The disgusting Mitchell Pearce

Sydney Roosters Captain Mitchell Pearce went to a party on Australia Day and we got to see the real man.  He was filmed simulating a lewd act with a dog and urinated on himself.

But will his club cut him adrift?  Never.  They will pretend to be outraged, send him off somewhere to sort out his problems, ban him for a couple of games but there is one thing for certain - they will never sack him because he's a star on the field, and that's all that matters.

And the clubs solution to the problem?  This statement was posted on their website last night.

The Sydney Rooster can confirm that Mitchell Pearce will be receiving treatment in an intensive rehabilitation facility for an extended period.  Pearce has tonight departed for the overseas facility with his mother Terri.

So they have sent him out of the country, hoping people will forget what he'll always be remembered for - pretending to have sex with a dog.

Thanks to Mitchell Pearce, the reputation of Australian Rugby League players has finally reached the gutter.  And what the public want the club to do - sack him - will never happen because there just too much money involved to pull the plug.

https://youtu.be/qs0cYAb8GiE

Will the real President Putin please stand up

A British inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko concluded that President Putin was "probably" responsible.  In other words, they have no proof that he was.

But retired High Court Judge Sir Robert Owen, who conducted the inquiry, said that he was "sure" that two former Russian officials poisoned the 44 year old at a London hotel by putting polonium in his tea.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK had frozen the suspects' assets as punishment for the "absolutely appalling crime" but critics described his response as "weak."

Mr Litvinenko's widow Marina, who has fought a ten year battle for the truth was hoping for economic sanctions against Russia, a travel ban on Mr Putin and the expulsion of all Russian intelligence agents from Britain.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader said "These assassins trampled over British sovereignty and we cannot let this go unanswered.  Labor MP Ian Austin said "Putin is an unreconstructed KGB thug and gangster who murders his opponents in Russia and we know on the streets of London - and nothing announced today is going to make a blind bit of difference."

A BBC Panorama documetary discussed where the Russian president has stashed his staggering wealth.

https://youtu.be/LgDCRegyo7Q

President Putin was born into poverty, sharing one room in a shared apartment in St Petersberg with no hot water.

Sergei Pugachev, once a confidant of Putin who now lives in Nice said the President was "preoccupied by the issue of wealth from the start."

Pugachev told the BBC "I think for Putin, this was an important factor. We talked about it, he didn't hide it, he knew he wanted to leave office as a wealthy person.

Perth woman pregnant with five babies

Article from the Daily Mail today

A Perth mum who is carrying quintuplets is consuming 6,000 calories a day to feed her growing brood.

At 29 weeks along, Kim Tucci, 26, is force feeding herself three times the amount of calories one person should eat in a day to reach the recommended intake.

Mrs Tucci, who is already a mum to two young girls, fell naturally pregnant with five babies while trying for a boy with her husband and has been documenting the highs and lows of her pregnancy since receiving the news.

‘I'm struggling to eat and force feed myself leaving me with reflux for hours,’ she wrote on her blog Surprised With Five.  ‘I can't tolerate a lot of dairy and I can't keep protein drinks down, I'm starting to lose weight when I really need to be gaining it.’ 

Her online posts about dealing with pain, nausea, changes to her body and going to the bathroom 12 times a night, has amassed a following of more than 123,000 people – most of them mums who share their own personal stories.

‘It's getting harder as each day passes to push through the pain, every part of my body aches and sleeping is becoming very painful,’ she said.

‘No amount of pillows are helping support my back and belly. Sometime I get so upset that I just want to throw my hands up and give in!’

Australia Day 2016

Anthony Mundine

For indigenous Australians, Australia Day, is not a day for celebration. They call it 'Invasion Day' and won't forgive us for the wrongs their people suffered at the hands of our ancestors.

Professional fighter Tony Mundine's grandmother was part of the stolen generation, as a child, she was taken away from her parents by the government to be educated in the ways of the white man.

The boxer said the national public holiday should have two parts - one to celebrate what Australia has become today but another mourning period to remember how the traditional owners were treated.

"There has to be a remembrance in the morning till about 12pm about the truth of the past and what happened to indigenous people, and how the genocide and everything else took place in order to claim this land.  And in the afternoon, we celebrate the unity and harmony of where we are at today" he said.

In 1999, Tony Mundine converted to Islam.  After three years of reading the Koran, he abandoned Christianity because of its association with colonization.

Following his conversion to Islam, Tony claims he prays five times a day, doesn't eat pork, abstains from alcohol and tobacco, avoids the 'trappings of materialism' and fasts over Ramadan.  He is eager to introduce other Aboriginal men to Islam, which he believes has strengthened his character.

So once again we feel the anger and resentment of our Aboriginal people as Australia Day approaches.  Tomorrow there will be barbecues and celebrations right around the country but for those who can't or won't forgive, it's a national day of mourning.

Nick Kyrios - the Ugly Australian

I wonder how Nick Kyrios' parents feel about his performance on the tennis court, with his temper tantrums and foul language.  He's acting like an indulged, spoiled brat.

Nick Kyrios has bowed out of the Australia Open after another embarrassing display of bad sportsmanship.

Every time he's on the court, he causes trouble and this time at the Australian Open in Melbourne, he didn't disappoint.  He threw his racket on the ground in a rage and accused the umpire of being 'unprofessional' for not stopping the music he could hear coming from the crowd.

'Mate, are you okay?  There's music playing in the crowd while we are playing!  I've told you seven times, why don't you tell him to turn it off?" Kyrios yelled at the umpire.  He then turned to the crowd and said "Am I hearing things, mate, it's a circus." 

American commentator Jim Courier said the music might have been leaking out of one of the corporate boxes.

At the end of the match, Kyrios said to the umpire as he shook his hand "you are a terrible referee."

The crowd reacted to his bad manners with boos and shouts of "get on with it Nick" and "get a tissue Nick."

Earlier in the day Kyrios was fined $US3000 for an audible obscenity in his opening round victory against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta and in the Montreal Masters in August, he was sanctioned for sledging French Open Champion Stan Wawrinka, and again last year in Shangai.

So this angry 21 year old has a serious problem and continues to embarrass his country wherever he goes.  He has some mental health issues that need addressing if he ever hopes to be an Australian sportsman worthy of respect.

Never drink alcohol when you're pregnant

Karli, 43

Kathy Mitchell drank a lot of alcohol when she was pregnant and wants women to know they are playing Russian roulette with the life of their child.

She was a teenager and did what most teenagers did back then - drank lots of alcohol.  Her daughter, Karli, now 43, has the mental capacity of a child because she has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

She can't recognise social cues, is easily led, can't predict dangerous circumstances and doesn't understand sequence.  She can cross a street when the sign says "walk" but if the lights are out, she will step out in front of a car.  She likes to wear pretty clothes but can't remember to brush her teeth.

In 1964, when Kathy Mitchell was 10, her parents opened a restaurant and along with her other siblings, she helped out with the work.  By the time she was 12, she had been drunk more than once and her parents were too busy to notice. At 14, she was having blackouts.

In 10th grade, Kathy got pregnant and married her teenage boyfriend. The boy was healthy and she went back to waiting tables and tending bar.  Nine months later she was pregnant again and at 18, she gave birth to Karli.

When she failed to sit up on time and was slow to reach milestones, doctors told Kathy it was because of her chronic ear infections.  At one point, a doctor said she had cerebral palsy - they didn't understand Fetal Alcohol Syndrome back then.

Meanwhile, as her life became more dysfunctional, she gave birth to three more children and drank through each pregnancy.  Her third child, a girl, was born healthy but by the time she became pregnant with her fourth child, Kathy was addicted to heroin as well as alcohol and six months later, the baby, a boy, died at birth.

In 1982 she gave birth to her fifth child, a girl named Keysha.  The child stopped breathing in her cot at 10 weeks.  This tragic event brought about a complete mental breakdown and she was sent to a treatment centre to detox.

When she eventually got out, she moved back in with her parents, took evening courses, and learned the basic skills of mothering. She was 30 years old.  She eventually became a certified addiction counselor.

"I hadn't used crack cocaine while pregnant with Karli - I'd only used alcohol - so I wondered if alcohol could have been responsible for her problems - I'd never heard of that possibility before"

In 1989, Kathy took Karli, then 16, to Georgetown University hospital and tests confirmed that Karli had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

"I thought I would die from grief and guilt" she said.  "I knew I had to try to prevent this from happening to another child."

Today, Kathy 61, is vice president of the National Organization of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, a nonprofit that tries stop women from drinking while they are pregnant.  She hopes that going public about her own life will help other women to stop.

Australia has a problem with alcohol, it's legal and part of our culture and even though we are now aware that FAS exists, some women will refuse to believe it.

Domino's pizza delivery drivers

A Sydney father, Keith Wade, put up a petition on change.org to "stop Domino's paying delivery drivers below the minimum wage."  The petition currently has almost 34,000 signatures.

The petition reads

"My 19 year old son is paid $14.51 per hour for two hours per day, plus $2.27 per delivery" he wrote. "He has to pay the cost of running his vehicle out of this $2.27, so per shift he is paid, after expenses, about $30.

"If he was paid the minimum wage, he would work three hours at a pay rate of $18.98 plus 41 cents per kilometer for vehicle use.  So he would earn, after running costs, about $60."

His son has since parted company with Domino's.

A Domino's spokeswoman said they were working through the allegations.  "Our records indicate the employee tended their resignation citing that they were moving out of the area as the reason for leaving."

"If we feel confident the manager didn't take the appropriate action, we will work with the franchisee of that store to offer the employee their job back and take the relevant action with the store manager."

In 2013, Domino's was ordered to return almost $590,000 in back pay after the Fair Work Ombudsman found the pizza chain had underpaid their drivers.  The audit found that between January 2010 and December 2011, 1628 drivers had been underpaid a total of $588,160.

Knitting Nannas coal seam gas protest

These delightful women are wasting their time trying to stop coal seam gas companies from ripping the guts out of our country.  The government has decided that we are going to follow America's lead and have it, like it or not.

Police have charged three members of Knitting Nannas anti coal seam gas protest group after they chained themselves by their necks to a waste water plant gate in northern NSW.

The three women - Dominique Jacobs 51, Angela Dalu 71 and grandmother of 21 children and Therese Mason 49 - locked themselves to the gate of Santos Leewood facility near Narrabri with bike locks yesterday.

Mr Jacobs said they were told they would be arrested if they didn't move away and when they refused, they were taken to the local police station.  They will appear in Narrabri Court on 23 February.

Ms Jacobs said "I'm worried about the rampant resource industry in Australia, it seems the government is failing us."  No kidding.  "I object to all these chemicals being put into our ground and water and these companies putting the Great Artesian basin into jeapody...we need to protect our water."

But Ms Jacobs got one thing right.  "The law is wrong and the police are protecting these companies, the law needs to change so that this can't happen to our country."

Santos Energy NSW manager Peter Mitchley said the company had "all approvals in place to conduct its work safely and without harm to the environment."

Of course they have, it's already a done deal Ms Jacobs, you are wasting your time and energy.

Iran comes in from the cold

Hassan Rouhani

The UN confirmed that Iran has now complied with its obligations and the US and the European Union announced they were lifting sanctions that have crippled the country's economy for years.  US and Iranian prisoners have also been released and are on their way home.

Iran President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate, who has helped to bring about the agreement, said that 2016 would be a year of prosperity for 79 million Iranians.

An article in the New York Times in 2014 pointed out just how much the Iranian people have suffered because of these sanctions.

In Iran, the impact of sanctions has been devastating.  Over the last year and a half, families living in poverty rose from 22 per cent to more than 40 per cent, the Rial plummeted at least 40 per cent and the price of food regularly consumed by Iranians - for example, milk, tea, fruits and vegetables - skyrocketed.  Moreover, the health of millions of Iranians has been compromised due to the shortage of western medical drugs and supplies.  Asian replacements have proved ineffective and often result in severe side effects.

One would think that President Obama has done a good thing by bringing Iran back from Coventry, right?  Wrong.

Republican candidate Ted Cruz criticized the move and said 'our enemies are laughing at us' and suggested the deal is part of the president's overall weak foreign policy.

And this is the man who will most likely be elected president later this year.  Are you worried? Absolutely! 

Male kangaroo and his dying mate

Evan Switzer, a man from Hervey Bay in North Queensland, was taking his dog for a walk on Wednesday when he came upon a touching scene - a male kangaroo cradling the head of his dying mate.  

He immediately dashed home to get his camera and when he posted the pictures, they went around the world.  He thought he was witnessing an animal who was experiencing grief.

"The kangaroo tried to lift her up but she couldn't stand, she'd just fall to the ground....he'd nudge her, stand beside her....it was a pretty special thing......he was mourning the loss of his mate.

But the Australian Museum's principal research scientist Dr Mark Eldridge said he was trying to get her to stand so he could mate with her, and couldn't care less that she was dying.

"The male is highly stressed and agitated, his forearms are very wet from licking himself to cool down.  He is also sexually aroused: the evidence is here sticking out from behind the scrotum, yes in marsupials, the penis is located behind the scrotum" Dr Eldridge said.  

"So the male wasn't trying to prop her head up so she could see her joey before she died, this male was trying to get the female to stand up so he could mate with her."

Mr Switzer said the male had been trying his hardest for over an hour and chased off other kangaroos who came near, and now we know why.

"It will certainly give us something to talk about tonight at our camera club meeting tonight" he said.

Muslim Navy Officer Counselled

Captain Mona Shindy

A senior Muslim Navy Officer has been counselled and her Twitter account closed down.

Captain Mona Shindy is a mentor for the Lebanese Muslim Association and it's alleged she used her account to show support for the Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohamed's response to the Paris attacks when he said that racism and Islamophobia were partly to blame for the massacre.  The Mufti later clarified his remarks and said "there was no justification for the taking of innocent lives."

Debbie Robinson

Debbie Robinson of Australian Liberty Alliance, complained to the AFD in writing in December. "The Australian Liberty Alliance is very concerned that the Australian Defence Force appears to be promoting pro-Muslim political views and attacking a party that has the support of many Australians" she wrote.  She also called for Captain Shindy to face disciplinary action.

According to the Captain's official profile, her role is chief adviser of Islamic affairs and she is responsible for "a better understanding and appreciation of serving Muslims, their needs, and how they view the world."

Another key function of her role is to attract more Muslims to the Australian Navy.

Captain Shindy is on leave and could not be contacted for comment.

Father drowns himself and 2 sons

Damien Little - a popular, great bloke

The whole country was shocked and sickened by the Robert Farquharson case. He was the man who drove himself and his three sons into a dam and left them there to drown, but managed to escape. He told the court he had a coughing fit and blacked out.

But that wasn't the real reason - he wanted to get back at his wife who broke his heart when she told him she didn't love him anymore and had found someone else.  He is now serving a lengthy prison sentence.

Today the town of Port Lincoln is in mourning after a father drove himself and his two small sons, aged 1 and 4 off the end of Brennan's Wharf into 30m of water.  

At 6am yesterday, Damien Little posted a suicide note on Facebook and then carried out the tragic murder-suicide.

That suicide note on the Facebook page he shared with his wife Melissa, a school teacher, has since been removed.

"We saw a car go passed and heard a bang" one witness said..."Then it.....flipped over the lip and sank to the bottom."

Police divers from Adelaide emerged from the water at lunch time with three body bags and a rifle with a telescopic sight.

"They are absolutely doting parents" one neighbour said.  "I tell everyone how blessed these children were to have such wonderful parents, I couldn't fault them in any way."

Damien Little was one of five brothers who played at Lincoln South Football club, winning premierships in 2009 and 2010.

An associate of the father said he saw him three days ago at the beach. "He seemed absolutely fine" he said.  "He seemed normal...he's not a big drinker....and I could not sense anything was wrong...I have never seen a bad side."

Port Lincoln Mayor Bruce Green said the community is in shock."First there is a sense of disbelief and then it moves to grief" he said.  

Camille Cosby - just as guilty

It's too late to act all upset and disgusted now Camille, we know where your loyalty lies.  

Camille Cosby has only abandoned ship now because she knows the game is up.  Her husband's infidelities were well known to her over the years yet she chose to do nothing.  Knowingly protecting her man who sexually assaulted women against their will makes her his partner in crime.

But now it's crunch time.  She has to testify against Cosby in a civil case filed by seven women who said he defamed them and she's in a panic.

The women say that after publicly accusing him of sexually assaulting or abusing them, he responded by calling them liars, thus defaming them.  Cosby has filed a counter suit, accusing them of making false allegations for financial gain.  

Camille told Judge David Hennessey she had nothing to tell the court because she had no first-hand knowledge of the events, but the judge didn't buy it.  Then she insisted she was protected by the state's marital disqualification law, but the judge didn't buy that either.

The deposition is scheduled for this Wednesday, 6th January 2016 and is the only criminal case ever brought against him.

Camille, as his manager and wife, has so many questions to answer.

Sydney Field Day Music Festival

State Premier Mike Baird said "enough is enough" and threatened to close down music festivals in the future if organisers don't clean up their act.  Dance parties were becoming dangerous and putting young people's lives at risk.

This summer, a 19 year old man died in Adelaide and a 25 year old pharmacist died in Sydney at the Stereosonic music events.  Last year Georgina Bartter died at Harbourlife dance party in the Botanical Gardens and in September Nigel Pauljevic 26 from Albury died from an overdose at Defqon dance festival at Penrith.

And the Field Day Festival held in the Domain on New Year's Day/night was even worse - it was awash with drugs and a 23 year old woman came close to dying from an MDMA overdose.

During the event, 212 people received medical treatment and five were taken to hospital.  Police charged 184 people with alleged drug offences and eight for drug supply.  One 28 year old woman was found carrying 100 ecstasy tablets and a 19 year old was found with 81.

So how did they get past the police dogs and a huge police presence? They put the pills in a plastic balloon, swallowed it and when they got inside, they vomited it back up again.  Others hide them in places on the body to gross to mention.

Dr Gordian Fulde, from St Vincent's Hospital said the kids don't like to come to the medical tents - they are frightened their parents will find out. "But we don't do any of that" he said.

"Bring your friend, call the ambulance, take them to the medical tent - you don't have to give your real name, and if we get these patients early, they won't die" he said.

"I think the focus has to be on the younger generations, and I mean kids younger than 10 because that's our only hope - the current generation is probably not going to change that much."

So there's another generation lost to drugs.

Sydney Uber customers upset over outrageous fares

Okay, it was New Year's Eve, but still, you can't blame Uber customers for feeling ripped off.  You could have flown to Melbourne cheaper than getting home from the city on New Year's Eve in Sydney.

It's only 16 kilometres from Pyrmont to Manly yet Laura Daniel was charged $368 - almost nine times the normal fare of $52.90.

Another unhappy customer complained to Uber's Facebook page. "OMG never using Uber again, the first time we tried it charged $720 to travel 40 minutes" she claimed.  "Uber!!! Seriously, someone needs to look into this matter asap" she wrote.  "I didn't even get a limo for that price!!! Never using Uber again."

However, Uber said that the surge remains constant once agreed on and you can always get an estimate first before you decide. However, the estimate may not match the actual fare, you need to read the small print at the bottom.

To be fair, on New Year's Eve morning, Uber Australia sent out an email to customers with tips to avoid paying higher prices. 

You'll see a notification screen in your app whenever there is surge pricing. You'll have to accept those higher rates before you can request a ride.  Remember you can always run a Fare Estimate in the app before you request.

Surge prices shouldn't be a surprise.  At times of high demand, prices increase to encourage more drivers to become available.  As soon as there are enough drivers to meet the demand for rides, prices go back to normal.  Supply and demand is monitored by Uber in real time with prices automatically surging when there is an increase in wait time."

I wonder how the disgruntled Sydney cab drivers felt when they heard the news, some of whom paid $300,000 for their taxi licence. It was probably the best Christmas present of all.