02 April 2016

Outrage As University Teaches History Correctly


By The Backburner 

30 Mar 2016 - 10:56 AM  UPDATED 30 Mar 2016 - 10:56 AM
 
The University Of New South Wales is under fire this morning after satirical newspaper The Daily Telegraph revealed the university had been accurately teaching the nation’s history instead of manipulating it to spare white people’s feelings.

The controversy erupted over the University guidelines claiming that students should refer to Captain Cook’s arrival in Australia as an ‘invasion’ on the razor-thin reasoning that it was an accurate description of the thing that happened.

The public are up in arms over the vocabulary recommendations, suggesting that it teaches a ‘black armband, factually correct’ version of history and should not be taught in an institution of learning.

“This is outrageous,” said one complainant. “We do not want our universities to be full of accurate information. These are places of learning, not places to receive an education. If I wanted to know about Australia’s murky history I would do what I always do: go into the backyard and bury my head in the sand until the desire to face up to our troubled past leaves me.

“It’s strange, you know. It seems like I’m usually on the other side of issues like this. You know, I just kind of seem like the person who would endlessly rally against the notion of safe spaces and demand that you face confronting ideas in university even if you don’t like them - but for this matter i’ve completely changed my beliefs for no other reason than it makes me feel uncomfortable and even a little icky to have to acknowledge a history of racism in this nation.

“It’s just that ‘invades’ is such a nasty word. I mean, sure, it describes the thing that happened but is that any reason to use it? Why can’t we say ‘he was invited’ or ‘it was a fun picnic where all races lived in harmony’? Look, it may not be at all what happened and it absolutely negates years of violence and oppression but it would really help me feel a little bit better about everything.

“I just think it’s harmful for the reconciliation process to actually acknowledge the horrendous events of our past. That won’t help at all. That will just fill me with depression - or worse, understanding. What would be much better is if we all just pretend like Australia started today and has no history whatsoever and we can all just get along because I’ve said it’s fine now. That’s how it works, right? Did I just fix this problem?”



The Backburner is Australia's most trusted news source, it is quite obviously satire and shouldn't be taken seriously or before operating heavy machinery.
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sbs.com.au 30 Mar 2016

Federal Court corruption - Bob Jane witch hunt

It's not until you go to 'court' (read a place of business, trading and commerce) fighting your unlawful fine from the RMS (Roads and Maritime Services), Traffic Camera Office or a parking fine from your 'local council' with the correct paperwork and a comprehension on what is called 'law' in this country is when you will realise the corruption and fraud by those in office or in positions of 'power'.

You will note that ALL courtroom procedures (edit: in Victoria) are recorded, and available at your request on a compact disc to you (most often for a fee) or given to an official service provider to be accurately transcribed.

It's not until you are in a position to prove the courtroom 'shenanigans' regarding what the general populace perceive as 'law' is when your court recordings go missing.

We have obtained dozens of reports of cases where the recordings of the matters was allegedly never made, or video evidence that incriminates the 'authorities' was lost or deleted, where the people before the courts expose the corruption fraud and deception associated with law in this country.

In the highly publicised matter between Mr.Robert (Bob) Jane and his son, from a previous marriage, Rodney Jane the matter seems to have turned against Bob, in the Federal Court (in Victoria) in what seems to be a 'corrupt' (proper term 'err' in law) decision.

AS reported, court orders allegedly state that Bob Jane is not permitted to use his name to sell tyres.

Note the operative words to sell tyres.

Mr. Robert (Bob) Jane opened up a business called BOB JANE INTEGRITY INSURANCE LIMITED (ACN:608143764)  on 9.11.2015, selling a product called insurance.

Now for the record, or in case one has been in a coma since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution,  selling insurance and selling tyres are business that are worlds apart.

Therefore ANY claims the Bob Jane is in breach and/or in contempt of  court have no basis in law and are vexatious and should have not been allowed to proceed.

The person that allowed the papers to be filed in court should be sued and not Bob Jane.

The court 'orders' in this case are a farce.

See original article from the Herald Sun publication from the 31st of Mar 2016 of the headline:

Tyre King Bob Jane admitted to hospital amid ongoing legal battles


Bob Jane at County Court Melbourne Monday 8th December 2014. Picture:Andrew Batsch
EXCLUSIVE: TYRE King Bob Jane has spent almost a week in hospital amid concerns years of legal battles have affected his health.

The 86-year-old was admitted to hospital last week following a health scare linked to a blood disorder.

He spent five nights under observation before being discharged on Tuesday in time for his latest court showdown with estranged son Rodney.

Sources close to Bob Jane say the ongoing feuds with Rodney are now impacting his health.

Rodney, who now owns the Bob Jane T-Mart empire, wants the Federal Court to find his famous dad in contempt after he launched an insurance company.

Rodney Jane leaves Court in Melbourne after winning against his dad, Bob Jane in a lawsuit.
It is alleged the company, that launched as Bob Jane Integrity Insurance, breached a court order that banned Bob Jane using his name to sell tyres.

The company has now changed its name to Integrity Insurance Australia.

Rodney Jane has previously suggested his dad should be jailed for continuing to ignore court orders.

The pair fell out after Rodney took over the T-Mart business and Bob accused him of swiping the firm he ran for 40 years and sending him broke.

The two have been locked in bitter legal battles since 2011. Bob Jane says he has lost almost all a $100 million empire.

Bob Jane leaves Court in Melbourne after losing his lawsuit against his son, Rodney.
In November 2013, the Federal Court banned him from using his name to sell tyres after Rodney argued his trademark was being infringed.

Bob Jane was ordered to change the name of companies including Bob Jane Global and Jane Tyres.

After failing to he was found in “wilful and contumacious breach” of Federal Court orders and fined $100,000-plus.

He was later fined for failing to pay the original contempt fines.

The Janes were set to face off in the Federal Court today but the matter was adjourned because of Bob Jane’s health.

Sources have told the Herald Sun Bob Jane is recovering well.

01 April 2016

Penal Colony Law - Collection of firewood from public land illegal

What many people may find hard to comprehend is that you don't have to live your life behind bars in a penal colony.

The general populous may not be aware that from the 'colonisation' of Australia since 1788, for 40 years there was a law instilled called Martial Law.

If you know your 'law': 
What Act ceased the state of Martial Law? 
Please put your answer in the comments section of this post.

What many may perceive as 'law' is actually a private contract with a corporate entity (or corporation conglomerate), without full disclosure  being presented before you therefore realistically fraudulent and deceptive conduct against your 'person'.

The penal colony laws are alive and well today and are indicative not of a country of democratic rule or of 'freemen' but rather serfs and corporate salves.

This is just one example of how penal law rules apply to the peasants, from the Herald Sun article from 30 March 2016 of the title:

Big shiver tipped after clampdown on wood collection

Cosy living: Joyce Birch, 87, stokes the wood stove in the kitchen of her family home near Red Cliffs. Picture: Glenn Milne.
THOUSANDS of Victorians will be banned from collecting firewood from public land this year.

Community leaders fear elderly people using wood for heating and cooking are most vulnerable to the bans across northern Victoria.

For the first time since European settlement, public reserves and parks from Mildura to Shepparton will be closed to firewood gathering from this winter, with all public land wood collecting to end in northern Victoria within five years. The state firewood industry expects bans will apply across Victoria within a decade.

“We will have old people shivering to death if we’re not careful,” Moira Shire mayor and Murray Group of Councils chair, Gary Cleveland, said.

“Wood has always been available as a cheap energy source and in some of our towns we believe more than half the households use wood,” he said.

Campers who traditionally collect free wood opportunistically for their holiday fires may need to buy wood commercially before they enter parks.

28 March 2016

Homophobia in sport - corporate media lies?

Could anyone accuse the Murdoch media empire of being one sided?

Could they be accused of falsifying actual events to further a political agenda?

Why,

none dare call it conspiracy.

Let's have a look at an article from the publishers of the Herald Sun newspaper of the 18th of February 2016.




Now, lets look a some definitions of words before we continue with the article.

The term phobia means - an extreme or irrational fear of or aversions to something.

In short, in common terms a fear of spiders is called arachnophobia.

By the same token a fear of homosexuals is called homophobia.

In the above pictured illustration, the Herald Sun claims players push against a 'fear' of homosexuals in sport.

We've obtained information from various sources within the realm of the AFL, and to our surprise not one person was afraid of homosexuals.

Many people, who declined to have their names published stated that homosexuality is against their religious beliefs, in total contrast to being afraid.

In the Abrahamic religions homosexuality is frowned upon, and in Islamic nations it is also illegal, as this goes against the religious beliefs.

How dare anyone force or shove homosexuality down one's throat if it is against their religion.

22 March 2016

State government gives NSW police right to ban people from public places

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has announced new laws targeting organised crime gangs. NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has announced new laws targeting organised crime gangs. 

Photo: Dallas Kilponen
 
Police will be able to ban people from public places and events without a judge's approval as part of a raft of anti-organised crime legislation proposed by the state government.

A bill unveiled by the state government on Tuesday aims to "cripple" organised crime groups by clamping down on their movements, associations and business dealings.

But critics warn the laws could lead to an overreach of police powers.

Deputy Premier and Justice Minister Troy Grant says the changes will make it "quicker and easier" for law enforcement to ...
Deputy Premier and Justice Minister Troy Grant says the changes will make it "quicker and easier" for law enforcement to take action against gangs, including "bikies". Photo: Dallas Kilponen
 
Under the legislation police will be able to apply to judges for "crime prevention orders" that would stop people involved in serious criminal activity from activities such as using a phone or a computer.


The legislation would introduce "public safety orders" which will give senior police officers the power to ban a person deemed a risk to public safety from a public place or event for 72 hours, a right usually reserved for judges. Breaches of the orders will carry a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.

Deputy Premier and Justice Minister Troy Grant said the changes will make it "quicker and easier" for law enforcement to take action against gangs, including "bikies".

"My concern is in relation to the public safety, and not in relation to the sensibility of civil libertarians," Mr Grant said. "[This is a] significant step forward".

The bill introduces other measures including stricter penalties for laundering money or property, with increased sentences of between three and five years in prison if the crime is below or above $100,000. The current sentence is two years in prison.

Substitution orders would force criminals who use someone else's property to commit their crime, such as a car, to pay for damages to that property out of their own pocket.

NSW Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham said the Greens were concerned that increased police powers may focus on legitimate activities.

"The Greens are very concerned Public Safety Orders can be easily misused by police to stop certain people from attending or taking part in protest activity, such as against coal seam gas or coal mining," Mr Buckingham told Fairfax Media.

The bill comes a week after controversial anti-mining protest laws were passed, putting some protesters at risk of massive fines and seven years' imprisonment for "interfering" with equipment on a mine site. Fines for trespassing were also increased significantly.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the legislation would enhance police powers to fight organised crime.

"The reality of this legislation means we'll be able to be flexible, we'll be able to be nimble in the way we go about those organised crime groups we target and we continue to target today," he said on Tuesday.

Last year Premier Mike Baird introduced similar legislation which allowed police officers, with the aid of the courts, to forbid people from "attending places they may commit a crime".

The NSW Police Association supported the announcement, saying gangs had a devastating impact on individuals, families, businesses and local communities.

"They are deceitful and unscrupulous in their pursuit of money, power or personal gratification through the harm of others – through dealing in drugs, money laundering, aggression and violence," President Scott Weber said.

"Hitting them where it hurts, namely their hip pocket means police can maximise opportunities to restrict and target serious crime. Taking away the assets of criminals also takes away their sense of power."

smh.com.au 22 Mar 2016
 
More 'Martial Law' type laws implemented on this penal colony, under a very plausible excuse.
 
As the rights of the masses erode, the people are too busy being addicted to watching reality television, right where the authorities want them to be.
 
Corrupt police WILL overuse their newly (unlawfully) given powers.

Scientists use maths to hunt for identity of elusive Banksy

A new artwork by Banksy opposite the French Embassy in London.


Staff writer and AP, News Corp Australia Network
 

 ELUSIVE street artist Banksy may have been unmasked — by mathematics. 

Scientists have applied a type of modelling used to track down criminals and map disease outbreaks to identify the graffiti artist, whose real name has never been confirmed.

The technique, known as geographic profiling, is used by police forces to narrow down lists of suspects by calculating from multiple crime sites where the offender most likely lives.

The researchers used the location of 140 Banksy artworks in London and Bristol, western England.

Writing in the Journal of Spatial Science, they said the artworks “are associated with sites linked to one prominent candidate” — Robin Gunningham, previously named in media reports as Banksy.

A spray paint work by Banksy is adjusted at Bonhams auction house in London.
A spray paint work by Banksy is adjusted at Bonhams auction house in London.Source:AP

They said the study is not conclusive but “does provide some support for the theory that he is Banksy.”


Banksy’s spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment yesterday.

The artist’s satirical stencils — rats, kissing policemen, riot police with yellow smiley faces — first appeared on walls in Bristol before spreading to London and then around the world.

His works have fetched as much as $1.8 million at auction.

The researchers say their art-sleuthing “demonstrates the flexibility of geographic profiling.” Lead writer Steven Le Comber, a mathematical biologist at Queen Mary University of London, said the technique had uses beyond criminology, such as working out where epidemics start.

Banksy’s Rat Stencil 2002.Banksy’s Rat Stencil 2002. 
Source: Supplied

He said that during a malaria outbreak in Cairo, “we found that if we used the addresses of people with malaria we could find the mosquitoes that were spreading the disease very easily.” Le Comber said the Banksy hunt suggested geographic profiling could even be used to track down terrorists before they commit an attack.

“Some terrorists will engage in graffiti, banner-posting and leafleting to establish their credibility,” Le Comber said.

A new mural by Bansky, which highlights the use of tear gas by French police against migrants, was quickly covered over in January after it appeared on a building opposite the French embassy in London.

The mural features the character Cosette from French author Victor Hugo’s classic novel Les Miserables, holding a French flag and crying as tear gas billows out of a canister below her.

news.com.au 5 Mar 2016

This technology is not only used to hunt for the illusive Banksy...

21 March 2016

The store nerds who know everything about you


From supermarket aisle to mind bank.
 
A TRIP to the store isn’t the simple exercise it used to be. Every aisle layout, product placement and promotion has been pored over and meticulously arranged with you in mind. 

The retail nerds have been analysing your brain and they know more about you than ever before — whether you’re rich or poor, single or married, pregnant or a parent and even where you went to school.

“The more advanced companies in Australia are really stepping up in the neuromarketing and neuroscience area,” retail doctor Brian Walker told news.com.au.

“They’re learning about the human brain and neurotransmitters. Classically, it’s been about product push, but the latest trends around consumer pull, and drawing you to a product with subconscious cues.”

On the front end, there’s the store layout, design and look — all now influenced by your needs and desires.

Behind the scenes, say the experts, there’s some heavy number-crunching going on, with scientists mining historical data and interpreting patterns.
Retailers are targeting women from their second trimester all the way through the baby’s childhood. Picture: Bradley Hunter
Retailers are targeting women from their second trimester all the way through the baby’s childhood. Picture: Bradley HunterSource:News Corp Australia

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING

In 2012, Target in the US made headlines when it worked out that a teenager was pregnant before she had told her father, who turned up at the store to complain that they had sent baby-related ads to her in the mail.

He was forced to apologise after it emerged that the retailer’s analytics had simply recognised the signs before him. Those clues might include purchases of vitamin supplements, maternity clothing, large quantities of lotion and hand sanitisers, a store statistician told the New York Times.

What a shop knows about your pregnancy, and your life, is quite terrifying. After learning your preferences through direct mail, purchasing patterns, surveys, social media and loyalty cards, they will entice you into the store and direct your behaviour.

“It’s down to the level of product location,” said Mr Walker. “Products are strategically placed alongside related adjacent products. As your pregnancy advances, the products that are most relevant are placed more strategically, so you don’t have to bend over, for example.

“Your purchases can tell them when your baby will be born, then there’s a whole campaign towards the baby and the cycle continues.

“If you’re of a certain age and profession, they might introduce men’s shirts.

“It’s all about data, understanding consumer behaviour at a greater level than before. And then piling and segmenting that data to move it to the power of one.”

It’s all about eye line, placing related products side-by-side and predicting what you want before you know it. Picture: Tara Croser.It’s all about eye line, placing related products side-by-side and predicting what you want before you know it. Picture: Tara Croser.Source:News Corp Australia

BRAVE NEW WORLD
On the one hand, many would argue that this deep understanding of us as individuals is a good thing. It means we only receive tailored adverts and promotions for products we’re really interested in.

But Mr Walker admits it sounds “a bit Brave New World” and “has implications for our privacy.”

“That’s the role of regulators, to regulate privacy — or try to,” he said. “It’s a double-edged sword.
“It’s efficient. As long as the consumer stays in control, I think it’s OK.”

Can we remain in control if our subconscious is being targeted? It’s getting increasingly difficult. Right now, we face an onslaught on all sides by sophisticated marketers working with big data and trying to pick our brains.

A few years ago, we learned that Google ad settings knew our age, sex and interests. Sign into your personal account and take a look at who it thinks you are here. We found out that eBay is predicting what we want to buy, based on trends and major events such as the World Cup and Olympics, for example, when flatscreen TV purchases spike.

As for social networking sites like Facebook, thanks to your likes, clicks and shares, they “know you better than you know yourself,” from whether you’re depressed or your relationship is in trouble to whether you’re a hard-worker or a bad credit risk.

What’s more, they’re all sharing the data with each other.

Four years ago, the NYT said the main challenge for retailers now was camouflaging what they were doing so it wasn’t obvious they were tracking everything about you. Since then, the discussion has gone very quiet.

When news.com.au sought comment from big retailers for this story, we received an immediate “no” from Woolworths and Kmart and silence from Target and Coles.
It’s all a little spooky.

news.com.au 20 Mar 2016
 

Every time the peasants by something on plastic, add the purchase to their 'frequent flyers' or some other 'reward' points they are giving away valuable information which is used to profile and enslave even further.

But that's what the general populous really is ... just corporate slaves, right?

17 March 2016

Mastercard - tax ought to be paid by the peasants

The view of corporations that the 'peasants' should be paying tax and not them?

A "conspiracy theory" maybe?

Let the actions that are enshrined in the form of tax returns speak for themselves, as there is no tick box for:

  • Let the peasants pay for this tax bill!

People do have a choice not to use the credit card system, in most circumstances, and as the saying goes it's up to them to vote with their wallets.

The ATO (Australian Tax Office) can go after these companies, but instead preys on easy targets whilst carry out their 'blitz'.

Every time you use a credit card you are promoting your own slavery.

See video: The SECRET history of the Credit Card:

http://www.pbs.org/video/1340904268/


From the article on 29 Feb 2016 by smh.com.au of the title:

 Card giant MasterCard lowers local tax bill

MasterCard lowers its local tax bills through deals with Singapore's government.
MasterCard lowers its local tax bills through deals with Singapore's government. Photo: Jim Rice
 
The wonderful thing about investigating multinational tax avoidance is that, despite the corporate spin and obfuscation, there is a hard number that you can always hang your hat on.

No matter the highfalutin excuses from slick PR types and the rhetoricians of the corporate tax lobby for why such paltry tax is paid; no matter the illimitable complexity of tax laws and financial engineering, this precious number displays how much tax has been paid to the Australian Tax Office each year – cash.

It can be found in the cash-flow statement of a company's annual financial statements – unless the company has a special exemption from the regulator from having to disclose. Or unless the name of the company is Westfield Corporation, which bizarrely counterveils accounting standards by grouping income tax with withholding tax. And it can be found about six lines down from "operating cash-flow", and it usually says "tax paid".

So it is that once you have trawled the database, stumbled upon the relevant entity and paid ASIC the requisite fees, you will find, for instance, that global credit card giant MasterCard last paid $4.3 million in tax to the Tax Office. That was for the year to December 2014. This is lower than the year before, when it somehow got $429,650 back from the taxman, which is nice work if you can get it.
The year before this, in 2012, MasterCard managed to claw back $3.4 million from the Tax Office. During the past three years then, this world-wide colossus has parted with a lazy half a million dollars in tax.
To be fair, let's take it back another three years. From 2009 through 2011, MasterCard paid $33 million in corporate income tax. Three points can be made here:
  • One, this is in accordance with the trend among multinational companies operating in Australia to pay increasingly less tax in recent years; to increasingly view tax as an optional thing that ought to be paid by the peasants.
  • Two, MasterCard is still a damn sight better than rival card giant American Express, whose Australian entity paid no net tax in seven years (it, too, used to pay more tax before that). Versus the ATO, Amex even ended up $3.3 million in the black over seven years.
  • Three, MasterCard's income, that is income deriving from Australians and earned on transactions in Australia – as is the case with a host of multinationals – wends its way via "service agreements" to funding hospitals, roads and schools in Singapore.
The accounts of MasterCard show that almost all revenue is from related parties, mostly, it seems, from the parent company,  MasterCard Singapore Holding Pte Ltd. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that  MasterCard, like Google, simply rips its Australian income straight out to Singapore and then pays a bit back via service fees to feign the raiments of civic respectability.

Indeed, the "principal activities" in the consolidated accounts of the head Australian entity are described as "providing services to its holding corporation and related corporations and investing holding" (sic).

No it's not about delivering card services. Conveniently, for tax, it's about providing services to an overseas related party.

Further, the accounts are of the bush-league, cut-down, "Special Purpose" variety – rather than General Purpose – as  MasterCard must reckon there are no other users of its financial statements than its parent. Well, there is a user right here, and like most multinational accounts, we reckon they are not up to scratch.

It is also fair to point out that tax is paid not on revenues but on taxable profit. The likes of  MasterCard, Google, eBay, Uber and others, however, don't even recognise Australian revenue to their Australian entities. They rate this as revenue to some overseas entity, whether generated in Australia or not.

That's one way to wipe out your tax obligation. The more traditional way is simply to get taxable income as low as possible by setting up payments – royalties, dividends or interest – to related parties in lower-tax jurisdictions.

This is the way Big Pharma does it, also the car makers, and American Express too. While paying no net tax, the latter has booked almost $8 billion in revenues from Australian customers since 2008. Of that total, $3.6 billion came from merchant fees and $2 billion from interest income on credit cards.

These numbers make the  MasterCard accounts appear quite suspicious, as Visa and  MasterCard would appear to have a larger slice of the card market than Amex. Yet  MasterCard's total revenue was only $84 million in 2014 – a fraction of Amex's and lower than it was six years ago (at $109 million) – and its operating cash-flow only $83 million. PwC would know more, it audits both.

We'll take a look at Visa soon to establish whether the multinationals who dominate Australia's credit card issuance pay collectively much in the way of income tax at all, or whether they are here to whack all their tax liabilities on the taxpayer card.

16 March 2016

The Australian people are tax slaves to the corporate elite

On this island/continent that was colonised under the banner of the English as an "economic project" (an oops moment by Tony Abbott) the wardens lawmakers have created tax loopholes for their corporate 'brethren' to enjoy .... at the expense of the general populous.

Many companies in Australia operate from tax havens and are still allowed to flourish.

If a member from the general populous (who is not supported by the 'brotherhood') is to set up a similar financial structure , they are strung up publicly as a "TAX CHEAT" e.g. Paul Hogan.

In the illustration below, the (deliberate?) business failure of Clive Palmer and the subsequent tax bill is to be mopped up by the hard working 'mums and dads'.


14 March 2016

Islamic Rape on Europe

Note: As stated by a representative of the Australian government, Bronwyn Bishop from the 'House of Representatives': 

"The first job of a government is to look after the safety of its people".

Ref: http://corpau.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/what-is-first-job-of-government.html

Therefore if the people government's slaves are hurt in any way as a result of the government's actions (read migration policies / displaced communities, etc), then this a (deliberate?) failure of government.

It's not a 'conspiracy theory' that the Ottoman Empire ruled savagely.

It's not a 'conspiracy theory' that the Greeks suffered under Islamic (Turkish) rule for 400 years.

From the the news.com.au article on 12 Mar 2016 of the headline:


Rapes, sexual assaults by migrants increase dramatically in Germany and Sweden

 
A live map created by a German activist group tracks police reports of alleged rapes (purple) and attacks on children (red) supposedly committed by migrants across the region.

GERMANY, Sweden and other European countries are facing growing public unrest amid a wave of reports of sexual assaults since the Cologne attacks.
New York-based conservative think tank Gatestone Institute has compiled a shocking list of sexual assaults and rapes by migrants in Germany in just the first two months of the year.

Drawing only from German media reports, the list documents more than 160 instances of rape and sexual assault committed by migrants in train stations, swimming pools and other public places against victims as young as seven.

German police use terms such as “southerners” (südländer), men with “dark skin” (dunkelhäutig, dunklere gesichtsfarbe, dunklem hauttyp) or “southern skin colour” (südländische hautfarbe) to describe the alleged perpetrators.

Authorities across the country have been accused of downplaying the true extent of the problem by suppressing information about migrant-related crimes, ostensibly due to a “lack of public interest”.

Police are also wary of fuelling civil unrest amid a rising number of attacks on migrants and shelters by right-wing vigilante groups. In response, Germans are increasingly turning to social media to spread information.

A German Twitter account, @XYEinzelfall (“individual cases”), has created a Google map to track police reports of crimes allegedly committed by migrants across the region. “Cologne was just the tip of the iceberg,” the page says. “Cologne is every day.”

Protestors with a banner reading: ‘Stop Merkel! Secure borders, drop the CDU!’. Picture: Sean Gallup
Protestors with a banner reading: ‘Stop Merkel! Secure borders, drop the CDU!’. Picture: Sean GallupSource:Getty Images

Most recently, three girls aged 15, 16 and 17 were assaulted over two hours by a mob of up to 30 migrants at a shopping centre in the northern city of Kiel.

Since the attack, which began when two Afghan men began stalking the teenagers and sharing photos on social media, other women have come forward to report similar experiences.

“Groups of young men gather at the Sophienhof [shopping centre] every evening,” a restaurant owner told the Kieler Nachrichten newspaper.

“What they do here is unacceptable. The moment they see a young woman wearing a skirt or any type of loose clothing, they believe they have a free pass. It is about time migrants are made to understand: things in Germany function differently than in their home countries.”

However, refugee advocates have warned against tarring all migrants with the same brush, noting that the alleged crimes are rare incidents in the context of the enormous number of migrants who have come to Europe.

More than 1.1 million migrants flooded into Germany in 2015 and the country is expecting 3.6 million to arrive by 2020, according to internal government estimates.

UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women Dubravka Šimonović told Time that “against this background, we are currently speaking about incidents that must be carefully studied to establish any patterns and links”.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Picture: Alain Jocard
German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Picture: Alain JocardSource:AFP

Growing discontent with the problems caused by mass migration have fuelled the meteoric rise of the right-wing anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is now enjoying its strongest poll results ever.

In November, before the New Year’s Eve attacks in Cologne, the German government released an official report which concluded the influx of migrants had not led to increased crime rates.

The German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) announced that migrants committed crimes at the same rate as native Germans.

“It’s becoming clear that at bottom there is a higher absolute number of criminal cases only because of the increase in number of people living here with the arrival of the refugees,” German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said at the time.

Mr de Maizière said he had ordered the report in order to provide proof to “dispel rumours about an increase in criminal acts in Germany”, DW reported.

“The majority [of migrants] do not come here with the intention of committing crimes,” he said. “They come to Germany to find protection and peace.”

The same report, which was based on crime statistics from January to the end of September 2015, noted a “marked spike” in crime at migrant centres, which it attributed to overcrowding.

According to BKA, the majority (67 per cent) of crimes committed by migrants consisted of theft, robbery and fraud, while sex crimes made up less than one per cent.

Frauke Petry, head of the anti-immigration AfD political party.
Frauke Petry, head of the anti-immigration AfD political party.Source:Getty Images

The release of BKA’s report followed allegations by a number of women’s rights groups in Germany that a “culture of rape and violence” was developing in migrant centres, with many assaults going unreported to the police.

After the Cologne attacks, which German authorities and media initially attempted to cover up, Justice Minister Heiko Maas described the incident as a “completely new dimension of organised criminality”.

A total of 1075 criminal complaints have now been filed over the Cologne attacks, including 467 alleging crimes of a sexual nature ranging from insults to rape.

Last month, prosecutors said most of the suspects were refugees. Cologne prosecutor Ulrich Bremer said 73 suspects had been identified, of whom 12 were linked to sexual assaults.

He said earlier reports describing only three of the suspects as refugees were “total nonsense”. Mr Bremer told The Associated Press that “the overwhelming majority of persons fall into the general category of refugees”.

Some entered Germany saying they wanted to apply for asylum, while others had formally filed an application. Among the 15 suspects in custody was a Moroccan asylum seeker who entered Germany in November.

One female police officer in the northern city of Oldenburg told local newspaper Nordwest-Zeitung she feared a breakdown of public order in summer, when women begin to wear more revealing clothing.

Right-wing Polish magazine ‘W Sieci’ was slammed for its controversial ‘Islamic Rape of Europe’ cover. Picture: Janek Skarzynski
Right-wing Polish magazine ‘W Sieci’ was slammed for its controversial ‘Islamic Rape of Europe’ cover. Picture: Janek SkarzynskiSource:AFP

‘DO NOT GO OUTDOORS ALONE’

On Monday, police in the Swedish city of Östersund advised women not to go outdoors alone following a string of public assaults and sex attacks in the past three weeks.

Sweden, which has a population of just under 10 million, took in around 163,000 migrants in 2015, making it by far the most generous on a per capita basis.

National broadcaster SVT reports what police area manager Stephen Jerand described as a “worrying trend” of unprovoked violence on women in public places.

Speaking at a press conference, police said they had never experienced crime of this nature in the small city of Östersund, which has a population of just 44,000.

“This is serious,” Mr Jerand said. “We care about the protection of women and that is why we go out and talk about this.”

Police said there had been six reports of attacks since February 20, including a 10-year-old girl who was molested at a bus station in the centre of the city.

On February 26, a woman was beaten by three men, one of whom was arrested. On Saturday night there was one incident of attempted rape and another of assault.

In that incident, police said a lone assailant walked up to the woman and “hit her in the face with a closed fist”. The attacker, described only as “foreign”, then flung the woman down and pressed her head to the ground, before disappearing from the scene, according to the police report.

In the attempted rape incident, three young men who “spoke Swedish with an accent” attempted to drag a woman to the ground and tear off her pants, but she resisted and managed to break loose, the police report said.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. Picture: Dean Mouhtaropoulos
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. Picture: Dean MouhtaropoulosSource:Getty Images

WOMEN ARE SCARED TO EXERCISE AT NIGHT

It comes after a poll conducted by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet found nearly half of all women in the country are now scared to exercise alone at night.

According to the survey, 46 per cent of women aged over 16 felt either “very” or “somewhat” unsafe when they are alone in the dark, compared with 20 per cent of men.

Almost one third said if they were caught by sunset, that they would rather stay at a friend’s house than try to get home alone.

Speaking to the newspaper, 34-year-old Ellinor Andersson said she carried a bunch of keys in her hand at night, ready to strike out at any attacker.

“I would never go running by myself on a Friday or a Saturday night,” she told the paper. Another said she would never go out alone after 7pm.

Earlier this month, the Daily Mail reported of an all-female, bikini-clad group of ‘vigilantes’ called the ‘Groping Guards’, who patrol swimming pools in Sweden to prevent migrants molesting bathers.
“Swimming pools have become prime hunting grounds for gangs of men looking to prey on vulnerable women,” 24-year-old Siri Bernhardsson told the Daily Mail.

“Loads of women here say they have been touched. We are tired of men thinking they can come to Sweden and molest women. We want to teach these boys how to behave and be left in peace to swim without being felt up.

“It happens in train stations and in swimming pools. This should not be the case in 2016 in Sweden.”
In January, it emerged that Swedish authorities had covered up sexual assaults on teenage girls by mostly migrant youths at a music festival in Stockholm for fear of “[playing] into the hands” of the anti-immigration right-wing party the Sweden Democrats.
 
In an editorial for the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper at the time, Ivar Arpi wrote: “We Swedes pride ourselves on our unrivalled record on respecting women’s rights. But when women’s rights conflict with the goal of accommodating other cultures, it’s almost always women who are pushed to the side.”

— with AP

news.com.au 12 Mar 2016