farri

Not rambling...Explaining....I should have worded my post accordingly! Regardless of how the system works, it doesn`t work!...That should be evident, to those within the system..... Time to change it. Frank.

Identifying a problem is only the first part of the solution. The next step is applying the solution! Post#222 Turbo has said, "This is a wildfire out of control, so some serious lateral thinking is required." I agree completely. I`ve been saying for many years, and on here also, that the users, drug addicts, if you prefer, are responsible for keeping the drug trade going... There are many reasons why anyone would turn to drugs, but I think we all know that once the individual is addicted, the reasons or how they get the money to feed their addiction, no longer matters. In the program, Struggle Street, a guy who was addicted on ICE, was was stealing what ever he could to feed his addiction, he was put before the court and his father was hoping that he would be put in prison for a long enough period, that he would be cured of his addiction. Penalty....$800 good behavior bond....For starters!... Where did the Magistrate/Judge think he would get the money for the bond?...How on earth, did the court think a good behavior bond would cure his addiction...Just not good enough, if the problem is going to be addressed seriously. As far as I`m concerned, it`s time, long overdue, in fact, that users not be given a choice as to whether they stop using or not, they must be made to do whatever it takes, to stop them using...... How that should be done, is another issue. Frank.

Richard, With all due respect, I`ll tell you how I can think that....The drug trade exists because of the huge amount of money to be made. To my knowledge, the real big players have private armies to protect their interests, they wouldn`t really care about those who are executed because they would know that there will always be those who think they are smarter or luckier, than the last lot....No more to be said on that. Do you or anyone else know who the big players are in this country?.....I`m sure there are.....Who financed the drugs that were confiscated from Chan and Sukumaran?.......Surely! You don`t believe, those two would have had the money to buy them....I would say, and correct me if I`m wrong....The drugs would have been given to them and they would have got their share of money once the job was done..... Five individuals were caught for dealing, in one town I`ve lived in, (I won`t mention the town for obvious reasons), they turned out to be five of the prominent business people, in that town. Two points here Richard, You weren`t the smuggler and the drug/s were not being smuggled into Indonesia..( I`m still talking about the two executed Australians ).... That country has been executing dealers for many years, yet they have a huge drug problem, it doesn`t seem to me that execution has stopped the dealers!...... Yes!..You can say, those executed won`t do it again and I suppose if you take that attitude, there has been some difference made, so, why then, is the drug trade flourishing? Frank

David, You`ve got it!.... I won`t say, we, though, because, I and all of my family had absolutely nothing to do with it. We worked and sacrificed, very hard for many years to have the property we now own. Frances, retired from a lifetime of work, only a couple of months ago. When the indigenous people were up the road our kids were going to school....Very often, their kids were not getting fed properly, because parents were spending all their dole money on grog and other things.... They were living in terrible conditions.... There would be drunken brawls, at night so the kids weren`t getting good sleep....The school was 6 klm away....My wife, Frances was driving our kids to school, so whenever possible, she would stop and pick up those of their kids, who were able to go to school that day........An absolutely terrible situation, mostly for the kids who were the next generation, to carry the baton on, so to speak. I believe the way forward for indigenous people, is to embrace the modern world and move forward with it and that takes education. The squalor that exists in a lot of indigenous communities, is created by those living in those communities, yet, they expect the government, or others, to do something about it. There`s an old saying, " God helps those who help themselves."....There`s also the old saying,"You can lead a horse to water but you can`t make it drink."......You can`t help anyone who won`t help themselves! Frank, Ps, I don`t believe I`ve said anything racist, just the facts!

For many years, people, white and black, from all over the place, would come to the church block, for ceremonies at Easter and Christmas, there was always a lot of children and a happy atmosphere, we would hear beautiful singing, from home here. I was told, Fran and I would be welcome there, but we never seemed to get there. Originally there was a small building used as a church but it was pretty rough, so it was eventually pulled down and attempts were made to build a better church, an attempt was also made to build good toilets.... Building material would be stock piled there but no one would do the building, slowly but surely all the material would vanish and more brought in, that would would disappear... Attempts were made to try and teach indigenous kids some skills in panel beating and motor mechanical skills, vehicles were brought there, nothing ever eventuated and the vehicles simply rusted away......Eventually an indigenous pastor turned up to live on the church block and that is another, very long, complex story. If you look closely at the church block, you will see his game fishing boat moored beside it. Some of his relatives are now in control of the block. I`ve been slashing the grass with my tractor for them, free of charge, for quite a few years now and I hope they can eventually build a better church than the original! so far, there`s been work done to the shed that`s there but still no church. People still come there for ceremonies, but they put up tents. Frank. Ps, I`m just telling it how it was and is.

My point all along has been that I believe the execution, would make little or no difference, to the illegal drug trade. Last night I watched the program on SBS One, called, Struggle Street.... The drug ICE is extremely addictive and has become a huge problem, not only on struggle street, but all over the country, so much so, that our government has put adds about it on TV..... To my knowledge ICE is manufactured in this country... One woman on the program said, "The only way to make money is to be a prostitute or a drug dealer." Frank.

Gnarly, I don`t know...In the early days of the sugar industry, people ( Kanaka`s ) from various parts of world, were brought over here to work in the cane fields, some of them, never to return. This will give you some information! http://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/sugar-slaves We came on to our property ( sugar cane farm ), forty four years ago. Back then, there was a settlement, on the southern bank of the Mulgrave river, about half a kilometer or so up the road, towards the Bruce highway, called The Village. It consisted of some of the descendents of the original Kanaka`s and some indigenous Australian. They lived pretty rough but we never, ever, had any trouble with them, the biggest problem for them was the grog. As time went on their piece of land kept increasing in value, council rates wouldn`t be paid, so, slowly but surely, they were all forced to leave. The land was made into house allotments and sold off. There is still a piece of land, called, The Church Block. All the land inside the red line was the original settlement, the smaller piece is the church block. These days, there is no church. [ATTACH]47611._xfImport[/ATTACH] Frank.

http://www.dhimurru.com.au/yolngu-culture.html

I have taught my 4 grandchildren, who are of indigenous descent, on their father`s side, that if they want a better world, they have to create it themselves, because no one else will create it for them. As children their parents, took them to Little Athletics for many years and the amount of trophies they won, is truly amazing. The two boys, now twenty and twenty five years of age are into physical fitness and they go to the gym every afternoon after work. Recently the youngest went to live on the Gold Coast area for a while so that he could train as personal fitness trainer, he graduated and is now a personal trainer, he`s back home up here and at the moment is working in the banana industry, at Innisfail. The eldest has worked his way up and is now driving semi trailers, his father is a Semi driver also and they both work for the same employer in Innisfail.... Ashley, (Father) is also a qualified security guard and for about twenty years, after a hard day`s work, he would go and do security work, lot`s of times till daybreak, next day. Our daughter ( Mother) works far too much and her work days are usually fifteen hours long. The two girls are twenty and twenty six years of age. The youngest has done various lines of work and is never without work.The eldest is married, has two daughters under three years of age. With encouragement from Fran, Myself and her parents,two years ago, she opened her own fashion boutique, in Innisfail. With her husband and children, she lives in a second house here on our property at Derral. Every day she drives from home to her boutique in Innisfail. I don`t know the answers to a lot of the indigenous problems, but what I do know, is, this part indigenous family has gone a long way to solving many of the problems that could have occurred to them. When their children were not much more than babies, their father could have got more government money for staying at home than he would get going to work, he chose to work and has never been unemployed...Oh!...They also have their own home. Frank Ps, Am I proud?....You bet!!!!!

As there are in all people! As do lots of other people!... These guys, http://www.indigenous.gov.au/hope-vale-goes-bananas , have been trying to get out of poverty, but they`ve been hit by a Cyclone, two years in a row. I`ve had it with the term, Do Gooders!... I see the term being used on this forum, as form of insult!..I don`t think anyone, would suggest, leaving dangerous, violent, psychopaths, loose on the streets, but locking people up for minor offences, isn`t the answer either. We need to start by asking, " What is currently being done?" Frank. Edit, For many years, an indigenous guy, drove tractors and worked my neighbor`s cane farm, because my neighbor had to take a second job, to survive. I gave a job to this guy several times over the years and I considered him to be as good a tractor driver as anyone,I`d seen. The poor guy could hardly read or write, probably had very little or no schooling. He would be in his mid fifties now. The same neighbor, has been giving another indigenous guy work for many years, I`ve worked with the guy. Two days ago my neighbor and this guy were working near home here, so I went over to say G`Day. They were going through the cane paddock, pulling out grass and weeds, by hand. The indigenous guy is seventy one and my neighbor is eighty one.

Is it any wonder then, that so many indigenous people have issues to deal with! I watched a TV documentary recently. In the Northern Territory, indigenous people are being jailed for driving a motor vehicle, without a drivers licence. One guy in prison, said he had driven to town to get food. Some of these guys would barley be able to read or write and yet! Instead of trying to educate them so they would be able to obtain a drivers licence, the system puts them in prison and then wonders why there are so many indigenous people in prison. Ok! So it`s against the law to drive a motor vehicle onto public roads,without a drivers license! Teach these guys to drive and issue a special license for them.....Oh I see......There, isn`t the money...Who`s going to do the teaching, and on and on....Isn`t it interesting that there`s always enough money to keep them in prison. Frank.

Frank, I understand what you are saying, but I differ, in principal, on, "A criminal is a criminal" bit. A lot of indigenous kids, have big problems caused by their parents and society. I happen to believe that these kids need help, not prison. Granted,the particular kid I mentioned was out of control ( His mothers words) but I believe that to be a symptom of the problem.....of course I could be wrong, but is prison creating a better person or a more hardened criminal? Frank.

dazza, that was absolutely terrible. Our youngest daughter, is now 45 years of age. She has been married to the same man for 25 years. They have two daughters and two sons, ranging in age, from twenty to twenty six years. They have their own home. Our daughters husband is loved by everyone who knows him, he`s a hard worker and the most important thing to him, is his family, I couldn`t have wished for a better son-inlaw.Well guess what?. He`s aboriginal. When I first met him, he told me that when he was young, he would scrub himself when he was having a bath, thinking he could make himself white. I listened patently, then I said, " Don`t you ever let me hear you say that again, you be proud of who you are."...It`s made emotional, just writing this. Frank.

The exact statement at the end of the video: In 2012,13% of all Australians said they trusted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Trust: Firm belief in the integrity,ability,or character of a person or thing;confidence or reliance. The statement is, 13% of all Australians. ...Was a survey done and were All Australians asked?... I wasn`t. They trusted, Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander people. All of the people or some of the people?... which people? If we`re going to get serious about that statement, then I say it is incorrect and a nonsense, meaningless, really. Frank.

Yes Richard, just went to the end of the video, that`s correct. If 13% of people trusted, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,in 2012, then, 87% of people didn`t......I wonder who went around asking," Do you trust, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?"...Fairdinkum!!!!!!!

When I was about 8 years old,one of my best mates was an aboriginal boy. I would go to his home which consisted of a one room home built of corrugated iron with a dirt floor. I was welcomed there and I felt comfortable. A long story so I`ll try and keep it as short as possible. I play electric guitar and I run my computer through my guitar amplifier, everything sits in the same room.... Fran and I had been out and when we got back, my guitar, with a $1,500.00 unit on it was gone,everything else was still there...WE did a bit of thinking and decided it could be someone from the indigenous people who lived up the road so we went to talk to them and told them what had happened....A young kid about 7/8 years old, said, " I saw a guitar on the seat of so and so`s car"....We phoned the guy`s mother and she told us to call the police as she couldn`t handle him anymore ( he was about 17/18 years old). I really didn`t want to involve the police but based on what his mother had said, I decided to call them. The cop told me he had no chance of getting my guitar back, so that was that....Next day I decided to take one of the guys who knew the young bloke, who took the guitar and go to the guy`s house....I stayed in the car while his mate went into the house and within 10 minutes a young bloke, came out, head bowed low and stood beside my door window, I said, " Are you the guy who took my guitar?" he said, " Yes, do you want it back?" to which I replied "Yes please", he went and got it and brought it out to me. ( that`s exactly how it occurred) When I got home, I phoned the cop I`d spoken to the night before, he was amazed and asked if I would press charges, I said I wouldn`t so he proceeded to give me an ear full of how he was trying to uphold the law and just because I`d got my guitar back, I didn`t care about anyone else...I told the cop that these kids needed help not prison!... he continued to give me an ear full until I finally told him to do what he thought was the right thing to do....He went over there and had the kid in court that afternoon. To the cop it was just another thing to pin on this kid.... I later learnt he did prison time. This kid was from another town. It turned out, he was with his mother visiting some friends just up the road, he was fairly drunk, took his mothers car, drove to the end of the road and onto our property, went into one of the drains we have here, got stuck, came to the house for help, no one about, went inside, saw the guitar, took it, then went and got a couple of mates to get the car out. To me, this incident was more about the cops attitude than this young indigenous bloke, who obviously had problems, to deal with. Frank.

Richard, I`m not sure that was the suggestion!...I saw that on TV a couple of nights ago (Can`t recall the channel), the young lady was interviewed later and I think it was more to attract attention to her cause than trust, but that`s only my take on it. Frank.

A statement of fact is not a racist statement. If I said I saw a group of aboriginals, sitting in the middle of the park, drinking wine from flagons and some of them were drunk, abusing each other and harassing people walking past! Would that be a racist comment?....I don`t think so. Frank.

I believe the police are there to arrest someone and gather information for the courts, not to be judge and jury. How much more power do they need?...Regardless, of the times they have to take someone in again, that`s the job they are paid to do, if they are frustrated about it, then they need to change their attitude!....If the laws that exist arn`t sufficient, then it`s for the government to make more appropriate laws, not the police. Not long ago, I wrote a letter to the Cairns Post, about the violence that was occurring in Cairns. The letter was printed so I decided to take it one step further and send it to our local member, Curtis Pitt, asking him to look into it. Curtis Pitt, sent my letter to the Attorney General and the reply, was, " We already have laws covering that". Of course that wasn`t the whole reply but basically, that was the end of the subject. Frank.

Prosecutors have agreed not to seek the death penalty after the Australian government said it could not deport Watson back to the US if he faced possible execution. Gabe Watson, was in Australia, Chan and Sukumaran were in Indonesia! Frank.

No doubt you,Phil....Great! Frank.

How many moves have you mastered? Frank.

Legal challenge to death penalty in the United States 05/05/2015 Capital punishment is still legal in 32 American states, but the death penalty in the United States is facing its most high profile test in decades. Three death row inmates in Oklahoma are challenging new experimental drugs used in lethal injections, after several botched executions. North America Corresponder Lisa Millar reports for Lateline. EMMA ALBERICI: But in many cases, it isn't innocent people being put to death, is it? DIANN RUST-TIERNEY: You know, more often than not. We have had 150 or more people released from death row because of innocence. In the last several weeks we've had people who spent 30 years on death row and these stories are absolutely riveting and so the public is concerned. So we're seeing a sharp decline in support for the death penalty, but also an increase in opposition. And that's where our organisation comes in. We want to give people the tools here to tell their friends, their neighbours, the policymakers, about their opposition to the death penalty and the fact that there are things that we can do that will really address the problem of crime and violence and not the death penalty. Frank.

One of these? [ATTACH]47595._xfImport[/ATTACH]

What are you driving? I`ll have one of those! Frank.