Nine year old girl kills instructor with Uzi

There was a terrible accident in Arizona this week when a 9 year old girl accidently killed her instructor, Charles Vacca, who was teaching her how to use a machine gun.  It happened at a popular tourist hub at Bullets and Burgers gun range in Arizona and this info is taken from their website. 

The Bullets and Burgers Adventure is a private outdoor range set in a stunning outdoor desert landscape. We separate ourselves from all other Las Vegas ranges with our unique 'Desert Storm' atmosphere and military style bunkers. We are located on the eclectic 30+ acre Arizona Last Stop property surrounded by picturesque mountain views at the edge of the undeveloped Lake Mead Recreational Area.

Our guests have the opportunity to fire a wide range of fully automatic machine guns and specialty weapons. You will choose the guns which you want to shoot from our extensive collection and we provide the eye/ear protection, ammunition, and expert guidance. Our guests have an opportunity to choose from a wide variety of machine guns. Click here to view all of our available guns. Our 50 Cal. selections includes the Barrett Sniper Rifle, the Browning BMG .50 Cal ('the deuce'), and the Desert Eagle. We even have the actual firearms used in several Hollywood hits including The Terminator and Rambo II.

To top it off, lunch is included inside the the World Famous Arizona Last Stop restaurant located onsite. You will be treated with the World Famous All American Hamburger, fresh cut french fries, and a drink. The All American Burger is guaranteed to be the best hamburger you have ever eaten.

The Bullets and Burgers Adventure is approximately 4 - 5.5 hours in length from scheduled pickup to drop-off back at your hotel. Helicopter upgrades are available.  Please see our Helicopter Adventure Page.

I feel very sorry for Americans who sincerely want to change their gun laws, but I fear they are fighting a losing battle.  When the American Constitution was being drawn up and the right to bear arms was included, they had no way of knowing what the future would bring.  But they know now, and there's not a thing they can do about it.

Sydney cafe owner makes racist mistake

Ten days ago when a Brazilian man, Nilson Dos Santos applied for a job as a barista at Forbes and Burton in Darlinghurst, the interview went something like this.

'We sat down and he said "But you're black", I said "yes" and he told me "but my customers are white, I don't think they'd like to have their coffee made by black people, that's not part of the coffee culture, you're African."  

Cafe owner Mr Hu

'So I stood in the middle of the cafe and said "Excuse me, I don't mean to bother anybody but I just asked for a job and and he told me no because I'm black and I shouldn't make coffee for white people."

That's when all the customers and one employee came to stand beside him and walked out.

Cafe owner Steven Hu arrived in Australia from Shanghai nine months ago and needs to run the business for two years to qualify for an Australian visa.  "I didn't ask any questions because I prefer the barista to be local, not from Italy or other countries.  In some people's opinion, African people can't make good coffee" Mr Hu said.

The cafe has since shut its doors and is being investigated by the Fair Work Ombudsman and Mr Dos Santos now has a full-time job making coffee at Coco Cubano in Darlinghurst, just a few minutes walk from Forbes and Burton.

Last weekend Mr Santos decided to walk by the cafe where all the trouble started and was shocked to find it closed and the windows splattered with raw eggs.  "I broke down and cried" he said.

"I always loved Australia and now I'd say I'm in love with this country.  This is my home, this is where I want to be.

My flag is the flag of Allah

Mohammed Junaid Thorne is half Aboriginal and lives in Perth. He's a radical Muslim preacher and this week he's visiting Sydney to conduct "spiritual healing."  He has ties to the Australian branch of the Millatu Ibrahim group which is banned in Germany.

Mohammed Junaid Thorne

He and Melbourne preacher Musa Cerantonio are supporters of the Islamic State and their online sermons have attracted a dedicated audience.  Both men have preached at the al-Risalah Islamic Centre in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown.

Musa Cerantonio

Wissam Haddad who is the head of the centre said recently that he had no connection to the Australian flag but follows the "flag of Allah", the same one used by Islamic state terrorists who are leaving a trail of decapitated heads in their wake.

al-Risalah Islamic Centre 

There is no picture of Mr Haddad available on the internet, he avoids appearing in public and refuses to be photographed.

I wonder if he realizes the gravity of his words when he said "I'm not comfortable personally holding the (Australian) flag because it does not represent me as a Muslim. My flag is the flag of Allah, for me to have the Shahada flag as it's called, that's the flag that I stand and live and die for and I don't stand and live and die for the Australian flag."

We get the message loud and clear Mr Haddad and wonder why the government refuses to allow you to leave and help your "brothers" in the Middle East.  It's only fair that you should be allowed to go and fight for whoever you want to and give up your Australian citizenship, on that we can agree.

Mr Haddad and his friends can keep on saying how much they hate Australia because the law says they can. They aren't in any danger of arrest because of free speech and there's not a thing we can do about it.

Surely it's about time we changed the law.

Ned Kelly's house up for sale

Ned Kelly's childhood home is up for sale.  Ned was born in Beveridge, 40 kms from Melbourne CBD.  Ned's father John "Red" Kelly built the family's first home in 1859 with materials from the bush, like the local bluestone used for the chimney.

Ned lived in the house when he was a boy for about four years and it's also where his brothers Jim and Dan and sister Kate were born.

A modern 4 bedroom home shares the 1.4 hectare site with the Kelly house which carries a heritage order for its architectural and historical significance.  It's the only remaining example of a home Ned lived in as a child.

4 bedroom home included in sale

The legend of Ned Kelly will never be forgotton.  To this day, he is admired by some and considered a common criminal by others.

Here is a brief glimpse into the life of his mother, Ellen. When she visited Ned before he was hanged she said "Mind, you die like a Kelly son."

Kelly, Ellen (1832–1923) by Jacqueline Zara Wilson

Ellen Kelly (c.1832–1923), matriarch and mother of Ned Kelly, was born in County Antrim, Ireland, fourth of eleven children of James Quinn, farmer, and his wife Mary, née McCluskey. Ellen had an adventurous spirit that rebelled against any confinement and led her often to play truant from school and roam the countryside—a practice that left her able to read but not to write, and with a lifelong affinity for horses and the land. The Quinns, then numbering ten, reached Port Phillip as assisted migrants in July 1841.

After a period of menial work in Melbourne, James took the family north to rented farmland at Brunswick, then in 1849 a further 30 miles (48.3 km) to Wallan. Lively and slim with black hair and grey eyes, and an expert horsewoman, Ellen caught the eye of 30-year-old John 'Red' Kelly, an Irishman who had been transported to Van Diemen's Land for theft in 1841. Defying her father, Ellen took up with Red, and fell pregnant to him in May 1850. They married on 18 November at St Francis's Catholic Church, Melbourne, and moved into their own cottage on the Quinns' Wallan property.

Their first-born, a girl, survived only briefly. In 1853 Red set off alone to the goldfields, where he made enough to buy a farm near Beveridge. Ellen had a daughter Anne and in December 1854 a son, who was named Edward after Red's brother. The extensive Quinn and Kelly clans tended to skirt the fringes of the law, and for Ellen and Red financial difficulties, several moves, further births and mounting police attention set a definitive pattern. Red began drinking heavily. In 1865 he stole a calf and served four months in gaol. The following year he died, an alcoholic, of oedema, leaving Ellen with seven children aged from 18 months to 13 years.

As she struggled to raise her children on inferior farmland, she became notorious for her sometimes-violent temper, resulting in several court appearances. After moving her family into the far north-east of Victoria to stay near relations, she leased a selection of 88 acres (35.6 ha) there and sold 'sly grog' to make ends meet. The bushranger Harry Power became a family friend, introducing 14-year-old Ned to the life of a bandit. In 1869 Ellen took a lover, Bill Frost, and became pregnant, he promising marriage. The baby—her ninth—was born in March 1870, but Frost did not keep his word. Trouble with the law increased, with several of Ellen's siblings and offspring suffering periods of imprisonment.

Late in 1872, with Ned in prison, she met George King, a 23-year-old Californian horse-thief, and once more fell pregnant. On 19 February 1874 they married at Benalla with Primitive Methodist forms. She had three children by King. Alice, the last, was born in April 1878, six months after King abruptly deserted them, and only days before Constable Fitzpatrick arrived at the Kelly home to arrest Ellen's son Dan for horse-theft. Set upon by Ellen (wielding a spade) and probably Ned, Fitzpatrick brought charges of attempted murder; she was sentenced to three years in prison.

A model prisoner, Ellen was allowed, after Dan's death and Ned's capture, to visit Ned in the prison hospital and later in the cells, seeing him for the last time on the eve of his execution. According to tradition, she said 'Mind you die like a Kelly, son'. Released in February 1881, Ellen returned home to scenes of incipient civil rebellion; the authorities feared a pro-Kelly uprising. Constable Robert Graham, however, gained her confidence and persuaded her to calm her sympathizers. She settled down to become, for the first time in her life, a respectable community identity—although she was never able to rise to even modest prosperity.

Her daughters Maggie and Kate died in the late 1890s, leaving Ellen to raise three of her grandchildren, helped by her son James. He continued to live with her, caring for her in her old age. She died on 27 March 1923 at Greta West and was buried in Greta cemetery with Catholic rites. Of her twelve children, a son and daughter of her first marriage and a son and two daughters of her second survived her.

David Eastman conviction quashed

David Eastman was found guilty of murdering senior policeman Colin Winchester in 1995 and served 19 years. Yesterday his conviction was quashed and he's a free man because of flaws in the forensic evidence. 

Detectives targeted Eastman because everything pointed to his guilt. He was furious when Winchester refused to help him have an assault charge withdrawn so he could rejoin the public service.  He had a motive, he was seen casing the area prior to the murder, he was linked to the murder weapon and he didn't have an alibi.

In May, the Martin Inquiry recommended Eastman's murder conviction be quashed because there were serious flaws in the forensic evidence put forward by scientist Robert Collins Barnes.  Inquiry head judge Justice Brian Martin found there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice, even though he personally believes he is guilty.

A full bench of the Supreme Court made up of three judges, Justice Steven Rares, Justice Michael Wigney and Acting Justice Dennis Cowdroy spent a month mulling over the evidence.

It's now up to the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide if a retrial should go ahead and it won't be easy because many of the witnesses have since died and forensic evidence destroyed.

Linda and Michael Chamberlain before their lives were ruined by a so-called forensic expert

So-called forensic experts have once again let down our justice system. I can still remember the look on Lindy Chamberlain's face when the NT forensic expert told the court that she had found fetal blood in their car. The blood turned out to be a combination of milk and a chemical sprayed during manufacture.

Where is the Russian humanitarian aid?

Why has it taken so long for the Russian aid to get to those in urgent need in Ukraine?  Because the Ukrainians have caused unnecessary delays.  The Red Cross said the convoy may finally start moving today towards their final destination - Ukaine's Lugansk region.

Four Russian vehicles have already got the 'all clear' from customs and are now being process by Ukrainian custom officials at the Izvarino checkpoint.

Russia thanked the Red Cross for its participation and asked both sides to stop fighting long enough for the convoy to get through. "We suggest that the UN Security Council adopts a statement on the issue" the ministry said.

Moscow has repeatedly denied Western allegations that its humanitarian aid mission was some sort of covert invasion of Ukraine and accusations kept coming even after the Red Cross and Kiev had given it the all clear.

“As multiple checks of vehicles revealed, there isn’t any undeclared cargo carried by the convoy and it will not be accompanied by the military when traveling in the Ukrainian territory,” Russia’s deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said.

Every day, the city of Lugansk is being bombed by the Ukrainian military and most of the people have fled, but the elderly, the sick and those with nowhere else to go are taking shelter in the basements of bombed-out buildings.

So the reason the humanitarian aid hasn't reached those who desperately need it is because Ukrainian authorities kept postponing the process, fearing a Russian invasion. And it now appears clear that their suspicions were groundless.

The hunt for James Foley's killer begins

James Foley's captors demanded a ransom of $132 million for his release.  His family had been trying to raise the money but the US and the UK don't pay ransoms in kidnapping cases.

It seems the poor man was subjected to terrible mental torture once they discovered his brother was in the US Air Force.  Several times they told him to prepare for death only to change their minds.  And at the end, he didn't plead or beg for his life, he died with dignity. 

Even though his killer's eyes are the only thing showing, Britain and the US are working together to track him down. Spy agencies can link voice-recognition software to social media postings and the killers are all hooked on Facebook and Twitter.  

There is now little doubt that he's British with a London accent. Most of the western jihadists can't resist posting pictures of themselves and even talk about their favourite soccer teams online.

John O'Regan, a linguist at the University of London's Institute of Education said the killer spoke with a "multicultural London English" accent but with more formal standard English pronunciation, suggesting that his words denouncing American actions in the Middle East had been carefully scripted.  "The person is taking great care to do 'posh talk' as it were, they are very mindful of their p's and q's."  

He said that even though the speech differs from the man's normal speaking voice, "there are enough features in the accent" to provide strong clues to his identity.

So will his mates in London give him up?  The British Muslim Council said people have a duty to turn him into police if they know who he is. 

ASIO has already identified Australian-born jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq and so has Britain, so why don't our Prime Ministers confiscate their passports so they can't come back?  Any remaining relatives living here would then be at liberty to pack up and join them.

Yet Tony Abbott or David Cameron refuse to do it.  Why not?

James Foley's murder

Today everyone knows the name of James Foley.  His murder was orchestrated as a "message to America" to get out of Iraq.  Surely this is enough reason for President Obama to act.  ISIS must be overcome and every country on earth with the means to do it should hold an emergency meeting and get on with it.

James Foley, a freelance American journalist was kidnapped in November 2012.  In a prepared statement before his death he said

I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality. 

My message to my beloved parents, save me some dignity and don't accept any meagre compensation for my death from the same people who effectively hit the nail in my coffin from their recent aerial campaign in Iraq.

He then addressed his brother John who is in the US Air Force.

Think about the lives you destroy including those of your own family.  I call on you John, think about who made the decision to bomb Iraq recently and kill those people, whoever they may have been.  I wish I had more time.  I wish I could have the hope of freedom and seeing my family once again but that ship has sailed. I guess all in all, I wish I wasn't American.

The man in black points at the camera and says "Any attempt by you Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living is safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people."  A second journalist Steven Sotloff, also appears in the video.  "The life of this American citizen Obama depends on your next decision."

The man then appears to cut Foley's throat.  Then, speaking in English with a British accent, he warns the US to stop intervening in Iraq.

James Foley

The video was uploaded to YouTube yesterday afternoon before it was taken down and the FBI are evaluating its contents.

Foley had been working for Global Post, Agence France-Presse and other international media organizations when he was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012.

It seems ironic that when President Bush organized the Coalition of the Willing, we went to Iraq grudgingly, later realizing it was a terrible mistake.  

And now we are begging the US to go back.

Julian Assange told to 'man up'

George Brandis

Australian Attorney-General George Brandis thinks Julian Assange should be "man enough" to deal with the sexual assault allegations against him.  It's a no brainer, the longer this charade goes on, the sillier he looks. His terror of being jailed by the Americans has turned him into a pathetic, cowardly figure who believes it's everyone's fault but his own. 

The Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino was sitting with Assange during his press conference and judging by the look on his face, he's well and truly worn out his welcome.  "The situation has gone on too long" he said.  "Two years is too long."

The British and Swedish governments have declined to provide assurances that he will not be extradicted to the US and the Australian government refuse to make any representations on his behalf.

Last night at a hearing in Stockholm, prosecutors demanded that the warrant issued for his arrest in 2010 should be upheld.  Even though he had rock star status and women were throwing themselves at him at the time, two women he had sex with went to police.

Asked what "leaving the embassy very soon" meant he said "there have been many significant developments that are likely to result in a much faster resolution."

I wonder if  Julian ever thinks about Bradley Manning, who wouldn't hurt a fly, rotting away in his jail cell.

Being confined to a small room with all the comforts of home for two years isn't quite the same thing.

Russian convoy crisis

It's hard to know what's going on in Ukraine, everyone is so suspicious of Putin, if he really is doing something worthwhile, nobody believes him. 

Yesterday things looked positive as the convoy filled with aid headed for the border but two British reporters tweeted they saw 23 Russian APCs (armoured personnel carriers) separate from the larger Ukrainian-bound convoy and roll across the border into Ukraine under the cover of darkness.

Russian military vehicles outside Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov region near the Ukraine border. 

Russian border guards say it's not true and that the APCs operate on the border to protect Russian citizens from hostilities.  But Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military said they spotted the Russians cross the border during the night and "appropriate actions were undertaken and part of it no longer exists."

Russia accused them of trying to sabotage the delivery of aid which is a generous gesture of goodwill.  So all Ukraine has to do now is show evidence of the remains of the vehicles which will remove all doubt.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshanko briefed British PM David Cameron and told him a "significant part" of the Russian column had been destroyed.

Joe Hockey cops a flogging

Joe Hockey is living in a dream world if he thinks his budget is acceptable.  It's not.  And now he's made things worse for himself by saying stupid things like increasing the petrol tax won't hurt the poor. He told ABC Radio is Brisbane "the poorest people either don't have cars or actually don't drive very far in many cases."

He said he was "sorry" if his comments sounded callous but he was just pointing out the facts.  "I can only get the facts out there and how people interpret them is up to them" he said.  To back up his statement he said that the Bureau of Statistics show higher income households pay more in fuel tax but Parlimentary Library research shows lower income households pay a higher proportion of their income on fuel tax compared to those who are better off.

And Mr Hockey is definitely in the "better off" category, he and his millionaire wife Melissa Babbage own a property port folio worth millions.  He once said the money really belongs to his wife who until 2011, worked as head of the foreign exchange and global finance division of Deutsche Bank.

Mr Hockey thought it was a good idea to reintroduce twice-yearly indexation of the fuel excise and blind Freddy knows if he gets his way, low income families and the rural sector will be hit hard.

And it's not only Labor throwing stones at Mr Hockey's budget, members of his own party are still reeling from the measures he and Tony Abbott cooked up and the general public is left wondering what on earth were they thinking.

They need to regroup and start again because this budget stinks to high heaven and just won't fly.

Australia's Foreign Minister talking like a fool

Julie Bishop

Why is Julie Bishop stirring the pot by saying that the humanitarian aid being sent to Ukraine from Russia could be a pretext for direct military intervention?  

"Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has gone further than others in making irresponsible innuendos against our country even though one would think that her position presupposes building bridges between countries, not destroying them" Russia's foreign ministery said.

Itar-Tass news agency said the convoy was carrying 2,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid including 400 tonnes of cereal, 100 tonnes of sugar, 62 tonnes of baby food, 54 tonnes of medical equipment and medicine, 12,000 sleeping bags, and 69 generators.  Thousands of people in Donetsk and the border town of Lugansk have no food, electricity, water or medical equipment caused by the bitter fighting.

Kiev and the west believe that Russia has been sending tanks, missiles and other heavy weapons to the rebels for months.  But Moscow says that's a lie.

So who's telling the truth?

Putin's humanitarian aid to Ukraine

Yesterday Moscow said that a convoy of 300 Russian trucks were bound for Ukraine carrying humanitarian aid.  Ukraine was so shocked, they couldn't believe it and called it Putin's Trojan Horse - a trick to invade Ukraine. 

Under no circumstances would Russian vehicles be allowed on Ukranian soil and any attempt to do so would be considered an act of aggression.

President Putin's motives have everyone guessing.  The pro-Russian rebels who are fighting in Eastern Ukraine have been losing town after town to Ukrainian forces and were hoping their President would send them more weapons and soldiers, not medical supplies.

The President's press secretary said it was "absurd" to suspect that the Russian convoy was anything else but a pure humanitarian mission.

But wait, there's been a development.  Yesterday afternoon, Ukraine confirmed that the cargo would be reloaded onto vehicles rented by the Red Cross at the border and will be under the control of Ukrainian officials.

Let's hope this goodwill gesture from Moscow will lead to talks of peace between the two countries.  

Australian boy holds severed head

Khaled Sharrouf's picture of his son holding a bloody severed head has disgusted everyone it seems, except his relatives in Sydney.  His brother said we should simply "forget" about it.  "He's gone, forget about it, he's forgotten youse, I'm sure you've seen much worse than that."

Khaled Sharrouf left Australia last year using his brother Mostafa's passport and took his four children with him to Syria and Iraq where he joined the fighting with ISIS.  Sharrouf is currently Australia's most wanted terrorist.

Sharrouf and his sons

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said yesterday that the shocking image of his son, believed to be seven years old, showed "the kind of hideous atrocities this group is capable of."  It's believed the photo was taken in July in the north eastern Syrian town of Raqqa.

Mohammed Elomar

Another Sydney man,  former boxer Mohammed Elomar recently posted photos of himself and Sharouff holding severed heads with a caption that read "few more heads how lovely bludy amazing stuff."

Yet anti-terrorism laws that the PM wants to bring in later this month are being slammed by Islamic groups, the Labor Party and the Greens.

The Australian National Imams Council has vowed to "vigorously campaign" against the proposals.

"The ANIC believes that the proposed changes to the anti-terrorism laws will severely impinge on the rights and freedoms of all Australians and especially those of Muslim faith," the council said in a statement. 

 And so it goes.

Baby Gammy's parents on 60 Minutes

Gammy's parents were on 60 Minutes last night.  They must have thought it would make a difference to how the general public feel about them, but it didn't.

David Farnell admitted they hadn't called to check on Gammy's welfare, nor did they extend their Thai visas to be with him or ask authorities or the agency for help in bringing him back to Australia. 

He also admitted that when they found out that Gammy had Downs Syndrome, they rang the agency to "take responsibility." He wanted his money back and told them "this is your fault."

The surrogate mother said both David and Wendy Farnell did not even look at their son or buy milk for him and have never called to find out how he is.  David said since returning home, they have sent some money, but "can't remember how much."

But that's not the main issue here.  David Farnell is a convicted child sex offender and shouldn't have been allowed to enter into a surrogacy agreement in the first place.  If the surrogacy agency in Thailand had done their job properly, this man wouldn't have this baby girl under his control.

In tears he said he would "get out" of the lives of his wife and daughter if it meant Pipah could remain in Australia.  But that's rubbish because we know that paedophiles can't be rehabilitated and he will somehow worm his way back into the family and the child will be ultimately at risk.

"I've been convicted of child sex offences and I hang my head in shame for that and I'm deeply regretful of that... I was convicted and went to jail and when I got out I thought.....I need to face everybody and face what I did."

"When did the sexual urges stop for you?" Tara Brown asks.

"In prison through those counselling sessions.  She will be 100 per cent safe because I will do everything in the world to protect my little girl, I know that I do not have any urges of this nature at all."

Pull the other one mate.  If authorities allow this child to stay under the control of this paedophile, then WA Child Protective Agency is not doing it's job properly.

What Russia can't live without

Australian wine wasn't on President Putin's banned list of foreign food. Australian wines, including Jacobs Creek, form part of Russia's top 10 list of products imported from Australia.

Lamb and sheep have also been excluded from the list.  And now a Victorian meat processing company has taken an extraordinarily brave political stance against Russia, suspending exports to the country.  The managing director of the Australian Lamb Group, John Verrall, had a distant connection to Albert Rizk and his wife who died on Malaysia flight MH17, shot down by suspected pro-Russian rebels.

As the owner of a business that exports to 69 countries, Mr Verrall said he was in the position to make a stand against President Putin. "Australian Lamb Group wants to send a very strong message to the Russian President that we, as an Australian company, will not abide the circumstances as they are currently unfolding with regard to the shooting down of flight MH17 and the recovery operations at the crash site" he said. "If businesses don't make a stand, then these people will get away with it."

He said that any Russian meat orders currently in production will be redirected to alternate destinations so "they won't be destroyed."

Meanwhile Prime Minister Tony Abbott described President Putin as a "bully" and said he would increase sanctions once Australian personnel were removed from the crash site. "I want to say very clearly we are working towards stronger sanctions" he said.

Putin's Revenge on the West

Yesterday, Russia cut off over $9 billion in food imports. "Russia is imposing a full ban on deliveries of beef, pork, fruit and vegetables, poultry, fish, cheese, milk and dairy products from the EU, the USA, Australia, Canada and Norway" Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. The ban will last for one year.

"If our partners demonstrate a constructive approach on issues of co-operation, the government is prepared to reconsider the duration of these measures" he said.

It's in retaliation to the US and EU cutting off major state-owned banks' access to Western capital markets and banning exports of defense and oil technologies to Russia.

Australia's farm exports to Russia are worth $400 million a year and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce is busy looking for alternative markets.  There has been no Australian beef exported to Russia since April after an offal ban was imposed in January.

For the Russian people, an increase in food prices will be unavoidable, economics say, even if Russia succeeds in replacing banned imports with products from other countries like South America, Central Asia, China, Israel and Belarus.

Moscow and St Petersburg will be affected most as reliance on imported food in these two major cities is 40 per cent but the average across Russia is only 15 per cent.  The wealthy and middle-class will be hurt the most as they have a taste for the high quality European products and they aren't easy to replace.

Fruit and vegetables will also be a problem for the Russian people because of the long, cold winters. They don't have long-term food storage facilities so come November, the local produce will run out.

This could be an ideal opportunity to help Russian farmers fill the need and I hope it does.  But their cold weather means they can only harvest their crops once a year, unlike farmers here in Australia and other warmer climates, so the sanctions would have to last longer than one year for them to reap the benefits.

We live in a democracy yet when our leaders do stupid things, there's not a thing we can do about it.  But in the end you have to pick a side and the whole world can't be wrong.

All Putin has to do is pull back from Ukraine and all the trouble will disappear.

Paedophiles and surrogacy

David John Farnell and his wife

How many paedophiles have paid a cash strapped surrogate to have their baby?  Nobody knows because there are no laws to stop them. There are women queuing up in Asian and Eastern Block countries, desperate for the chance to carry a child for financial reward.

Fifty six year old David John Farnell, the father of the abandoned baby Gammy with Down Syndrome in Thailand, has been convicted of 22 child sex offences.  He was sentenced to three years in jail in 1997 for sexually abusing two girls, then aged 7 and 10. Court documents reveal he molested the children when they were visiting him at his home.  The victims made complaints when they were adults and he pleaded guilty to 18 charges.

This man was allowed to proceed with the surrogacy in Thailand because there weren't any laws to stop him and the surrogacy agency didn't bother to check his criminal record.   And it's a disgrace.

American-born Mark Newton and his partner Peter Truong wanted a child of their own so they paid a Russian woman $8,000 to be their surrogate, using Newton's sperm.  They wanted the child for the sole purpose of allowing men around the world to sexually abuse him.  In one video, Newton performs a sex act on the baby when he was less than 2 weeks old.  They lived in Australia and are now in jail in the US.

This story of Gammy is tragic in many ways and may have ruined the chances of genuine couples desperate for a baby.

Some states in Australia ban gay couples and single women from having a surrogate child and in NSW, Queensland and the ACT, it's a criminal offence.  To avoid criminal charges, hopeful professional couples who can't afford to have a criminal record on their CV, are moving to Victoria and South Australia.

Surrogacy is legal in Australia if you can find a woman altruistic enough to do it virtually for nothing.  Some women are lucky enough to have a sister or other close friend or relative prepared to do it for them but they are hard to find and it's easy to see why desperate couples are turning to Asia.

David Farnell and his wife brought the healthy twin girl home from Thailand and left Gammy behind. Yesterday afternoon the RSPCA took the family dog into care after neighbours said it was left alone for two days.  

Just another indication that you wouldn't leave a dog in the care of this man, let alone a baby and the WA Child Protection needs to step in and take control of this situation today. 

Down Syndrome baby rejected by surrogate parents

This sad case could potentially threaten childless couples' dreams of ever having a child of their own through the use of an overseas surrogate. 

When a Western Australian couple's twins were born in Thailand, they took the healthy girl home and left her brother, Gammy, behind.  Why? Because he has Downs Syndrome and a hole in the heart.  Their excuse was that they are too old to care for twins.

Pattaramon Chanbua agreed to be a surrogate for the couple who promised to pay her around $A16,000. At four months, they found she was having twins and one would be born with serious health problems. The surrogacy agency was informed by the parents to abort the disabled foetus, but the surrogate refused.

The GoFundMe online fundraising campaign has raised $200,000 so far for his medical expenses and money is still coming in.

Ms Chanbua 21, lives about 90 kms south of Bangkok with her two other children, 6 and 3.  "....with that money we can educate our children and repay our debt" she said.

Gammy is currently in a Bangkok hospital with a lung infection and his condition is stable.

Surrogacy Australia president Sam Everingham said the government had virtually turned its back on couples seeking surrogacy overseas. People from NSW, Queensland and the ACT cannot enter into a commercial surrogacy agreement overseas.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said this was "an incredibly sad story" and the government would look into the case.

Edit 6 August 2014:  It's been revealed that the father of the twins was jailed for three years in 1997 after admitting to sexually abusing two young children.  He's now married to an Asian woman who can hardly speak English.  These surrogacy agencies in Asia are making it very easy for pedophiles to buy their own child for their own personal needs. 

Comanchero bikie accused of standover tactics

Norm Meyer: Comachero Sergeant-at-arms of Williamstown Chapter, labourer on building sites.

Master Builders Association federal vice-president Trevor Evans was at home in Melbourne when three Comanchero members barged into his house, demanding payment for a subcontractor who said that Mr Evans owed him money.  In 2011, Hells Angels had been used by a subcontractor in a stand-over bid on a senior manager of building company Hansen Yuncken.

But hang on a minute, what does this say about building companies who refuse to pay subcontractors for work done in good faith, they get away with it all the time.  The little battler takes the job on, works his guts out completing it on time, puts his bill in and the company deliberately ignores it. What is he to do?

Well, he could go down the legal path which is painfully slow and expensive or he could hire a debt collector, one that gets results.  Why should his life be ruined because some crooked builder decides not to pay him?

Police have confirmed they are investigating claims of corruption in the building industry and that could be very true, but I'd want more information on this one before passing an opinion.

Wheat farmer pushed beyond despair

Ian Turnbull

It's a sad state of affairs when a farmer can't do what he wants with his own land, but that's how it is now in NSW.  Somehow, someone gave the government the power to over-ride all the owner's rights. And they spy on them with satellites to make sure they do what they're told.  

And because of this stupid law, right now, a decent, well respected wheat farmer, Ian Turnbull is sitting in a country jail charged with murder, denied bail and an innocent man doing his job is dead.  

On Tuesday, Glen Turner 51, a government employee of the NSW Environment Commission paid another visit to the Turnbull farm. The court was told that Mr Turnbull fired a number of shots at Mr Turner before a bullet struck him in the back and killed him.

Glen Turner

Basically, Mr Turnbull was in trouble for clearing his land.  The Land and Environment Court ruled he had breached the Native Title Vegetation Act.  Give me a break!

Mr Turnbull's family yesterday described how their grandfather had suffered because he wasn't going to fold, he intended to fight, but it cost him dearly, especially his health, he couldn't sleep and was severely depressed.

A bullet hole is visible in the window of Glen Turner’s vehicle

"He has held all this in, he has crumbled, he has tried to carry this all by himself" a family member said. The family also extended their condolences to Mr Turner's family, including his two children, aged 9 and 10.

How this law ever came to be passed is hard to understand.

 * NSW farmers wishing to clear land containing native vegetation     must obtain a property vegetation plan or development consent      from the state government.

* Approval can take months or even years.

* Permission from councils and the federal government may be        required as well.

* Penalties include fines of more than $1 million.

The NSW government is using satellites to enforce its despised land-clearing law and the Native Vegetation Act 2003 prevents even the smallest of land clearances without strict and cumbersome consents.

The bitter dispute involved a series of appeals in the Land and Environment Court culminating in Mr Turner's death and the blame for this death lies entirely at the feet of the NSW Environment Office.  The law was introduced by a Labor/Green alliance in 2003.