idealogues ignoring the common principles of democracy out there sabataging their own voter base.
The Greens seem to be undergoing a little fracturing of their own at the moment. Left Greens and Right Greens?!
The Greenz are stuffed without Bob Brown. I smell a Democrats result in the future.
Yes I agree Bassy. They are lost without him. IMO he was the Greens. Although I often see him in the local coffee shop meeting with politicians and others. I think he does a fair bit of behind the scenes advising!
Played a doubles tennis match at Cygnet the other day – watched on by Bob, whose partner happened to be one of the opposition players. We beat ’em!
I like Bob – a decent person – always happy to stop for a chat and involved in his local community.
yeah man agreed…..coz no greens nowadays
Bassy, I too think the Greens are rooted, and the smell you have picked up is clearly the wrong fertiliser applied to their planter box down the bottom of the garden where the fairies rule.
The Marxists will break out, and I’m sure it will be worse than pimples.
Bassy & Yvonne,
There a problems in the green camp without doubt. The infiltration by the radical socialist left isn’t going down well with the old environmentalists. Contrary to what some would believe I actually consider we need environmentalists as they bring balance to the system. As for the Socialist left long may they rot in hell.
Razor, I’ve never really known what or who the socialist left are in Australia. I do remember someone on this blog talking about the early Greens being infiltrated by the communists or some people who were more than loony left. But I agree if a party of true environmentalists came to the fore, it would have a large impact, particularly with the young people
Yes, Bob still campaigns passionately on environmental issues here. The Tarkine at the moment. He makes a difference.
I am a democratic socialist. When the social effects of capitalism have finished demonstrating that that system destroys everything it touches I suspect the majority of the world will be, assuming there’s enough left to salvage, of course. And only then will the human race be in a position to pool its resource and reach for the stars.
Dazza,
I know where your coming from mate but the trouble is human nature kills it. The man doing the brain surgery doesn’t want to get paid the same as the bloke cleaning the dunny. The USSR proved that.
Mrs Brown Senator for NSW is probably a good start Penny. She wouldn’t know a dam from an old boot but she sure knows about Marxist theory.
Henry Blofeld 08:27pm
Seems the American media moderating a little now over to polls reversing with now 57 for current Government while 32% against, rest not sure .It goes on saying Trump is about cutting the red tape with less bureaucracy to ease resentment growing in America. Americans critical of activist judges having a resentment for them not ruling on public calls, gun laws also in the mention out of control ,that Trump wants to ban.
Theresa May has been slashing the red tape giving her a rise in popularity now making her mark.
The settling period in America is now in the process with some media returning back to normality knowing firestorms of hate only drive voters back to Trump as we already seeing now with the forgotten people now rising up.
Loving the Donald, Rodent, he’s certainly unconventional and imho a breath of fresh air not only into US politics but World politics as well. The Lefties are choking on their Lattes and may have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the new world POTUS Trump is building. Of course here in Australia silly Turnbull will be back in Parliament this coming week showing us all how its NOT done the complete wally he is. Have plenty of No Doze ready my friend!
People can be unconventional because they are original thinkers. Or because they just can’t think straight. Pretty sure it’s the latter in Trumps case:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2015/07/31/donald_trump_this_run_on_sentence_from_a_speech_in_sun_city_south_carolina.html
His lack of originality is also evident in his identical response to every instance of opposition: to use a generic adjective without any substance, like “terrible” or “rediculous” (sic), and to incoherently attack the credentials of the person giving him grief. The latest example was his questioning the decision and the credentials of the very conservative Bush-appointed judge who has blocked his immigrant ban.
His frequent self-praise is similarly uninformative, simplistic and nonsensical.
What comes out of the mouth reflects what’s going on in the head. Garbled thoughts produce garbled language. This seems to be a pattern among many populist-conservative politicians: Hanson, Culleton, Bjelke-Petersen, GW Bush, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman etc.
JOH, May I add um err ahbut (abbott) , Bernardi, Christensen, Abetz, Andrews, K.O’Dwyer, Bishops, Pyne, Hillsong Morrison. That will probably suffice for now.
And if may add; Rudd, Gillard, Kim Carr, Conroy, Swan, Ludwig (blood on his hands), Andrews, Weatherill, D’ath. That will probably suffice for now.
and Rodent
What poll are you talking about? All the polls I can find put him at the lowest POTUS approval rating in history:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-trump.aspx
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2017/02/04/the_president_still_loves_polls_132992.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-AAlowest-approval-ratings-any-president-in-us-history-poll-cnn-a7563091.html
More evidence to suggest that those trumpeting a sea-change in politics are indulging in either wishful thinking or doomsaying, depending on their initial position.
Or fake polls…
Your polling on Trump is totally wrong and off the planet. Please give up smoking whatever you are smoking. The CNN Feb 4th Poll clearly shows Trump has received the lowest polling of any new President. A 53% majority disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job two weeks into office. Just 44% approve of the job he’s doing, 7 points below the previous low point for presidents measured in the survey. Trump is the only president in recent history to hold a net-negative rating at this point in his tenure.
You have another crazy basket of stats you keep quoting old mate…87% of Australian do not want the asylum seekers settled onshore..totally wrong. A large majority of Aussies want them settle here…”Refugees who arrive in Australia by boat should be allowed to resettle in the country, a majority of Australians believe, new polling released just days before the election shows. A poll of more than 1,400 people commissioned by The Australia Institute found 63% of respondents oppose the bipartisan policy that refugees who arrive in Australia by boat should never be allowed to settle in the country” . 35% of those polled said asylum seekers should be sent to the islands and if found to be genuine allowed to settle in Australia. 28% said they should be brought straight to Oz to be assessed:-TOTAL-63% want asylum seekers settled in Australia. Better than paying $500,000 per refugee on the islands!
Other crazy stats you quote are that crime is worse than it has ever been. No mate. Crime is down. You also say most crime is committed by Muslims. Wrong again. John Menadue says 90% of crimes are committed by non-Muslims. I expect the usual return. The polls are biased blah blah blah. Similar to what Trump and Dutts would say.
Crime committed by ethnic groups is up Bassy. Particularly Middle East (Sydney), African (Melbourne) and Asian (Everywhere)
Also crime overall on the eastern seaboard is trending up again. Those arrested for terrorism related matters in Australia are in the large majority of ME descent.
Very little of that comment is true, at least not in NSW where BOCSAR has just published its quarterly reports for the last quarter of 2016 and its annual report for 2015. Overall crime is trending downwards, including violent crime categories. The individual crimes that have risen over the last five years are fraud, indecent assault, shoplifting, possess drugs (all types) and possess methamphetamine. Those are official figures prepared by an independent body. See for yourself. BOSCAR does not break down crime statistics by ethnicity. I don’t know of anyone in Australia that does. It can’t be done, at least not for any good purpose or in any statistically relevant way. Do we a call a second or third generation Australian Lebanese or Sudanese to suit a purpose? If they were born in Australia, they’re Australian. If they were born overseas and became Australian citizens, they’re Australian.
But what about the demographics?
Age of offender, age of victim, location of incident, address of offender, gender etc all in there.
Allow me to respond. As you knew I must.
1./ Australian Institue of Criminology definition of ethnic crime.
‘Ethnic groups are linked by a shared identity or by factors such as a long common history, a cultural tradition, a common geographic origin, language, religion or literature.’
I attend forums across the country and am briefed regularly on the rise of ethnic crime in Australia JTI. I am not commenting on crime committed by refugees but ethnic crime generally.
Not sure if you still have any Senior contacts still serving in the major crime area but if you do they will verify my statement.
2./ I said Eastern seaboard. NSW is not the centre of the universe.
Crime in Victoria up 9% (Source Crime Statistics Authority)
Crime against the person and property in Qld up(QPS 2015 – 2016 Statistical review) and will be up even further this year.
3./ The statistics on ethnic crime CAN be done and are done they are just not readily available. Why do you think that is?
4./ I take it the you accept the terrorism comment?
That’s not what you wrote. You said crime was up in Sydney and ethnic crime in the city in particular. You offered no qualifications. I haven’t looked at the Victorian stats or the Queensland ones. They are gathered, collated and analysed by police and this can make the data unreliable. I don’t know or care what forums you go to but if attending them is obliging you to make provably false assertions, perhaps you should give them a swerve.
By the way that definition of ethnicity is utterly useless. The Australian Institute of Criminology? Paul Wilson was the boss there wasn’t he? What’s he doing wth himself these days?
Sorry JTI, I was just having a little dig at Razor, who never accepts any challenging figures if they don’t include “demographics”. Or even if they do.
Sorry it’s your blog but you are wrong. Did you read my post or what you thought I said.
1./ To start with the Crime Statistics Authority (CSA) in Vic is an independent authority.
2./ 2 out of 3 states on the eastern seaboard say crime is trending up. Or do you think Qld Police, who compile their own stats, are fudging their figures in an upward direction?
3./ I only referred to crime in NSW specifically with regard to ME crime. It is up or are the high level briefings I get just made up.
4./ Pissweak shot regarding my comment on forums etc. I was adding context to my assertion. Context you cannot add.
5./ The AIC is highly regarded. What has one previous members criminality got to do with it? If we disparaged every institution on the basis of the actions of one member then none would stand. Where do you want to start? Journalism?
6./ I didn’t make up the definition on ethnic crime it’s just one of a few in use in official circles. All of which, I might add, are very similar.
I understand you are going through a tough time old mate but I live this stuff and have done for well over 30 years. If it makes you feel better to give me a Milton moment then go right ahead but it will not change the facts. I’m man enough to admit I’m not always right but I am dead right on this.
You were peddling false information, mate. It’s as simple as that. If you have some expertise in this area, as you claim, it’s important to get your facts right. And they weren’t, were they? You were trying to make some specious point and either didn’t check or didn’t want to. I think you’ve deleted your original comment but you can’t turnaround now and say I got half of it right therefore I am entirely correct.
The reason for the establishment of CSA two years ago was because VicPol were found to be manipulating crime statistics. You might remember it. It was in all the papers and was one of the reasons VicPol was known amusingly as Simon’s Wonderland. The data in an historical sense remains questionable for the reasons I outlined earlier. When police are responsible for collating and analysing crime statistics, you need to be very careful about the data. It’s not hard to figure out why.
The AIC is not terribly well regarded at all. Criminology is a funny field of study. It tends to attach itself to some of our lesser universities and is replete with a melting pot of conflicting influences and personalities, many of them mediocrities. My view is let the data speak for itself. By the way, Wilson is in jail having been found guilty of four counts of indecent treatment involving a child under the age of 12. He is a former director of the AIC and a former director of research.
Are you kidding? How can you delete a post on here? My post’s are as they stand. Let me assure you I do not possess the IT knowledge to hack into your system and delete a post! Are you going to apologise for that accusation?
You read what you wanted to read not what was posted. It’s ok I do it myself.
As for the Vic crime figures you accused me of using police figures. I didn’t. I utilised the CSA figures. What more could I do? Are they part of the conspiracy.
On the Paul Wilson matter let me assure you I am very much across what he was charged with, his two trials, comments during the 80’s with regard to the age of consent and his links to a certain deceased led called Howard-Osborne. Do you want anything more on him? I have plenty.
I’m not hear to defend the AIC and yes criminology is a funny field but what’s your point? I didn’t man up the definitions for ethnic crime but they are all pretty much the same wherever you look whether a bogging surrounded by sandstone made them up or someone in a rented hall in the burbs. I suggest you put your new definition to the Commissioners of Police across Australia and try and get what they are using changed.
I speak with very Senior Police across the country weekly. Crime is rising in some states for reasons that are not clear at this stage. Crime based around ethnic gangs is increasing and becoming more organised with trans-national links. It is what it is mate I can do no more than comment on what is within my field of knowledge. I can send you a couple of links regarding who I am and what I do via e-mail if you like and then you can decide if I’m the real deal.
Cheers,
Razor
I couldn’t find it on a search because I wanted to quote it back to you. What is so hard about admitting a mistake? You said crime was rising in Sydney and it is not. I pulled you up on it. You’re primary point was there was some sort of crime wave across eastern Australia and it is simply not true, especially in the state of NSW that hosts a third of the nations’s population. Now that was pointed out to you and all you could do was offer qualifications and limp explanations and then had the temerity to assume the only reason I replied curtly was due to cancer therapy. It has nothing to do with me. Stop talking bullshit.
I apologise unreservedly if you took offence to my comment re you present situation.
Now can you explain to me how I changed my posts on this blog?
You read what you assumed I was saying not what I actually said.
I couldn’t find your post. I wanted to quote from it. In the end Bassman found it and quoted it in its entirety. It hasn’t got any better with age, Razor.
I will say it AGAIN. Overall crime rates are down. I never measured it by ethnicity.
Bullshit. Read my post and show me where you get the figures on ethnicity.
So where is this post?
POTUS Trump is to be applauded imho ,Mr Insider, for the strong focus on creating jobs in the USA. We here in Australia need to do the same. PM Milton Trumble has some vague pie in the sky idea to attract “innovation” which went over like a lead balloon at the election last year. Jobs, real jobs, job jobs is what we need!
Well Blowy I will be watching and waiting carefully. Obama left with a good record…..:- Bush INHERITED 4.2% unemployment from Clinton on election. He takes it up to 7.9%. Obama takes it down from Bush’s 7.9%, successfully takes USA through the GFC and leaves with unemployment at 4.7%. Trumper inherits this. Company Profits:- Bush-$671b. Obama-$1.6Trillion.
Only 15 days down BASSMAN and POTUS Trump looking every bit the winner he is. I know I keep saying it but what a breath of fresh air this man is , love him or loath him. Its “balls to the wind” my friend with Donald T.
I’m not so sure the GFC has been fixed up, Bassman more likely papered (literally) over. If serious cracks once again reappear are the big players capable of re-applying the fix? Quite possibly a world of pain awaits when it is revealed a lot of our froth and bubble is built on smoke and mirrors!?
Jack, where were you when the Bowling Green Massacre in Kentucky didn’t happen, and how do you rate our new Prime Minister, Mr. Trumble (any relation to Hugh Trumble?)
I believe not, Rhys. The White House has made a correction. “We regret the confusion. Prime Minister Milton Trumbledon is a great friend of America.”
LOL, Mr Insider, poor Sean Spicer just cant get our PM”s name right.
Never happened, never forget….
An easy mistake with my connections in Washington.
Magnificent goal by Hazard against the Gunners. Chelsea!
Partayed the afternoon away and am wondering if arancini balls are so last week?!
ps Tracy, can you ask Macca for identification and a valid passport, please?
1
icehead zombiebarbie misspoke…
Jack the Insider . 11:45am .
I take in what you saying Jack being good news hearing that . The Melbourne street mob violence seen on TV few months back, is what came out of Melbourne media from Neil Mitchell. I should of mentioned when that culture clash took place seeing 100s out of control and pictures in the paper shown ,looked very ugly indeed. Later hearing the unemployment now in these cultures has sparked crime there as one taxi driver sitting waiting reported when asked.
Lets hope these extra 3000 police D Andrews installing, has a greater impact in the streets from now on .
Yes I except your data Jack!
An abbreviated and animated clip of the now infamous phone conversation between POTUS Trump and our PM Malcolm Trumble ooops Tumbell ohhhh bugger you know who he is Mr Insider!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cml78dSpVGo
careful …tumbril lurks…
The turkeys can’t spell Turnip
Robin, they eat them all on Thanksgiving.