Bill Cosby's past catches up

Canadian woman Andrea Bowman, nee Andrea Constand, filed a lawsuit against Bill Cosby for rape multiple times, when she was an aspiring 17 year old actress.  Cosby gained her trust by posing as her mentor and father figure.

The lawsuit grew to include 13 women, all of whom reported being drugged and raped by the star.  It was settled out of court by Cosby for an undisclosed amount.

Barbara Bowman

Ms Bowman alleged that when she visited Cosby's home for acting lessons, he gave her pills he said were "herbal medication" for stress. After taking the pills, she felt hazy but remembered Cosby touching her breasts and genitals.

She reported her allegations to police in Ontario Canada but was told the case against Cosby was weak and there was no point in going ahead.

Bowman talks about the incident that ended her relationship with Cosby.

“The final incident was in Atlantic City, where we had travelled for an industry event. I was staying in a separate bedroom of Cosby’s hotel suite, but he pinned me down in his own bed while I screamed for help. I’ll never forget the clinking of his belt buckle as he struggled to pull his pants off.  I furiously tried to wrestle from his grasp until he eventually gave up, angrily called me “a baby” and sent me home to Denver.”

 

“I first told my agent, a woman, who did nothing.  A girlfriend took me to a lawyer, but he accused me of making the story up.”

Fast forward thirty years.

 Hannibal Buress

“It was only when Hannibal Buress called Bill Cosby a rapist in a comedy act last month did the public outcry begin in earnest. The original video of Buress’s performance went viral and this week, Twitter turned against him, too, with a meme that emblazoned rape scenarios across pictures of his face.

“He can no longer be charged for his crimes against me because the statute of limitations is long past. That is also wrong. There should be no time limits on reporting these crimes, and one of my goals is to call for legislation to that end.

“Famous and wealthy perpetrators use their power to shame and silence their victims. It often takes years for young women to overcome those feelings and gain the confidence to come forward (by which point physical evidence is long gone). Our legal system shouldn’t silence them a second time."

Barbara Bowman is an artist, married with two children.  She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

The drug that killed Georgina Bartter

The drug that killed Georgina Bartter - the beautiful 19 year old girl who died after taking one and a half tablets of MDMA last weekend, was called a "purple speaker" - a stamped tablet thought to have originated in Europe.

Now an anonymous man who attended the Harbour Harbourlife Dance Festival last Saturday night says that taking MDMA at dance parties is the norm and much more socially acceptable than getting drunk on alcohol.  

Georgina Bartter

He said the police dogs were a waste of time.  After being sniffed, he walked into the Harbourlife festival with six MDMA capsules in his underwear.  

Most people put their drugs in their underwear because police would have to strip you naked to check, and they won't do that. Sniffer dogs have more success with powders like cocaine and heroine, he said.

The capsules cost him $40 each and he took one every couple of hours with a few beers in between. The tablets were plain black, unlike the purple pills that killed Georgina Bartter.

"I met plenty of people using MDMA, including a corporate lawyer from a well-known law firm" he said.  "He was there with his wife and they took a large number of pills, I think he took four."

He went on "It's far more prevalent than people think and it's not junkies taking these things, it's people with white colar jobs, that's how widespread it is.  I get them through a social network, through friends, that's how the vast majority of people get them - it's not from dodgy underworld bikie dealers."

"A friend of mine gets them for me on the Thursday night from a drug dealer.  I usually go to three or four festivals a year and I'll take MDMA, but I don't do it on the weekends, unless it's a 21st or something."

".....it removes inhibitions.....people just want to feel good, they just want to be happy at these events."

So these young people, who we assume are reasonably intelligent, are prepared to swallow an MDMA tablet, not knowing what it contains, yet convinced that it won't hurt them.  The mind boggles.

Georgina Bartter dies at Sydney dance party

The Harbourlife Dance Festival went ahead on Saturday night at Mrs Macquarie's Chair, even though a young woman died after taking one and a half tablets of ecstasy.

At around 4.40 in the afternoon Georgina Bartter was found by paramedics, lying at the bottom of stairs convulsing and by the time she arrived at hospital, she had gone into cardiac arrest.

Afternoon crowd gathering

The event was advertised as "the annual outdoor dance festival with one of the best views on the planet....price $115."

Georgina, from longueville on Sydney's North Shore, had only just returned from a European holiday during a study break from university. She graduated from Wenona private school last year and was one of their brightest students.

She was the eldest of three children and the daughter of Simon Bartter who once owned Bartter-Steggles, one of the biggest poultry companies in the country.

Professor Fulde, director of St Vincents Hospital emergency was on duty on Saturday night and gives an account of what happened.

"We were notified by ambulance through the emergency red phone and informed of a critically ill 19 year old girl who was thought to have taken pills.  A full resuscitation team, led by a consultant, several senior emergency doctors and nurses who had all practised roles got ready, awaiting the patient.

As she was critical, within minutes, the intensive care consultant and team were mobilised and rushed down.  It was quickly evident the only chance of survival was to put her on a heart lung machine.

This equipment mechanically gives her blood flow and oxygen.  The cardiothoracic surgeon and operation theatre staff and the hi-tech mechine were brought.  During this time, advanced life support tests were continuing."

But it was too late, she didn't make it.

When will they ever learn? 

Baby Gammy's parents get to keep baby Pipah

David John Farnell, a convicted paedophile, went to Thailand with his wife to seek a surrogate.  A deal was struck with a woman who gave birth to twins - Gammy a boy with Downs Syndrome and his twin, a baby girl.  

The surrogate said the parents didn't want anything to do with Gammy but were happy to take the little girl home.

One would assume that when it was discovered that the father was a convicted paedophile who sexually abused two girls under 13 and served three years in jail, social services would step in and take the baby away but this didn't happen.  The baby Pipah is being sent home and will remain in the custody of the couple.

Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua poses with baby Gammy. 

I think WA Child Protection Minister Helen Morton has made a terrible mistake sending this child back into the arms of her father. We all know paedophiles can't be cured so what is she thinking?

She's decided that the appointment of a child lawyer, a safety plan and continued monitoring by the department is going to guarantee her safety.

"I am satisfied that the rigorous safety planning and interim orders that have been granted by the WA Family Court will provide for this child's safety" she said.

Well Ms Morton, this child's future is on your head.

Australian Army pay cut disgrace

Air Chief Marshall Binskin

The Defence Remuneration Tribunal confirmed on Monday that Defence personnel would get a pay rise of 1.5 per cent a year for three years. With inflation running at 2 per cent, this amounts to a wage cut.

It's just another sign of just how out of touch Tony Abbott and his government really are.  After Joe Hockey's shock budget which penalises the unemployed, the working poor and the elderly, they now want to penalise the people prepared to die for our country.

And we all know what happens when the government awards themselves a hefty pay increase.   Absolutely nothing.

Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert described Defence personnel's current salaries as "generous", citing an "enormous
number of allowances," subsidized housing and health care benefits.

In defence of the pay offer, Tony Abbott said "We'd all like to pay our serving Defence personnel more but there's going to have to be a very tight pay restraint across the public sector, including the Defence personnel.  I regret that."

Cuts to leave is also a sore point.  Christmas leave will continue but will now come off their annual leave and extra recreational leave will also be cut.

Corporal Daniel Keighran

Air Chief Marshall Binskin wrote in an email "As you will be aware, we are in an economic and budgetary climate where government has indicated the need for managed reduction in costs.... and the inequitable way that ERL (extra recreational leave) has been applied across the ADF workforce in the past, these offsets are reasonable."

Corporal Mark Donaldson and Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith 

Well Air Chief Marshall Binskin you thought wrong.  We think our soldiers are worth more than that and your decision and your name should resonate throughout the country as being beyond contempt.

Corporal Cameron Stewart Baird (deceased)

We're not talking about Army personnel sitting on their backsides all day somewhere in Australia pushing paper around, we're talking about young men and women surrounded by crazy jihadists who enjoy chopping soldiers' heads off.

And you, Chief Marshall Binskin, need to think again.

ISIS war comes to Sydney

Rasoul Al-Musawi

Rasoul Al-Musawi was about to walk his family home from a prayer centre in the Sydney suburb of Greenacre in the early hours of yesterday morning when he was shot twice in the back.  His wife and four of his children were with him at the time and his wife fainted with shock.  "My dad held his neck and ran inside" his daughter said.

"They called us Shia dogs" his unnamed friend said and before the shooting, a car drove past several times yelling out "IS lives forever."

Jamal Daoud, a prominent member of Sydney's Shiite community said a group had been harassing Shiite Muslims entering the centre to observe Ashura, a 10 day ritual to commemorate the death of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Muhammad.  On Friday night around 8pm, a man volunteering as a security guard at the centre was punched in the face by three men.

After surgery, Mr Musawi is expected to make a full recovery.

Police said there is no evidence to suggest that the shooting is linked to IS who consider Shia Muslims the enemy because they dominate the Iraqi government.

Police have some CCTV footage to go through which may help with their enquiries and have urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers online reporting page 1800 333 000.

Jayden Morrissey killed by lighting bolt

On Saturday, the first day of November, 2014, it was unusually hot, around 35C - way too hot for a Spring day and sure enough, a severe thunder storm was predicted for late afternoon.  And when it hit, it was one of the wildest storms I've ever seen.  Trees were down all over Sydney and thousands of people had their power cut off.  It didn't last long but the build up of the wind was frightening.

Before the storm hit, people up and down the NSW coast flocked to the beach, including 15 year old Jayden Morrissey and his friends who were on a strip of sand at One Mile Beach near Anna Bay.  As the storm rushed in, he was struck by a lightning bolt.

One mile beach

A family friend who owns an onsite van at the Caravan Park, had been surfing with Jayden and his friends, moments before the storm hit. They immediately headed for the safety of the beach when suddenly Jayden fell to the ground holding his chest.  The family friend began CPR and soon after, paramedicals worked on him for almost an hour, but he died on the beach.

Mark and Peta Morrissey

Jaydon was the second eldest of four brothers and a year 9 student at Francis Greenway High School. His father said "We need people to understand he was not in the water when the storm hit, police said there was no warning, it came straight over the hill and they didn't have time to react."

His parents and brothers Brodi 19, Jarryd 11, and Logan 8, are left devastated but said there was no one to blame.  "If he wasn't up there, he would have been at Nobbys - he would have been at a beach somewhere" Mr Morrissey said.

"He never gave me one ounce of grief, he was the best kid you could ever ask for."