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Violence is everybody’s problem, according to the Editorial page in Saturday’s Age. Violence might be “everybody’s problem”, but the bigger problem is that the government is currently spinning “everybody’s problem” to mean “everybody’s responsibility” and, in doing so, is avoiding taking any steps to counter it. The full article is here; below are some items of particular interest to me. Continue reading The problem of violence, and the non-solutions Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon has resigned, and her place has been taken by former Assistant Commissioner Simon Overland. Every time I see it in print, I read: Chief Commissioner Overlord. I’m glad I can rely on The Age to be on-the-ball with breaking news. Twelve hours after the newspaper’s own immediate vicinity was closed off, an online news report appeared. Two guys, on the roof of The Age building, were making their own version of I Am Legend. According to the report, which seems to have disappeared, they had replica weapons and were taking turns photographing each other in poses from the movie. A security guard at the newspaper noticed them on via security cameras and called it in to the police and… well, I saw the result. There was no mention of a man lying in Little Lonsdale Street, so perhaps I imagined that. Apparently the two film-makers tried to escape on their bikes (I’m not sure whether the image I have in my mind of two lanky guys on BMXs is due to reporting or wishful thinking) and were caught in King Street. Not, then, apprehended violently in Little Lonsdale. As I was walking down Spencer Street this morning, a police car sped by with lights flashing but no sirens. When I reached the LaTrobe Street corner, the citybound lane was blocked off by a police van and two officers were standing by, redirecting traffic. Odd, I thought, but kept walking. At the next corner, another van was parked. Beside this van was an unmarked car with a flashing dashboard light. More officers were standing by. A group of people (onlookers? voyeurs? passers-by? evacuees?) were standing on the western side of the street, angling for a view of Little Lonsdale Street. We were woken at 3.30 on Monday morning by what sounded like an enormous, jet propelled street sweeper. Seething, I started composing my angry email to Melbourne City Council in my head. Craig finally responded to my nagging and investigated, reporting back that it was a police helicopter. When ignoring it proved impossible, I got up to have a look. The helicopter seemed to be focussing on our little laneway, and there were uniformed officers everywhere. After fifteen minutes or so, the dogs arrived, sending Rufus and Injera into a panic. Improve the web with Nofollow Reciprocity. |
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