Ian Thorpe admitted to Sydney rehab

In October 2012, Ian Thorpe said he's had to fend off gay rumours all his life.  If he was gay, he said, he wouldn't be embarrassed or try to hide it, he's frustrated because nobody believes him. "The only part of it that I'm frustrated with, is that people think I'm lying."

Ian Thorpe, once the toast of the country, should be enjoying a happy life after a brilliant Olympic career. Instead, he's been admitted to a Sydney rehab hospital after hurting himself in an accident at home, to fight his ten year battle with depression and alcohol abuse.

Last night broadcaster Alan Jones said "Yes, it's serious, but there's not a lot I can or want to add,  Ian is a beautiful person but he has difficulty recognising his problems."

Last week he looked happy and cheerful at the tennis in Melbourne which doesn't mean a thing, hiding how you feel is easy, it fools people into believing you are okay when you're not.

He hasn't used his Twitter and Facebook accounts since October.

In his book, he wrote about how he used alcohol to numb his misery.  "I used alcohol as a means to rid my head of terrible thoughts, as a way of managing my moods" he wrote.  "I did it behind closed doors where many depressed people choose to fight their demons before they realise they can't do it without help."

Mum, his biggest fan

Ian Thorpe is only 31 years old and deserves to be happy.  He gave us so much joy, he now needs to find some for himself.

Edit 8pm 31 January 2014:  The manager representing Ian Thorpe says media reports the swimming star is in rehab for depression and alcohol abuse are untrue.

Edit 1pm 4 February 2014:  Thorpe’s manager, James Erskine has confirmed that Thorpe was taken from Bankstown Hospital to a rehabilitation clinic after he was found disoriented in the early hours of Monday morning.

Why does the ABC hate our Navy?

A woman married to a Naval officer saw this sign outside Kawana Hardware on the Sunshine Coast. The owner, Ian Witten, has been inundated with messages of support, not only from the general public but from grateful sailors.  His simple statement has hit a nerve in the community disgusted by the continual undermining of Australia's national interest by the Left.  

The ABC took Indonesia's side in the phone tapping debacle and believed that the accusations of torture by the Australian Navy were true.

ABC reporter Alison Branley posted on the Refugee Rights Action Network's Facebook page.  She wrote "I have been tasked with finding some navy personnel who might be willing to speak  to us in a background capacity - not on the record.  It follows the story our Jakarta guy ran on the asylum seeker burns claims.  My boss feels the allegations are likely to be untrue.  Do you know of any people with navy or defence force affiliations who might be able to put us in touch with someone..... I wouldn't want to approach anyone who didn't feel comfortable talking."

One poster responded "Jeez Alison if your boss had doubts about this, why didn't she seek clarification before running with the story and besmirching the reputation of the whole Australian Navy?"

The Jakarta guy's name is George Roberts who wrote last week that the images of burned hands shown to Indonesian officials "back up the claims of mistreatment made by asylum seekers."

Someone should point out to the ABC that Navy personnel have risked their lives many times in the past saving refugees from drowning and it would be helpful if they stop looking for and reporting on any news item that makes Tony Abbott look bad.  

Craig Thomson's Lies

Craig Thomson must be the country's best consummate liar.  The ex National Secretary of the Health Services Union (HSU) is so good at it, there was an element of doubt as to whether he was innocent or not because he kept repeating - "I did not use my union credit card for the services of prostitutes."   But we now know that he did.

Thankfully, he's no longer walking the halls of Parliament House, because the ex Labor MP was booted out in last year's election, but he is now in court facing 145 criminal charges of obtaining financial advantage and property by deception.  He is accused of spending HSU funds on brothels, escorts, pornography and other expenses while national secretary between 2002 and 2007.  He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

One prostitute has given evidence that she saw Thomson on at least six occasions and was shocked to see him on television denying it. Other escorts he used said the same thing.  A woman known as Misty said "He is lying and I am in no doubt that the Craig I performed a number of sexual services for over a period of time, is Craig Thomson the politician."  She remembers Thomson very well, he often paid to extend her services, sometimes just to chat.

But his lawyers aren't worried about his use of prostitutes, they are going to concentrate on one important fact - that Thomson had the legal right to use his union credit card on whatever he liked.  There were no rules stating what he could or couldn't use it for.  He had permission to authorize union expenditure up to $50,000 without the national executive's approval.  They will assert that although he's morally a scum bag, he didn't break the rules.

The case continues and the defence is yet to make its closing statement.

Michael Williamson

Thomson was in good company.  His boss Michael Williamson was so corrupt, the mind boggles and this man was once the National President of the Australian Labor Party.  He pleaded guilty last year to a string of charges relating to defrauding his union of $1 million dollars and will be sentenced in March.

PM Tony Abbott hinted yesterday that he may push for a Royal Commission into union corruption.  A recent joint investigation by the ABC's 7.30 and Fairfax revealed that union officials have formed corrupt relationships with organized crime figures and are receiving kickbacks for construction contracts.  What a surprise!

Adam Goodes, Australian of the Year

Adam Goodes is a successful Aboriginal footballer who plays for the Sydney Swans.  He is also Australian of the Year. The National Australia Day Council said he was chosen "for his leadership and advocacy in the fight against racism both on the sporting field and within society - a stance which has won him the admiration and respect of people around Australia."

Adam Goodes knows all about racism because he grew up in Australia with black skin.  The old saying "sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt me" is a lie, they do. Cruel words cut deep.

Goodes point to his black skin

Goodes said he never stood up to kids at school when they called him an ape or a monkey, but knows that he should have. And when a 13 year old Collingwood supporter sitting in the front row at the MCG on a Friday night last year called him an "ape", he heard it loud and clear and this time, he wasn't going to let it go. He pointed her out to security who led her away to the sounds of boos from the audience.  

Goodes was so upset by the insult, he didn't join his team on the field to celebrate their win.  "That's what hurt me so bad.....when I turned around ....... I just saw this young face.....and it was just sad....that's why I left the arena, it just broke my heart" he said. 

"But it's not a witch hunt, I don't want people to go after this young girl, we've just got to help educate society better so it doesn't happen again."

Eddie McGuire appeared on Channel 9's Today Show on May 30 last year, desperately trying to justify what he said on radio - that Adam Goodes should be used to promote the stage show King Kong.

Eddie McGuire

Channel 9 reporter Carl Stefanovic tried to help by saying he'd known Eddie for a long time and knew he wasn't a racist but it was a lame attempt and viewers saw it for what it was - a racist slur that came out of the mouth of the President of the Collingwood Football Club.  The club held an emergency meeting and some thought Eddie might get a kick up the backside but surprise, surprise, the board gave Eddie "their full support."

The most embarrassing thing about this affair was how McGuire made such a big show of being outraged when the 13 year old called him an ape.  He fell over himself apologising to Goodes on radio and television and then we discover that he and the young girl share the same mindset about Aboriginals.

Collingwood Football Club promised counselling sessions for racial vilification but until people continue to get thrown out for calling players ugly names, nothing will change.  The young girl was booed when she was escorted out by security, so it's clear the majority don't like it either.

Goodes has a difficult job ahead.  He has to try to educate an uneducated minority that racial taunts hurt, not only on the footy field, but everywhere.  "It's not just about taking responsibility for your own actions, but speaking to your mates when they take out their anger on their loved ones, minority groups, or make racist remarks" he said.

Australia Day 2014

Australia Day, January 26, commemorates the establishment of the first European settlement at Port Jackson in Sydney in 1788.

It's Australia Day eve, and already we see signs that some members of the community are angry.  It should be a celebration for all Australians but for some, it's a day they would rather forget.

Last year Prime Minister Julia Gillard had to be rescued from an angry Aboriginal mob who stormed a Canberra restaurant and this year, Captain Cook's cottage was once again sprayed with anti-Australia Day slogans.  Eighty years ago, philanthropist Sir Russell Grimwade had the original cottage in Yorkshire dismantled brick by brick and transported to Fitzroy Gardens as a gift to the people of Melbourne.

Meanwhile in Sydney, an eight kilometre stretch of foreshore at Botany Bay, where Captain Cook first landed, is sprayed with Australia Day is 'Invasion Day'.

Green Senator Christine Milne says Australia Day should be moved to the date a republic is declared.  There is only one problem with that, we don't have a republic and unlikely to get one in the foreseeable future.

Former Greens leader Bob Brown will be one of the speakers at tomorrow's rally in Hobart by Tasmanian Aboriginals.  Ruth Lanford, speaking on their behalf, said "Australia is the only nation in the world that celebrates its national day on the date which colonization occurred." She went on...."we hope Australians will join us to commemorate this as a reflective day of mourning."
Don't hold your breath Ms Lanford, it's never going to happen.

And here's a message for all the yobbos out there who like to get drunk and make a nuisance of themselves.

Indonesia threatens Australia with war

Indonesia has threatened Australia with war.  "If we notice any border violations, our air base in Makassar will be ready - Australia is reachable from there" the Jakarta Post told its readers yesterday. The Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force Base in the South Sulawesi provincial capital is home to the 11th Squadron of 16 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27/30 Flankers which have a maximum of range of 3,000 kilometres, the newspaper said.

Indonesian military officials said that its Navy warships, including frigates, fast torpedo craft and corvettes and maritime patrol aircraft have been deployed to waters off its southern border.

Airforce spokesman Air Commodore Hadi Tjahjanto told the newspaper they are watching four radars which all face Australia.

Those comments are quite clear, they are declaring war on Australia if we don't behave.

So we have a big problem.  Our socalled friendly neighbour refuses to allow our government to turn asylum seeker boats back to Indonesia and Prime Minister Tony Abbott is determined to do it.

The problem started when the Australian Navy entered Indonesian waters, more than once.  Their excuse was lame - they said it was an accident which puts the credibility of the Navy captain at zero.

Then the ABC showed footage of several African asylum seekers with burns on their hands, accusing the Australian Navy personnel of torture.  The Navy vehemently denies it ever happened. 

Professor Damien Kingsbury from Deakin University said "Indonesia has always been pensive about its territorial integrity and Australia has played a role in that in the past - there's a sensitivity about that.  If Indonesia did that to Australia, we would be very upset, if not more so."

Tony Abbott apologised to Indonesia for intruding "inadvertently" into Indonesia's territory "on several occasions" in recent weeks.

Two countries so close geographically yet culturally worlds apart. The people of Indonesia believe that Australia has an obligation to accept asylum seekers because we signed the UN Refugee Convention and they did not.

They are overwhelmed with refugees waiting up to 30 years before being offered a place in a third country.  They live in squalid conditions, are unable to work and their children are not allowed to attend school. Compared to our boat people problem, you can see where the resentment is coming from.

All eyes are now on Tony Abbott and how he handles this serious situation.

Schapelle Corby ready for release

Frenchman Michael Blanc was arrested on Boxing Day 1999 at Bali airport with 3.8 kilos of hash hidden in diving canisters.  His mother left her life in France to come half way across the world to fight for his release. It was a long, drawn out process but last Monday, he walked out of prison on parole after serving 14 years.

Michael Blanc and his mother

The law allowed Indonesian prisoners to be released on parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence, but it didn't apply to foreigners. Blanc's mother said it wasn't fair and somehow she managed to change their minds, although conditions are strict.  He must remain in Indonesia until 21 July 2017 which is when his sentence ends, and during that time, become a model member of the community. He will live with his mother in her modest home in Jakarta.

Family compound of Wayan Widyartha and wife Mercedes

Now Schapelle Corby is being considered for parole after serving almost nine years.  Her Balinese brother-in-law, Wayan Widyartha, will be her guarantor and she will live in his home with his wife Mercedes, their children and his extended family.  She will occupy herself helping out in his clothing business.

After reading Schapelle's book My Story, a lot of people had no doubt she was innocent.  Then along came Eamonn Duff with his book The Sins of the Father.  He said her father was involved in drug trafficking and she took the rap for his drug syndicate. Schapelle lost a lot of public support after his book came out.

Whether guilty or not, Corby has paid a terrible price.  She became so depressed last year, she slipped over into psychosis and told a psychiatrist she wanted to die.  A recent examination by another psychiatrist said she was no longer psychotic, and currently has "moderate depression."  Nevertheless, she will need to take medication for her mental health for the rest of her life.

Forever faithful sister Mercedes 

Although her parole is in the pipeline, it's not a done deal and there's still a long way to go.  She's had her hopes dashed so many times before, surely this time, she will be allowed to finally walk out of Kerobokan Prison into the arms of her family.  She's suffered enough.

Student punches teacher and ends his career

Stephen Krix

In May 2011, 51 year old science teacher Stephen Krix was 
teaching a Year 10 class at Riverstone High School in Sydney. When he asked a student to take off his headphones and pay attention, he was told to f*** off several times.  A confrontation ensued and the student punched him in the face.

What happened next cost him his job.  He grabbed the boy and held him in a headlock.  The NSW Department of Education said he should have stood down from any physical confrontation and sacked him.  His appeal has just been denied.

The Department said its policies and procedures state clearly that disciplinary action will not be taken against teachers who act reasonably in their conduct while disciplining students.  In his appeal, Mr Krix said he was acting in self-defence but it didn't count, they said, he should have walked away.

We know the right thing to do is punish the child but the system does the opposite - the teacher is punished because the child is untouchable.  

Mr Krix said what we suspected to be true - teachers are frightened to discipline children because of the threat of dismissal.  So as the undisciplined child grows into adolescence, never learning there are limits in life that have to be met, the result is utter contempt.

Jarrad O'Hanlon

"Eighty per cent of kids are screwed over by the state system because of lack of discipline given to the minority of bad kids who disrupt class" Mr Krix said.  "You have to have zero tolerance....if a kid is behaving badly in the classroom, he needs to be extracted and all the kids that are behaving themselves need to be able to get educated."  Regarding the student he said "he's just a kid who needed discipline and wasn't getting it.  If he's given the guidelines, then he knows where the boundary is."

So who is the student that ended Stephen Krix's career and what's his side of the story?  Jarrad O'Hanlon is no longer at Riverstone High, he's now left school and is out somewhere in the world.  He said Krix deserved to be sacked because he provoked him.  "I don't see asking a student to do his work as provocation"  Mr Krix said....."it's me doing my job."

In February 2011, O'Hanlon was suspended for four days for calling Krix a f***wit three times and pushing him in the chest "very hard."

Stephen Krix hoped to make a difference and he's just the type of teacher we need - someone not afraid to demand the respect he deserves.  He volunteers his time training the long-term unemployed and ex prisoners and helps kids barred from schools get their School Certificate.  He tries to help young people understand why boundaries need to be set and met, if they are to succeed in life.

IRC Commission spokesman Peter Newall said something that is a sad indictment on our education system today.  "That teachers can expect to be sworn at and at times physically attacked must make the requirement to maintain calmness, patience, and a disciplined learning environment extremely difficult."  No kidding Mr Newall, there's no fooling you.

When a child is born into a family where discipline doesn't exist, it's a tragedy.  They never learn what respect really means.

Looking for work in 2014

Something just doesn't add up.  The National unemployment rate is still fairly low at 5.8 per cent, yet according to figures released yesterday, there were 31,600 full-time jobs lost in December. 

Those jobs are now gone forever, possibly replaced in some cases by part-time workers hired to do the same amount of work, in half the time, for half the salary.  This could explain why there were 9,000 part-time jobs created in December.

Looking for a job in 2014 isn't for the faint-hearted.  The constant rejection wears people down and some are giving up before their remaining self-confidence is completely destroyed. Martin Thomas, spokesman for Mission Australia said the gloom had been compounded by media reports about factory closures like General Motors and the new government's commitment to cut spending.

But the Deutche Bank doesn't seem overly concerned.  Senior economist Phil O'Donaghoe said while the economy lost 31,000 jobs last month, the falls came after three months of gains.  "I don't think it changes our view of the economy.......... it's actually generating more jobs on average per month than is being caught in the official employment statistics at present" he said.

So in Economist speak, we're okay, but in the real world we know we're not.  There are three levels of opportunity for those looking for a job.

The elite - those who are head-hunted

The lucky - those who are popular and belong to a wide social circle - they are offered the job before it's advertised.

The rest of us - those who don't fall into the above two categories.

For those over 40, they have to keep going, knowing that companies don't want older workers anymore, no matter how qualified they are.   Day after day they must again put themselves up for rejection while trying to believe everything they've been taught - if you don't give up, keep positive, have a good self image, you will get there.  

Captain Paul McKay's body found

Australian soldiers are coming home mentally ill after combat duty in Afghanistan.  From the Australian Army website:

Of the 30,325 current full-time Army members, it is estimated that approximately 18,800 have had operational service and therefore two per cent or about 375 will have developed PTSD.......  It is normal for most individuals to experience some form of distress after highly traumatic events.  This may be a variety of emotions including fear, guilt, shame, helplessness or anger.  The good news is that most will return to normal functioning after a short period of time, from a few days to several weeks, without intervention.  However, even these people will still have recurrent memories of the event or other emotions associated with these memories.

Captain Paul McKay had PTSD.  On New Year's Eve, he sent his father an email that frightened him.  He wanted him to know that he was leaving him all his worldly possessions.

Captain McKay, an Afghanistan veteran, set off into rugged terrain in freezing conditions to climb Scarface Mountain in the state of New York.  He was on leave from the Army until 20th January so he could have been testing himself against the elements, but sending the email makes you wonder.

The US authorities were fantastic.  Teams of volunteers led by forest rangers were brought in and carried out a grid search, determined to find him.  And they did.  A forest ranger found his body off the walking trail, near the summit of Scarface Mountain in an area hidden from searching helicopters.  Although he had warm clothing, he didn't have a sleeping bag, tent or any kind of shelter. An autopsy will be carried out today.

On December 27, McKay created a Facebook and LinkedIn page, the day before he left home to fly to the US, listing his military background, skills, university degrees and a dozen pictures. Both accounts have since been removed. Although police were able to get access to his emails, they held no clue as to why he went to Scarface Mountain.

If he hadn't sent his father that email, his body would've been found doing something he was good at - testing his endurance against the harsh winter wilderness. There wouldn't have been any suggestion of suicide and the people who loved him would never have known. But it didn't work out that way.

The death of this outstanding young man is a tragedy and the Army needs to take a good, hard look at itself regarding treatment of PTSD soldiers returning from Afghanistan. If this young man hadn't joined the Australian Army, he would still be alive and whatever they are doing to help, isn't working.

Australian Open 2014 conditions "inhumane"

Britain's Andy Murray has warned that someone is likely to have a heart attack if matches are allowed to continue in the heat wave. Running around on a court in 42C plus is no picnic yet organizers feel they haven't reached their "Extreme Heat Policy" yet, which shuts everything down.

Canada's Frank Dancevic fainted during his match on Day 2, a ball boy keeled over, plastic bottles started melting into the court and moths fell out of the sky, stone dead.  Trams carrying fans to and from Melbourne Park stopped when their steel tracks buckled in the heat and nine players have retired or forfeited their matches so far.
But according to organizers, it's not hot enough to stop play.

Frank Danevic

Danevic was furious and said conditions were "inhumane."  During his match, he started hallucinating about Snoopy and collapsed. When he woke up there were people standing all around him.  "It's hazardous out there...it's dangerous....until somebody dies, they're just going to keep playing matches in the heat."

Wayne McEwen, the tournament referee, is the man who calls the shots, he's the one who decides whether to suspend play or not.  He can close the roofs on the main arenas when the temperature reaches a certain figure, but he won't tell anyone what that figure is. 

He gave a statement to the press on Tuesday which said a "low level of humidity kept conditions playable" and the best he could do was provide ice vests to every player and allowed an extra 10 minute break for female players who were required to play a deciding set.

This extra break upset Murray. "I don't know why there's different rules for men and women" he said.  "If there's a medical reason for it, then I'm fine with it, if there isn't, I'm not."

Then along comes Roger Federer who hardly raises a sweat and breezes into the second round.  "It's just a mental thing" he said.  "If you've trained enough your entire life, and you believe you can come through it, there's no reason to quit.  If you can't deal with it, you throw in the towel.

Daniel Christie death causes public outrage

Daniel Chistie

Kings Cross is somewhere young people go to have fun and thousands of Aussies, now in middle age, would look back and think it was an interesting experience.  But that was before 'shots' became popular and drinking venues stayed open all night.

Now we have something relatively new that sends chills down the spines of every parents' back -  a new breed of angry young men who go to Kings Cross looking for a fight, just for fun.

Shaun McNeil

Shaun McNeil, who calls himself a mixed martial arts fighter, likes to post 'selfies' on Facebook.  On New Year's Eve, he and his partner went out and started off bar hopping in the city.  Four hours later, police allege he bashed four men in Kings Cross for no reason whatsoever, their only mistake was being there.

Then 18 year old Daniel Christie saw McNeil picking on two teenagers and when he tried to intervene, he was punched so hard, his heartbroken parents had no option but to turn his life-support machines off 14 days later.   The assault took place at the exact same spot where 18 year old Thomas Kelly was fatally king-hit in 2012.

Premier Barry O'Farrell

So why doesn't our Premier Barry O'Farrell, do something about it? The Mayor of Manly successfully stopped glassings and brutal punch-ups in her suburb, so we know it can be done.  It seems the answer is political. 

The Chief Executive of the Australian Hotels Association, Paul Nicolaou, was a former Liberal candidate who donated a truck load of money to the NSW Liberal Party before the election.  His good friend George Souris is the minister in charge of liquor licencing in NSW and Michael Photios, the leader of the dominant left faction of the NSW Liberals is also involved in decision making, so who knows what's going on.

Paul Nicolaou

Police, doctors, and emergency services workers are all screaming for action but nothing is happening.  O'Farrell has refused point blank to trial measures experts say will work - 1 am lockouts and 3 am closing time for pubs. Why?  Because they say that a 1 am lockout wouldn't have saved the lives of these two young men.

We don't care O'Farrell - do something now  - and to hell with the Hotels Association.

Sydney girl killed in Syrian War

How did it ever come to this?  An Australian girl, educated at one of the country's better Anglican private schools, ends up dead in a country fighting for a jihadist group on the other side of the world.

Amira Karroum and her sister Rose are children of Mohamad Karroum and her Australian mother, Honor Deane.  Her mother gave Amira an Anglican education but it didn't make any difference, she still became radicalized in Sydney.

ASIO has revoked passports of citizens wanting to travel to Syria to fight with the al-Nasru Front which is linked to al-Qaeda, but they were too late to save Amira Karroum and her husband, Jihadist Yusuf Ali, who died in a hail of bullets.

Mother, Honor Deane

Amira moved from the Gold Coast and settled in the Sydney suburb of Auburn where she met Ali, believed to be a Muslim convert from North America.  She began wearing a burqa and studying her religion in earnest.  They were married in April last year and Ali left for Syria soon after, telling everyone he was going to do humanitarian work.

Yusuf Ali

Amira's half brother Karl Karroum said "We had no idea she was going to Syria.  She left Sydney about 20th December I think, and said she was going to Denmark for a holiday with some friends. Her husband lives in Syria so that's obviously why she went there, but we thought he was going to meet up with her in Copanhagan."

He said his half-sister was always a Muslim, despite her Anglican education.  "She was born a Muslim and so was her sister Rose. Their mum isn't Muslim, but our dad is" he said.  "She went to that school because it was the best education and an all-girls school ......it suited our faith."

On Facebook, Amira's sister Rose asked for prayers in their honour as they had been martyred.

So it's clear young people are still being radicalized in Sydney, and as usual, nobody knows anything about it.

Dr Scott Lewis dies in Sydney

In 2011, the Sydney Opera House booked several international illusionists. The show was such a big hit, they were back again last week billed as The Illusionists 2.0, scheduled to run for eight days. But tragically, one of the performers, Dr Scott Lewis, fell from his 11th floor Sydney city balcony on Friday night, and died at the scene.

His fellow performers didn't learn of his death until he failed to 
board the shuttle bus that would take them to the venue on Saturday morning.  His body was found at 9.40 am on a 4th floor balcony and he was already dead when paramedics arrived.

The Saturday matinee was cancelled "due to unforeseen circumstances" but the evening show went ahead with the audience oblivious to the tragic event earlier that day.

"They dealt with it in a very positive way" his brother Nader Dabit said. "No one knew anything was missing until the end.  I was shocked that they were able to do a show seeing as they had just lost their colleague and friend.  That takes a lot of courage."

Although police do not think his death was suspicious, Detective Inspector Jones said "We're not discounting any possibility at this stage."

Brothers 4 Life police informant

In February 2012, a 24 year old B4L gang member lay in Bankstown Hospital with two bullet wounds, one in his thigh and another in his knee. He knew he was lucky to be alive and made a life-changing decision - to turn police informer.

Today, he is a Crown witness and if he makes it to court alive, it will be a miracle.

The Police Commissioner set up a special squad to handle the Sydney gangs, made up of Muslim youth.  He called it the "Middle Eastern Organized Crime Squad."  B4L members thought it was so funny, they had MEOC number plates on their expensive cars and the word tattooed on their necks.  They were laughing at police because they knew they didn't have a clue what they were up to. Then suddenly they had an informant on the inside.

In July 2013, when Farhad Qaumi took over the Afghan-dominated Blacktown chapter, a drug turf war ensued and all hell broke loose. People were being shot at in quiet suburban streets all over Sydney and Mahmoud Hamzy was murdered.

Police made many arrests including Bankstown chapter boss Mohammed Hamzy and Omar Ajaj, but the violence didn't stop and the war went on. 

Last weekend police (desperate to prove to the public that they were on top of the situation) did something really stupid - they said they had "cut the head off the snake" by rounding up the big boss - B4L leader Farhad Qaumi, his brother Mumtaz and Masieh Amiri and that "Brothers 4 Life was finished." Oh really?

Last night police were called to Lehmann Avenue in Liverpool just after 11pm.  They found gunshot damage to the front of the house and a car parked outside.

And so it goes.

Brothers For Life gang finished, say police

Police have allowed the Muslim gang "Brothers For Life" to rule Sydney streets for months.  The Blacktown faction has been at war with the Bankstown chapter, resulting in dozens of shootings and murder.  They were free to shoot up Sydney suburbia with gay abandon, and they did, on a regular basis, because the victims refused to talk. All police could do was stand by and watch.

But police now say they've fixed the problem.  In November they arrested Bankstown captain Mohammed Hamzy 28, and yesterday at Wyong on the Central Coast, they arrested Blacktown boss Farhad Qaumi, also known as "the Afghan."  His younger brother Mumtaz Qaumi 29, and another man from Auburn were also arrested.

Fahad Qaumi was on board the yacht Oscar II when someone shot 18 bullets into the vessel as it pulled into Rose Bay at 11.30 pm on New Year's Day.  He was hit in the shoulder but left in a taxi and was found injured at Bondi two hours later and taken to hospital.

Police now say that Brothers For Life is finished but let's wait and see what happens when they get to court.  The police go to a lot of trouble rounding them up and putting them behind bars and our magistrates keep letting them out.  Unless something happens to change this situation, we'll be back to square one in no time.