Dan and Steph Mulheron win My Kitchen Rules

After a shaky start to the series, Dan and Steph Mulheron went on to produce a faultless 5 course menu and win $250,000 last night in the Grand Final of My Kitchen Rules.  Jake and Elle Harrison also produced five brilliant courses and it could have easily gone either way.

The menus were so sophisticated, most Aussies watching will never get to taste what the judges experienced last night.  Dan and Steph served up squab, also known as pigeon, and Jake and Elle served raw Wagyu beef.  We've never eaten squab because it's not available in supermarkets and eating raw beef is unthinkable, which just goes to show we have a lot more to learn about food.

Dan and Steph's winning menu
1.  Scallop Ceviche
2.  Squab (pigeon) with chestnuts and redcurrant sauce
3.  Flathead sausage with confit potatoes
4.  Lamb roulade with smoked carrots and mint pesto
5.  Chocolate peppermint delice

Jake and Elle's menu

1.  Wagyu Beef Carpaccio
2.  Quail with fig and Gorgonzola sauce
3.  Rock lobster with semolina water stack
4.  Confit duck with artichoke puree and balsamic sauce
5.  Strawberry and Amaretto Semifreddo

Dan and Steph are longing to have children and will use the money to fund further IVF treatments. Dan wants to open a gourmet sausage shop and would ideally like three children and for Steph to be a stay-at-home mum.  One of the guest judges commented that he knew many a professional chef whose black pudding wouldn't measure up to Dan's, so the folks of Hervey Bay are in for a treat.

Jake and Elle's parents worked long hours when they were growing up which produced an independence in the two siblings at a young age. Their mother said "I was so busy working 24/7, I used to drop Elle off at the grocery store with my EFTPOS card and she would buy all the groceries for the week and organize the food."


Jake and Elle also have a dream - to open a bistro in Brisbane and release a cookbook.  

George W Bush addresses why he went to war

US President Barack Obama joined all his living predecessors this week to dedicate the George W Bush Library and Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

The Coalition of the Willing now acknowledges that George W Bush over-reacted to 9/11 by invading Iraq.  When he asked his friends for help, we responded willingly and sent our troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.  At the time, it seemed reasonable, the free world was being attacked and we had to do something to help stop it, but since then, we've had time to reflect and had a change of heart.

Now George W Bush has asked the American people to tell him what they would have done under the same circumstances.  There is an interactive theatre within the new library that shows the visitor videos of what his advisers told him on the lead up to his decision to invade and he puts the question - what would you have done?  He also addresses the fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq but adds "post invasion inspections confirmed that Saddam Hussein had the capacity to "resume production of WMD." 

It took a long time to finally realize that sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan was a bad idea, and we must hang onto the positive ideal that our presence there has made it a better place, otherwise all lives lost count for naught.

This week we learn that Afghanistan has suffered a troubling rise in killing of civilians with the figure surging to 30 per cent in the first three months of this year, according to a UN envoy.

I suspect that President Obama's reluctance to intervene in the Syrian slaughter has a lot to do with President Bush's quick reaction to 9/11. We can only hope he will stay out of it and not try to enforce American values on anyone else because we now know it doesn't work.

But there's another important reason we don't want President Obama to rush into another war, it's because the US and Australia are joined at the hip, and always will be.

Ex Prime Minister John Howard is good friends with George W and is seen here receiving the President's Medal of Freedom - the US's highest civilian award.

Anzac Day 2013

Every Anzac Day, young Australian and New Zealand youth feel compelled to go to Turkey to attend the dawn services at Gallipoli.  It's hard to explain to someone from another country just why we revere the slaughter at Gallipoli 98 years ago, we were the invaders who lost the battle, yet we come back here every year to remember.  It's rather bizarre.

It's very cold in April and there are no facilities - no electricity, no toilets, no fresh water and no medical services.  Everything is brought in and taken away after the event.  It's a bit like organizing a rock concert in the middle of nowhere.  Food and refreshments are available from Turkish food sellers and no alcohol is allowed.

We should remember that the event only takes place because the Turkish government allows it and we hope their co-operation continues in the lead up to the centenary in 2015.  The Turks are incredibly supportive and provide tight security to protect the descendants of their invaders.  Everyone gets a wrist band on entry and pass through an airport style security screen.  There is also CCTV, Turkish military hiding in the scrub and helicopters hover overhead.

But don't think of going unless you are reasonably fit.  You can expect to walk up to 8 kms on rough ground. The walk from the dawn service to Lone Pine, where the Australian service is held, is 3 kms and includes a section of 1.5 kms of uneven dirt with a steep incline.  The walk from Lone Pine to Chunuk Bair, where the New Zealand service is held, is 3.2 kms up a steep road.

But that won't put people off, there are so many people wanting to attend the dawn service for the centenary in 2015, organizers had to resort to a lottery, to keep numbers down.  Cruise ships are being encouraged to dock in waters nearby so many more Aussies get to share the experience.

Alec Campbell, aged 16, was the last Anzac

Anzac Day crowds at dawn services around the country this morning were the biggest ever so it's clear that Anzac Day isn't just another public holiday, it's an important part of who we are.

Abu Qatada and the Human Rights Convention

David Cameron has finally had enough of the European Court in Strasbourg who keep thwarting Britain's efforts to send hate preacher Abu Qatada back to Jordan.  The European Human Rights Convention won't budge from their conviction that he can't be sent home because he will face terror charges and may be tortured or killed and that possibility violates his human rights.

The PM wants him gone and held a council of war with senior ministers yesterday to try and find a way around the laws that bind them, and he's even threatened to temporarily withdraw from the Human Rights Convention to get the job done.

The UK government has bent over backwards to allay Strasbourg's fears that Qatada won't receive a fair trial back in Jordan because some of the evidence against him was obtained through torture.  They have personal guarantees and assurances from Jordanian authorities that they will not use torture evidence, but the Commission refuses to believe it and every time Qatada appeals, they uphold it.

At the moment he's in jail for breaching his immigration bail conditions, but it won't be long before his lawyers find a way to get him out and back on the streets.

The Labor government had its chance to send him back in 2009 but they failed to act and he has been running rings around the British legal system ever since.

• 16 September 1993 - He arrives in Britain on a forged passport.
• June 1994 - he is allowed to stay in Britain
• March 1995 - He issues a fatwa justifying the killing of anyone in Algeria who converted from Islam, including their wives and children.
• May 1998 - He applies for indefinite leave to remain in Britain
• March 1999 - He is convicted in his absence on terror charges in Jordan and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• October 1999 - He speaks in London of killing Jews and praising attacks on the US
• February 2001 - He is arrested by anti-terror police over involvement in a plot to bomb Strasbourg Christmas Market.
• December 2001 - He goes on the run
• October 2002 - He is arrested and jailed
• March 2005 - He is freed on conditional bail and placed on control order
• August 2005 - He is arrested as government seeks to deport him to Jordan
• April 2008 - The Court of Appeal rules that deporting him would breach his human rights
• May 2008 - He is granted bail but told to stay inside his home for 22 hours a day.
• June 2008 - He is released from jail and moves into a 4 bedroom council house worth over $1 million
• November 2008 - He is re-arrested after it is found he plans to abscond
• December 2008 - His bail is revoked
• 18 February 2009 - Five Law Lords back the government's policy to send him back to Jordan but it's not acted upon.
• 19 February 2009 - He gets around $4,000 compensation from the Human Rights court who rule that his detention without trial in the UK breached his human rights.
• January 2012 - European judges rule he cannot be deported 
• 6 February 2012 - Special Immigration Appeals Commission rules he can be released on bail, despite posing a risk to national security.
• 13 February 2012 - He is released on bail
• 17 April 2012 - He is arrested as the government prepares to deport him
• 18 April 2012 - He lodges an appeal which delays his departure by months
• 6 March 2013 - He is returned to jail after trying to communicate with associates, a breach of his bail
• 27 March 2013 - Court of Appeal admits he is 'very dangerous' but won't allow deportation
• 17 April 2013 - Home Office attempts to take its battle to the Supreme Court, but fails.

Home Secretary Theresa May is running out of options.  The three court judges who unanimously dismissed her last attempt in March said "torture is universally abhorred as an evil."

So there you have it, the European Court of Human Rights is Abu Qatada's best friend and with their help, he'll be able to stay in the UK indefinitely.

Edit July 7, 2013: The 53-year-old hate preacher left Belmarsh prison shortly after midnight yesterday in a police convoy. He was taken to RAF Northholt, from where he was flown in a private jet to Jordan.

Twitter hackers cause stock market chaos

Hackers threw US money markets into chaos yesterday when they took control of the Associated Press Twitter account and tweeted that two explosions at the White House had injured President Obama.  After the Boston bombings, it wasn't hard to believe and it only took minutes for a reaction.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 150 points but recovered quickly when found to be false.  The Dow measures the financial performance of 30 major US companies and is often used as a measure of the overall health of the wider stock market.  

They have something called 'automatic electronic trading' - robots that troll news headlines - and there is speculation that this is what caused the dramatic sell-off.

A group called The Syrian Electronic Army, who support Syria's leader Bashar Al-Assad, later claimed responsibility.  They also claim to have hacked  the BBC, Agence France-Presse, Football World Cup, FIFA and many more.

Twitter is being blamed for the meltdown for not insisting on a two-step log-in process and they are currently hiring software engineers to fix it. Meanwhile the White House intends to push through legislation to address the issue of cyber attacks which are now getting well and truly out of hand. 

But this time it's more serious.  They proved a very important point - just how easy it is to manipulate the US stock market.

Bilal Hamze's family feud

Bilal Hamze is the 25 year old cousin of Bassam Hamze who is currently serving time in Goulburn Supermax for murder.  He is charged with trying to kill a father and his 15 year old son, and police and the DPP were stunned yesterday when three judges granted him bail. 

They pleaded with the judges not to put him back on the streets as he poses a serious threat to the community, but Justice Derek Price, Justice David Davies and Acting Justice Barr overruled all objections.


The fact that he was already on bail, serving a two year good behaviour bond for a firearm conviction didn't sway the judges and when the DPP tried to have their decision overturned, all efforts failed.  Defence lawyers for Hamze argued both the father and son were unreliable witnesses and Justice Price said "I'm unable to conclude that the Crown's case is strong."

The family feud started when Ibrahim Hamze was stabbed in a Sydney schoolyard in April 2011.  The 15 year old boy responsible spent two years in juvenile detention and when he was released he was bashed by a group of males who left the scene in a car registered to Hamze.

In response, the boy and his father went to Hamze's home in Auburn and confronted a group of people outside.  When the father, a known criminal, armed with a baseball bat asked "Who jumped my son?" Bilal Hamze emerged with a semi-automatic and three shots were fired, one hitting the boy in the stomach.  He was put into an induced coma, but survived.

When Hamze's mother was shot four times in the legs at the front door of her unit last month, it seems the feud is far from over.

Yes, the Boston bombers were Muslim

Islam is again in the news for all the wrong reasons.  The right wingers will say that nothing has changed, they're still at it, determined to bite the hand of friendship extended to them by their host countries.

The lefties will say that we must distinguish between radical Islam and ordinary Muslims and will refer to them as terrorists and extremists and remind us once again, that the majority are good, peace-loving people. 


And for the Muslim people around the world, who have been holding their breath, hoping their worst nightmare wouldn't come true, sadly for them it has, because the two cowards who placed the bombs among the crowd in Boston, were followers of Islam.


Some of us can remember when Chechen rebels took hostages at a Moscow theatre in 2002 and when the Russian police pumped a narcotic gas into the building, hoping to subdue the rebels, 129 hostages died.  Two years later in 2004, they took 1,000 people hostage at a school in Beslan, and 330 people died, many of them children, so we know how cruel these people can be.

Russia was criticized by the West for its human rights abuse and indiscriminate force against Chechen civilians when they bombed the capital and many other towns and villages into oblivion, and you have to wonder why the bombers wanted to kill Americans, who offered them a better life, when they have plenty of reasons to be angry with Russia.

The Russians believe that the rebels in Chechnya have close links to al-Qaida and many have fought in Afghanistan.  President Putin warned the West many times about how dangerous the rebels could be, many were trained in Pakistan and came back to Russia to fight.  But they don't all stay in Russia, jihadists from Chechnya have faced terrorist charges in several European countries who have given them a new home.

So therein lies the problem, the threat doesn't come from Pakistan or Afghanistan, it's home grown right where we live.  Jihadists who grow up in our country, go to our schools and universities, for some reason we don't understand, still want to cause us harm.  And there's not a damn thing we can do about it.



Edit April 22, 2013:  Three months ago, Boston bomber Amerlan Tsarnav didn’t like it when the imam of his mosque in Massachusetts held up a picture of Martin Luther King as an example of a man to emulate.  He was furious and started yelling and screaming, insisting that he was definitely not a man Muslims should look up to because he wasn’t a follower of Islam.  He caused such a scene, they threw him out.  His uncle believes he was radicalized by a mysterious religious leader in the US, not by someone overseas, and the hunt is now on for the person or persons responsible. 

Richard Torbay's wife shows her support

Dr Richard Torbay was an Independent MP of the NSW Government from 1999 to 2013.  He could have been on his way to Canberra as the National Party candidate for New England, up against Tony Windsor, at the upcoming Federal Election, but when the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said he had serious questions to answer regarding his association with Eddie Obeid, he suddenly resigned and vanished into the ether.  He also resigned as Chancellor of the University of New England.


There has been a serious allegation - that the Obeid family gave Richard Torbay $50,000 cash in a suitcase at their family offices at Birkenhead Point.  "This is National Party bullshitting" Obeid said.  "I'd like someone to say that because we'd be suing."


Mr Torbay's father, like Eddie Obeid, was born in Lebanon and both families are members of the close-knit Maronite Lebanese community. Mr Torbay has been heard to refer to Obeid as "Uncle Eddie."



If allegations can be believed, Obeid's power faction, The Terrigals, wielded tremendous power in the NSW government and was responsible for Torbay running as an Independent, when he was really a dyed-in-the-wool Labor man.  It's also alleged that Obeid got him the plumb job of Speaker.

Uncle Eddie

Richard Torbay is a nice bloke, people like him, and his determination to succeed has to be admired.  He left school early with no qualifications and got some tattoos.  He started out as a kitchen hand at the University of New England in Armidale and in 2008, became the University's Chancellor after being granted an honorary doctorate.

Warren Truss

Federal Nationals Leader Warren Truss said "It was just so disappointing that there seems to be some issue in his past that potentially has tainted that outstanding record of service to the community - we do not know what he has done .....but I found Richard Torbay to be a very decent bloke.

Sam Dastyari, General Secretary of the NSW branch of the ALP doesn't agree.  He tweeted "Good riddance to Richard Torbay, a career liar who has been caught out, Australia can do without him in our nation's Parliament."

Yesterday when Mr Torbay's wife Rosemary spotted a newspaper cameraman, she planted a kiss on her husband's cheek, as a sign of support.  

Jehovah's Witness teen refuses blood transfusion

Doctors from Sydney Children's Hospital made an urgent application to the Supreme Court to help save a 17 year old boy with Hodgkin's Disease, a potentially fatal blood cancer. 


Justice Gzell overruled the boy's wishes, that as a devout Jehovah's Witness, he would not be forced to have a blood transfusion.  He threatened to rip the IV out of his arm, leaving doctors with no other choice but to sedate him.


The judge said "The sanctity of life in the end is a more powerful reason for me to make the orders than is respect for the dignity of the individual."


Doctors initially respected the boy's wishes and he was treated with chemotherapy but the tumours in his lungs, spleen and lymph nodes still remain.  His doctor, Professor Glenn Marshall, told the court that he needed a higher dose of chemotherapy which would make him anaemic and he would then need a blood transfusion, without it, he had an 80 per cent chance of dying.


The boy told Professor Marshall that being sedated and given a blood transfusion against his will would be like being raped and when he turns 18 later this year, as an adult, he will stop further transfusions.


His father has written a scripture from the Bible on a whiteboard in his room which refers to the Jehovah's Witness creed forbidding blood products.


The arrogance of this religious cult astounds me.  They believe that when Armageddon comes, only Jehovah's Witnesses will be saved, the rest of us will be wiped out.  Meanwhile, courts continue to overrule parents who deny their child the right to a life-saving blood transfusion, something I will never understand.  

Cardinal George Pell on committee to reform Catholic Church

Oh the irony.  Pope Francis has picked Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, to advise him on how to reform the Catholic Church - the man who has protected paedophile priests for years.


Pell and seven other Cardinals will help Pope Francis put into place changes to the Curia - the governing body of the Catholic Church.  This adds weight to the theory that Pope Benedict XVI was overwhelmed by accusations of sexual abuse by priests and corruption within the Vatican, which led to his resignation in  February.  The committee's first meeting will be held in Rome in October.


Julia Gillard undoubtedly did the right thing by granting a Royal Commission Into Child Sex Abuse, but it's costing a fortune.  The known cost to date stands at $66 million, and that's before it has taken one piece of formal evidence.


An unprecedented $44 million will be spent on counselling people who relive traumatic childhood experiences which is like rubbing salt into a wound - we shouldn't be paying for it - they should!


Paedophile Catholic priests have been using little children for their sexual needs without a second thought, and the taxpayer is left to pay the bill for trying to put those lives back together. 


The lead Commissioner, Justice Peter McClellan, warned at its first sitting that it "will continue to require the commitment of very significant sums of public money."

Adam Scott becomes first Aussie to win Masters

Yesterday, Adam Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters and he shared his win with the man who caddied for Tiger Woods for twelve years, Steve Williams.  That wonderful moment when he shot a brilliant birdie on the 18th hole will never be forgotten, but he put it down to luck.  "It fell my way today, there was luck there somewhere, I'm honoured."

His  caddie, New Zealander Steve Williams has a controversial reputation.  He started caddying for Greg Norman in 1982 and moved to the US in 1988 to become his full-time caddie.  For reasons unknown, Norman sacked him and he was hired by Raymond Floyd and then worked for Tiger Woods from 1999 to 2011.  In July 2011, Adam Scott hired him on a permanent basis after Tiger said it was time for a change.

It's not clear why Tiger let him go, but we can guess.  Williams has a reputation of putting his angry thoughts into words and in November 2011, he made a racist remark about his former boss. 

He was receiving a tongue-in-cheek caddie award at a dinner in Shangai. Players and caddies look forward to the annual event as the spirit is one of goodwill and fun, but Williams was still hurt and angry and couldn't resist taking a swipe at Woods.  He told a stunned audience "My aim was to shove it right up that black arsehole."  The British press jumped on the remark and beamed it around the world.

It's hard to imagine why this man, who has rubbed shoulders with elite golfers all his life, could say something so insensitive and offensive.

He released a statement of apology the next day but it was too late.  A member present in the audience said "We knew Williams was an idiot, but we didn't know he was a racist idiot."  A European tour officer was heard to say "Thank God he's not on our tour."

Woods graciously accepted his apology and told the press that he knew that Williams was definitely not a racist and they shook hands.

Adam's mother Pam Scott

There is a picture in Scott's High School Year Book in 1997.  Next to the photo under the heading "Favourite Expressions" he wrote

If all else fails, birdie the last.  

And he did.

Aussies evacuated from South Korea

Kim Jong-un is obviously suffering from a mental illness with delusions of grandeur.  He must be insane to even think about taking on the USA. Tomorrow Julia Gillard and Bob Carr go to China to plead with them to do something - anything, to bring this young despot into line.

China has every reason to talk some sense into him, if North Korea were overwhelmed, China could end up with a united pro-Western Korea on their doorstep, much better to have a friendly ally close by.

The north invaded the south on 25 June 1950 and quickly captured Seoul.  The UN invited  members to help the south fight the dreaded Communists and allied troops from many countries rallied to the cause and pushed them back over the 38th parallel, and for a short time, they controlled 2/3 of North Korea.

Then China intervened and with 180,000 troops, drove the allies back to the 38th parallel.  But there was no resolution, the war ended in a stalemate and on 27 July 1953, a cease-fire was signed.

I feel sorry for South Korea, they've been living under a cloud of unfinished business ever since the war ended.  It's an impossible situation really, a country split in two - one side living the dream of success and all that comes with it and the other side hungry and deprived of human rights.

The South has wanted its own nuclear programs for years but the UN wouldn't allow it, they can't allow them to have it and say no to North Korea and Iran.  And they have good reason to wonder how committed the US will be to defend them, after the disaster of Iraq and Afghanistan, it's only natural to assume that they won't want to rush headlong into another war.

So today's headlines tell us that the Army is about to evacuate 7000 Aussies from South Korea, so it looks like things are getting very serious.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Parents guilty of killing their own children

After a seven week trial, Mick and Mairead Philpott were yesterday found guilty of killing six of their children in a house fire in Derby in the UK.  The jury rejected Philpott's excuse that someone started the fire through the letterbox and he put on a mighty show for the court, repeatedly sobbing and collapsing when he heard the verdict.

The people in the gallery were jubilant and hugged one another as they sobbed, satisfied that this human piece of garbage, Mick Philpott, got what he deserved.  Philpott's friend Paul Mosley was also found guilty of six counts of manslaughter and Justice Kate Thirwall will sentence them tomorrow.

Their six children all died in the fire started by their own hand.  He set the blaze to frame his former lover Lisa Willis.  Willis and her five children, four of whom were fathered by Philpott, lived with the couple and their children for ten years, but suddenly left the family home last year, taking her children with her.

Mick was angry and wanted custody of the children - the more children he had, the more benefits he received.  There was a court appearance coming up to discuss where the children would live and Mick wanted custody so badly, he started telling everyone that Willis threatened to kill the children by burning down the house.  Police were quick to realize it had nothing to do with her and after the fire, she was initially interviewed and released.


It's a sordid story.  Mike Philpott refused to work but continues to sire more children.  He had 17 children - six with his wife, four with live-in girlfriend Willis, and seven others to different women.

Paul Mosley

The court heard that after the fire, Paul Mosley visited the couple who were housed by police in a bugged hotel room.  Philpott watched as his wife performed oral sex on Mosley and when she was finished, praised her and acknowledged the fact that she didn't want to do it but told her it was necessary to keep Mosley on side.

The jury heard that Philpott was a control freak who handled all the family finances, and had both women's part-time income paid directly into his bank account.  

After ten years, when Willis finally grew tired of his domineering behaviour and left him, she discovered she was entitled to more than one thousand pounds a month.

If someone chose this story to write a book, no one would believe it.

Edit April 2013:  The judge gave Mick life in prison which means he'll have to serve a minimum of 15 years.  His wife and Mosley each got 17 years.  Mick's wife can expect a rough time in prison as she will forever more be referred to as 'the child killer.'

Oscar Pistorius carries on as usual

They have a strange legal system in South Africa.  When Oscar Pistorius allegedly shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to death, they have allowed him to go about his business as if nothing has happened. And his version of what took place that night - that he mistook her for an intruder - makes no sense.

Pistorius is now allowed to travel abroad for competitions.  His agent Peet van Zyl said yesterday that he's contacted a number of meet organizers who are prepared to let him compete, well shame on them. It seems that taking the life of a beautiful young woman with a promising future counts for naught.

Surely he shouldn't be allowed to compete until the court case is over. It will be interesting to see whether Britain invite him to compete in the London Anniversary Games and the Birmingham Grand Prix this year. If they do the right thing, they won't invite him, and hopefully the US will follow suit.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) are playing it safe by saying they refuse to tell meet organizers who to invite to their events.

The South African judge responsible for the farce, Bert Bam, said there was no reason why Pistorius should not be allowed to leave the country to compete.  The judge also decided that he no longer needed the supervision of a probation officer and also lifted the "no alcohol" rule and took away the threat of being tested at any time for "prohibited substances."  Then he said he could go back to his own home, where the murder took place.

Reeva's family is shocked and disgusted, and so am I.

Satirist Bassem Youssef arrested in Egypt

It's a sad state of affairs when a country won't tolerate humour and satire if it's directed at its government or religion but that's what's happening now in Egypt.  The Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi were so insulted by satirist Bassem Youssef, they had him arrested, something they are likely to regret because he is one of Egypt's most famous and best loved television stars.  He was released on bail.

Two years ago, the Egyptian people threw out Hosni Mubarak and in hindsight, it was probably a bad decision, considering what they've got now because it's obvious that Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood can't take a joke.

One of the main reasons for the revolution was because the people said there wasn't enough freedom of expression but there have been four times as many lawsuits issued for insulting the president than during the entire 30 years of Mubarak's reign.  You could say they jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.

Youssef's weekly television show was fined $2100 pending investigation into the complaints so what are they?  He is accused of "making fun of the prayer ritual" and insulting Mr Morsi by "making fun of his international standing."


But he's not alone, several other members of the media have also been charged with insulting the president, awaiting punishment, and some bloggers have  been accused of "inciting unrest."  Complaints are filed to the public prosecutor who decides if there is enough evidence to go to trial.

Youseff jumped on Twitter where he has 1.2 million followers and said there were three law suits pending.  But he's cheeky and defiant and posed with supporters wearing a replica of a hat worn by President Morsi earlier this month when he accepted an honourary doctorate from a university in Pakistan.  Youseff had worn the hat on his show a week earlier.

Like most comedians, Bassem Youseff is very bright, he's a qualified heart surgeon who turned to satire.  Now the whole world knows his name and what's really going on in Egypt.

President Morsi and the Brotherhood are now skating on very thin ice.