Monthly Archives: March 2015

Copenhagen attack an affront to one of our fundamental values: Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Photo: Andrew Meares

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has condemned a "brutal" shooting in Denmark as an affront to free speech, also flagging further efforts aimed at securing Australia's borders amid growing concerns about the threat of terrorism attacks on home soil.

Mr Abbott, in a statement issued on Sunday, said the thoughts of all Australians were with the Danish people.

"As with the Charlie Hebdo atrocity in Paris, the Copenhagen attack is an affront to one of our most fundamental values - freedom of speech," Mr Abbott said.

"We stand with the people and government of Denmark in confronting this cynical attempt to undermine that fundamental right."

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Earlier, the prime minister signalled security at Australia's borders would be ramped up.

Mr Abbott, who will deliver a national security statement on Monday week, said the rise of Daesh, or Islamic State, had seen new threats emerge, "where any extremist can grab a knife, a flag, a camera phone and a victim and carry out a terror attack".

Authorities on Friday confirmed police and a prayer hall were among targets uncovered by investigations into two alleged terrorists arrested in western Sydney last week.

A number of items were seized from the home of Omar Al-Kutobi, 24, and Mohammad Kiad, 25, allegedly including a machete, hunting knife and homemade Islamic State flag, as well as a video that allegedly shows one of the men vowing to launch an attack in the name of IS.

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Copenhagen attacks an 'affront to freedom of speech': Tony Abbott

GORHAM Facebook and freedom of speech are at the center of a dispute between a resident and the towns police chief that now also involves the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire.

According to Robert Balon, his beef with Chief PJ Cyr goes back to 2009, when he raised questions about the departments shooting range, adding that while Cyr is often the subject of postings on his Welcome to Reality Facebook page, anyone who gets my tax dollars is fair game.

Cyr agrees that Balon can say anything about him in his official capacity, but he drew the line at his family, which he says has been maligned by Balon on several occasions.

On Feb. 17, in an attempt to stop Balon from posting further comments about his family, Cyr gave Balon a letter, written on the Gorham PDs letterhead and signed by Cyr as chief, in which Cyr wrote that Balons Facebook postings represented a course of conduct that evidences a continuity of purpose to annoy and alarm me and my family.

Pursuant to RSA 644:4(f), consider this letter official notice that I and my immediate family do not desire any further communication from you, Cyr wrote, adding that in a recent NH Supreme Court decision, a copy of which he also gave Balon, the court upheld the convictions in Rockingham County Superior Court of Brian Craig on charges of criminal threatening, witness tampering and stalking.

Craigs victim, who knew Craig only as a customer at the restaurant where she worked, complained to Exeter Police that Craig had sent two letters to her place of employment that had alarmed her. Exeter Police subsequently served Craig with a letter warning him that future stalking behavior would result in his being charged for that offense.

On that same day, Exeter Police served Craig with a no-trespass order at the victims employer and two days later, a temporary order was issued against Craig, which ordered him to have no contact with the victim. Nonetheless, Craig continued to post messages on his Facebook page directed to the victim, and he was subsequently arrested, tried and convicted.

Balon, although he acknowledges being one of Gorhams most outspoken gadflies, maintains that Cyr was not only wrong but way out of line to try to stop him from talking about the chief on Facebook.

On Feb. 18, Balon said Cyr provided no specific examples of the alleged improper postings, adding that unlike in State v. Craig, his postings have never been threatening, nor has he ever been served with a restraining order that barred all communication with Cyr.

Several hours after receiving Cyrs letter on Feb. 17, Balon sent emails to Gov. Maggie Hassan and the Attorney Generals Office, as well as to media outlets, claiming that Taxpayer paid Gorham NH Police Chief Paul S. Cyr Jr. is abusing his power, threatening, harassing, oppressing me, violating my rights and putting me in harms way by desiring/ demanding in writing that he does not want any further communication from me, etc.Balon wondered How can this take place when he works for me as a taxpayer-paid employee in the town of Gorham N.H. in which I live!?

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Facebook and freedom of speech subject of dispute between citizen and police chief

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Denmark's Prime Minister calls the deadly shooting on a cultural centre a terrorist attack and says the country is on high alert.

A gunman on Saturday fired shots into a Copenhagen cafe that was hosting a public event on freedom of speech, featuring a Swedish artist who had received death threats for a 2007 cartoon he drew caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad. The Danish police said that one man, age 40, had been killed and three police officers wounded but that the gunman had been unable to enter the Krudttoenden cafe.

The Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, said on Saturday that the shooting had been a terrorist attack and that the nation was on high alert.

An image released by police of the suspected Copenhagen gunman.

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Shooting at Copenhagen event attended by controversial artist, Lars Vilks