Nova Peris' affair with Ato Boldon

Here we go again.  Another high profile person foolishly puts into words what they really think in an email.  It should never be done unless the writer is prepared to see those words on the front page of every newspaper in the country. And that's what's happened - Nova Paris' reputation is in tatters.

It's alleged that Senator Nova Peris used taxpayers money to fund a private affair with Olympic medalist from Trinidad Ato Boldon in 2010.

Boldon in 1996

Nova wasn't yet a senator but a communications officer with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Studies and an ambassador for Athletics Australia.  She invited Ato Boldon to come to Australia to take part in a 10 day program for young athletes.

Nothing wrong with that, but the problem was how she went about funding it.

Athletics Australia confirmed they paid for Mr Boldon's flight to Melbourne from Los Angeles and covered his accommodation and other expenses but would not disclose the total amount.

In an email in mid-March Ms Peris tells him that she managed to round up $22,000 for Boldon, on top of the money Athletics Australia paid.

In earlier February 2010 emails Ms Peris tells Boldon she will find the money for him..."all expenses paid, meals and accommodation and a fee!!  Don't know what it is I was thinking around $10K I don't know bub, if your purpose was to come here and make a bit of money or holiday.... it was not in the budget to bring any profile athletes out but....I am not sure what they can do."

".....this is all black money babe....but rightly so being used for the interests of indigenous kids babe....white people hate black people in this country, and don't like for things to happen if there is no salt in the mix....."

Nova was married to Olympian Daniel Batman at the time, the father of two of her children.

"Do you think I should break it to my husband yet?" Nova writes. "That I am running away from him for 10 days with you??  Did I tell u I forgot our anniversary the other week! 2nd March married for 9 years.....ooooops... I came home and he said "do you have anything to say, I said um no why? he said look on the bed, so I did, there were roses and a card and a gift, a gold bracelet....'happy anniversary'...all I could say was sorry, I had a lot on my mind lately....."

"It's hard to keep a good woman down, and a black woman like me at that!!...white men can't control black women, they think they can but can't, if I was to marry a black man here, u have to marry the family lol....and that it just too much, I am the eldest of 45 cousins.....on my side, imagine family reunions lol."

"......so my dear friend, I am waiting for you....finally BLACK.....just like a Tim-Tam..black on black...."

..."like Freeman here, she is so so dumb (sad but true) and has a national profile of running fast achieving awesome things but serious can't talk for shit, and has zero communications skills...."

Senator Peris released a statement yesterday "Documents provided to NT News are private.  It appears they were not lawfully obtained by a third party. I cannot vouch for the veracity of emails I have not seen."

Senator Peris stood up in the Senate yesterday and said the emails were nothing more than blackmail over a child custody battle.   New Malilda  now has a copy of those emails and wrote an article about them which reads:

In an interview with New Matilda late yesterday, one of the authors of the emails flatly rejected any suggestion of impropriety. “I totally refute all of the allegations made by Senator Peris in parliament today,” the person said. “I not aware of any attempt, by anyone, to blackmail or threaten Senator Peris.”

New Matilda has tried unsuccessfully to seek comment from Senator Peris’ office, and no response has been provided to a series of written questions.

A spokesperson for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten denied his office was involved in the statement delivered by Senator Peris in parliament. "Senator Peris’ statement was her own. It speaks for itself. Senator Peris has Mr Shorten’s full support."

Runaway schoolgirl Michelle Levy back home

Rarely does a story about a runaway child end so well, but this one has a bizarre twist.  

Thousands of police and volunteers scoured every street, shopping centre, park and beach around Sydney's eastern suburbs last weekend when 11 year old schoolgirl Michelle Levy ran away from home. And when she hadn't been found after two nights, things looks bad. Then out of the blue, she turned up safe and well and was back in the arms of her family.

Adam and Anne Levy

She said she had an argument with her father over a chocolate bar and decided to run away.  She had run away before.  

Her name and face were broadcast over every radio and television station in Sydney, yet a man in his 50s befriended the lost girl at a shopping centre in Randwick and took her home to his unit instead of calling police.

Michelle's father Adam said he wanted to thank the man but didn't think it important to ask his daughter what his name was.  "If he wants to get in touch, we welcome the opportunity to thank him but beyond that, we are allowing him to go his own way" he said.  He didn't want to harass the man who had cared for his daughter. "We haven't asked his name and it doesn't matter, the important thing is that he did look after her."

For some reason, the good Samaritan didn't ring police, he rang Anglicare - a Christian organization.  He knew they helped people in the community so he rang the Bondi office who told the parents on Monday morning that her daughter had been found at a unit in Mulwarree Avenue, Randwick.

The stranger wants to keep a low profile and refused to talk publicly about what took place and police say no charges will be laid against him.

So what happened when she got home?  Mr Levy said "Michelle tidied up some of the mess the police had left in her room, we had dinner, she played a bit and we spoke a bit about where she went and how she came to be with this person" he said yesterday. "Michelle has gone to school and seems quite happy and pretty much back to normal."

Adam Levy, a business analyst will face Waverley Court on November 20 for allegedly assaulting a male.  He said he will fight the charge and it has nothing to do with his daughter.

Oscar Pistorius gets away with murder

In the eyes of the world, Oscar Pistorius got away with murder and no one can argue that he hasn't received special treatment.  A few cushy months spent in a private cell in a hospital, then released into the luxury of his uncle's mansion under house detention is not a punishment, it's an insult.

Several legal experts agree that Judge Masipa's decision to rule out murder and find him guilty of culpable homicide (equivalent to manslaughter) was wrong.  

Prosecutors are now getting ready to appeal both the sentence and the verdict and push for the charge of premeditated murder.  "We believe that regardless of whom Mr Pistorius believed was behind the bathroom door on that fateful night, Mr Pistorius shot to kill and therefore a murder did occur" they allege.

Reever Steenkamp's mother has written a book about her daughter Reeva: A mother's story and in it, she says Reeva was ready to leave Pistorius.  If this is true, it changes everything.  She writes "Her clothes were packed and there is no doubt in our minds, she had decided to leave Oscar that night.  She believes Pistorius shot Reeva in a jealous rage and then shot three more bullets to ensure she couldn't tell the world what really happened.

James Grant, a professor of criminal law and expert on 'dolis eventualis' (awareness of the likely outcome of an action)

at Johannesburgh's Witwatersrand University, said last week that lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel had asked for his assistance in the event of a possible legal review. "I have advised that he should appeal and have agreed to assist" he said.

If an appeal goes ahead, the trial will be reviewed by a panel of senior judges and will not initiate or listen to any new evidence.  

This case reminds us of  OJ Simpson because it made a mockery of American law and now it's a blot on South African law. 

It reinforces the belief that if you are famous enough and rich enough to pay for the best lawyers and witnesses who will tell the court what a wonderful person you are, you can get away with anything, including murder.

US trying to remake the whole world, says Putin

President Putin would like the US and its allies to stop trying to remake the whole world to the way they think is right, and to show some respect to other countries by leaving them alone to run their own show.

He said the US is "trying to remake the whole world" based on its own interests.  They had no business interfering in Libya, Syria or Iraq and instead of their interventions bringing about peace and democracy, it had the opposite effect.

He also blames the west for the Ukrainian crisis.  "We did not start this" he told a group of political scholars (including some westerners who hate him) known as the Valdai Club in a resort above the Black Sea city of Sochi.

"Statements that Russia is trying to reinstate some sort of empire, that it is encroaching on the sovereignty of its neighbours is groundless" he said.

Once again, he accused western governments of helping pro-western groups start a coup d'etat that ousted the pro-Russian President in February.  "No one wanted to listen to us and no one wanted to talk to us" he said.  

And he admitted helping former president Victor Yanukovych to flee Russia. "I will say it openly, he asked to be driven away to Russia, which we did."

"They (Ukraine) pushed the country into chaos, economic and social collapse and civil war with huge losses" he said.

But what about the sanctions?  He said the west has made a big mistake. "Russia will not be posturing, get offended, ask someone for anything, Russia is self sufficient."

And the economy?  He said that Russia would not burn through its gold and foreign currency reserves thoughtlessly to prop up the economy.

He still denies Russia has any military presence in Ukraine or that it supplies pro-Russian rebels there with weapons.  Kiev and the rebels agreed to a ceasefire on September 5 but it is being breached every day and the standoff continues.

Earlier this month the Russian President said he ordered 180,000 troops to withdraw from the border as a sign of goodwill but Kiev says he has to convince the rebels to abide by the ceasefire and withdraw those troops still inside eastern Ukraine and on the border.

At least 824,000 people have been driven from their homes in Ukraine and winter is coming.  About 95 per cent of those are from eastern Ukraine and are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

Add to that figure 387,000 who have fled to Russia, 6,600 have applied for asylum in the European Union and 581 in Belarus.

G20 Summit in Brisbane 2014

After yesterday's shooting in Canada, those responsible for taking care of world leaders at the G20 next month must be having panic attacks. Is it possible to protect 4,000 delegates and 3,000 journalists?

It's an economic Summit so they won't be discussing political or human rights issues, it's all about economic self-interest which could ultimately improve the life for billions of people.

With most major roads closed and the city in lockdown, Brisbane Mayor Graham Quirk is trying to stop his city becoming a ghost town but the people of Brisbane have other ideas. They are heading out of the city in droves and other popular Queensland holiday destinations are booked solid during the Summit.

The first barricades will go up around the venue - the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane - two weeks before the summit begins.

Police will have their hands well and truly full as protesters have promised to cause major disruptions during the event.

Professor Barry Spurr's emails

Although Professor Barry Spurr is obviously a clever man, he didn't know one of the most important rules in life - never put down in writing what you really think, unless you are prepared to see it published on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. 

And that's what happened, the esteemed Professor of Poetry has been suspended by the prestigious University of Sydney for revealing how he really feels about sensitive issues, particularly Aboriginal issues.

He referred to Prime Minister Tony Abbott as an "Abo lover", Nelson Mandela as a "darky" and described Aboriginal people as "human rubbish tips."  He also referred to the 1950s when there weren't so many "bogans" "fatsoes" "Mussies" and "Chinky-poos" around.

The professor hit back and said the emails were just a "whimsical linguistic game."

Chris Graham

As soon as the news broke, the university issued the following statement:

Professor Spurr is suspended, effective immediately, from teaching and engaging in any other University business and is precluded from attending any University campus while the matter is investigated and dealt with in accordance with the terms of the University's Enterprise Agreement.

Racist, sexist or offensive language is not tolerated at the University of Sydney.  The expectations of our staff and affiliates in respect of their professional conduct are clearly set out in the University's Code of Conduct.

Enter Chris Graham, new editor of New Matilda, a centre-left independent Australian website of news, analysis and satire.  Mr Graham was the former managing editor and founder of Tracker magazine, owned by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and is also the former and founding editor of the National Indigenous Times (NIT).

The professor's lawyers have been successful in stopping the emails for now - the Federal Court has ordered New Matilda not to publish any more details before another court hearing tomorrow.

Chris Graham said the professor wants the emails returned, the articles deleted and the source of the leak revealed.  He said that hell would freeze over first. 

And there's a threat hanging over the recipients of those emails - nobody knows who they are because their names were blacked out. These friends of the professor, who apparently share his views, might be mortified to be brought into the scandal. And Chris Graham could release them tomorrow.

When the professor said they were just a "whimsical linguistic game," Graham released a second lot of his emails which made it quite clear that definitely was not the case.

Yesterday in the Federal Court in Sydney, Professor Spurr's barrister Arthur Moses SC, argued the publication of the emails had breached the common law protection against the invasion of privacy. Graham said he was still waiting for a legal briefing on its potential ramifications.

Frances Abbott

Last month Freya Newman 21, pleaded guilty to one count of accessing data held in a computer to obtain details of a $60,000 Whitehouse Institute of Design scholarship to Tony Abbott's daughter Frances and handing it over to a journalist.  Not long after, those details appeared in New Matilda.

President Putin's friend Silvio Berlusconi

Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Milan for a two day Summit recently and decided to visit his old friend Silvio Berlusconi.  He arrived at his townhouse at 1.30 am and left around 3.30 am.

Berlusconi 78 and Putin 62 have been friends for years.  The three time Italian Prime Minister is said to admire Putin's manliness and his authoritarian style of government, traits he also admires in himself.

Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and is currently under an 11 pm curfew as part of his community service sentence but he was able to convince a judge to allow him to break the rules so he could host a meeting with his old friend.

Last week he was seen in a widely published selfie with Francesca Pascale, his 28 year old fiance, and Vladimir Luxuria, a transvestite and ex MP who served in the Italian parliament and lost her seat in 2008.

ex wife

Berlusconi made headlines around the world for organizing orgies for his friends at his villa and was charged with having sex with an underage prostitute.  But the court ruled that he did not know she was under age.

It's clear that Italy's macho culture is still very much alive and well and when he was Prime Minister, the newspapers who supported him, glorified his womanizing and justified his behaviour. He is proud of his sexual prowess and thrives on his reputation.

And of all the world leaders President Putin could have chosen, he chose a man of this calibre to call friend.

Shark attack at Avoca Beach

North and South Avoca

Shark attacks have been in the news a lot lately, usually in far away places on the other side of the country in Western Australia.  But this is the second recent shark attack in NSW and it's unusual.

Kirra

Avoca Beach is a beautiful coastal suburb on the Central Coast of NSW, about 95 kms north of Sydney. It's primarily a residential suburb but many Central Coast residents commute every day to Sydney, prepared to suffer the long drive and hefty fuel bill to live the dream of opting out of the rat race and being close to the sea. Avoca is also a very popular tourist destination and in summer, the beach is usually packed.

When 13 year old Kirra-Belle Olsson went for her early morning surf yesterday morning, she was bitten by a shark.  Her father, Jamie Olsson said she thought it was one of her mates pulling her under and when she started yelling out for help, it let her go.

Kirra, who lives at nearby Copacabana Beach, was wearing her Rip Curl wetsuit when she was bitten which may have helped her.  The shark missed her vital organs but she has a nasty gash on her lower calf and puncture wounds to her foot.

Although lifesavers searched the area on jetskis, there was no sign of the shark.

Her proud father said "She has been surfing since she was 7.....she has won the state title two years in a row....it has not fazed her at all, she's a nutcase....I just wish my sons were as tough as her....I don't think she's afraid of anything."

Surfing runs in the family, Kirra is the niece of pro surfer Matt Wilkinson.

Australian troops denied entry into Iraq

Major General Craig Orme

Australia's 200 Special Forces are stuck in the United Arab Emirates. They've been there for over a month, waiting for the Iraqi government to give the okay to go onto Iraqi soil on an "advise and assist" basis.

Major General Craig Orme said "For us to put Ausralian troops in another country, we expect legal cover and indemnity so they won't be subject to local law but repatriated to be dealt with under our system."

The Iraqi Foreign Minister has given the impression that he doesn't want 200 Australian soldiers on Iraqi soil.  Britian has so far (officially) sent in 12 combat specialists who have teamed up with the Kurds and so has the US and Germany but they have taken a chance and gone in without the legal cover and indemnity of SOFAs.

Without the SOFA, if Australia went into battle and accidentally shot an Iraqi policeman, they could be arrested and jailed and we are not prepared to take that risk,

It could be that the Iraqi Foreign Minister is under pressure not to make the mistake of surrendering its sovereignty to foreign forces, and by allowing 200 Australian troops onto Iraqi soil, it could be seen as doing just that.

Meanwhile, any Australian citizen fighting with ISIS who is captured in Iraq will be hanged.  "We're supporting the Iraqi Security Forces, so if someone was detained on the battlefield, the Iraqis are managing that process" Major Orme said.

Iraq sentenced 42 convicted terrorists to death by hanging over two days and 26 on another day in January this year and it's likely that the 60 Australians fighting for ISIS will be either killed or captured on the battlefield.  And it won't be any good pleading with Australia to save them. 

President Obama has no intention of filling up Guantanamo Bay with untried terrorists, a mistake made by the Bush administration - he's made it very clear that this is Iraq's war and what they do with captured fighters is their business.

Iraq is a signatory to the Third Geneva Convention which states that prisoners are dealt with by the state and not by the troops who capture them.

President Putin hits back at Tony Abbott

President Putin wasn't impressed with Tony Abbott's threat to "shirtfront him" at the G20 Summit, in fact he's furious.  And when the Russians translated "shirtfront" into English, it's easy to understand why - it's a head-on physical tackle used by AFL footballers.

Journalist Timothy Bancroft-Hinchley who writes for the Russian newspaper Pravda said Mr Abbott's comments were "the most blatant example of shit-faced ignorance and pig-headed arrogance the world has seen since the likes of Hitler and Pol Pot."

Bancroft-Hinchley's editorial in Pravda reads "It is difficult to find a more blatant example of childishness, incompetence for the position, criminal intent, downright nastiness and an indication of a disturbed mind crying out for therapy.  Don't the Australian people deserve better?"

And he was only warming up.  "While I do not speak for President Putin, if someone "shirtfronted" me, I would throw the perpetrator over my shoulder, slam him onto his back on the floor behind me, place my boot on his face and ask 'What was that you were saying? before I saw him scurry away snivelling to his sister for a clean pair of Y-fronts" he wrote.

All this chest-beating nonsense is about who shot down MH17. The west has sided with Kiev who say Russian-backed separatists shot down the jet with a surface-to-air missile supplied by Moscow. Not true, say the Russians, they believe the investigation into the tragedy "is not active and effective enough" and important data from Ukrainian air traffic control is being withheld from investigators.

So how do we know who is telling the truth?  

We don't.

Putin is coming to the G20 in Brisbane

On Saturday, President Putin ordered the withdrawal of 17,600 Russian troops from the Ukrainian border.  Next month he will come to Australia to meet with the leaders of the world at the G20 in Brisbane. Could it be a planned strategy to get back in the good books with the west or just a coincidence?

Moscow has issued an official statement about the withdrawal - "training exercises in the southern Rostov region have ended" according to RIA Novosti news agency but to date, NATO has not confirmed that the Russian troops have started to move.

Australian Ukrainians are furious that Tony Abbott allowed him to come at all but the PM said there was nothing he could do to stop him.  The consensus of G20 members was that no ban be imposed on his attendance.  The PM wants to reassure the public that there will be "full and frank dialogue" with Mr Putin, especially regarding the investigation into the downing of MH17.

Stefan Romaniw from the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations is furious and said they were planning anti-Putin rallies during the summit.  He said that allowing him to come "is legitimizing Putin, rather than criticising him."

"The G20 is an international gathering that operates by consensus" the PM said.  "It's not Australia's right to say yes or no to individual members of the G20.  Russia is a member of the G20 and as such, we are obliged to accept the Russian leader in this country."  But he said it would be made "crystal clear" that the world expects Russia to co-operate fully with the MH17 investigations.

"I don't believe for a moment that President Putin wanted that plane brought down" Mr Abbott said. "But obviously Russian policy brought about a situation that caused this atrocity to take place - what I will be wanting from the Russian President is an assurance from him that he and Russia will do everything they can to ensure that justice is done."

Opposition leader Bill Shorten

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made it clear that Mr Putin isn't welcome.  The government had "gone from talking tough to trying to pretend Putin coming here isn't an issue Australians are concerned about" he said.

He went on "It is disappointing the Abbott government couldn't use the leverage that hosting the G20 and holding a seat on the UN Security Council afforded, for preventing the attendance of Mr Putin."

Turkey still refuses to fight ISIS

President Erdogen

Turkey is frustrating the hell out of everyone. Although they have one of the biggest Armies in the world, they won't engage in a fight against ISIS unless the US-led coalition goes after President Bashar Assad.

But that's not all.  Turkish President Erdogen is demanding that a no-fly zone be established to stop Assad's Air Force flying over the Turkish border, a safe haven for 1.5 million Syrian refugees now in Turkey to return home and Coalition boots on the ground.

President Obama has made it pretty clear that he won't comply to any of his demands and it's unlikely that the rest of NATO will either.

Turkish soldiers

The Kurds in Turkey are furious and say the Turks are standing by and allowing ISIS to slaughter their people.  But now that the violence is spilling over the border into Turkey, how long will they wait?

It all makes sense once we learn that the Kurds hate the Turks and the Turks fear the Kurds.  Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat said it's in Turkey's interests to see the Kurds and ISIS battle it out. "The fact that the two are fighting each other is not necessarily a bad outcome for Turkey if you really want to think in realistic terms" he said.

So if Turkey intervenes, the Kurds are worried they would then have two enemies fighting against them.

From Australia's point of view, we've always been on good terms with the Turks because of our connection to Gallipoli.  They fought on our side against Hitler and Japan in WW2 and were also involved in Korea and Afghanistan.

But while the world waits for them to act, unless ISIS does something really stupid like attacking the Turkish Army, they are content to sit on the fence.

Aboriginal healing farm approved

Mick Gentleman

Last night, Planning Minister Mick Gentleman upset a lot of people by approving a development application for the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm. 

The proposal for a bush healing centre for troubled Aboriginal people with drug and alcohol problems near Canberra, has local landholders furious - they bitterly opposed the move and believe it will attract "habitual criminals" to the area.

The Ngunnawal Elder's Council has been lobbying for the centre since 2002 but had a hard time convincing the locals there is nothing to fear.

Miowera was brought by the ACT government in 2008

The 900 acre farm, formerly called Miowera was bought by the ACT government in 2008 but the proposal has been plagued by angry appeals.

The healing centre, 8 kilometres west of Tuggeranong, will be centred around Aboriginal spirituality and culture and construction of several new buildings can now begin.

The ACT's Rural Landholder's Association and private landholders unsuccessfully appealed a change of lease ruling and claim there would be unacceptable environmental and social impacts if the centre went ahead.

Association President Tom Allen said "It's the visitors that will be the problem, they'll be leaving alcohol and drugs."  He stressed that the site was too far from police and hospitals and access to the farm is via a neighbouring property which would create security issues. 

"There is no such thing as a level playing field anymore" he said. "This is just Joh Bjelke-Petersen stuff."

Mr Gentleman, who has only been Planning Minister since July said the centre would be free of drugs and alcohol and was deliberately sited away from the "distractions of the city."

The approval requires a bridge crossing over a stream at Paddy's River Road to be strengthened to take 28 tonne trucks and a bushfire plan.

Near death experiences real, says study

I've always suspected that out-of-body experiences were real.  So many people have given sworn statements about how they rose above their body in the operating theatre and watched the doctors and nurses working on them below.  Now the largest medical study ever on the subject has proved that it's true.

Scientists have always believed that the brain shuts down within 20 to 30 seconds after the heart stops beating and being aware of anything after that happens was impossible. 

But not anymore.  A new study has proved that patients can experience real events for up to three minutes after the heart has stopped beating and they can recall those events accurately when brought back to life.

Leader of the team based in the UK, Dr Sam Parnia, said he had always believed that near death experiences related by patients were strictly hallucinatory.  That was until one man gave an accurate account of what happened after he died on the table.  He said he could see the doctors and nurses working on him from the corner of the room.

"We know the brain can't function when the heart stops beating" Dr Parnia said.  "But in this case, conscious awareness appears to have continued for up to three minutes."

"The man described everything that happened in the room, but importantly, he heard two bleeps from a machine that makes a noise at three minute intervals, so we could time how long the experience lasted.  He seemed very credible and everything that he said had happened to him, actually happened."

Dr Parnia's study involved 2,060 patients from 15 hospitals in the UK, US and Austria and has been published in the journal Resuscitation.

Now they have to sort out what the "white light at the end of the tunnel" is all about.

Internet troll, Brenda Leyland

Brenda Leyland

Internet troll Brenda Leyland was found dead in a hotel room near her home at the weekend, a few days after she was outed by Sky Reporter Martin Brunt for sending thousands of vindictive messages about the McCann family.

Her son Ben 20, studying law in Los Angeles, posted a brief tribute. "I love you mum and will miss you forever" and added "I am love and I am light, thanks to you."

She was tracked down to her house and when confronted, she said she was entitled to make those hideous comments using her Twitter id @Sweepyface.

Burton Overy

She lived in the small village of Burton Overy, population 280, and the landlord at the local pub said "She wasn't a regular at the pub but popped in for the occasional meal.  She was a perfectly pleasant person who socialized with friends she had in the village and appeared to be very well liked.  No one is blaming the media, they have a job to do reporting the news and she admitted sending those tweets."

It didn't take long for everyone in the village to find out what she had done - her picture was in every newspaper and TV station across the country.  An anonymous local said "We knew she had suddenly left her home and there were concerns about what she might do, but no one thought she would go this far."

Asked about @Sweepyface, Mr McCann said "I haven't seen her tweets, we do not have any significant presence on social media or online."

Ms Leyland, a divorcee, was educated at a convent school and studied at Goldsmiths, University of London so it's reasonable to assume that she was fairly bright.  So why would she believe that the McCanns had anything to do with their daughter's disappearance?  It's quite bizarre.

We will never know what turned this seemingly pleasant woman who was well liked by her neighbours into a vile, hate-filled devil.  

But if a law was passed that made all hate-filled posts illegal, she wouldn't have said those terrible things, and she wouldn't have died of shame.

The troubled soul of Gerard Depardieu

Gerard Depardieu is an alcoholic who boasts that he can drink up to 14 bottles of wine a day.  It starts when he wakes in the morning and continues all day until he passes out at night.

He was banned from Air France for urinating in the aisle before take-off.  He wanted to use the toilet but was told he couldn't because all passengers had to be seated.

He became a Russian citizen in 2013 as a protest against France's 75 per cent tax on the rich.  He was presented with his Russian passport by President Putin himself.

He has just released his autobiography "It Happened Like That" and he talks about his family's extreme poverty.  His mother often told him how she tried to abort him with knitting needles and he had to help deliver his siblings as the family couldn't afford a midwife.

He started wandering the streets when he was about 10 but could pass for 15.  He soon discovered that he was attractive to homosexuals and when they approached him for sex, he asked them for money.

He served three weeks in prison for stealing a car and even dug up newly buried bodies in the cemetery and stole their jewellery and shoes.

Then one day he met a gay talent spotter who paid for him to study French drama.  His lucky break came when he landed the lead role in Green Card and he became an instant star.

He says he's hounded by phobias.  "I'm obsessed with the racket in my body, the gurgling of my intestines, my joints cracking.  It's become a phobia to the point that if I'm alone in a hotel, I must drink so as not to hear it, so as not to go mad from it.  I can't get to sleep unless I am dead drunk" he writes.

He can't tell his children he loves them and blames his father Dede, a metal worker and volunteer fireman.  "I could never find the words, I know how to speak the words to others, but when it comes to my own, I am the son of Dede."

NT cattleman offers to host nuclear waste dump

The turnoff to Aboriginal-owned Muckaty Station

For years, the federal government has been looking for a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory and Aboriginal-owned Muckaty Station was given first option. 

The Northern Land Council (NLC) nominated the site on behalf of members of the Ngapa group eight years ago, but since then, four other clans have laid claim to the land and say it's adjacent to a sacred site.

The traditional owners have been fighting the proposal in the Federal Court because nobody in their right mind would want a nuclear waste dump in their backyard. 

But recently Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane has been looking at pastoral leases, and his problem could soon be over.

A Northern Territory cattleman, John Armstrong, from Gilknockie Station, 250 kms south of Katherine, says he's willing to have the nuclear waste dump built on his property.  Why?  Because it's a money spinner.

"I think I'd have to stand in line to tell you the truth" he said.  "I'm not going to mention any names, but one would think that people who are very close to the railway line would be the first to stick their hand up."

And he makes a very good point.  "If we're going to sell it, we have an underlying responsibility to store the waste somewhere in Australia." We have around 30 per cent of the world's reserves of uranium and we export 100 per cent of it.

You might wonder why a cattle producer would want a nuclear waste plant anywhere near his cattle but Mr Armstrong has such vast tracts of land at his disposal, the facility would be a long way from where the cattle are raised, he said.

But something's not right here.  There's no way in the world I would buy meat from a supermarket or a butcher if I had the slightest suspicion it was produced on the same property housing a nuclear waste dump. It's just not cricket.

To date, Mr Armstrong hasn't been in touch with the federal minister but he's watching and waiting for a government announcement for interested parties to apply.

Sean Pollard's horror shark attack

A 23 year old surfer, Sean Pollard, had an arm and his other hand ripped off in a shark attack at a beach near Esperence in Western Australia yesterday.  He was flown to Perth hospital by the Flying Doctor Service.

He was surfing alone about 150 metres out from the surf break.  After getting permission from the Federal government, two baited drum lines were set an hour after the attack and two Great White sharks were caught and killed.

But now there is a suggestion that it may not have been a Great White after all, Sean Pollard later told police he was attacked by two Bronze Whalers, sometimes known as Copper sharks.

But a shark expert said he doubted that was true and believed the Great Whites were more likely to be responsible.

Bronze Whaler

Great White

Sean is a member of a local football community.  In a post on Facebook, the club said "Our thoughts are with Polly and his family from everyone at South Bunbury Football Club - we are with you all the way mate."

Wylie Beach is an unpatrolled beach 10 kms from Esperance and popular with surfers.  The WA government has plans to introduce shark barriers at 22 beaches, although Esperance is not on the list.

If it turns out that two innocent sharks were wrongly accused and killed unnecessarily, it's a tragedy, but when something like this happens, vengeance is a natural reaction.

Watch out for maggies - it's nesting time

Being a postie in Spring can be dangerous work.  Penrith Postman Peter Glover knows all about attacking magpies, in one horror experience, an angry magpie took the skin off his arms and now there's another one in Enfield Street giving him grief.

During nesting season in Spring - between August and October - maggies become viscous and everything that moves in their territory becomes their target.

But the Australian Vetinerary Association president says there's nothing we can do about it - all we need is understanding.

"Tolerance is the best policy, we need to appreciate that some magpies will defend their territory from intruders because of a natural instinct to protect their offspring" Dr Johnson said.

It's alright for him to say, sounds like it's never happened to him.  They can do serious damage and often do, kids are often being cut on the head and arms and there must be countless others we don't know about.

Even kangaroos aren't safe, this picture was taken by a local at Penrith's Jamison Park yesterday.

My advice to people who are bothered by cranky maggies is to take an umbrella when you go walking near the enemy and if it gets close enough, give it a good whack.