Spanish Cucumber Panic in Europe

German authorities have urged consumers not to eat raw cucumbers, tomatoes or lettuces as up to 330 serious infections have been reported across the country and 14 people have now died from a virulent strain of E.coli bacteria. Three out of four cucumbers were from an organic shipment from Spain that were sold in Hamburg supermarkets. The European Commission said that two southern Spanish producers of cucumbers are being investigated and a third suspect batch from either the Netherlands or Denmark was also under investigation. The German government said the deaths were caused by haemolytic-uremic syndrome, a serious complication of STEC which affects the blood, kidneys and nervous system and children and the elderly are the most seriously affected. The outbreak is the largest ever in the world of its kind and German officials don't know if the cucumbers were contaminated at the source, in transit, or in storage in Germany.

Professor Thomas Borody

Spain is furious at being blamed as the source. Cases of infection have been reported from Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK and suspect batches of cucumbers have been redistributed to France, Austria, Hungary, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. Because of the panic, people are not buying any fresh fruit and vegetables and farmers are suffering as tonnes of their vegetables are left to rot. I hope they haven't been using Biosolids.

Amity Smith

Biosolids are made from human sewerage and are being used as fertiliser on farms across New South Wales. Professor Thomas Borody thinks it's the reason for an outbreak of Third World parasites across Sydney. Doctors fear the Sydney Water biosolids strategy which turns 100,000 tonnes of human waste into fertilizer every year, is behind the gut bug Blastocystis hominis, usually found in dirty water in Third World countries and spread via faeces. Sydney Water says that our water is safe but secret tests show that it is not.

Sydney mother Amity Smith was told repeatedly by doctors that the reason she looked 6 months pregnant and was experiencing bad pain and stomach cramps was because she had irritable bowel syndrome. They kept telling her that for four years. As a last resort, she went to a specialist clinic and tests showed she had two parasites, dientamoeba fragilis and blastocystitis hominis in her gut. It took two infusions of anti-parasitic treatment to kill the pathogens. The doctor said it was transferred through the faecal-oral route - from eating contaminated food or drinking water that hasn't been treated properly in Third World countries. But Ms Smith hadn't been to any Third World countries. Sydney Water spokesman said the bug was not a concern and was unlikely to survive long outside the body and they were not aware of any cases directly caused by biosolids.

So biosolids are being used on our agricultural land and our health authorities are telling us not to worry. How will my juicy steak and veg ever taste the same if I know there's a possibility that the cow ate the grass and the vegetables were grown in human waste?

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Defence Team

Benjamin Brafman

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is gathering a crack team of investigators to fight back against charges he sexually assaulted a hotel chambermaid. People hired so far include ex CIA spies, experienced New York criminal investigators and some of the best-connected public relations specialists on the planet.

They have been looking into the accuser's background and that of her siblings, hoping to find out if she has any previous history of making false accusations against men for money. The victim's name has been freely published in Africa and France and journalists and investigators have visited the village in Guinea, West Africa where she was born, the youngest of 6 children.

Strauss-Kahn's legal team is headed by Benjamin Brafman who is known to be thorough and aggressive. He has represented Michael Jackson, Diddy Combs and other celebrities in the past.

Being a devout cynic, I expect this rich, powerful man will somehow escape the rape charge and walk free. Would his spies put pressure on the victim and her family and make her an offer she can't refuse to drop the case or does that only happen in the Sopranos? American justice let OJ go free so will they let it happen again?

Cate Blanchett Supports Carbon Tax

Cate Blanchett’s decision to star in an ad with Michael Caton supporting the proposed carbon tax won’t win her any friends. Her suggestion that a price on carbon is the correct thing to do for Australia will fall on deaf ears as struggling families try to cope with increased power bills and the soaring cost of living. The millionaire superstar may well be able to pay her electricity bills at her Hunters Hill mansion, but there are many who are doing it tough.

The government’s proposed tax is so unpopular that celebrity-backed ads will start on tv tonight urging us to “Say Yes” to a price on carbon. The ad campaign will cost around one million dollars and Green groups including Greenpeace are paying for it. The ad asks us to say ‘yes’ to creating jobs in green technologies but it doesn’t mention the jobs that will be lost if the tax goes through. Power generators and exporters such as steel-makers, miners and liquefied natural gas producers have all admitted there would be job losses if they aren’t awarded major compensation to cushion the blow. And back in April, Union boss Paul Howes warned the government that if one job was lost, they would withdraw their support.

This weekend, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet, Greens deputy Christine Milne and independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott have been locked in two-day talks to finalise a carbon price and nut out industry and household compensation.

A rumour is flying around Canberra that Greg Combet had been telling people in private meetings that Liberal Malcolm Turnbull will cross the floor to support the government’s carbon tax. Malcolm lost his job as Opposition leader last year because he took Labor’s side in the global warming debate. Mr Combet said he had definitely not been “spruiking” Mr Turnbull’s intentions and said his views on climate change are well known. “He’s made it clear that he respects the science, he’s also made it clear he thinks carbon should be priced, but I’m not in any position to suggest what he may or may not do.” Surely Malcolm won’t try to rock the boat again, if he does decide to cross the floor on this important issue, perhaps he should stay there permanently.

Asylum-Seeker Malaysian Solution

The Malaysian solution brings Labor closer to the Coalition's policy and more distant from the Greens who refuse to accept the removal of boat arrivals to Malaysia for processing. Chris Bowen declared "I expect protests, I expect legal challenges, I expect resistance." And he was right.

Greens MP Adam Bandt is due to introduce a notice of motion in the House of Reps on Monday condemning the deal and calling on the Prime Minister to call if off. It's rather ironic that Mr Brandt opposed the Pacific Solution before he entered pariament.

"With Nauru, we could put the conditions, we were responsible for their accommodation, their food, we were responsible for access to medical services and also our immigration officials were looking to find a place for them, if not Australia another country."

The motion has already passed the Senate and is likely to get a majority in the House of Representatives. If it's defeated, it will be the first time Julia Gillard's minority government has lost a vote on a motion condemning government policy. Chris Bowen and Julia Gillard desperately need to win this one to regain some credibility.

Malcolm Turnbull Spits the Dummy

The picture tells the story – it’s plain to see that Malcolm Turnbull is furious as he has words with Opposition whip Warren Entsch yesterday. The email names Malcolm Turnbull, Alby Schultz, John Forrest and Luke Hartsuyker for missing a division late on Tuesday night which resulted in the Coalition losing a vote on a minor issue. “This behaviour is totally unacceptable and shows great disrespect to their colleagues and the Coalition as a whole” it said. Malcolm was furious and has taken it very personally, believing it was leaked deliberately to make him look bad. Some cynics might say the email was payback for Malcolm’s outspoken comments on the Coalition’s climate change policy last week.

The day before, at Tuesday's party meeting, Tony had a difference of opinion with Senator Minchin who wants to support a Labor bill that will phase in over five years, an excise increase on LPG, LNG and compressed natural gas. Minchin said the excise increase was a Howard policy and the Coalition should support it.

Tony argued that circumstances had changed and that the focus on the cost of living was a political winner for the Coalition and it made sense not to increase tax on cleaner fuels. He told Senator Minchin that faced with a choice between ''policy purity and pragmatic political pragmatism, I'll take pragmatism every time."

The Old Man and the Prostitute

There’s no fool like an old fool. Melbourne man Michael Nesci 76, decided to have a prostitute Wanita Knell 34 visit his home. He must have been happy with the service because he sought her company more frequently and showered her with money and gifts. But it wasn’t enough - Ms Knell wanted his help to buy a house so he took out a reverse mortgage on his home and gave her $110,000. About a month after the money was transferred into Ms Knell’s account, she didn’t want to see him any more. When reality dawned, he decided to take her to court to get his money back plus interest. He told the court that the money was not a gift but a loan and Ms Knell had promised to repay him with the payout she would receive from a legal case she had pending against a police officer.

Enter Mr Nesci's daughter who finds out what her father has done and goes berserk. Ms Knell said that the money was definitely a gift and he only went to police claiming extortion after his daughter found out that the family home had been mortgaged. The judge said that Mr Nesci had not produced enough evidence to prove that the money was in fact a loan and the thing that must have really hurt - he was ordered to pay Ms Knell's court costs.

John Singleton Wants Sydney Ferries

Sydney ferries are up for grabs and Ocker billionaire John Singleton is interested - he says he can turn the iconic, service into a reliable, fast, and profitable organisation. A ferry ride across the harbour to Manly on a sunny Sunday is one of Sydney's unique experiences but an upgrade is long overdue.

When the Liberals took office after annihilating Labor in the state election earlier this year, Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian called for expressions of interest to run a franchised Sydney Ferries. The government would retain ownership and control over fare structures, routes and services, while the operator would run and maintain the fleet. A group of executives, including ad man Singo and former Qantas boss Geoff Dixon, are ready to take it on. The group formed a consortium last year to build Australia’s second-largest aviation leasing business – the $2 billion Global Aviation Asset Management.

"The whole thing is pretty simple," said Singo "We sat around and decided we wanted to look at somewhere else to invest, and then this opportunity came up. Transport is transport, marketing is marketing, and money is money. We can do it." But French company Veolia Transdev and Singapore’s ComfortDelGro have also shown interest in the project. TransdevTSL operates and maintains Brisbane City Council’s ferry service and owns and operates TransdevTSL Shorelink Bus service on Sydney’s north shore. They have a strong track record for making real improvements to both the operations and maintenance of public transport systems. But Singleton doesn't seem worried. "We have the financial backing, we have a stack of money in America waiting to invest and we are ready to do that - I think living in Sydney, and understanding ferries and using ferries is what you need. Unless you understand and love Sydney Harbour, you just wouldn't get it.” And then "I love getting on at Circular Quay and taking the ferry to Manly so I can have a beer at the Steyne (Hotel), there's nothing better. That's what it is all about." Yes Singo, that's exactly what it's all about.

Sydney-siders who don't use the ferries are still helping to fork out $80 million a year to prop up a service that is crippled by debt. "It has to be a better service, and it must have a better charging mechanism so that every user pays," he said. "At the moment you don't have ticket collectors and people just aren't buying tickets. "We've been talking about the T-card for 10 years but the government still hasn't come up with anything and that is something that could be done.”

Good luck to you Singo, I hope you get it.

David Hicks at the Sydney Writers Festival

David Hicks appeared at the Sydney Writers' Festival yesterday to talk about his book ‘Guantanamo: My Journey’ in front of a sold-out audience of 900 people. They were so thrilled with his performance that they gave him a standing ovation. Now the Director of Public Prosecutions will have to decide whether or not to seize the proceeds. Hicks brought along a photo of himself posing in military fatigues with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher slung over his arm and said “Okay, that’s me in the KLA training camp I talked about before in Albania” he went on ''It was years before the conflict in Afghanistan started and it's nothing but a silly boys' trophy shot.''

In 1999, David Hicks converted to Islam and took the name Muhammed Dawood and was captured in Afghanistan in December 2001 by the Afghan Northern Alliance and sold for $1,000 to the United States military. He was transported to Guantanamo Bay and classified as an enemy combatant. In a May 2001 he wrote a letter that said ''By the way I have met Osama bin Laden 20 times now, lovely brother, everything for the cause of Islam. The only reason the West calls him the most wanted Muslim is because he's got the money to take action.'' And when people of the calibre of former ASIO director Dennis Richardson said that Hicks received extensive al-Qaeda training, you have to believe him because he is supposed to know. Was he held too long in Guantanamo Bay without charge? Probably. Should he be allowed to keep the money he made from his book? No, he shouldn’t be rewarded in any way for his efforts to befriend an enemy of Australia.

IMF Chief's Wife Anne Sinclair

Disgraced banker Dominique Strauss-Kahn told an Air France hostess she had a ‘nice arse’ just moments before Police hauled him off his plane bound for France last Saturday. French magazine Le Point said that he called out ‘Quel beau cul!’ as she prepared her passengers for take-off. He asked a VIP receptionist at his hotel to join him for a drink and the following day asked another receptionist to share of bottle of Dom Perignon with him. Both women said that his attitude was entirely inappropriate.

Anne Sinclair is Strauss-Kahn’s third wife. Born in New York to French-Jewish parents who fled the Nazis, she is the grand-daughter of Paul Rosenberg, one of the greatest art dealers of the twentieth century. After high school she moved to France permanently and is an award-winning journalist and popular French TV personality.

She doesn’t seem embarrassed by her husband’s insatiable sexual appetite and believes he’s innocent, that’s why she paid $1 million in cash and $5 million insurance bond on her Washington townhouse to get him out of jail. She’s also paying $243,000 for armed guards who are posted outside his apartment to make sure he doesn’t make a dash for France.

The French have a strange tradition of secrecy regarding their politicians’ sex lives and a quick survey at the weekend showed that 50 per cent of the French population believe the ex-IMF chief was set up. And they have little compassion for the victim of the alleged attempted rape, whose identity some French newspapers have published. If found guilty, Strauss-Kahn could face a sentence of 25 years and a French government spokesman said he should be allowed to serve his sentence in France. I wonder if Anne Sinclair is now so French that she doesn't care about her husband's extra-marital affairs. On Sunday she was at a celebrity birthday party in Paris when she heard the bad news and she jumped on a plane. She has been grooming her husband, with the help of her vast fortune, to achieve his ultimate goal of winning the French presidency next May - he was a favourite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy.

In a recent blog Anne Sinclair wrote about the royal wedding, she said “They should enjoy their happy start because the reality of life comes soon enough.” I believe the reality of her husband’s life is yet to be revealed.

Princess Beatrice's Royal Wedding Hat

When I saw Princess Beatrice and Eugenie arrive at the royal wedding, my reaction was one of pity - that someone, somewhere had been responsible for making these two young women look ridiculous and hopefully it wasn't their mother, Fergie. But the hat that became the laughing stock of the world was suddenly seen in a new light after it was sold for charity on eBay for $123,000 - the proceeds split between UNICEF and British charity Children in Crisis.

The Wiggles who are UNICEF Australia ambassadors, took part in the bidding, hoping to bring the hat back to Australia and said "If we win, we might give it to Ricky Ponting to wear when he bats against the Poms next time."

The hat, designed by Irish milliner Philip Treacy, must be very pleased that his hideous creation is now world famous. The piece was described on the site as "a unique sculptural celebratory headpiece" made of tea rose silk and "This is a gravity-defying hat." Treacy, now based in London, designed many of the hats at the wedding and said he was “delighted, flattered and touched” by 22 year old Princess Beatrice's decision to donate the hat to charity. "I hope whoever wins the auction has as much fun with the hat as I have," the young royal said.

IMF Chief's Sordid Past

On a French TV chat show, a young female writer Tristane Banon dropped a bombshell – she said that the French Finance Minister, Dominique Strauss-Kahn had tried to rape her . It was 2002 and she was 22 years old. When the show went to air his name was bleeped out, so the producers obviously decided to cover it up. Had someone followed up her accusation, he would never have become the head of the International Monetary Fund, the post he took up a few months later.

Anne Sinclair and his daughter Camille

Banon said she asked for an interview with him and was surprised when he suggested they rendezvous at a different address. He led her into an apartment that was empty except for a TV, video player and a bed. He wanted to hold her hand - he said he would struggle to speak otherwise - but then he grabbed her arm and tried to touch her breasts and she demanded that he stop. But he wouldn't and they ended up fighting on the floor. She was kicking him and screaming but he still managed to unfasten her bra and tried to force her jeans down. In desperation, she screamed the word “rape” in his face, hoping it was slow him down but he took no notice. She escaped by the skin of her teeth and likened his antics to a “rutting chimpanzee”.

Tristane Banon

.

She saw a lawyer who already had a large dossier on Strauss-Kahn but decided it would tarnish her reputation if she went ahead with the case, so she dropped it. The French newspapers protected him by not publishing the story and there was only one scandal magazine Entrevue who ran with it. All the media were quite happy to keep this powerful man free to pursue his assault on unsuspecting women.

His first marriage produced three children and in the mid eighties he married Brigitte Guillemette and their daughter Camille is now a New York phD student. In 1996 he met and married American expat Anne Sinclair, France’s most famous political talk-show host. She gave up her career to support her ambitious husband and chose to ignore a personal warning from Sarkozy that his crude chauvinism would not be tolerated in America. And Mr Sarkozy, also a serial adulterer, was right. Yesterday, the discerning wealthy residents of the Britol Plaza in Manhattan said that he and his family were not welcome and they had to find alternative accommodation.

The maid, a 32 year old West African immigrant said he chased her down a hallway, forced her to perform oral sex and tried to remove her stockings. Looking for his DNA, police cut a piece of carpet from the hotel room where the maid said she spat. The new seven count indictment states that he committed two counts of a criminal sexual act, one count of attempted rape, two counts of sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching.

President Obama's Peace Plan for Israel

President Obama has done what no other American President would dare to do – he’s publicly told Israel they should revert to their pre-1967 borders and that he supports Palestinian demands for statehood. As expected, this revelation went down like a lead balloon with Benjamin Netanyahu and he’s made it clear that this will never happen.

President Obama said “I'm aware that these steps alone will not resolve the conflict, because two wrenching and emotional issues will remain: the future of Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian refugees. He went on “But moving forward now on the basis of territory and security provides a foundation to resolve those two issues in a way that is just and fair, and that respects the rights and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians.”

The President doesn’t believe in a power-sharing deal between Fatah and Hamas. “How can you negotiate with a party that has shown itself unwilling to recognise your right to exist?” he said. Nor does he support a Palestinian plan to pursue statehood through the UN - “Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the UN in September won’t create an independent state."

In 2002 President Bush gave a commitment to Israel - they should keep large settlement blocs as part of any peace deal with the Palestinians. Mr Netanyahu said “Those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines” and added “The viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of Israel’s existence”.

Needless to say the Republicans are furious. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (who is hoping to run for the party’s presidential nomination) probably sums up the Republican view when he said “President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus.” Some people would argue that it's about time.

Asylum-Seekers Rejected by Malaysia

The Labor Party have embarrassed themselves yet again by announcing policy before it has been finalised. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said twelve days ago that Malaysia would take 800 asylum seekers in return for 4,000 Malaysian refugees. Since then over 100 people have been intercepted in Australian waters and the Minister told a news conference they would all be processed overseas. But Malaysia has rejected any suggestion of accepting asylum-seekers until the agreement is signed.

On Tuesday the Minister said "What we've said about people who arrive in Australia from last Saturday, and this is the situation again consistently from now on, is that anybody who arrives in Australia will not be processed in Australia and has no guarantee of resettlement in Australia.” The next day, Wednesday, a spokesman for Mr Bowen said "No person will be sent to Malaysia until the arrangements are finalised."

Chris Bowen and the government are floundering and their desperation to find a workable solution to this problem is clear. The mess they have created is embarrassing and as every day passes without a solution, their credibility only gets worse.

Tony Abbott Supports Tobacco Industry

Tony Abbott is a fitness fanatic and former health minister so he knows that smoking kills. Last year he said that he would support plain cigarette packaging with graphic warnings but now he’s changed his mind. He says he’s not convinced the changes will help reduce smoking. Tobacco companies give huge donations to the Liberal Party so could it be they have made him an offer he can’t refuse?

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said they expected the tobacco companies to fight them but hadn’t planned on having to take on Tony Abbott as well. NSW and Victorian Liberal governments are supporting the move but Abbott said “My anxiety with this is that it may end up being counterproductive in practice”.

Chief Executive of British American Tobacco Australia, David Crow said they would “spend as much as it takes” to kill off plain packaging. They would contact every MP today to warn it was a “dangerous experiment” that would waste taxpayers’ money. They argue that plain packaging will allow illicit tobacco to diminish their market share.

We really need bipartisan support on this one but it looks like the tobacco industry has Tony Abbott over a barrel. And this will be a true test of his character.

Advertisement: Story continues belo

IPCC Meeting in Queensland

Dr Rajendra Pachauri

This week on the Gold Coast experts from around the world are meeting to finalise a special report on global warming. Chairman of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Dr Rajendra Pachauri admitted yesterday that the IPCC had been damaged over leaked emails and its use of poor quality research but said his organisation welcomed debate and was not guilty of overstating its case. Then he dropped a bombshell - he believes that Cyclone Yasi and the Brisbane floods were not directly linked to man-made climate change. He said there is plenty of evidence to show there is an increase in extreme weather events around the world but linking them to climate change is very difficult. “I don’t think anyone can make a categorical statement on that” he said.

This puts him at odds with Bob Brown, leader of the Greens who said the coal industry was responsible for the Brisbane floods - their contribution to global warming was the reason for our extreme weather conditions.

Dr Pachauri is pessimistic about a global deal to tackle climate change and cited Australia’s battle to introduce a carbon tax as an example of what was happening around the world, particularly in the US. When asked about the IPCC’s reputation he said they were focused on producing the best possible reports. "We welcome debate, we welcome discussion on all our findings, but a number of people also express the opinion that IPCC has understated the case and we expect in the fifth assessment report we will be able to provide a lot more knowledge by which, hopefully, the debate can become a little more focused," he said. "If you shut yourself off from questioning and doubt and discourse on whatever science is doing, you are limiting the ability and the power of science to provide solutions."

He said 60 per cent of the scientists contributing to the fifth assessment had not had anything to do with the IPCC before. "Our ability to communicate what we are doing has clearly not been adequate and we are now taking the steps to bring about adequate capacity within the IPCC," he said.

Climate change is a dirty would at the moment and there is bitter division about the proposed carbon tax that will impact so severely on industry and already overstretched family budgets. And it looks likely to be passed in Parliament with the help of the Independents after a dummy run last week. But our Prime Minister does not have a mandate from the people - she promised she would not introduce a carbon tax but after she was elected by the skin of her teeth by the Independents, she changed her mind and a large proportion of the electorate is furious about it.

One disaster after another seems to follow the Labor Party - the insulation debacle, the solar panels, the school building revolution and now set-top boxes for pensioners. Labor's asylum-seeker policy is costing us $600 million a year, around $60,000 per boat person, but veterans who have served overseas can't get a few lousy dollars for their service and disability pensions. All these mistakes, combined with the carbon tax, looks certain to bring down our first lady Prime Minister and only a miracle can save her now.

Cult leader Alan John Miller says he is Jesus Christ

A couple in Queensland have devised an ingenious way to live without having to work. How? He claims to be Jesus Christ and she is Mary Magdalene and they ask their followers for money to survive. Alan John Miller 47 and Mary Suzanne Luck 32 bought a 16 hectare property in rural Wilkesdale near Kingaroy in 2007 and their Divine Truth followers have been buying up blocks nearby ever since.

“My name is Jesus and I’m serious” Miller says in a workshop video. Cult members joined forces and bought a 240 hectare property where they plan to build a centre for international visitors called The Divine Love Of Jesus. When seen from Google Earth, the land already cleared has created a giant cross and locals insist is wasn’t done deliberately – it is a complete coincidence.

Locals reported hearing screams coming from the property but after police investigated they found that members were involved in exorcising rituals where they are encouraged to shout loudly to help process “past soul damage.”

So who is he? No, he’s not American, John Miller was born in Loxton South Australia and has two children from a previous marriage. It ended when he started to believe he was Jesus and remembered details of his past life. Yesterday he was in NSW and held a workshop in Albury. “There are probably a million people in the world who say they are Jesus Christ and most of them are in asylums. But one of us has to be. How do I know I am? Because I remember everything about my life” he said.

Curious to discover why intelligent, rational Australians would choose to believe this man is Jesus Christ, I had a look at their Divine Truth website, here are a couple of excerpts from it.

.......Because of my personal desire and passion for God, as I grew, I recognized not only that I was the Messiah that was foretold by ancient prophets, but also that I was in a process designed by God that all humans could follow, if they so desired.

......During the intervening time from the first century until the 20th century I led, from the heavens, the process of discovery of even more spiritual Divine Truth and this was fuelled by my personal desire and passion to become ever closer to God. Mary Magdalene, being my soulmate, also had a very similar desire and as Mary and other followers passed into the spirit world, they also continued to exercise a desire to follow me in this process of discovery of Divine Truth and receiving Divine love from God through prayer.

Well, it’s a free country and people can do what they want but the thing that bothers me most about these weird cults is that emotionally needy adults drag their young children along with them. They are the forgotten innocents brought into the fold of religious extremism and who knows what affect this will have on their adult lives.

Sydney Harbour Bridge Protest

One man, a highly trained former elite soldier, shut down Sydney yesterday morning. Just after 5 am, Michael Fox 38, from Narrabeen, drove onto the bridge in a hire ute and stopped. He took a ladder out of the ute, easily scaled the security fence and quickly climbed to the top. Once there, he unfurled two protest messages “Please help my kids” and “Kids first”. He left a note in the truck “You’ve taken my kids - I’ve taken your bridge” and warned police not to send anyone after him.

So they closed the bridge to everyone - pedestrians, bikes, trains and cars - and one solitary man brought the city to a standstill. He is one of hundreds of desperate, distraught fathers who have been denied access to their children. He rang Alan Jones, Sydney’s No 1 radio personality. Jones promised Fox that if he came down, he would personally see the Minister and DOCS and anyone else who could help his cause. On hearing this promise, he quickly abseiled down into the waiting arms of police. Michael Fox had achieved his goal but 40,000 motorists and thousands of train commuters were furious and got to work 2 hours late.

Mr Fox, a veteran of Iraq, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was charged with minor offences of obstructing traffic and climbing or jumping from buildings. ''This is not the act of a desperate man; this is the act of a determined man,'' he told the court. Outside court he apologised for the disruption he had caused. When his marriage broke down, his wife was given custody of their three children and he hasn't been able to see them for 70 days. He blames police and welfare authorities for his situation. He was granted bail and thought it was "disgusting" when told he was not to contact his wife or children.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell immediately ordered more security for the bridge. We are so laid-back in this city, we only had one security guard on duty at one of our most famous landmarks.

Budget Cuts Hits Middle Class

Treasurer Wayne Swan says he doesn’t believe couples earning $150,000 are “rich” but everyone must pull their weight to return the budget to surplus. People earning $150,000 or more will no longer be eligible for family payments and other benefits because they are considered wealthy enough to go without them. The cuts include Family Tax Benefits A and B, the baby bonus and paid parental leave until 2014 which will save the government $1 billion over the next four years. The Treasurer said “What we do is pay generous benefits for families on modest incomes and it goes a long way up the income scale, but sometimes we have to tighten our belt a bit and that is what we are doing with family payment at the top end.”

Enter young couple from the top end, Mark Fowler and Tegan Hardcastle-Fowler who say they can’t save enough deposit to get them into the property market. They didn’t realise that statistics show they are in the richest 15 per cent of Australian households. Mr Fowler, a wine salesman, says high rent and electricity have hit them hard. He has no problem being called middle-class but rejects the notion he is wealthy. Tegan is halfway into her eighth month of maternity leave and would love to spend more time with her baby but says she must soon return to full-time work. Going back part-time isn’t an option because child care rates are around $100 per day.

These welfare changes will undoubtedly affect many women who work part time – she might think twice if her husband is earning more than $100,000, it could tip them over the $150,000 threshold. Treasurer Swan concedes that the numbers will rise with inflation over the years as the threshold falls further behind wages.

Another family man earning slightly over $150,000 said they are financially stressed. “We have no access to family benefits, pay extra for the flood tax, no baby bonus, no childcare benefit and possibly no private health insurance rebate. On top of my ever increasing mortgage payments, rising electricity, petrol and other costs of living, we are near breaking point.” He added “Perhaps I should give up my current job, take up teaching, spend more time with my family and live on government handouts – I would probably be better off overall”.

Budget 2011 - Labor Overhauls Welfare

Julia Gillard has shown courage in attempting to overhaul the welfare system. Imagine the outcry if Tony Abbott attempted to shake up the long term unemployed, teenage mothers who have no intention of ever getting a job, or invalid pensioners who are quite capable of going out to work. These people have been living off welfare for years but no political party has been brave enough to tackle them. Until now.

The Prime Minister is hoping to break the cycle of dependence by getting them off welfare and into paid work. They will all have to meet strict work and training requirements or risk having their payments cut. They will also spend $100 million extending the controversial income management scheme to ensure welfare payments are spent on essentials. They will give generous incentives to employers to take on the long-term unemployed, older workers and people with disabilities. There will be extra training in literacy and numeracy for job seekers who have been on the dole for more than 12 months. Aged pensioners, students, disability support pensioners and single parents will also be able to work more hours before their pensions are cut. Work for the dole activities will be increased to 11 months of the year instead of six, for people who have been on the NewStart Allowance for more than two years.

The problem of young mothers living the life of Riley has finally been addressed. Teenage parents will have to return to school to finish year 12 after their child turns one, instead of six, or risk losing their parenting payment. The program will be trialled in ten disadvantaged areas from January next year. Young parents under 23 who have been unemployed for more than two years in those same ten communities will also have to plan a return to work through Centrelink or face having their welfare payments suspended. The same approach will be taken with disability pensioners under 35.

There are far too many young people in Australia who believe that Centrelink owes them a living but after today, they may have to think again.

Asylum Seeker Swap with Malaysia Unfair

When Tony Abbott said Labor’s new plan for the asylum seeker problem was a ‘panicked, desperate thought bubble’, it’s hard not to agree with him. Labor is floundering so badly, they don’t seem to have any credibility left. Maybe Wayne Swan can pull a rabbit out of the hat tonight when he brings down the budget, but I doubt it. With memories of the ceiling insulation and school building debacle still in our minds, they have another scheme ready to be rolled out – free set top boxes for pensioners. Labor has budgeted for $400 for each pensioner across Australia and the box itself can be bought for as little as $50. Although the principle of helping old age pensioners is commendable, it’s their track record of implementing policies that brings them undone. This time Wayne Swan says it will be done properly and tenders will be called for so let’s hope they get it right.

Tony Abbott has stepped up his attack on Labor’s asylum seeker deal with Malaysia – he doesn’t like it - and quotes the bleeding obvious - that Labor has gone back on everything they said they hated about John Howard's refugee solution by adopting one that some might argue is even tougher. Malaysia will be falling over themselves to sign the deal because it's very much in their favour - we send Malaysia 800 asylum seekers who arrive by boat and in return, we would accept 4,000 genuine refugees from them over four years.

People waiting in Malaysian camps have no access to welfare, are not allowed to work and living conditions are cramped and overcrowded. Julia Gillard ruled out John Howard’s Nauru solution because they are not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. Now she’s decided that Malaysia is okay and they aren’t a member of the convention either. It certainly sounds like policy was being made on the run and rumour has it that neither the Cabinet nor the Labor caucus were consulted before the announcement on Saturday. Opposition Senator Abetz said "Here we have an exchange of one for five and Julia Gillard thinks it's a good deal. I'm sure that Malaysia thinks it's a great deal because they are clearly the winners in this situation.”

Another critical question is can the Prime Minister send children to Malaysia knowing how appalling living conditions are there? I think this will get her into a lot of trouble, especially with the Greens. Ms Gillard said "If you get on a boat then the risk you run is that you end up in Malaysia and I'm not going to put any conditions or caveats on that," she said. "We expect resistance, we expect protests but no-one should doubt our determination to get this done."

Asylum-Seeker Swap with Malaysia

Asylum seekers on Christmas Island must be breathing a sigh of relief – they won’t be going to the horror refugee camps in Malaysia and nor will the 85 Iranians who arrived at the island on Saturday around the same time that Julia Gillard was making her announcement in Canberra. They are safe because the deal is not yet signed. The government’s plan to undertake an asylum-seeker swap with Malaysia is bad news for those already on their way and Immigration officials flew to the island on Saturday to implement the new arrangements for the first transfer of 800 asylum seekers by plane to detention in Malaysia.

The Detention Centre is on high alert with 108 Australian Federal Police ready for trouble. In March detainees took control of the centre for more than a week, knocking down fences and burning buildings to the ground. Police had to use beanbag bullets and teargas to regain control and they are concerned about aggressive behaviour from some detainees in recent weeks.

The Australian Federal Police began operations on 19 October 1979. The catalyst for its formation was the Sydney Hilton hotel bombing the year before and a realisation by the Australian government that an organisation was needed to deal with issues such as terrorism at a national level. The AFP provides community policing to the ACT, the Jervis Bay Territory, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands and provides protective security for and on behalf of the Australian Government.

Is Pakistan a Reliable Ally?

General Kayani

Relations between Pakistan and America are decidedly cool after Osama bin Laden was found hiding right under their nose. The head of Pakistan's Army General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is furious and said he would not tolerate another incident like it. He released a statement which read "Any similar action violating the soverignty of Pakistan will warrant a review of the level of millitary/intelligence co-operation with the US." They intend to cut back the number of American soldiers involved in a training program, now saying they only require 39 instead of 120 and all CIA contractors will no longer be allowed to stay in Pakistan. The CIA did not share their intelligence with Pakistan on this occasion and many would argue that is why bin Laden's caputre was successful.

One of Pakistan's best known television journalists, Kamran Khan said "They (the Army) have no answer" and added "We have become the biggest haven for terrorism in the world and we have failed to stop it."

On ABC Breakfast yesterday morning, a reporter interviewed three young Pakistani men in a coffee shop in Abbottabad. They said that Osama bin Laden was their hero and they were appalled by the way he was killed. They felt much safer when he was alive and join him in his hatred for America and the west for helping them wage wars on the Arab world.

Perhaps he should have asked them what they thought about the 30,000 innocent Pakistani civilians and 3,000 soldiers who have died in the fight against terrorism. We are all in this together.

Today American lawmakers are upset that the Obama administration is signing off money to Pakistan while at the same time criticizing it for harbouring terrorists. I can understand how they feel, in 2010 Australia gave Pakistan $35 million when floods devastated the area. Maybe it's time for Pakistan to figure out who their real friends are.

Tony Abbott goes surfing with Asylum Seeker

Waiz Waik, a former Afghan refugee is going surfing with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott this morning at Manly. He arrived in Australia in 1999 when he was 18 and spent 9 months in mandatory detention.

At last year’s annual Press Gallery Ball in Canberra, they had the usual auction for charity and the one prize that attracted the highest bid of $16,000 was the offer to have breakfast with and a surfing lesson from Tony Abbott. Lawn bowls with Kevin Rudd came second with a bid of $12,600 and dinner with the Prime Minister raised an even $10,000.

The funds were provided by the lobby group GetUp and they are hoping that the one-on-one meeting will soften the coalition's approach to asylum seekers. After the personal surfing lesson, they will have brunch at a nearby cafe.

Asylum Seekers Dump Passports

Over 80 per cent of asylum seekers on their way to Australia destroy their passports before landing. Immigration figures reveal that 5,213 people who arrived illegally by boat between 2008 and 2010 had flown directly to Indonesia and boarded a boat to Australia. Only 21 of those people still had their passports with them and less than a quarter had any documentation at all.

But Immigration Minister Chris Bowen isn't worried and yesterday he said no one currently being assessed in the system had failed ASIO checks. But how can he possibly know if these people really are who they claim to be without any identification? The people smugglers tell their customers to fly to Indonesia and wait there for a boat. They needed a passport to fly there, but once on board their boat, they destroy them.

The practice of discarding documentation is routine among asylum seekers and is designed to frustrate Australian authorities trying to determine whether a person has a legitimate asylum claim or not. And it's working just fine.

Osama bin Laden's Computers

Intelligence agencies are hoping to discover a gold mine of information after finding five computers, 10 hard drives and 100 storage devices at Osama bin Laden’s compound on Sunday. They are hoping to expose terror plots, the location of Al Qaeda members, how it was funded and where the money came from. They will also be looking for evidence that Pakistan was involved in keeping his location a secret.

Computer experts will first dismantle the hardware, careful not to trigger booby traps that would erase the files. They are expecting most of the information to be in code but if they can find just one bank account, they could start to unravel vital information. There was no internet or telephone connection to the compound which could explain the large number of DVDs found in the house. It seems that he relied on CD-ROMs delivered by trusted courier instead of logging onto computer networks.

In a will bin Laden made 3 months after September 11, he tells his 24 children and their offspring not to join al-Qaeda and apologises for not being able to spend more time with them. The reason, he said, was that he decided to dedicate his life for Jihad. The will, published in a Kuwaiti newspaper, detailed the reasons why he hated America and Israel so much but didn’t mention anything about leaving specific possessions – unusual because his father who was a construction millionaire in Saudi Arbia, left him a fortune said to be around $27 million. Perhaps it is all gone, spent in the pursuit of hatred and revenge. He also had a parting message for his four wives “Don’t consider marrying again, devote yourselves to your children and guide them to the right path” he said.