London Mini Cab Driver Fighting with Taliban

At least two of their fellow Taliban fighters live in the UK outside the fighting season. One man with a hint of a London accent said he lived in East London and came to Afghanistan three months of the year to fight. And get this - he was a mullah and had the rank of mid-level Taliban commander.

"I'm a mini cab driver in London" he said "I make good money you know. But these people are my friends and family and it's my duty to come to fight the jihad with them. There are many people like me in London" he added. "We collect money for the jihad all year and come to fight if we can".

The fighting season is coming to a close they said and four of them were getting ready to return to their civilian lives abroad.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/24/the-taliban-troop-london-jihadists

Could Schizophrenia be caused by a virus?

The story of Steven and his twin David reflects the mystery of schizophrenia. For a long time it was blamed on cold mothers then on bad genes. Now a group of scientists are exploring the theory that schizophrenia does not start as a psychological disease, it begins with an infection.

Steven and David Elmore were born identical twins but they were very different. David came home at the normal time with his mother but Steven stayed in the hospital for a month hovering between life and death in an incubator. He had a high fever and a dangerous viral infection. Later the mother noticed a difference in her babies, Steven would lay awake and rarely cried and when his mother smiled at him, he didn't smile back at her the way David did. But Steven caught up and the twins shared the same friends, were both B+ students and basically had a happy childhood.

Then at the age of 17, Steven began hearing voices. Three voices called through the windows of his house: two angry men and one woman who begged the men to stop arguing. Other voices came through his car stereo system. He finally broke down and within weeks was in a psychiatric hospital where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

http://discovermagazine.com/2010/jun/03-the-insanity-virus/article_view?b_startint=0&-C

Cardinal George Pell

Cardinal George Pell is the Archbishop of Sydney and a self-confessed liar. Chrissie Foster has written a book about her family's ordeal at the hands of the Catholic Church and priest Kevin O'Donnell. Her eldest daughter is now dead and another daughter is a vegetable because she sent both girls to a Catholic school. An ever-vigilant mother, Chrissie couldn't believe it when told that Emma, her eldest child, was exhibiting classic symptoms of child abuse and O'Donnell was the suspect. How could this be, he had never been to her home and she had never left either girls alone with him. Then they discovered that she was being abused by her spiritual protector in a shower room at their primary school.

Then younger sister Katie was singled out for abuse and fell into depression. When her mother discovered a suicide note declaring her hatred of O'Donnell who was by this time dead, Chrissie realised that both her daughters had been his victims. In 1999, a drunk Katie ran out into a busy main road and was struck by a car. She was in a coma for four months and woke to a ruined life, unable to walk, feed or toilet herself. Their historic out-of-court settlement in 2006 could not save Emma, by now a heroin addict. She died 6 months before the Pope's visit to Australia.

Now we turn to the pillar of the church Cardinal George Pell. He now says he was mistaken when he denied on national television that he had ever seen a picture of Emma with her wrists slashed. Just imagine the distressing image in your own mind. Chrissie Foster maintains that Pell peered at the photo which was blown up to A4 size and said "Mmmmm, she's changed isn't she?"

The Foster's were prepared to co-operate with the church until they had a meeting with Melbourne Archbishop George Pell, now the Archbishop of Sydney. He exhausted the couple with a "handfull of trusted verbal tools". Basically the church treated the abuse as gossip and thought the girls were lying and repeatedly told the couple to "take your evidence to court". The church knew about O'Donnell as far back as 1949 and again in 1958. Both times he was relocated.

In 2002 Pell told Sixty Minutes journalist Richard Carlton that he did not recall having ever seen the photograph. Responding to questions today, Pell said his "lack of recall was an honest mistake". Then added "I cannot remember what I said when I saw the photo but no disrespect was intended and I apologise wholeheartedly to them".

Hell rhymes with Pell and that's where this man is going.

Ivan Milat's Relative Charged With Murder

Ivan Milat was convicted for seven murders but police think he is responsible for many more. The Backpacker Murders is the name given to serial killings that occurred in the Belanglo State Forest, 2 hours south of Sydney. The bodies of seven missing young people aged 19 to 22 were discovered partly buried there. Five of the victims were young backpackers on holiday in Australia and included 3 Germans, 2 British and 2 Australians. Croatian-Australian Milat was convicted of the murders and is serving seven consecutive life sentences plus 18 years. But he wouldn't be in gaol today if it wasn't for an Englishman called Paul Onions.

Police received a call from Paul Onions in Britain. He had been backpacking in Australia several years before and had accepted a ride from a man named "Bill" on 25th January 1990. Bill pulled a gun on Onions and tried to tie him up but he managed to escape and ran for his life along the busy highway pleading for someone to stop and help him. Cars screamed passed ignoring him but finally Joanne Berry went against her better judgement, and stopped. He went straight to the police and reported what happened. As the years passed, he wondered why he hadn't heard anything more about it. The reason was that the police investigation was so hopelessly incompetent, they had lost his report.


On 5th May 1994, Onions positively identified Milat as the man who had picked him up. As a result, Milat was arrested at his house in outer Sydney and a search revealed a .22 rifle that matched the type used in the murders plus clothing, camping equipment, and cameras belonging to the young victims.


Last week, an 18 year old relative of Milat (who can't be named), smiled as he appeared before Campbelltown's Childrens Court via video link charged with the axe murder of 17 year old family friend and schoolmate David Auchterlonie. And he chose Ivan Milat's killing grounds - the Belanglo Forest - to do it. It seems that he and two other friends went to the forest on the pretext of celebrating David's birthday which occured on that day. He'd spent a week planning the killing and how he would entice his victim to the forest. After he drove an axe into the back of his head and partly covered up his body, he drove his two terrified companions home and said he was going to dispose of the axe and their clothes which were covered in blood.


Although he has had no contact with Ivan Milat, and the murder is no way connected to the Backpacker murders - the killing made the headlines because he is a relative of Milat and he chose to kill his victim in the Belanglo forest. There were 14 siblings in the Milat family. Some of the children had run-ins with police when they were teenagers but straightened out and led clean lives. But the father of the murdered boy said yesterday "Obviously the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in that family, it must be in the bloodstream."

The sign says "Please be Careful" but doesn't say what of.

Aboriginal Income Mangement

Noel Pearson

Willie Allan 11 (left) and Kenny Bloomfield 9 at Mossman Gorge, Queensland

What is Income Management? It means that a percentage of a person's welfare payments is set aside for essentials, namely food and clothing and other needs for their children. The reason - to stop welfare recipients blowing all their money on drugs and alcohol.

Noel Pearson is keeping his fingers crossed. He's come up with a welfare reform trial in Cape York that's looking positive but it's too early to get excited. Queensland have introduced the scheme after consultation with Pearson's Cape York Institute. It's called Family Relationship Commission or FRC. It brings welfare recipients before a hearing and it's showing an attendance rate of 90 per cent. The trial also seems to be okay with the troubled Aboriginal clients and beats Centrelink's approach hands down. A report finds that only one third of clients attended their initial Job Search Training interview with Centrelink compared with two-third of Aboriginals attending a FRC conference.

One of the most distressing problems is parents' failure to send their children to school and another generation grow up with kindergarten skills in reading and writing. Now under the trial in Cape York, communities in Arukun, Coen, Hope Vale and Mossman Gorge, the FRC now has the authority to make parents accountable. Parents of children at risk, who don't attend school, who are involved domestic abuse and other abusive behaviour will no longer be tolerated. If they do not attend their FRC interview and continue to do the wrong thing, they will be placed on income management.

Jenny Macklin said "There is growing awareness that the FRC are operational and will hold people accountable for certain behaviour, although this understanding is not yet broad or deep". Improvements were found in school attendance and the incidence of alcohol and violence in two communities - Mossman Gorge and Arukurun.

Mossman Gorge, 77 kms north of Cairns, the community is home to 170 people, 20 of whom are school-age children. FRC local Co-Ordinator Karen Gibson said the change in the community since the commission came into force was palpable. "For the first time in a long time, I'm hearing the birds sing at night" she said. "The norm always was alcohol and drugs.... every day party...... every night party".

Ban the Burqa Mural Back in the News

Marrickville/Newtown has a diverse multi-cultural community and migrant population. In the mid 20th century, it was a major centre for Sydney's large Greek community and to some extent, still is. Today the Vietnamese are now slightly more prominent but many Greek businesses still thrive in the area and Greek flags fly in the main street. In recent years, Newtown/Marrickville has attracted young professionals for its close proximity to the Sydney Business District, the vast array of restaurants and inner-city multicultural lifestyle.

Different cultures have managed to live here happily together for decades but now the Muslim community are causing some angst. They are very quick to point out the shortcomings of our Australian culture, but refuse to accept any criticism of their own. And it's all about a mural painted on a wall. Cigdem Aydemir 27, a Muslim artist and high school art teacher said she felt "completely offended and insulted" when she saw the "Ban the Burqa" mural in Newtown. "My sister-in-law wears the burqa.... my mother wears the veil" she said. "I wore a veil for 10 years of my life. I think everyone has the right to wear whatever they want on their body and that kind of diversity needs to be protected".

So when she saw the mural on the wall facing the busy street and rail line she was so outraged she went straight to the council but was told that because it was painted on private property, they couldn't do anything about it. Not to be put off, she then went to the Anti-Discrimination Board who this week notified the artist Sergio Redegalli and he's not a happy man. Be believes his right to freedom of expression is on the line. "There's a problem about the right to free expression, the loss of the ability to say something without being instantly being branded a "racist" he said. He mentioned a few reasons why he opposes the burqa, including concerns about security and the rise of Islamic extremism in Australia.

The mural has been defaced at least 20 times, but keeps miraculously returning to its original state. Former Marrickville Mayor said in September "The mural goes against the values which the Marrickville community has believed in for generations". No help there.

No decision has been made but I suspect the Anti-Discrimination Board will insist that Sergio paints over his mural and we will have yet another example of how the Muslim community keep getting their own way.

Aboriginal Singer's Hit In Europe

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is an Australian Aboriginal musician who sings in the Yolngu language. He was born on Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in Northern Australia, about 350 miles from Darwin. He was born blind and has never been taught Braille, does not have a guide dog or use a cane. He only speaks a few words of English and is acutely shy. When he was asked what he would do with all the money when he becomes rich and famous he replied that he would give it to his mother and aunts which follows the Aboriginal tradition of sharing wealth. He plays many musical instruments but it's the quality of his voice that has been responsible for his rising star.

Now the iconic superstar has a song flying up the charts in Europe, following the remix of some of his songs. The Loverush UK version of Wukun cracked the top twenty in one of the UK's charts. It entered the Music Week Club chart at number 35, jumped to number 24 the following week, and went to 19 this week. The song was lifted from his multi award-winning debut double platinum album.

Most Australians living in cities around the country have never heard of him.

North Korea Attacks South Korea

The Korean war ended with the armistice in 1953 and Kim Jong-ill took over leadership in 1980 from his father their "Great Leader" who ran the country for almost 50 years.

But it seems the north hasn't moved on and still has the same mind set they had way back in 1953 because they continue to hate the south with a passion. With a population of around 24 million in 2008, their economy is not in good shape and there has been talk of people dying of starvation. It's been hit with natural disasters, poor planning and failure to modernise. We don't know much about North Korea because they are one of the most secretive countries in the world. But there is something we do know - they have one of the largest armies in the world. Yesterday they launched six short-range missiles into South Korea and have threatened to invade.

So what happens now?

New Zealand Miners Trapped

The rescue of 29 miners in New Zealand is fraught with frustration. It took days to organise a remote control robot to enter the mine to determine whether it was safe for men to start rescue crews. But it broke down after water got into the casing, causing it to short circuit. They have organized another robot which is coming from America when there is one available in Australia only hours away. As hope fades, frustrated relatives are pleading with organisers to let them go in and get their loved ones and to hell with the explovive poisonous gases.

The most frustrating thing is that they refuse to send a rescue team in until they are sure it's safe but meanwhile, the clock it ticking. These men left for work 5 days ago with a bottle of water and a packed lunch. Hard to believe they would send a robot into the mine without waterproofing it, what on earth were they thinking? The Mayor said "They knew there was water in the tunnel, why didn't they Glad Wrap it? Hard rock layers have slowed drilling and a diamond-tipped drill wasn't brought in until this morning so the chances of getting food and water to the men is probably too late.

The youngest miner was so excited about his new job he persuaded mining bosses to let him start his first shift 3 days early. David Dunbar was one day past his 17th birthday the day of the explosion.

One of the two workers who escaped Daniel Rockhouse 24, described the explosion as being like an oversized shotgun blast. The explosition smashed him into the mine wall and knocked him out. When he came to he staggered to a nearby compressed air line to breathe in fresh air. "I got up and there was thick white smoke everywhere - worse than a fire. I knew straight away it was carbon monoxide." His brother Ben remains underground. "I couldn't see anything - it was dead quiet. I yelled "Help, somebody help me" but no one came, there was no one there." He stumbled towards the exit and eventually found the unconscious body of Russell Smith, the other survivor. He started dragging Smith until he woke up, then the two men stumbled through the dark haze and reached the surface nearly two hours after the explosion.

It seems obvious to me that the people running this rescue are a bunch of amateurs and I hope they will be held accountable for their neglect of safety issues and pathetic rescue efforts when it's all over. The union should be screaming bloody murder about this unprofessional rescue effort.

Footnote: Yesterday, Wednesday, 24th November, relatives were told that there had been another explosion which was bigger than the first one and that it was now certain there would be no survivors. Plain clothes policemen were among the group of shattered loved ones because it was feared they would attack those responsible for the rescue. A full enquiry into the disaster will be held.

Keli Lane Trial Ends

Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC began his closing address to the jury yesterday in the Keli Lane case. He said she had told 95 lies to cover the fact that she had had three secret and unwanted pregnancies so she could maintain her "golden girl" image. He argued that she wanted to be permanently relieved of the responsibilities of looking after three babies she gave birth to between 1995 and 1999. Two of those babies were legally adopted but Lane is standing trial for the murder of her second born child Tegan. Lane has pleaded not guilty and insists she gave Tegan to her father when she came out of hospital shortly after her birth in 1996.

It's an amazing story. Three times in five years the elite water polo athlete got pregnant and had the babies without anyone knowing, not even her parents. Incredible when you think of it - how did she hide it? A fellow water polo associate said that she would wrap a towel around herself and slowly slide into the pool but the pregnancy wasn't really obvious to anyone.

In Mr Tedeschi's summing up, he alleges that Lane found a "permanent solution" to relieving the responsibility of Tegan, and that was to murder her. The jury was warned by Justice Anthony Wheatly that only three of the alleged 95 lies Lane had told "may be used relevant to the issue of guilt" while the others could only be used by the jury to assess character.

Police have searched all over the country, trying to find the man who Lane says she gave Tegan to but all leads have been exhausted and he can't be found. Tegan's body has never been found. The day Lane left hospital, she attended a wedding with family and friends and no one would have been any the wiser except for an alert member of DOCS who blew the whistle. Lane has looked relaxed and confident throughout the trial and if she's worried about the verdict about to be brought down, she sure isn't showing it.

Surrogacy in Australia

In most of Australia, surrogate arrangements have to be privately arranged and involve no fee or payment, although in some cases, medical expenses are allowed. Surrogacy arrangements are not contracts. It is not possible to enter into a binding surrogacy agreement anywhere in Australia, or to enforce an agreement that has broken down. Any dispute about the child will be determined by the child's best interests and not by the terms of any agreement.

Finding an ultruistic surrogate in Australia is almost impossible - the lucky ones may have a close relative prepared to carry their baby but the majority of would-be parents aren't that lucky.

So what do desperate couples longing for a baby have to do to get one? They go overseas to places like Thailand where it's legal. But now these dreams have been dashed because the NSW government has just announced a $110,000 fine, 2 years in jail or both on their return. Why? To prevent the exploitation of poor foreign women.

Australian solicitor Joe Lynch divides his practice between Sydney and Bangkok where commercial surrogacy is reportedly as much about the Buddhist ideal of "making merit" - the karma that comes from doing good for another person - as it is about making money. He says the new laws will significantly impact on women who have had cancer or other medical conditions that make it impossible for them to give birth. But he added that the law would be difficult to police. "What's to stop someone from saying I had sex with a woman while overseas? It will enforce genuine couples to engage in victimless crime".

If you are intereted in becoming a surrogate yourself, surrogate sisters is a good place to start.

http://www.surrogacy-sisters.com/

Honour Killings in Kurdistan

Ms Amin and her baby son

It's very dangerous to fall in love and marry without permission from both families in Kurdistan. In the little village of Dokan is the home of Qadir Abdul Rahman Ahmed who said "Honour is more important than religion". Honour killing has a long history and lawmakers have little chance of changing people's minds about a tribal code that's been going on for centuries. The murder is often hidden or made to look like suicide and arrests are rare.


Mr Ahmed's niece, Sirwa Hama Amin fell in love with her neighbour Aram Jamal Rasool. They grew up across the dusty road from one another. When the romance started two years ago they knew their union was doomed because the two families hated each other so they had to meet in secret. But one day Ms Amin's brother caught her texting her lover on her mobile phone. Her male relatives beat her, took her phone away and kept prisoner in her house.


But the lovers became so desperate, they planned to commit suicide together. On 2nd September 2009 she sneaked out of her parents home and met her lover who was waiting with a grenade he had stolen from his father. Then they decided against killing themselves and instead went to the police hoping they would help them. Mr Rasool was arrested for being in possession of a grenade and Ms Amin was sent to a shelter for battered women. Later the couple appealed to the court and two weeks later, after submitting the paperwork, they were married.


Although Ms Amin's family objected to the marriage they agreed to a truce: if they promised to leave Dokan and never return, her relatives agreed not to hunt her down. For three and a half months the couple lived in Sulaimaniya, about an hour from Dokan. Then on 2nd January, around 9pm, Ms Amin was in the bathroom when she heard gunshots. She opened the door and saw her husband covered in blood and one of her brothers aiming a gun at her. Before the smoke cleared gunmen fired 17 bullets into her husband's chest and 4 into her leg and hips. The brother who did the shooting was Hussein Hama Amin, a soldier in the pesh merga. "Why should she live for being that irresponsible about the honour of her family" he said. His sister was two months pregnant at the time.

But the killing didn't resolve the fued and no one was arrested. Instead the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, tribal leaders and clerics brought the families together in a formal council session in front of more than 4,000 local residents. General Salah said he was pressed by the party to forgive his son's killers and promised not to kill them and Ms Amin's family was required to promise not to kill her. It is believed that money exchanged hands. Her relatives say they have disowned her but will not harm her. "May God kill her, we will not kill her" they said.

In General Salih's living room, Ms Amin held her 4 month old son in her arms, named after her husband. According to Kurdish custom, she is now unsuitable for marriage. She lives a few hundred feet from the family who cast her out, in a house full of weapons, afraid they will one day kill her. When she leaves the house, she is escorted by armed relatives.

And so life goes on for a young woman who fell in love with the wrong man.

Scientology Targets Aboriginal Communities

The Church of Scientology has been moving through remote Australia on an indigenous recruitment drive. They are targeting alcohol-dependent Aboriginal people with a cure that could kill anyone with kidney disease. The NT Health Department had to step in and told the Scientologists to stop distributing literature that promotes a dangerous drug detoxification therapy.

Volunteer Scientologist Kevin Chapman and others have been operating from a tent in a public park in the middle of Tennant Creek, handing out leaflets headed 'Answers to Drugs'. They have also taken out full page newspaper ads with pictures of Aboriginal people sitting in the Todd River near Alice Springs, holding up Scientology brochures.

The detoxification program was developed by founder L Ron Hubbard and say it's the only successful drug and alcohol dependency treatment in the world. But the clinical nurse/manager at the Tennant Creek hospital this week advised the NT government that the treatment was dangerous and potentially fatal to renal patients, common in Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory.

The pamphlet gives a formula for a high dose "drug bomb" vitamin supplement to supposedly break the drug dependency and recommends aluminium hydroxide tablets. It also includes a dangerous recipe to alleviate withdrawal symptoms. The Health Department believes the whole regime could be deadly to dialysis patients by causing hypophosphataemia - low phosphate levels in already weakened people.


National Scientology President Vicki Dunstan said "As soon as this matter was drawn to our attention, the person who handed out the leaflets was told to stop and they are now being collected back and any person who has a booklet is being informed that they should not use the calcium-magnesium drink without medical approval".


NT Health Minister Kon Vatskalis said the Scientology brochures were "utterly irresponsible".

Muslim Mother Exposed as a Liar

A Muslim woman wearing a burqa was stopped in Sydney in June by a highway patrol officer for a random breath test. When he gave her a fine for not displaying her P-Plate correctly, she became angry and screamed at the officer that he was a racist and 'All cops are racists". But she wouldn't let the matter rest and seven days later she went to the police station and made a formal complaint against the officer, saying that he tried to forcibly remove her hijab, against her will.

But there was something she didn't know, the police in-car camera parked behind her vehicle had recorded everything and it soon became clear that her accusations were not true. Then she made her second mistake, she signed a statutory declaration, swearing that what she was saying was true.

But the judge wasn't buying it and today in Campbelltown Local Court Magistrate Robert Rabbidge said that Matthews was a malicious and ruthless liar and the evidence was overwhelming that she had submitted a false declaration to police. "There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind that she knew that the complaint was false" he said. "We've heard of the effect of your complaint could have had on the officer's career. It was deliberately malicious and quite a ruthless action in my belief". He sentenced Carnita Matthews 46, mother of seven children, to six months gaol with a release date of 18th May 2011.

Matthews' lawyer Stephen Hopper said there was no way for police to prove that his client was the one who signed the statutory declaration because proper identification checks had not been made by the police or the Justice of the Peace who oversaw the document's signing. Her lawyer has lodged an appeal and she was released on bail.

Australian Asylum Seeker Crisis

Christmas Island Detention Centre

Australia's problem with asylum seekers has reached crisis point. Last week an inmate of the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney killed himself. His name was Jamal Daoud. The ambulance arrived 35 minutes after he was found by another inmate but he could not be revived. He had been held in detention on Christmas Island for about a year before being transferred to Villawood. His refugee claim had been rejected and all appeals exhausted by the Immigration Department and he was being sent home. It's a tragic story. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

The Social Justice Network (SJN) says that after hearing the news about Mr Daoud's suicide at Villawood, around 250 people on Christmas Island immediately went on a hunger strike which is now into its third day and some are planning to sew their lips together. They say their strike is to focus attention onto the deadly slow process of their applications.

Meanwhile, the boats keep coming and the agony continues.

Gabe Watson Allowed to Leave Australia

Alabama authorities are frustrated with Australia for interering in the return of honeymoon killer Gabe Watson. He has recently ended his 18 month sentence in Queensland for the manslaughter of his wife. I don't really understand why Immigration insisted on knowing that he would not be sentenced to death once he got home to America, it sounds like we are on his side. "We are now satisfied that our international obligations have been met and are commencing plans for Mr Watson's removal" they said. They got a guarantee from Alabama that he wouldn't end up on death row, but it wasn't enough for Canberra, they insisted that the guarantee should come from the US Federal Government. Now that they have it, he should be home within a few days.

Alabama Attorney-General Troy King is hell bent on prosecuting Watson for murdering Tina, claiming he planned to kill her before they left home for their honeymoon. Good luck Alabama, I hope you come up with a better sentence than we did - 18 months for murder is a joke and says a lot about our justice system - one could argue that there is much room for improvement.

Mamdouh Habib - Guantanamo Bay Inmate

Mamdouh Habib is an Egyptian born Australian Muslim best known for his detention in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The United States accused Habib of having had knowledge of September 11 2001 attacks, training the hijackers, staying at an al-Aaeda safehouse in Afghanistan, conducting surveillance, helping to transfer chemical weapons, and planning to hijack the aircraft used in the 9/11 attacks. However, there was no evidence to support these claims and he was eventually released.

In August 2010 Habib's application for an Australian passport was refused by the Department of Foreign Affairs after an adverse security assessment from ASIO. The application was denied and Mr Habib had to pay the government's costs.

When Mr Habib sued the Daily Telegraph for defamation and ruining his reputation, Justice Peter McClellan awarded him $5000. But he added that although he was defamed, his reputation wasn't affected because he was caught out in a lie - he lied to the court and said that he did not support the radical Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman when in fact he did. The judge said "the plaintiff was prepared to tell an untruth to the Australian people in relation to his support for a terrorist, which significantly diminishes his reputation." Nice one judge.

But he won't give up - he's suing the Australian Government in the Federal Court and yesterday his lawyer told him there was good news from Britain. The UK government is preparing to pay out millions of dollars to a handfull of former Guantanamo detainees who have accused their government of unlawful imprisonment and torture.

Habib's lawyer said "It must be good for him psychologically to know that prisoners in a similar position to him, have been settled for what appears to be a substantial amount of money".

Public Service Love Story

Steve Tucker works for the Immigration Department in Canberra and on Saturday night he went to a party attended by many of his colleagues and he met a girl called Olivia. He was smitten but somehow they got separated and he didn't get her name. So when he came to work on Monday morning he sent an email to everyone in the Department, around, 7,000 people, asking if anyone had information about her. Now Canberra is searching for a girl named Olivia who he describes as "tall and olive skinned".

His email reads "Briefly, I met Olivia on Saturday night just passed, she left a strong and positive impression on me. Unfortunately, people got in the way after we met and I didn't get to finish the meeting how I wanted to. This has been bugging me ever since."

He said he knew it was an abuse of the Department's email services "I understand this is not the most appropriate channel. It is not my intent to misuse this email address. I have struggled to write and send this message, it has taken all of my willpower to do so. Life is too short for regret. Have an awesome Moday."

Steve Tucker is a recent recruit to the Canberra Public Service. His punishment will be decided by the Department's Values and Conduct section in the next few days. Meanwhile the hunt is still on to find Olivia.

Will Foreigners end up owning Australian Agriclture?

No one is keeping an eye on foreign investors who are buying up prime Australian farming land. Cashed up, government-backed buyers from China, the Middle East and Singapore are buying land for their future food needs. Australian companies like Golden Circle, SPC, CSR Sugar, SunRice and AWB are now all owned by foreigners. A Chinese delegation will arrive next month with pockets full of money to buy dairy farms, prime agricultural land and water.

Tasmanian Real Estate manager Betty Kay said she had five Chinese investors looking to buy dairy farms. Australian farmers who can no longer make a decent living are happy to sell but no one is keeping tabs on who they are selling to. Suddenly Canberra has woken up to the fact that if this situation continues to go unchecked, we mightn't have enough land left for our own food supplies.

Some of the world's biggest agricultural companies like Spanish Ebro Foods is bidding $600 million to buy SunRice while Singapore based Wilmar International won a $1.75 billion bid for CSR's sugar and renewable energy business. This is surely a worry and should have set bells ringing through Parliament House.

The global financial crisis created food shotages around the world and all eyes are on Australia. Christine Milne from the Greens is pushing for stricter controls. "It is now imperative that Australia protects its land and water as part of national sovereignty" she said. How ironic that it takes a minority party to wake up the country about foreign ownership. What have our two major parties been doing? They've been asleep at the wheel and now it's time to wake up Australia before it's too late.

Irish Economy in Trouble

O'Connell Bridge, Dublin

Australians have a strong affection for Ireland. Many were sent here as convicts for the term of their natural life. Ned Kelly was Irish. But the Irish economy is in trouble and they say the fear is palpable.

I can remember a few years ago when their economy was jumping out of its skin, but now the country is consumed by domestic debt. Two weeks ago David Hall set up a free legal aid service to help those facing repossession. "People are at their wits end, they don't know what to do" he said. Emigration is at its highest since the recession of the 1980's and graduates have little choice but to migrate or leave for job opportunities in the UK and elsewhere. One graduate said "I know we are the country's future, but at the same time, why should we stay and pay for someone else's mess?"

There is widespread feeling that more bad news in yet to come. It's estimated that 200,000 ordinary folk with home mortgages may have debts bigger than the value of their homes. If economic experts are right, the economy is descending into a "deep freeze".

The Irish pub trade is also suffering. One publican said "Last Tuesday, all I sold was a packet of cigarettes, that's how bad it is. I was lucky on Wednesday, if I can use that phrase, because there was a mass for a boy who had commited suicide in the church across the road so we had about 30 lads in after the mass but an hour later, it was empty."

A restaurant owner said it was hard to get credit. Before, if you wanted an overdraft you could just make a call to the bank - now you have to do due diligence before you are even considered, and even then it goes to a credit committee" he said. "There is a feeling that people are running out of money and surviving on reserves".

Big cuts are expected in next month's budget, especially in social welfare. Not everyone thinks a bailout by the International Monetary Fund would be a bad thing. "The IMF came into Britain in 1972 and didn't really affect them" said Peter Fitzpatrick who runs a property management firm in Dublin. "People go backrupt and bounce back. Countries also go bankrupt and bounce back. It might be better for us to face it head-on than have a long, slow death."

Aboriginal Payback Out of Control

Young men lead a 'Stop the Violence' March in Alice Springs in September

Cultural practices in Central Australia such as payback are being used as an excuse for endless fueds between individuals and groups of men which result in shocking violence. There were 455 violent assaults in the first three months of this year and assaults in and around Alice Springs have doubled.

Bob Durnan who has been working in the area for 33 years said "Young fellas who drink get all fired up about the need to avenge some real or imagined slight or sorcery and go and assault and stab people who are trying to lead a normal life. A lot of them are in jail and there's quite a few in the cemetery."

Chairwoman of the Northern Territory government Indigenous Affairs explains next-of-kin payback. "If they don't find the right person they want to carry out the payback on, they go for the next person who can be your sister, brother, uncle, niece or nephew. It just happens out of the blue and you can be the unlucky person in the wrong place at the wrong time".

One Aboriginal woman said "Payback now is more revenge, more of who is going to be the dominant family. Don't tell me that it's the Aboriginal way because that's rubbish".

The recent riots in Yuendumu were about payback. Terrified people fled in cars and buses to Adelaide to escape the violence. They are now returning to their community and attempts are being made to try and stop it. Suicide was unknown in Aboriginal society 50 years ago but it is now included as part of payback. Now threats of suicide are being used as a method of extortion or bullying, some young people are actually threatening to commit suicide if they don't get what they want - money.

John Liddle, Manager of the Ingkintja Men's Health Centre said "We are all sick and tired of going to funerals, sick and tired of sorry business. People are constantly in a sorry state". Central to the 'Stop the Violence' campaign is the Inteyerrkwe statement from 2008 which apologises to Aboriginal women and families for the harm caused by men's violence, usually fuelled by alcohol. It says "We the Aboriginal males of Central Australia .... acknowledge and say sorry for the hurt, pain and suffering caused by Aboriginal males to our wives, our children, our mothers and grandmothers, our aunties, our nieces and our sisters. We also acknowledge that we need the love and support of our Aboriginal women to help us move forward."

But Aboriginal women haven't been reporting the violence because they are terrified that Welfare will come and take their children into care. One can only imagine what this is teaching the next generation. As usual, no one has any answers.

Gabe Watson - Honeymoon Killer

Tina Watson drowned while scuba-diving with her husband off the coast of Townsville in Queensland in 2003. She was on her honeymoon and very much in love. Dubbed the Honeymoon Killer, Gabe Watson, 32, was released from prison this morning at 6.30am. Six Immigration officials arrived at Borallon Correctional Facility just before 6am and he was released into their custody. Watson had served an 18-month sentence for the manslaughter of his wife Tina.

He would normally be put on a plane and deported to face murder charges in America but the Australian government wants an assurance from the US that he will not face the death penalty if tried and convicted in Alabama. In the meantime, he will stay in an Immigration detention centre in Melbourne until a decision is made.

Gabe Watson's lawyer has been highly critical of Alabama's pursuit of murder and kidnapping charges against Watson after the Queensland courts sentenced him to just 18 months jail for the manslaughter of Tina. Watson admitted he failed to render assistance to his wife but did not intentionally cause her death. ABC's Australian Story ran a program about the case and it was clear from the evidence shown in that program, that Watson had indeed planned the death of his wife. I can only imagine how Tina's father felt when the verdict was handed down, the 18 months sentence must have been an insult. In that program, Tina's father was distraught when he found that flowers he placed on Tina's grave would mysteriously disappear. So he set up a video camera and caught Watson sneaking up to the grave and taking the flowers. One can only wonder why.

Watson married Kim Lewis in August 2008, two months after he was ordered to face charges in Queensland for Tina's death. The current Mrs Watson is living in the same house where Tina spent just one night. She is hanging blue ribbons for her beloved's homecoming. I hope this man receives the justice he deserves.

Edit:  Abe didn't even get to trial.  Circuit Judge Tommy Nail ruled in Birmingham, Alabama that prosecutors failed to present enough evidence to send the case to a jury and acquitted him. Shocked Prosecuting attorney Mr Valeska said Judge Nail hobbled the prosecution by refusing to allow the jury to see a video of an underwater re-enactment Queensland police did at the shipwreck and surveillance footage of Watson using bolt-cutters to remove flowers from Ms Thomas's grave. And Nail also refused to allow the jurors to hear the most crucial piece of evidence - that Abe asked his wife to increase her life insurance five fold before they left for their honeymoon.  Because of some crazy American law, Abe cannot be tried again in the USA. 

Tiger Woods Arrives for Australian Open

Tiger Woods is back for another crack at the Australian Open and officials are making sure he earns his $3m appearance fee by keeping him on a tight schedule. Last night he hammed it up with Shane Warne at Crown Casino and he was up at the crack of dawn today for a round of golf at the Victoria Golf Club. He then spoke to the press for about half an hour and didn't shy away from personal questions about his private life.

It was in Melbourne this time last year when he won the Masters for the first time that the news broke about his extra-marital affairs that cost him his marriage and a run of bad luck on the golf course. "I wanted to come back" he said "I love to win here".

Woods is partnered in tomorrow's first round with two-time winner Robert Allenby and West Australian Brett Rumford. Geoff Ogilvy and Stuart Appleby will also be among the early starters.

Battle of the Banks

Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan

The other big banks are still very quiet. Westpac, ANZ and National Australia Bank said they were shocked by the outrage shown towards the Commonwealth Bank and still haven't announced what their new mortgage interest rates will be. And it's costing them a fortune every day that goes by.

But wonders will never cease - the Senate is going to have an inquiry into the industry and Treasurer Wayne Swan has tentatively agreed to debate the banks with Joe Hockey. Behind the scenes, the Treasurer has been working on banking reforms which will be revealed next month. "When I've completed that, I'm more than happy to talk to the Australian people about why that's important and why Mr Hockey is just pulling a stunt" he said. He will also announce new rules this week allowing customers to challenge unfair exit fees on home loans.

What took them so long?

Commonwealth Bank of Australia's CEO

Commonwealth Bank CEO Ralph Norris has admitted his bank's 0.45 per cent interest rate rise will cost some of his customers their homes but says it causes him immense angst. He added that it was better to see "a few" foreclosurers than have an economy hamstrung by a low-profit banking system.

The 16.2 million dollar man urged customers feeling mortgage stress to contact the bank and seek temporary relief. See, he's not a despicable corporate monster, this man has feeling. He's on a kind of performance bonus, the more money he screws out of the people, the richer he gets. And get this - he's a Sir - Sir Ralph Norris - and he's a Kiwi.

Sydney radio king Alan Jones has been chasing Sir Ralph for weeks but he can't catch him. He's called him a coward on several occasions but he refuses to be interviewed. He's created such bad publicity for the Commonwealth Bank, it's a wonder he hasn't been told to go to the media and clean up his mess.

Sir Alan visited Cabramatta High School yesterday, right smack bang in the middle of the Sydney mortgage belt. The kids wanted to know why there was a need to raise the interest rate yet again. When they backed him into a corner, that's when he trotted out the information that he grew up in a rough neighbourhood in a Housing Commission house in New Zealand. Somehow he thinks this should make a difference. If anything, it should make him more compassionate towards needy people.

"I have done all I can to try to minimise the impact by making sure we've got good customer assistance programs for those customers in genuine need. That's all I can do" he said. You're breaking my heart mate.

The governmnt and the banks say it's all about competition. Really? What happens if you want to opt out of your loan and go with a cheaper provider? They stick you with a huge exit fee somewhere around $1000. But here's the good news, ING Direct is about to offer $1000 to home owners if they will switch to one of its products, effectively paying the banks' greedy exit fees for them. Now we are getting somewhere.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia made $6.1 billion profit last financial year but Sir Ralph said his bank was not gouging customers. The other big banks have yet to announce their interest rate hike, but they are just as greedy. We urgently need help from the government to pull them all into line.

Hillary Clinton's Visit to Australia

Hillary Clinton's visit has us wondering about our relationship with China. China is one of the reasons Australia has been riding along on a crest of a wave while the rest of the world struggles to climb out of recession. We are guessing that they won't be happy to hear that the US plan to expand their military presence here. Ms Clinton will unveil the new deal today.

So what does expanding US military presence in Australia really mean? It means more naval ships will be arriving, joint training exercises will be organized and US military equipment will be brought into Darwin and Townsville. Will the Chinese think that this is a strategic move to keep them in check?

China has provoked regional alarm in recent months after a maritime dispute with Japan and a stand-off over territorial claims in the South China Sea. But the official version from Hillary for this new strategy is to prepare both US and Australian forces for a quick response to humanitarian emergencies.

Julia Gillard didn't deny that China would be on the discussion agenda today. "I think we will be talking about the geopolitics of our region and that means of course we'll be talking about the rise of China and as China rises, what sort of force it is going to be in the world" she sad. "I believe we have a shared perspective with the US that we want China to be a force for good, strongly engaged in global and regional architecture, strongly engaged in a rules-based framework."

Translated into plain English, I think it means that China is a real worry so what are we going to do about it?

Former Australian diplomat and Lowy Institute Fellow Andrew Shearer said the US-China competition was likely to become more prominent. China was always quick to claim the US and its allies are attempting to contain its rise. "We'll have to wait and see how Beijing reacts to today's announcement" he said.

Australian Banks

Home ownership is a cultural icon in Australia - 70 per cent of households own their own home. Most of us aspire to a detached house on a fenced block of land - we've grown up with it and our children expect the same for themselves. But coping with a hefty mortgage can be very stressful and some couples have given up in despair.

I personally know a young couple who bought a townhouse in Sydney for $320,000. The banks insist on a minimum of 10 per cent deposit and they only had 5 per cent which included the first homeowner's grant of $7,000 from the government. But they hunted around and found a broker who was prepared to give them the loan at a reasonable rate but they have to repay $475 a week - nearly $1900 a month, every month, for a very, very long time.

Last week another big bank announced massive increase in profit figures and everyone is so furious at being ripped off, politicians are making vague noises about pulling them into line but we know nothing will come of it because greed is good and keeping the shareholders happy is paramount. Profit is the name of the game. The Commonwealth Bank raised its lending rate to almost double the official move by the Reserve Bank last week and the CBA's standard variable mortgage rate now stands at 7.81%. The Research Institute for Housing America found that since 2001, Australian mortgage rates had been above those of the rest of the developed world.

We now find out that mortgage rates in other countries declined over the past 10 years, except in Australia. So as usual, we are paying through the neck for something that the rest of the world gets for half the price.

Alan Jones - King of Australian Talkback Radio

Last night in Darling Harbour, the undisputed king of talkback radio Alan Jones celebrated 25 years as a broadcaster in a star-studded dinner hosted by John Singleton. You either love or hate this man, spruker for good causes and loyal supporter of the Liberal Party. Eleven hundred of his nearest and dearest were there with him to share his day in the sun.


James Packer delivered an emotional speech and his voice cracked when he described how Jones had helped thousands of people over the years, many anonymously. It's believed that Jones also played an important part in the life of James when he was growing up.

Former Prime Minister John Howard repeated the comment that Jones made famous - to "pick and stick" by your friends. He said Jones, more than anyone else, understood the power of talkback radio to influence politics outside Canberra, namely the Republican debate in 1999 and global warming a year later. "Alan has understood the temperament and nature of the Australian people, they don't like being told by self-appointed cultural dieticians that we should be ashamed of our past - Alan understood that."

And Alan gave us a glimpse of his next campaign - one we have all despaired over but never thought anything could be done - he's going to start a crusade against opencut mining and how they are turning rich pastoral land into wastelands for profit. "The aim of power in this world is to lift people, not crush them". Bring it on.

Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia but enjoys a large degree of self-governance. Together with two neighbouring islands, it forms one of Australia's external territories. Mutiny on the Bounty brought history to life when the mean Captain Bligh was put over the side of the Bounty in a small boat with a handfull of his loyal men while Mr Christian and the mutineers took control of the ship. But Captain Bligh went on to become a hero and managed to sail home to England and later became Governor of New South Wales. The rebels refused the King's authority over their lives and have been living independently for nearly two hundred years.

But now they are broke and Chief Minister David Buffett has told the island's parliament his impoverished administration will give up its fiercely held self-government in exchange for a financial bailout from Canberra. This will mean that the 1800 permanent residents will probably have to pay Australian income tax and lose some of their power to run their own lives.

Naturally, this is not seen as a good move and the islanders aren't happy. They have accused Buffett of selling out their independent values they have held since the 1789 mutiny. They hid for years from the British on Pitcairn Island and eventually resettled on Norfolk in 1856 as a fully self-governing territory. The telephne book is still dominated by the names Adams, Christian, Nobbs, Quintal and Buffett - all descendants of the British mutineers and the Tahitian women they brought with them to Pitcairn.

They don't pay any income tax which has attracted doctors, teachers and other professionals to the island. I wonder if that's why Colleen McCulloch lives there. Two weeks ago Mr Buffett fought off Simon Crean's proposal to diminish the powers of the island's assembly and government through the Territories Law Reform bill. But the treasury is empty, tourism has collapsed and huge debt has changed his mind so he now supports the bill.

It now appears likely that Norfolk Islanders will have to pay some Australian income tax in exchange for access to a range of benefits such as family allowances, dole payments and Medicare. The federal government is expected to organise an immediate infusion of funds. The end of an era for an island with a fascinating history.

Fraser Island's Dingoes

Fraser Island is a beautiful place - miles and miles of beaches to drive along and wonderful fresh water to swim in. But my visit was spoiled when I came face to face with the starving dingoes who live there. I was shocked to see the state of the animals. You'll see happy families barbecuing on the beach and not far away, these pathetic animals with their ribs sticking out, will be salivating and watching. But you can't ease their suffering by throwing them some food, it's not allowed.

Photographer Jennifer Parkhurst was fined $40,000 yesterday for feeding them. Wildlife authorities say that six dingoes from a pack of seven which attacked people on the island, had to be destroyed because she regularly fed and photographed them from the time they were pups.

The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services said "What has been most distressing is these same dingoes were later responsible for a number of serious attacks on children. From a pack of seven Ms Parkhurst fed, six dingoes had to be humanely destroyed." They have warned that feeding the dingoes changes their behaviour and can have serious consequences. "If a pups learns to associate humans with food, they don't want to hunt. Instead they grow up scavenging from these areas and are no longer wary of people and when this happens, the results can be very dangerous" General Manager Terry Harper said.

I believe there are far too many dingoes on the island because it's obvious their natural food source is not great enough to sustain them in good health. How long will these poor animals have to suffer before these people who are supposed care, do something about it?

Do you have a tattoo?

If you were interviewing someone with a tatoo for a job in the corporate world, would it put you off? Celebrities have made tattoos a glamous fashion statement and Generation Y can't get enough. But it's different in the corporate world - top recruitment agencies advise applicants to cover them up because they are a definite no no.

Matthew Sammut 21, a fitter/welder from Fairfield got his first tattoo last week - a colourful replica of the video game Street Fighter which now covers his right arm from shoulder to wrist. It took 5 hours and cost $750 and he said it hurt like hell. But he's happy and says it looks cool and because of his occupation, it won't affect his job prospects.

So what happens if at some point in the future you decide you want to have it removed? Lasers are the most common way to get rid of a tattoo and work by targeting the ink with pulses of highly concentrated light that break the ink into tiny fragments. But it can't be done in just one treatment and the more treatments you have, the more damage you do to your skin which can cause painful blisters and scabs that lead to scarring. Experts say that technology has advanced to a point where scarring is now minimal, sometimes even non-existent but this can vary depending on the situation. Not only is the treatment very painful but it's expensive. A large, professional tattoo in colour could cost thousands of dollars to remove and the effectiveness of the removal still isn't guaranteed. It's unlikely that a tattoo chosen by a 16 year old will still be a desirable fashion statement when that individual reaches middle or old age. The hard part is trying to convince the young.

Josef Fritzl, Austrian Monster

It seems unfair that Josef Fritzl is languishing in gaol without a care in the world, receiving 3 meals a day and having nothing better to do than watch TV - he should be suffering more than that but he's not. It's hard to imagine how his daughter survived being locked up in a tiny space, never to see daylight for 24 long years and being constantly raped.

But he holds a fascination for some because a German newspaper Bild asked if they could interview him. In that interview he talks about his dream - to one day get out and again look after his wife who divorced him soon after his conviction. He has written eight letters to her but "I never got an answer" he said. "But I know she loves me still." He said he was scared that someone would "steal" his wife.

During the 70 minute interview, he did not want to talk about Elisabeth when asked if he regretted what he had done to her. When pushed on the subject he spoke of love. "Love - we reporters were left speechless" a Bild journalist said.

"My dream is to one day get out of here alive, I want to look after my wife again because she always displayed loyalty to me." None of Fritzl's 13 children, including the 6 he fathered with Elisabeth, have visited him in prison. When he first went to gaol, Fritzl sent letters to his daughter, begging for money. Elisabeth, now 43, is in a relationship with a man who was formerly her guard.

His favourite show to watch on television in his cell is Two And a Half Men because the teenage boy in the show reminds him of his son. Watching tv in his cell doesn't sound anything like the punishment this man deserves but the world is now so politically correct, our argument is "this is how a civilized country deals with its prisoners" - even monsters like Josef Fitzl.

Reluctant Hero in Shark Attack

It's amazing how quickly things can go wrong. Nineteen year old Elyse Frankcom was doing what she loves best - leading a group of 33 people, including 3 children, on a dive to swim with the dolphins in the beautiful clear waters of Western Australia. They were having a wonderful time, swimming in shallow water with two dolphins when suddenly a 12ft shark came out of nowhere and bit into Elyse's hip.

Another member of the tour who was close by saw what was happening and quickly grabbed hold of the shark's tail and hung on until he finally let go of Elyse and swam away. As the water turned red with her blood and she slowly started to sink to the bottom, he scooped her up and brought her to the surface. But he wouldn't give his name and refused to be interviewed or speak about his couragous act and then he simply disappeared. She suffered serious injuries to her hips and thighs and was rushed into surgery but is in a stable condition. I wonder if the reluctant hero was shy or just plain humble. Someone needs to find this man so Elyse can thank him for saving her life.

Tony Blair's Sister-In-Law Converts to Islam

Tony Blair's sister-in-law, Lauren Booth, a British journalist, has converted to Islam. She tells a fascinating story of how it all came about. It started in the West Bank when she was working for The Mail on Sunday. Walking around the centre of Ramallah, it was cold and she was shivering when suddenly an old lady grabbed her hand. Talking rapidly in Arabic, she led her to a house in a side street and watched as she went through her daughter's wardrobe and pulled out a coat, a hat and a scarf. Then the lady took her back to the street, gave her a kiss, and sent her on her way. There had not been a single comprehensible word exchange between them but the meaning was clear.

She writes "It was an act of generosity I have never forgotten and one which, in various guises, I have seen repeated a hundred times. Yet this warmth of spirit is so rarely represented in what we read and see in the news."

Over the course of the next three years, she became involved with charities and pro-Palestinian groups and said "I felt challenged by the hardships suffered by Palestineans of all creeds. It is important to remember that there have been Christians in the Holy Land for 2000 years and that they too are suffering under Israel's illegal occupation."

Lauren writes about her conversion in a mosque. "When I sat down, a pulse of pure sheer spiritual joy shot through me. Not the joy that lifts you off the ground, but the joy that gives you complete peace and contentment. I sat for a long time. Young women gathered around me talking of the 'amazing thing happening to you'."

The single mother of two works full time and there's not a lot of time left for the study that Islam demands. You are expected to read the Koran from beginning to end and most people would spend months, if not years of study before making their declaration.

"People ask me how much of the Koran have I read and my answer is I've only covered 100 pages or so to date but before anyone sneers, the verses in the Koran should be read 10 lines at a time and they should be recited, considered and if possible, commited to memory. This is a serious text that I am going to know for life - it would help if I learnt Arabic and I would like to, but that will also take time."

She intends to establish a relationship with a couple of mosques in North London and get into a routine of going at least once a week. She now wears the headscarf but draws the line at the veil and the burqa. One of her concerns is if she continues to wear a headscarf, her employers might think that she's lost her mind and future employment could be jeapodized. Her non-Muslim friends are also getting worried and want to know if she will continue to go out with them for a few drinks. And the answer is a definite "No" she won't. So what does her mother think about it all? "I think she's happy if I'm happy and if, coming from a background of my father's alcoholism I'm going to avoid the stuff, then what could be better?"

So will Rupert Murdoch and other newspaper bosses think she's lost her mind and pass the assignment onto someone else? Only time will tell.