| Submit your comments on this article |
| Down Under |
| More Details as Australians Try to Quell Racial Violence |
| 2005-12-14 |
| Edited for new details The rioting began Sunday on Cronulla Beach ...Carloads of young Arab men then struck back in several Sydney suburbs Sunday and Monday nights, fighting with police and smashing the windows of stores, homes and parked cars. Nearly 40 people were injured and 27 arrested in the melees, police said. Racial tensions in Australia have been rising in recent years, largely because of...the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and deadly bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, in October 2002. They also were heightened by a gang rape case in 2002 in which prosecutors and witnesses said members of a Lebanese gang hurled racial abuse at their rape victims, all of whom were white. The ringleader, Bilal Skaf, was sentenced to 55 years, an unusually severe sentence for the country. Consistent with the stories now coming out of many other white Australian girls similarly raped, then threatened with worse if they told. In an attempt to keep the peace, lawmakers in New South Wales, where Sydney is located, will meet Thursday to pass laws giving officers tough new powers to crack down on rioters, including ordering bars to shut and erecting roadblocks to effectively seal off suburbs. State leader Morris Iemma said he would urge lawmakers to pass legislation increasing prison sentences for riot offenses. He also said police would be given special "lockdown" powers to stop convoys from forming and driving into communities to carry out acts of retribution. Iemma said the rioters had "effectively declared war on our society and we won't be found wanting in our response." On Monday, police said they discovered weapons including firebombs and rocks on the roofs of some houses in the beachside suburb of Maroubra. Who exactly lives in those houses, pray tell? Some of those arrested were armed with machetes and baseball bats. In the 2001 census, nearly a quarter of Australia's 20 million people said they were born overseas. The country has about 300,000 Muslims, most in lower income suburbs of large cities. Sydney also has a large community of Lebanese who mostly live in a cluster of lower-income neighborhoods close to the city's Olympic sports complex. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #27 And those guys still backed down? What a bunch of poosies. Hello? They were theater people. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-12-14 20:46 |
| #26 Iemma said the rioters had "effectively declared war on our society and we won't be found wanting in our response." Nice to see someone with their brain screwed on straight. The French ought to be taking copious notes about now. Note how the headline is talking about "Racial Violence." Isn't it time to clarify that this unrest is more due to religious differences and not racism? I know, I know, wishful thinking. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-12-14 17:00 |
| #25 No threats of violence, again AFAICR, just a lot of harumphing and demands for "input". And those guys still backed down? What a bunch of poosies. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-12-14 16:46 |
| #24 Australia, for all its size, is very constrained with regard to water and other resources. That's something of a greenie myth. All Australian State capitals are wetter than Western European capitals (London, Paris), with the possible exception of Adelaide. Population densities are much lower and there is far more land available for water catchment. So there is far more water available per person here than say in the UK. OTOH we use far use far more water per capita. Not least cos its cheap. The infrastructure was paid off years ago. But to build major new dams would cost big bucks and send the greenies into a spin, so the pollies don't and peddle water shortage, drought, conservation, etc. when the real issue is infrastructure hasn't kept up with increased demand, plus greenie inspired nonsense about not cutting brush in water catchments has cut river flows by as much as a half. In addition there is abundant water in the North. I've flown over the Fitzroy River in the wet season. It's several kilometers wide. Because its never been channeled the way pretty much every other river has, I've read that at the height of the 'Wet' it's the second largest river in the world after the Amazon (although not of course on an annual flow basis). At the last state election, the Liberals stood on a platform of building a canal to channel water from the Fitzroy to Perth. They got pilloried by the media because of the $10 billion price tag, and the real benefit that 2,000 kilometers of coastline would be opened up to development was never mentioned. Sorry, pet peeve of mine. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-12-14 16:42 |
| #23 I can't imagine Cincinnati developing a serious Islamist problem, given the atmosphere... ;-) Playhouse in the Park canceled a play it was staging -- an original production -- because Islamists complained. It was about two teenage girls, an Israeli and a Palestinian, and the complaints, AFAICR, was that the Palestinian girl was portrayed as what we would consider a normal teenage girl. No threats of violence, again AFAICR, just a lot of harumphing and demands for "input". |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-12-14 14:38 |
| #22 simple, tw. If you arrest any of these Musslim "youths" for threatening behavior you are not being politically correct. Besides, if you try to make them behave they start blowing things up. after all, they are "downtrodden and marginalized". |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-12-14 13:39 |
| #21 It's ok, Robert, they are P&G people, and live in (the suburb of) Blue Ash. 14KHudy, while Hudepohl may have gone the way of all flesh, you may be comforted to know that the first branch of Munich's Hofbrauhaus opened last year just across the river in Newport, Kentucky. From what I hear it's doing well, although, given the character of Cincinnatians, there are considerably fewer people throwing up in corners than in the original. Fits in nicely with the annual Oktoberfest, too. I can't imagine Cincinnati developing a serious Islamist problem, given the atmosphere... ;-) Of course, I'm having no little problem understanding how the those lovely Muslim youths got away with terrorizing Australian beaches for so long. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-12-14 13:19 |
| #20 Lots of predictions that there would be rioting in California over the execution of Tookie (founder of the Crips gang) but its been a day and half and so far nothing. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2005-12-14 12:27 |
| #19 Met Waite Hoyt in 1961 at Yankee Stadium in the second game of the World Series. I was 11 years old and got tickets from a friend's father who couldn't go himself but was impressed because I always stood up when he came in the room (good manners finally paid off). So, 10 years old, with my right arm in a cast up to the shoulder I decided to wander all over Yankee Stadium alone. Can you imagine a parent letting their child do that today? I asked for directions to the press box, when I got there asked to see Waite Hoyt, somebody pointed him out and I went over and inttroduced myself. He couldn't have been nicer, spoke to me for a couple of minutes, introduced the home town kid to I don't know whom else in the press box, and told me it was time to get back to my seat. Probably just an event he may have chuckled over on the way home, but a memory I'll recall in my last moments of life, especially because it was the only game the Redlegs won in that Series. What a guy. |
| Posted by: Wheger Omoper3912 2005-12-14 11:45 |
| #18 14K I had many yummy ice cream cones at Graters. My family was a Skyline Chili family. And all I remember was ugly old Riverfront Stadium. But Cincinnati still has a hold on my heart... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-12-14 11:28 |
| #17 Sorry, that isn't Wretchard, it's Robert Spencer at JihadWatch. Good commentary on the article at that link. |
| Posted by: BH 2005-12-14 11:16 |
| #16 Its hard to imagine gangs of youths in the USA going to another suburb and trashing cars and violently assaulting people. Wretchard links to an article at FrontPage about a Pentagon briefing which says, "the U.S. has not suffered from scattered insurgent attacks [...] in large part because it has a relatively small Muslim population. But that could change as the Muslim minority grows and gains more influence." It goes on to identify three attack strategies used by jihadis. RTWT. |
| Posted by: BH 2005-12-14 11:14 |
| #15 And now you don't even have Hudepohl anymore but you still have Empress Chili and Graters ice cream. Haven't seen an Empress in ages (lots of Gold Stars and Skylines, though), and the Graeter's downtown is closing. Going to lunch at LaRosas, and we have to drive twenty minutes to get to one. Downtown Cincinnati is a ghost town. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-12-14 10:58 |
| #14 Seafarious: You have to be in your late 30's if you remember Kings Island but not Coney Island! Did you ever hear of Crosley Field? How about Waite Hoyt and his sponsor Burger beer? Back in the good old days, WCKY or WKRC radio were the most listened to in the south since the Reds were the closest team the south had. People in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama as well as West "by-God" Virginia would take long weekends to come to Cincinnati for the games. And now you don't even have Hudepohl anymore but you still have Empress Chili and Graters ice cream. Yum, yum. |
| Posted by: 14KHudy 2005-12-14 10:54 |
| #13 BTW,Its hard to imagine gangs of youths in the USA going to another suburb and trashing cars and violently assaulting people. I can imagine that happening, but there would have to be a very, very, VERY, VERY good reason for it. Sydney also has a large community of Lebanese who mostly live in a cluster of lower-income neighborhoods close to the city's Olympic sports complex. Strange, but the area around Homebush didn't look all that low-income to me. Of course, this view was while shuttling around on CityRail, so the more seedier parts might have been a little less visible from the tracks... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-12-14 10:23 |
| #12 In the 2001 census, nearly a quarter of Australia's 20 million people said they were born overseas And probably higher now, in terms of born overseas + 1st generation. If they assimilate it's one thing, if not .... add in the fact that Australia, for all its size, is very constrained with regard to water and other resources. Population growth has been a problem for the Aussies lately even without cultural and religious tensions. Add those in and things may get nasty quickly. Had a lovely long chat with an Aussie couple while on the way to an airport last summer. He was a jazz? blues? something-like-that musician and they were making their way home after attending a conference and festival and then travelling a bit on a tight budget. Not their first time in the US, but they did this one in part via Trailways busses through the midwest. Had some interesting things to say about both countries ... but did mention the issue of water and people as a looming problem, given that many of the sheep stations and other ranches/farms are being droughted out of business. |
| Posted by: lotp 2005-12-14 09:53 |
| #11 Now to steer the thread completely off topic, I was born in Cincy. Many fond memories of the Zoo and King's Island. I even wrote a report about the Tyler-Davidson Fountain for my 4th grade Civics class. (Back then, we were actually taught civics.) I haven't been back in way, way too long. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-12-14 09:51 |
| #10 LOL! Big Jim -- do you work downtown? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-12-14 09:45 |
| #9 That settles it, Cincy is a two party town. |
| Posted by: Omutch Crimble7381 2005-12-14 09:39 |
| #8 trailing wife, I think you might be right on spot. We had a few riots a several years ago in Cinti, but all they really did is tear up their own neighborhood and get their own heads busted by the police. You can only pull shit like this in certain cities. Cities that have been taken over by liberal placaters. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-12-14 09:36 |
| #7 Sadly, TW, your friends chose the wrong city. Now, the suburbs are still safe, but the city of Cincinnati, well, most people I know have written it off. The city politicians have decided to model their policies on Detroit, as far as I can tell. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-12-14 08:05 |
| #6 TW: I think they call it white flight. Most major metro cities have or are experiencing it. An international example is Zim and SA. Must be something genetic, who knows. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-12-14 07:59 |
| #5 phil b, I have friends who moved from Los Angeles to Cincinnati for exactly that reason in the late 1980s. They had lived in a posh L.A. neighborhood, but nowhere was safe from car-driving, roving gangbangers. I'm not aware pf such things here in Cincinnati, but then I wouldn't be -- perhaps some other Rantburgers have knowledge of the threat of gang violence outside the inner cities? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-12-14 07:37 |
| #4 Tim Blair, the most prominent Australian blogger, initially had a fairly PC reaction to this. After many hundreds of comments at his site he has come around to the view that this is blowback from years of lack of law enforcement and weak law enforcement to crimes committed by certain ethnic minorities. The unfortunate consequence is now, not only do the Lebanese treat the police with contempt, but large numbers of 'white' Australians do as well. BTW,Its hard to imagine gangs of youths in the USA going to another suburb and trashing cars and violently assaulting people. The risk of getting shot would be too high. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-12-14 07:31 |
| #3 Iemma said the rioters had "effectively declared war on our society and we won't be found wanting in our response." Actually, you are found wanting. You disarmed your own citizenry a few years back. Bad move. |
| Posted by: Glaising Fleretch2781 2005-12-14 07:10 |
| #2 Tim Blair Blog, HT phil-b http://tinyurl.com/bstoh Funny how the Cronulla incident is said by some to damage Australia’s image, while the participation of an Australian (now also British) citizen in a training group of murdering, illegal scumbags is not. Still waiting for Hicks senior (or junior) to apologise for the shame they have brought on Australia. Posted by blogstrop on 12/13 at 05:41 PM • permalink ********************************** neoleftychick said... antony Clearly you have never been to the western suburbs of Sydney. The gangs of Lebanese males have terrorised Sydney-siders, particularly women for 20 years. I have beena victim of their awful intimidation myself. Fortunately, I can run, unlike so many of the poor "skippy sluts" who were served a "meal" of "Lebo cock." You need to get your head out of tawdry Palestinian propoganda sites and live in the real world. Is John Howard also responsible for the abominable antics of Islamic males in Thailand, Indonesia, India, China, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and on and on and on? You have no idea how offensive your rants are to an Australian woman. If you yourself were a Muslim male I could maybe understand it (though not excuse); but as you are a white Australian, I am just dumbfounded. Tuesday, December 13, 2005 8:26:19 PM ***************************************** NSW Copper’s perspective on the whole sad sorry saga of the ongoing cultural conflict in Sydney, the open letter from an anonymous Sydney police officer in today’s Daily Telegraph: More, Daily Telegraph I should know, I’ve been a NSW Copper for 13 years, and I’ve had plenty of run-ins with Leb gangsters and drug dealers. Back then they were scared of the cops, because we were allowed to go hard and had the backing of our superiors. Ever since the Wood Royal Commission everything has gone downhill. The current crop of police management posses little operational experience, and get around with their heads up their arses. They regard operational police with contempt and disdain. The same goes for most of the judiciary, and for that matter, the media. Cop hating has become an artform, and now society is paying the cost. Experienced operational police are leaving the job at a rate of knots. Policing in this state has become a disgrace. Bring back the biff. Posted by EliotNess on 12/13 at 08:49 PM • permalink |
| Posted by: Red Dog 2005-12-14 04:55 |
| #1 Racial tensions in Australia have been rising in recent years, largely because of...the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and deadly bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, in October 2002. The tensions with Lebanese have largely been rising in recent years because of a prolonged low-level violent crime wave against White Australians by some 'youths' They also were heightened by a gang rape case in 2002 in which prosecutors and witnesses said members of a Lebanese gang hurled racial abuse at their rape victims, all of whom were white. I'm not aware of any 'witnesses' at the gang rapes, only the perpetrators and the victims, the latter of whom reported the rascist comments. Who exactly lives in those houses, pray tell? Mostly working class Whites |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2005-12-14 02:02 |