HMS Bounty smashed to pieces by Sandy

Six metre waves and ferocious gales created by Hurricane Sandy, sank the HMS Bounty in minutes.  Rescue teams managed to save 15 of the 16 crew but tragically, when 42 year old Claudene Christian was pulled from the water, she could not be revived.  Captain Robin Walbridge 63, is still missing.


HMS Bounty is a replica of the British Navy's original ship that became famous for the mutiny that took place on 28th April, 1789.  Captain Bligh was known for his foul language and hot temper, but it was his cruel treatment of his men that caused Officer Fletcher Christian to snap. Together with a handful of men, Christian overpowered Bligh and set him adrift in a small boat with loyal officers and crew.

Knowing they could never return to England, Christian and the mutineers went to Pitcairn, as obscure, uncharted island and burnt the ship, removing all trace of their existence.  Captain Bligh eventually made it back to England and went on to become an unpopular Governor of New South Wales.

Navy sailors from the submarine USS Mississippi test the wheel earlier this month

The Bounty was built for the 1962 movie Mutiny on the Bounty starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard.  It was built to the original drawings from in the British Admiralty archives, but its dimensions were enlarged by around one third, to fit the enormous 70 mm cameras.

When it came time to burn the ship, Brando objected and threatened to walk out in protest, so MGM agreed to his demands and the ship was spared.  It went on to become one of Hollywood's most famous ships.

This year HMS Bounty was put up for sale by its current owners for $4.6 million.

Goodbye Casey Stoner, King of Phillip Island

Yesterday was a day Casey Stoner will never forget as 53,000 of his adoring fans came to witness their hero race one more time on his favourite track.  And seeing him win again for the sixth time was almost too much, and the eurphoria in the crowd was palpable.


Even though there is one more race to go, Lorenzo is so far ahead on points, he wins the MotoGP championship for the second time.  There was speculation that Stoner may not finish the season but he will compete in the final race in Spain in a fortnight.  "I'm going to Valencia to see if I can get another good result" he said.

Jorge Lorenzo, new world champion

And he doesn't plan on coming back.  "I've got no thoughts whatever at this time of ever even thinking of coming back" he said.

Championship contender Dani Pedrosa started well but slid out on Honda Corner in lap three and retired from the race.  "It's a sad feeling more than disappointment, I pushed as hard as I could, I did what I had to do and I have no regrets for my riding, especially this season."

After the race, Lorenzo said "Casey was in another world. I have a lot of respect for him because he is probably the most talented rider I have ever seen, we will miss him a lot."

Stoner said "I have so much respect for Dani and Jorge, I've been racing them my whole career - and we've been challenging each other and fighting with each other for many years so there will definitely be something missing inside sometimes."

Stoner won two World Championships (2007 and 2011) and achieved 38 premier-class wins.  Yesterday's race was 27 laps, his race number is 27 and this month he turns 27.

Dani Pedroza

Nobody really knows why Stoner is retiring.  Some say he's lost his passion for the sport, others think he wants to spend more time with family.  Honda has tried everything to change his mind and it's rumoured they offered him $15 million to race in 2013.

Goodbye Casey Stoner and thanks for the ride.

Janene Devine, a shocking case of neglect

Janene Devine was only 48 years old when she died and had to suffer years of neglect at the hands of her full-time carer and husband Andrew, a trained nurse.  She was a tall woman, 170 centimetres (or 5ft 7in), yet only weighed 30 kilos when she died in March 2007.  Her body was covered in bed sores and faeces when she was found in the filthy house she shared with her husband in Perth.

Coroner Dominic Mulligan has to determine whether her husband Andrew Devine's neglect contributed to her death.


Police took a video of her skeletal body and it was shown at the inquest this week.  The smell in the bedroom was described as being so bad, those present could hardly breathe.


But everyone is running for cover - the husband, medical staff, the police, her two sons, her mother and other family members.


Psychiatrist Dr Hans Stampfer said the last occasion he saw Mrs Devine in 2005, he believed she was going into a group care home in Maylands.  "I thought Janene's safety was assured....that all fell through at the eleventh hour" he said.  He also said that her husband had been showing signs of not coping for two years.  


Fremantle Hospital occupational therapist Kate Ballard said Mr Devine refused her offer of a referral to an incontinence adviser and to the MS Society.  He also rejected an offer of a home visit and a free ramp at the front of their home.  But in hindsight, Ms Ballard admitted she might have pushed for a home visit "in stronger terms." 


Police said they didn't look into why she was so thin because the pathologist told them that Multiple Sclerosis was responsible for her body wasting away.  But that wasn't true, the reason she was so pitifully thin was because she wasn't getting enough liquid food through a tube into her stomach.  The inquest heard that she needed 532 cans of nourishment during the last few months of her life but only received 288 cans.


Janene's 88 year old mother Margaret Cannard said she visited her daughter at her home in April 2007.  She and her husband were not invited into the home and had to visit with her in the front yard.  Her husband wheeled her out in a "lazy boy" and it soon became clear that her daughter could not see, hear or move.  Four days later she was dead. 


Margaret Cannard said she thought her daughter should have been in a home or at least registered with a care service but she didn't raise the issue with her husband because "I couldn't have told him anything" she said "He knew everything."  


Mrs Cannard received a note from Andrew Devine two years before she died which said he was going to kill them both.  A few days later she got another note telling her to ignore the first one, which she did.  But it was enough for her sister to act and she contacted police. 


Janene then spent the next seven months being treated at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital but instead of going into group housing, which she was offered, her husband said staff weren't skilled enough to look after her properly so she was discharged into his care.  

A year later, Janene was admitted to Fremantle Hospital in a "state of decreased consciousness" and weighed 40 kilos.  Again she was discharged into her husband's care after he explained that as a registered nurse, he was trained to administer food via a tube into her stomach.  But reports show that the "number of cans ordered through the hospital could not possibly sustain her through until the day she died."  

Andrew Devine's evidence was suppressed when his lawyer argued that the testimony was so incriminating, it could prejudice a future jury. The case will be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions if evidence of a crime is found. 

This case brings home the dilemma faced by family members who object to their loved one's choice of partners, but are loathe to intervene.  It reminds us that we must.

The inquest continues.



Edit December 2012:  A forensic report found her death was consistent with late stage Multiple Sclerosis in association with underlying Sepsis.  Sepsis is an illness in which the body has a severe response to bacteria or other germs.  This response may be called Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS).  Because of an already weakened immune system, those with MS must be extra careful in avoiding germs.

Forensic pathologist Jodie White said she could not rule out malnutrition had contributed to the death, or positional asphyxia, where breathing is interrupted by an item such as a pillow.  The court heard Janene Devine's husband Andrew told police at the time he suspected his wife had suffocted but he did not want to make a statement because he thought he would be blamed.

Outside court, Mr Devine said he was glad the matter was finally being heard.  "I'm very pleased that my family can move on from this" he said.  "we've been held in limbo for five years, too long, and I'm just so happy and I think Janene herself would be happy."  Mr Devine says he would leave it to the courts to decide whether his name would be cleared.

Where is Rhama El-Dennaoui?

The inquest into the disappearance of baby Rhama El-Dennaoui restarted this week and now the inquiry is looking into the possibility that her abduction was staged.  Police secretly tapped the phones of her parents and their extended family for months and those conversations were played to the court.


The 20 month old girl was last seen at her home in the Sydney suburb of Lurnea about 2am on 10th November 2005 sleeping with her two sisters.  When the family awoke next morning, she was gone and there was a hole cut in the flyscreen on the window, big enough for a small child to be lifted through.


At the April inquest, Rahma's father Hosayn denied he is a well known drug dealer and that his daughter accidentally swallowed ecstacy the night before she vanished.  It was also alleged that he left home early the day Rahma went missing and was absent for several hours.

A pistol and other gun parts were found by police in Mr El-Dennaoui's garage during the search for Rahma but he said they had been in a leather bag he bought off a stranger outside his house. He didn't know the guns were in the bag and thought he was buying a bag that contained three gold chains.  The court also heard that Rahma's father regularly entertained men with criminal links at his family home.


On April 27, The Daily Telegraph published new allegations that Mr El-Dennaoui had killed his daughter in a fit of rage and her body had been taken to a farm in the country, outside Sydney, and hidden.


The child's aunt Rouba Dennaoui who gave evidence in April was most uncooperative yesterday.   Conversations between herself and relatives were played to the court and she was asked to explain why they chose to use code words. She sat with her arms crossed and repeatedly answered "I don't know" or "I can't remember."  The Coroner said her refusal to answer questions gave a "suspicious flavour" to the taped conversations.

Family 2006

Rahma's father often joked about collecting the reward money for information about the case, which has increased to $200,000.   In one recorded conversation with his brother-in-law Said Dennaoui, he said that a relative could confess to police, collect the reward money and split it between them.  He says "They can transfer it (the reward) to me" to which Said says "Well that's it, you go and confess."

Rahma's mother was drilled about the child's health after it was alleged she was often sick, regularly visited the doctor and cried a lot.   Her mother said that was not true.


The child's aunt initially told a friend she had been caring for the sick child the night she disappeared and saw her father "throw her against a couch."  But yesterday she denied she was there. "I was at my house" she said.


Evidence gathered by police found that Rahma's father has a foul temper and demanded strict obedience from his children and some believe he may have accidentally killed his daughter in a fit of rage.


With so many allegations and no cooperation, will they ever find the truth?

The inquest continues.

Waterhouse and Singo's Cox Plate barrier war

Yesterday John Singleton was furious when he found out that his champion mare More Joyous will run in gate 11 this weekend in  the Cox Plate. 

He wanted an inside barrier and said he was gutted when trainer Gai Waterhouse deliberately chose gate 11 instead.  “I instructed my racing manager Duncan Grimley to tell Gai to get barrier 4 to 6 if possible. Gai didn't need to pick that barrier, it's absolutely ridiculous, no one in the world thinks this is a good barrier."

Waterhouse had all 14 barriers to choose from and surprised everyone when she selected 11.  "I love Gai but this is bloody madness," Singleton said. "If this was a normal race and not the Cox Plate, the horse would be scratched and the trainer sacked.”

Waterhouse defended her decision and thinks the field will string out and barrier 11 gives the mare more room to move. "When I spoke to Duncan, I said I'd sooner go out than in, I didn't want her to be locked away on the fence. The dye is cast now and we have got the barrier that last year's winner (Pinker Pinker) came out of."

But Singleton doesn’t agree and is fuming..  "This isn't death, it is suicide," he said "It will be almost impossible for her to win now - the bookies aren't idiots, she is out to $13 and will probably end up $20 on race day. I'm absolutely gutted - I doubt I'll even bother going now."

Singleton pointed out there have only been 5 winners who started from barrier 11 in the 70 year history of the Cox Plate.  But the punters don’t seem to mind because More Joyous has been one of the best-backed runners after the barrier draw was announced, with the mare firming from $13 to $11 last night.

Last year’s Cox Plate winner Pinker Pinker was ridden by Craig Williams.  This year he’s decided not to go with the favourite Pierro but will ride second favourite, Green Moon instead.  "If I wanted to go to war with a horse, I'd go to war with Green Moon," he said when the stallion drew barrier 5.  "I've done all the work on Green Moon….and I’ve never ridden Pierro.”

Waterhouse has three horses running this weekend - More Joyous, Pierro and Proisir.  As of last night, Pierro remained the $4 favourite ahead of Green Moon ($4.80), Ocean Park ($5.50), Proisir ($9) and All Too Hard ($9.50).

But today all is forgiven when Waterhouse described Singo’s dummy spit as a “lover’s tiff” and said “We’ve been texting each other overnight, when he gets cross, it’s best not to ring him.”

Islam convert beaten for drinking alcohol

Cristian Martinez

Sharia punishment from the dark ages is alive and well in the suburbs of Sydney.  When recent convert to Islam, Cristian Martinez, begged his spiritual adviser to stop beating him, he was told that his body was being "cleansed" by Allah.  Four men held him down and gave him 40 lashes to his back for drinking alcohol and taking drugs.



Four men faced Burwood court yesterday and pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.  It is alleged that Zakaryah Raad 21, Tolga Cifci 21, Wassim Fayad 44 and Cengiz Coskun 22, went to his home in Silverwater in July 2011, to perform a Sharia punishment and took CCTV film from cameras installed inside the home.  All four men pleaded not guilty.   


But it was Mr Martinez who rang Wassim Fayad and told him he had been drinking alcohol and taking cocaine at a nightclub.  As a new convert, he saw him as his spiritual leader but said he was never told about Sharia punishment and had no idea about what was about to happen.


Fayad told him over the phone "It means I’m going to tie you up brother…. it’s what has to happen.. that's what you need."  His friend Raad then allegedly went to his home before letting the other three men inside.


He was held down on his bed and whipped 10 times with an electrical cord.  He then ran to the bathroom and vomited.  When he had finished, he willingly went back to his bed to await the rest.



When Martinez started vomiting, crying and pleading for mercy, Fayad allegedly told him that the vomiting was “Allah taking impurity out of the body because you are being cleansed” and if he didn’t complete the punishment of 40 lashes, he would be punished himself.


Then they gave Martinez a cold, wet towel for the welts on his back before continuing with the last 20 lashes. "After the 40 lashes, I couldn't bear the pain ... I even wanted to jump off the balcony, I was running to the front door.  "(Fayad) said to me: 'I'm only doing this because I love you ... the next time you want to drink or take drugs you're going to remember this pain'."

Wassim Fayad

After the beating, Mr Martinez said he was furious and called  Sheik Omar "who told me it was wrong on every level." 

Counsel for Mr Fayed said "You thought you needed punishment to rid yourself of alcohol and drug addiction?"

"Initially, yes, when it first started I didn't consent but when he said God would punish him if he didn't finish, I laid down myself, then after that, I said I didn't want anymore."

Mr Martinez was asked that in light of his phone call to Mr Fayad, he knew he would be beaten.  "Did you think he was going to come around and give you a hug?"

Mr Martinez said he could not remember the phone call but still believed that Mr Fayed was a good person and that he remained committed to Islam "one hundred per cent."

The hearing continues.

Edit 28 February 2013:  All four men were found guilty of assault today.  The judge ruled that Mr Martinez had withdrawn his consent and it was not properly informed consent anyway.  They will be sentenced at a later date.

Paul Henry's Breakfast on Channel 10

Breakfast television was getting very boring until I switched over to Paul Henry on Channel 10.  I'm sick of the sight of David Koch and Karl Stefanovic's narcissism is nauseating.  We are so used to political correctness, at first Henry's comments are a bit shocking, no one else would be game enough to say that, it might offend someone.

He's a smug, self-satisfied right-winger from New Zealand who makes racist jokes, hurls insults at our Prime Minister, calls homosexuals "unnatural", joked about the facial hair of anti-nuclear campaigner Stephanie Mills and said that Susan Boyle is "retarded."


With two other high-rating breakfast shows to compete with, Channel 10 took a big gamble with Henry and his rumoured one million dollar contract, because no one is watching and the ratings are embarrassing.


When our federal government announced they would pay families to temporarily house asylum seekers in their homes, Henry suggested they could live in linen cupboards.  "That's a good idea, 300 bucks a week for the linen cupboard.  You'd want to get the linen out though wouldn't you, otherwise these sheets are dirty, Ergh, don't ask, these towels, (sniffs) oh no, don't ask. We've got someone living in the linen cupboard kids, just don't go in there."

That comment was jumped on by Jonathan Holmes on Media Watch who said "What's sicker still is that Henry's bosses at Channel 10 will be delighted that their struggling little breakfast show has featured on Media Watch.  If they'd had any shame, they wouldn't have hired him in the first place."


In 2010 when Henry was interviewing NZ PM John Key, he asked him about Indian-born Governor General Anand Satyanand and said "Isn't it time to appoint a Govenor General who looks and sounds like a New Zealander?"    TVNZ admitted there was fallout over his racial slurs which threatened advertising and Henry resigned.


While accepting his People's Choice award at the NZ 2010 TV awards, he read out a piece of fan mail. "Paul Henry, you are the most self-conceited little mongrel prick on TV.  I would love Susan Boyle to shit on your ugly face."


During the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he referred to New Delhi's chief minister with the unfortunate name of Sheila Dikshit (pronounced Dixit) as "the dip shit woman".  He said "It's so appropriate because she's Indian, so she'd be dick-in-shit wouldn't she, know what I mean?"

In 1999, he ran as a National Party candidate, but lost.

After crossing the ditch, I wonder just how far he will be allowed to go before someone, or something chops off his head.  Love him or hate him, I dare you not to laugh.

Ronnie Barker's paedophile son

Ronnie Barker's son Adam Barker 44, was sentenced to 12 months prison on Friday after pleading guilty to making 1,675 pornographic images of children, including child rape.  None of his family attended the hearing.

He jumped bail and went on the run for eight years, hiding in Hungary, but finally came home and gave himself up to London police when he ran out of cash.

Barker, a bit-part actor, was arrested in 2003 after police traced credit card payments he made for some of the images and took possession of his computer in a pre-dawn raid on his London home.  He was released on bail.


Before he vanished, he left a note for his parents which read: 

"Dear Mummy and Daddy, some time ago police came to my house looking for images of under-age children on my computer.  I was arrested.  I must apologise for being foolish and thank you for being great parents.  Rather than wait and find out what will happen, I will go away.  You must understand that I won't be able to contact you for some time."

Adam Barker and his parents 

One year later, his father died.  Police were waiting for him at the funeral but he didn't turn up.  He also missed his mother's funeral who passed away last January, leaving him an inheritance of two million pounds.

Close friends said that Ronnie never spoke publicly about his son and died of a broken heart.

Malala Yousafzai, hero schoolgirl's recovery

Yesterday, 15 year old Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai began to communicate with doctors for the first time since being shot in the head by the Taliban.  As soon as she woke up in Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, she wrote "What country am I in?"  The hospital has a trauma ward to cater for British personnel wounded in Afghanistan.  She can now stand up with help.


She was flown to Britain for specialist treatment on Monday with a serious bullet wound to the head after a gunman shot her at point blank range on a school bus in Swat Valley, Pakistan.


Dr David Rosser said she had a tracheotomy as her airway was swollen by the bullet and is unable to talk but communicates well by writing.  Once the tube is out in a few days time, he believes her speech will be restored.

The bullet struck her just above her left eye and went down the side of her jaw, damaging the skull.  It went through her neck and lodged in the tissue above her left shoulder blade.  Her team of doctors said she will need a few more weeks to recover and then her skull will need reconstructing, either by a piece of bone or a titanium plate and her jaw joint will need more work later on.  Of most concern is the damage caused to her brain as it is too early to know the full extent.

This shocking event has caused such outrage around the world, the Pakistani government are under pressure to act.  Their military detained a man called Attuallah in 2009 but he was later released due to lack of evidence.  Some of his family are in police custody to pressure him into giving himself up.  An accountant and two watchman from Malala's school who were arrested have now been released.


More than 200 people have been detained and many more are yet to be interrogated.  The other two men involved in the attack on Malala are already in custody, accused of sheltering the militant for a night.


Attuallah is believed to have fled to Afghanistan where most of the Swat Taliban and their leader Maulana Fazlullah are based.  It was Fazlullah who ordered the attack on the schoolgirl because she was a fierce advocate of girls education and promoted "Western thinking."

When a number of people turned up at the hospital in Birmingham, claiming to be members of Malala's family, they were stopped by police who recorded their details.  The Taliban has warned they will continue to track down Malala, until she is finally killed.

As the world looks on, our thoughts are with her as she fights to get well.  This young girl has proved just how courageous she really is by daring to speak out against the Taliban, knowing full well what could happen.  And it did.  

Australia wins seat on UN Security Council

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has successfully secured a seat for Australia on the United Nations Security Council for two years.    The money spent to win the bid seems rather irresponsible when urgent domestic issues are screaming out for more funding.

And it's all down to Kevin Rudd, it's his baby, just like his asylum seeker policy that has landed us in the mess we now find ourselves in.  Nice going Kevy.


Bob Carr gushed "It's a big, juicy decisive win that endorses Australia's global standing."  And then "It's a wonderful, heart-warming endorsement of Australia as a good local citizen."


But hang on Bob, you were prepared to put $25 million of our money on the table win or lose, that's an expensive gamble.  Buying votes from third world countries with promises of big cash donations is something this Labor government excels at, but what about us?


Tony Abbott said he welcomes the result but questioned the expense of the campaign.  "But it is two years we've got now at the top table, let's hope we can make the most of it."

So what is the UN Security Council?

• The Security Council was set up in 1946 and is based at UN headquarters in New York City.
• It's job is to maintain international peace and security and it has the powers to set up peacekeeping operations, implement sanctions and authorise military action.
• The five permanent members are the winners of World War II:  China, France, Russia, UK, and USA and they have the power to veto resolutions. 
• There are also 10 non-permanent members serving two year terms.  They are currently Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal, South Africa (all serving terms to end this year) and Azerbaijan, Gutemala, Morocco, Pakistan, Togo (to the end of 2013). 

So is Bob Carr thinking of distancing ourselves from the USA?  

He said Australia "will speak up for the interests of middle powers and small powers and will vote against the United States if necessary."

"In the past, Governments in Australia - especially Labor governments - have been prepared to depart from America" he said.  "That said, I've got to say that the Obama administration has been very alive to most of the concerns in foreign policy priorities we've got."  

       

Air Canada crew save Aussie yachtsman

Passengers on Air Canada Flight AC033 en route to Sydney had their course diverted on Monday to look for a lone Australian yachtsman in trouble.  The pilot was contacted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority after an emergency beacon was detected at 8am on Monday.  


The Boeing dropped to 4000 feet to get a better look.  Luckily, some passengers had brought binoculars on board in their hand luggage and they scanned the dark ocean for any sign of life. Then, around midnight, they spotted him, around 300 miles off the coast of Sydney. Passengers cheered when told that a rescue plan was under way.


Glenn Ey set off last week from Pittwater en route to Eden but got into trouble when his mast broke in three pieces during a raging storm. "A huge wave came along and picked me up and just rolled me over" he said.


A passenger on board later wrote on Facebook "15 hour flight ends up being 17 hours as we descended to 4000 ft to locate a capsized yacht for search and rescue" the passenger wrote.  "Amazing and slightly off-putting when not on autopilot and flying/circling low over the ocean.  Found the boat thanks to people who brought binoculars in their carry-on (yup, 6-7 sets on board) and we are now home safely."


Once again, an IPIRB saves a life.  Experienced yachtsman Stephen Hocking said "We're told the EPIRB is the absolute last resort when we're out on the water, he must have been in real trouble and would have tried absolutely everything before setting it off, either that or he's an idiot."

Glenn Ey and his mother Colleen

Mr Ey had high praise for the men who rescued him.  "These guys had been motoring flat-out for 12 hours to get to me, they must have been exhausted ...... huge seas, strong winds, difficult scenario and they went to work, I've tried to tell all of them they've been absolutely brilliant and I more than appreciate it."


But once back on solid ground, he had only one thing in mind.  "I'd like to go to a bakery and get a custard tart and a milkshake" he said.

Lance Armstrong still in denial

Kristin and Lance Armstrong in 1999

Lance Armstrong's ex-wife Kristin, was a willing participant in her husband's drug taking and helped him cover it up, according to former team-mate Jonathan Vaughters.  He says she used the code word "butter" to describe the synthetic blood-boosting hormone EPO and kept it in the couple's fridge.  It's also alleged that she wrapped tablets of cortisone in aluminium foil and handed them out to riders.

Frankie and Betsy Andreu and Armstrong (right)

But not all the riders' girlfriends and wives were willing to go along with the lie.  In a sworn affidavit, cyclist Frankie Andreu said that in 1996, he and his future wife Betsy, visited Armstrong in hospital when he was battling cancer.  During that visit, he alleges Armstrong told them he was using EPO, testosterone, growth hormone, cortisone and steroids.

Betsy was furious and went to the media and when Armstrong found out, he started an intimidation campaign against her that lasted for years.  He sent an email to her husband Frankie "Helping to bring me down is not going to help y'alls situation.  There is a direct link to all our success here, may I suggest you remind her of that."

In 2008, Betsy received a sinister voicemail from a friend of Armstrong.  "I hope somebody breaks a baseball bat over your head, I also hope that one day you have adversity in your life and you have some type of tragedy that will definitely make an impact on you."

Frankie Andreu said "If he wants to intimidate you, he'll be the bully, if he wants you to believe his lie, he will charm the hell out of you." Armstrong is also accused of threatening to fire team members who refused to use the drugs.

How could Armstrong possibly believe that the truth wouldn't eventually come out?  There were far too many people involved for it to stay a secret forever, it was bound to weigh heavily on someone's conscience.

But this sad story is only just beginning because some of these individuals are still playing an active role in sport today, and we need to find out who they are.

Matt White has been sacked as men's road coordinator by Cycling Australia (CA) after he admitted to doping during his time with Lance Armstrong's US Postal team.   

Russell Crowe's marriage over

The marriage that everyone thought was rock solid is over.  Russell Crowe and Danielle Spencer have been married for nine years and have two sons, Charles 8 and Tennyson 6.  Crowe is in the US filming Noah and Danielle remains in their Rose Bay home with their two sons.

Crowe has spent a lot of time away from home recently.  He has seven films coming out in the next 12 months and has a future project planned with Will Smith.

Crowe got what he wanted, a successful acting career, I hope he thinks it was worth it.

Ian Thorpe's fight with depression

Australians are hard wired into believing that depression is something you never admit to.  If you find yourself falling into a deep, black hole, shut up, pull your socks up and snap out of it.  It's basically a character flaw - an illness reserved for cowards and wimps.


But that belief isn't working because more than half our population are taking anti-depressant medication. In 2010-1011, there were 13.6 million scrips written and subsidized by the Pharmaceuticals Benefit Scheme, according to figures from the Department of Health and I suspect that this year, it will be more.


Depression doesn't discriminate.  A man like Ian Thorpe - possibly our greatest sportsman ever - appears to have everything anyone could possibly need to be happy - good looks, prestige, wealth - but in his autobiography This is Me, he admits to struggling with depression for most of his life.  It was so severe, suicide consumed his thoughts and he weighed up different ways of how to kill himself.

And he did what most people do when they are depressed, he got drunk.  "It was the only way I could get to sleep.  It didn't happen every night but there were numerous occasions, particularly between 2002 and 2004 as I trained to defend my Olympic titles in Athens, that I abused myself this way - always alone and in a mist of  disgrace."

He also addresses that persistent question about his sexuality.  "For the record, I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight, I'm attracted to women, I love children and aspire to have a family one day.  I know what it's like to grow up and be told what your sexuality is, then realising that it's not the full reality.  I was accused of being gay before I knew who I was."

Mum, dad and sister in 2000

Thorpe, now 30, has the greatest respect for his parents who never knew about his battle, he didn't tell them because he saw his depression as a character flaw.  "But now I realise it's time to be open, I need to talk to them about it.....I know how mum will react, she'll cry and ask me why I didn't tell her and then she'll tell me how proud she is that I've finally talked about it.  Dad is different, I'm not sure how he'll react, I know it will take time for him to come to terms with it and how it fits in with his religious beliefs."

"I hope it does, because family means a lot to me."

Ken Thorpe in 2007

Abu Hamza arrives in the USA

It took the British government eight long years of endless court battles to have hate preacher Abu Hamza finally extradited to America.  The US promised not to send him to Guantanamo Bay but when he found out he was going to Supermax, he got nervous.


The Americans have a no-nonsense approach to law enforcement that human rights-obsessed Britain doesn't have and he told the European Court of Human Rights that conditions in Supermax were cruel and amounted to torture.  They rejected his claim and all of his appeals to stay in Britain were finally exhausted.


The British gave him a home, housed his large family and supported them all on benefits, yet he called on fellow Muslims to rise up and overthrow their government.


As the British celebrated his departure, the US were delighted that he and three other Al Qaeda suspects were finally in their hands.


Hamza lost both hands and an eye in a landmine explosion during the war against the Russians in Afghanistan and he uses two hooks to perform every-day tasks.  As soon as he arrived, the Americans took them away and said they were a security risk.  He appeared in court with the stumps of his arms protruding from his jumpsuit.


Breakfast at the Manhattan jail where he is being held consists of powdered egg, tinned tomatoes and toast, rather difficult to eat without hands.   He had to suck up his food through a straw because the prison guards weren't prepared to feed him.


Back in Belmarsh prison in England, which houses Britain's most dangerous men, staff and prisoners are often intimidated by Muslim inmates who make up one in five prisoners.  Islamic Extremists are at the top of the pecking order and are widely feared and actually recruit new members in the prison yard.  Even though Hamza was in a maximum security cell, he was still able to communicate with others and even delivered sermons by banging on the pipes.  There are no pipes to bang in Supermax.


Hamza's lawyer has been trying to drum up sympathy for his client who has diabetes, psoriasis and high blood pressure.  He used that hackneyed phrase we have come to hate when scum like Hamza must be treated with kindness - "The test of a civilized society is how it treats people it despises."

Colin George McKane, serial paedophile

In 1998, Judge Leo Hart sentenced Colin George McKane to a 9 year prison term for the abduction and molestation of a 10 year old girl he snatched off the street.  Because he was such a dangerous threat to society, the Public Prosecutor pleaded with Judge Hart to send him to prison and keep him there indefinitely but the judge refused.  He thought that keeping him in jail indefinitely was too harsh and instead, gave him a five year supervision order which apparently, isn't worth the paper its printed on.


As soon as he got out, he found pictures of children in a Melbourne paper and got their phone numbers out of the phone book.  Two young girls and a 10 year old boy were traumatized when he rang them and asked for phone sex.


This week, he's had another 9 months tacked onto his sentence for breaching that supervision order and will begin serving his latest sentence next January.


Judges are supposed to protect the public from people like Colin McKane who started grabbing children at random since the age of 15. Soon after being released from prison for raping a 9 year old girl, he kidnapped a 16 year old girl, knocked her out, raped her and left her for dead on a beach. He came back later with a shovel and police believe he intended to bury her, dead or alive.


Colin McKane has no intention of being rehabilitated and has refused all prison sex-therapy programs.


We have a stupid law that says we must protect pedophiles from victimization by hiding their identity.   McKane's defence lawyer Helen Spowart asked for his name to be suppressed but this time, it was denied.  The judge ruled there was not enough evidence to assume his life was in danger.


In the Northern Territory, 23 year old Shane Tennyson raped a 3 year old girl and was given a minimum prison term of five years.  The DPP has started an appeal against the judge's decision but they shouldn't have to, it's his job to protect our children and he's failing in his duty. And in this case, there were no excuses for leniency because Tennyson has been convicted three times for child rape in 5 years and as soon as he was released in 2011, he raped the three year old.


Our judges have got to stop giving serial pedophiles light sentences and if they refuse rehabilitation sex therapy programs in prison, they should stay there until they do.