Edward Snowden is learning Russian

Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia but approval is still pending.  His lawyer, Anatoly Kucheren, said yesterday that Russia is his final destination for now, and his plans to fly to Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua - who have all offered him asylum - are temporarily off the agenda.  The US has stopped him from flying to South America by announcing that any airline that carries him, will be forced to land by the US or one of their many allies.

America is unlikely to give up their intention of getting him sent home to face espionage charges but President Putin has refused to hand him over.  He will only grant him temporary asylum on the condition that he stops releasing US secrets.

Snowden's lawyer is a member of the Public Council of the Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB.  Yesterday he bought his client a pizza, new clothes and some books so he can get acquainted with the Russian mentality and "our reality of life."  

Snowden's father pleads with him to stop leaking US secrets

"I bought him Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment because I think he needs to read about Raskolnikov killing the old woman pawnbroker" Kucherena said.  "I don't want to say that Raskolnikov's inner conflicts are similar, but nonetheless, this world classic will be interesting for him."  Jokes started appearing on social media that Snowden wouldn't be allowed to leave the airport until he'd finished the required Russian reading material.

The Russians are concerned about Snowden's safety and the possibility of him being whisked away by secret agents back to America.  Former immigration service head Vladimir Volokh said it was likely Snowden wouldn't be allowed to move freely about the country.  "Legally, he won't be forbidden to move about, but the main question here is guaranteeing his safety" he said.

I wonder on a scale of one to ten where Russia came on Snowden's list of favourite asylum destination preferences - he must be somewhat embarrassed, having to ask for asylum from a country he didn't really want to spend the rest of his life in, yet who ended up being his saviour. It must be beginning to dawn that maybe he's bitten off more than he can chew.

Parole Board responsible for Jill Meagher's death

The Victorian Parole Board has blood on its hands and every member should be named.  I want to see the faces of the people who turned a blind eye to public safety, by letting Adrian Bayley back onto the streets. Because of their incompetence, Jill Meagher is dead.

Adam Bayley's history of raping women is disgusting.

April 21, 1990: Married Debbie, who was pregnant with their first child

June 8, 1990: Held teenage girl hostage in his home and raped her.

June 10, 1990: Arrested and charged with rape and bailed.

August 30, 1990: Attacked a girl, 17, walking home from a bus stop.

September 11, 1990: Victim identified him to police. Arrested, charged with attempted rape realeased on bail again.

October 1990: Daughter born.

December 12, 1990: Picked up hitchhiker, 16, and attacked her.

December 17, 1990: Victim identified him.

June 1991: Pleaded guilty, sentenced to 5 years with minimum of 3.

April 1993: Released from jail after serving 22 months.

1995: Split from wife and began a new relationship, fathering two more children.

July 2000: Changed name by deed poll from Adrian Ernest Matthew Edwards to Adrian Ernest Bayley 

April 17, 2001: Arrested over the rapes. .

April 26, 2002: Sentenced to 11 years with a minimum of 8 after pleading guilty.

2009: Completed sex offender treatment program in prison, prior to release on parole.

August 12, 2011: King-hit man outside a Geelong cafe, breaking his jaw.

February 27, 2012: pleaded guilty at Geelong magistrates’ Court to recklessly causing serious injury and jailed for three months. Appealed and released on bail. Parole was continued.

September 22, 2012: Attacked Jill Meagher as she walked home in Brunswick then raped and killed her.

The Board was warned five times about Bayley's history the year before he killed Jill and just one month before, they were told that he had missed four appointments with his parole officer.  Incredibly they didn't bring him in and extended the bail.

Tom Meagher

The Victorian Parole Board's excuse is that they have been seriously under-resourced for years.  Their computer system is out of date, they say, and many files are still in paper form.  Another excuse is that they rely heavily on advice from prison authorities who are overworked and underpaid, whatever that means.

Tom Meagher is so angry with the Parole Board, he's thinking of initiating a class action against the state of Victoria, and I hope he does. The Board's arrogance knows no bounds as they completely ignored this email Jill's distraught husband Tom sent them.

It's a sad fact that a lovely young woman had to die before an incompetent government department got a kick up the backside. They are now running around like headless chickens, writing reports, having enquiries, trying to find an excuse as to why they have been putting the public, and especially women, at risk for years.

But Bayley was just one example of how violent offenders are allowed to walk our streets, there are plenty of others out there. Parole Boards in every state across the country are doing the same thing.  It took Jill Meagher's rape and murder for us to realize that our justice system is not doing the job they are paid for - protecting the public from scum like Adrian Bayley.

Serial killer Ivan Milat's eighth victim

Ivan Milat was convicted of seven murders but now police think he was responsible for one more.  The Backpacker Murders took place in the Belanglo State Forest, 2 hours south of Sydney.  The bodies of seven missing people, aged between 19 and 22, were discovered partly buried there.  Five of the victims were young backpackers on holiday and included 3 Germans, 2 Britons, and 2 Australians.

Croatian-Australian Milat was convicted and sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences plus 18 years. Police handling the case were so incompetent, he would still be out there today, if it wasn't for an Englishman, Paul Onions.

He had been backpacking in Australia several years before and accepted a ride from a man called Bill on 25th January 1980. When Bill pulled a gun on him and tried to tie him up, he escaped and ran for his life down the busy freeway, pleading with someone to stop. Against her better judgement, Joanne Berry did stop and Onions went straight to police and told them what happened.  

Paul Onions

As the years passed, back in the UK, Onions wondered why he hadn't heard from police in Australia so he rang them and discovered they had lost his report. The entire case was centred around Onion's testimony, who identified Milat as the man who had picked him up.

Clive Small

Although police believe Milat is responsible for many more murders up and down the coast, they can't prove it.  But yesterday, former task force commander who led the investigation Clive Small thinks they can now prove there was an eighth victim - Peter Lecher, an 18 year old man Milat killed before turning his attention to young backpackers on holiday, trying to save money by hitchhiking on the freeway, close to where he was working on the roads.

It was on a Friday in November 1987 when Peter Letcher, an unemployed sawmiller, left Sydney to hitchhike to Bathurst, but he never made it.  He was stabbed, shot, and covered with branches and left in the Jenolan State Forest, west of Sydney.  When he went missing, Milat was working for the Department of Main Roads as a surface sprayer in the Jenolan State Forest area, 160 kms west of Sydney.

After a foiled escape plan, Milat was sent to Supermax in Goulburn. He swallowed razor blades, staples, parts of a toilet, and other metal objects and on 26 January 2009, he cut off his finger with a plastic knife, intending to send it to the High Court.  In 2011 he went on a hunger strike and lost 25 kilos because they took his Playstation away. 

His home is a 2m x 4m cell with a bunk, sink and toilet and spends 16 to 22 hours of every day alone.

You don't see many backpackers on the freeway looking for a free ride these days, memories of Ivan Milat still linger on.

Kevin Rudd stops the boats

Prime Minister Rudd has pulled a clever swifty at the eleventh hour, just weeks before a general election. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott must be furious that Rudd has found a solution that could possibly stop the boats.  A landslide victory for the conservatives is now unlikely, unless they can come up with a better solution.

Kevin Rudd and PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill

Although it sounds like a stroke of genius - anyone arriving by boat will never be settled in Australia - it's early days and as usual, Rudd is great at making sensational announcements, but terrible at supplying details of how it will work.

Ads are appearing in newspapers across the country today, hoping to get through to people smugglers in Indonesia.

Anyone arriving by boat after last night's announcement will be sent to Papua New Guinea for assessment, and if found to be a genuine refugee, will be resettled there.  Somehow I can't imagine middle-class economic migrants having much in common with the people of PNG and wouldn't be surprised if many re-apply for a passport from their country of origin, and go back to where they came from.

Port Moresby

PNG's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill signed the deal yesterday in Brisbane and I suspect that Rudd made him an offer he couldn't refuse. But although the citizens of PNG will ultimately benefit from the arrangement, we don't know how they will react to being inundated with strangers from the middle east and other cultures, and if things don't work out, PM O'Neill is likely to be voted out at the next election and we could be back to square one.

We have a genuine fondness for the people of PNG because of our history in WW2.  Everyone knows about the Battle of Kokoda and how the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels helped our soldiers in their bloody fight against the Japanese.  I hope this arrangement won't sour that good relationship. We will never forget what they did for us.

You have to hand it to Kevin Rudd, not only has he managed to resurrect himself as Prime Minister, but there's a good chance he could keep his job after the election.

Grant Davies and the RG Dance studio scandal

RG Dance girls workout

Grant Davies told parents that he could make their child famous and he did - many went on to perform in The Lion King and Billy Elliot.  He and his sister Rebecca Davies had one of the most successful dance studios in the country but what parents didn't know was that Grant Davies was a paedophile.

RG Dance held holiday workshops for kids from studios all over the country and released books and DVDs. Their elite dancers went on a national tour called RG Famous and had their own fan pages on Facebook and Instagram and were rewarded for how many likes and followers they attracted.  The majority of these elite dancers were between 8 and 14.

Rebecca and Grant Davies

In April this year, Grant Davies' wife, Lisa Ricketts, became suspicious when her husband put a lock on his phone and computer. She was shocked to discover that he had sent inappropriate emails to a student. She copied them onto a thumb drive and took it and his laptop to police. They found hundreds of photographs of his naked students, some allegedly as young as 6, dating back to 2004. There were also thousands of images of child pornography downloaded from the internet.

But it wasn't the first time Grant Davies was called before police. In 2007 he was accused of sending students explicit emails about his sexual fantasies, including his desire for a threesome, but he was never charged.

The name Grant Davies sent shivers down the spines of reputable dance teachers everywhere and parents are still worried.  Dance teachers touch students every day, they have to, it's part of their job. Parents would sleep easier if video cameras became mandatory but with all the care in the world, the sinister rock spider is still out there, working with children in various occupations, looking for, and often getting, what he needs.  

In the old days, parents were allowed to sit in and watch their child during class but the teachers didn't like it and banned them.  Maybe it's time to invite them back.

Grant Davies' business partner and sister Rebecca told parents that if they believed their child had been affected, to go to the police. But hang on a minute, she already knew that her brother was accused of allegedly emailing students about having threesomes back in 2007, so why didn't she do something?  She must have known that unless his sexual advances towards his students stopped, it would all end in tears, and it did, the studio is now closed.

Yesterday, 18 July 2013, Davies was again refused bail as another 37 charges were laid against him, bringing the total to 47.  Again, his parents offered $250,000 against their modest home, for his release. But the reason Justice Carolyn Simpson refused bail was because she couldn't be sure if he would try to contact victims or access the internet. 

We await his trial with interest.

Edit 8 August 2013:  Today, a 42 year old woman accused of using her two daughters to make child pornography, has been granted bail on the condition she lives with her sister and does not contact her children unless in the company of their father.

Edit 22 October 2016:  Yesterday, Sydney dancing teacher Grant Davies was sentenced to 24 years in jail for multiple child sex offences against nine victims, with the judge imposing a non-parole period of 18 years.

Solar panel eyesore in the suburbs

A man's house is his castle and he can do anything on the tiny patch of ground he owns, as long as it complies with council regulations, right? Normally yes, but it seems that council slipped up and somehow permission was given to build a timber frame to hold another 40 solar panels to add to 23 panels already on a retiree's roof.

Hope Island is an upmarket suburb on Queensland's Gold Coast and 73 year old retiree Graham Drew has made himself very unpopular. His neighbours say he has brought down the price of their properties by building an ugly "solar farm" in suburbia.

Hope Island Marina

What he's done is absolutely legal and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  Did he consider that his project might upset his neighbours? No way, he doesn't care, it's his way or the highway.

Julianna Stewart, Ian Robertson and Norma Serradura 

Five households have been bombarding council with complaints about it - it's aesthetically ugly - the structure is unsafe - but because it was approved by an independent certifier and council doesn't regulate the installation of solar panels, they haven't got a leg to stand on.  So what that basically means is that you and I or our next door neighbour could do the same thing tomorrow, and it's likely that they will.

Property owner Kate Lockyer, whose home overlooks the panels said "People shouldn't be allowed to build things like that on a standard suburban block ...... it makes a mockery of building regulations and local building codes - the frame is already showing some movement and flexing, if it came off in a severe storm, it would cause serious damage to nearby homes and put lives at risk - he's essentially created a massive wind sail.... it's a potential wind kite."

Another neighbour, Norma Serradura said "I'm not anti-solar, we have 20 ourselves, but the difference is, they're on our roof."

There is some confusion about Mr Drew's motivation.  Local gossip says he boasted to someone about being able to earn $100,000 a year selling power back to the electricity grid but Mr Drew denied this. "Geez, I wish it was true" he said. "There aren't monstrous amounts of money in it - if there was, I'd have acres of it.....it's just going to give me a bit of cash flow to help my superannuation keep up with inflation."

So there you have it, it's a cash flow venture that many other retirees may be thinking about.

Councillor Cameron Caldwell said the council's ability to regular solar panel installations was limited. "Given the circumstances that have arisen, this could be a matter for investigation by the State government for a possible legislation change."

Kathleen Folbigg - guilty or innocent?

Kathleen Megan Folbigg is officially an Australian serial baby killer. She was convicted of murdering her three infant children - 8 month old Patrick, 10 month old Sarah, and 19 month old Laura and convicted of the manslaughter of Caleb who died when he was 19 days old.  The murders took place between 1991 and 1999 and when her husband found her personal diary, she was arrested.  On appeal, she had her sentence reduced to a non-parole period of 25 years.

Craig Folbigg

Gary Edmond, a forensic science expert from the University of New South Wales thinks that Folbigg would walk free if granted a retrial today because of outdated medical evidence presented at her trial.

Her son Patrick was later discovered to be blind and had epilepsy, two others were victims of SIDS and her fourth child Laura could have died from a heart defect.  

The case was front page news and everyone knew her name - Kathleen Folbigg - the cold-hearted mother who liked to sleep in and had a bad temper. Nobody believed she was innocent simply because four infant deaths in one family is inconceivable.

When her fourth child Laura died at 18 months, forensic pathologist Dr Allan Cala looked first for obvious signs of mistreatment, but couldn't find any.  She had been already x-rayed, so he knew there were no broken bones.  He swabbed her mouth, nose and rectum, looking for disease, he looked at her skin for rashes, pocks, cuts or bruises.  He put his finger inside her mouth and peeled back the top lip because he knew that an 18 month old would put up a fight and leave signs of a struggle, particularly teeth marks on the inside of the lips, but there were none.  He removed the brain, heart and lungs for examination, but still nothing.

Carla continued to look for a natural cause of death and a few weeks later, he found one.  He saw clumped-up lymphocytes - white blood cells - which meant that Laura had myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart that can cause sudden death. 

And this is where Carla's evidence falls down - he said later that if he hadn't known Folbigg's history, he might have given the cause of death as "myocarditis" but because he did know that three of her children had already died in infancy, he gave evidence to the court that her death was "undetermined" which cleared the way for a murder investigation.

So even though four babies in one family had died, it could be argued that two had known medical explanations and the other two were victims of SIDS.

Her only friend during the court case, Salvation Army chaplain, Major Joyce Harmer

Photo: Jon Reid

The Folbiggs separated soon after Laura's death, the strain was too much, but husband Craig still believed she was innocent. 

A year went by and Craig discovered that Kathleen was seeing another man, Tony Lambkin and his attitude started to change. When he was cleaning out her belongings, he found her personal diary.  This diary, along with another one later found by police, sealed Folbigg's fate because her entries speak for themselves.

DIARY OF KATHLEEN FOLBIGG – when her last child, Laura, was three to five months old.

November 9, 1997: Craig was pretty drunk Friday night. In his drunken stupor he admitted that he's not really happy. There's a problem with his security level with me and he has a morbid fear about Laura - he, well I know there's nothing wrong with her. Nothing out of ordinary anyway. Because it was me not them.

Think I handle her fits of crying better than I did with Sarah - I've learnt to, once getting to me, to walk away and breathe in for a while myself. It helps me cope and figure out how to help her. With Sarah all I wanted was her to shut up. And one day she did.

December 8, 1997: Had a bad day today. Lost it with Laura a couple of times. She cried most of the day. Why do I do that? I must learn to read her better. She's pretty straightforward. She either wants to sleep or doesn't. Got to stop placing so much importance on myself.  Must try to release my stress somehow. I'm starting to take it out on her. Bad move. Bad things and thoughts happen when that happens. It will never happen again.

December 31, 1997: Getting Laura to be next year [sic] ought to be fun. She'll realise a party is going on. And that will be it. Wonder if the battle of the wills will start with her and I then. We'll actually get to see. She's a fairly good natured baby, thank goodness, it will save her from the fate of her siblings. I think she was warned.

January 28, 1998: Very depressed with myself, angry and upset. I've done it. I lost it with her. I yelled at her so angrily that it scared her. She hasn't stopped crying. Got so bad I nearly purposely dropped her on the floor and left her. I restrained enough to put her on the floor and walk away. Went to my room and left her to cry.Was gone probably only five minutes but it seemed like a lifetime. I feel like the worst mother on this earth. Scared that she'll leave me now. Like Sarah did. I knew I was short tempered and cruel sometimes to her and she left. With a bit of help. I don't want that to ever happen again. I actually seem to have a bond with Laura. It can't happen again. I'm ashamed of myself. I can't tell Craig about it because he'll worry about leaving her with me. Only seems to happen if I'm too tired. Her moaning, bored, whingy sound drives me up the wall. I truly can't wait until she's old enough to tell me what she wants. 

Lea Bown

Folbigg's foster sister, Lea Bown, believed she was innocent right up until the trial, but her love and support quickly turned to hate.  "There's no doubt in my mind, none, I mean we had Laura down here just before Christmas, her last Christmas, and Kathy's temper was unbelievable, I've never experienced that before with her, and it was always Kathy that found them." Ms Bown is so sure of her guilt, she said she would be happy to be the one to give her a lethal injection to end her life.

Folbigg has 15 years left of her sentence to serve and lives in protective custody.  She will remain there, away from the women who would gladly do her harm.

Mark Tedeschi QC

Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi said at her trial that the Folbigg children might all have died from natural causes, but piglets might sprout wings and fly too.  He said he could disprove neither.

And that just about sums up the feelings of the general public about Kathleen Folbigg - just like Lindy Chamberlain, she's as guilty as sin.