Lance Armstrong's arrogance

Earlier this year, Lance Armstrong told the BBC he would cheat again if he had the chance.  If he really said those words, and three different newspapers say that he did, he's obviously not sorry."I've admitted to it all, and have suffered enough" he said.

Banned and desperate to get back into the sport any way he can, he plans to ride in fellow cancer survivor and former English soccer star Geoff Thomas' charity bike ride which takes place in part of the Tour de France route, a day before the race begins on July 4. The charity ride aims to raise one million pounds to help find a cure for Leukaemia.

Surrounded with glory

But the UCI President, Brian Cookson, said the idea of Armstrong taking part in the charity ride is hugely disrespectful to the rest of the sport but admits he has no authority to stop him.  "Lance Armstrong can ride his bike around France as often as he likes, it's got nothing to do with me or the UCI" he said.

Kirstin Armstrong

Armstrong's first wife Kristin was a willing participant in her husband's drug taking and helped him cover it up, according to former team mate Jonathan Vaughters.  She used the code word "butter" to describe the synthetic blood-boosting hormone EPO and kept it in the couples' fridge. She also allegedly wrapped tablets of cortisone in aluminium foil and handed them out to riders.

Betty and Frankie Andreau

But not all the rider's wives and girlfriends were prepared to go along with the lie.  In a sworn affidavit, cyclist Frankie Andreau said that in 1996, he and his future wife Betsy visited Armstrong in hospital when he was battling cancer.

During that visit, Armstrong told them he was using EPO, testosterone, growth hormone, cortisone and steroids.

Betsy was furious and went to the media and when Armstrong found out, he started an intimidation campaign against her that lasted for years.

Armstrong sent an email to Betsy's husband.  "Helping to bring me down is not going to help y'alls situation.  There is a direct link to all our success here, may I suggest you remind her of that."

In 2009 Betsy received a voicemail from a friend of Armstrong.

"I hope somebody breaks a baseball bat over your head and I also hope that one day you have adversity in your life and have some type of tragedy that will definitely make an impact on you."

Brian Cookson, President of the Union Cycliste Internationale(UCI)

Armstrong is worried about the $100 million whistle-blower lawsuit instigated by his former US Postal team-mate Floyd Landis because it could wipe him out financially.

And it couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.

Jay Fowler's body found

There was another camping tragedy over this Queen's Birthday long weekend, this time 50 kms south-west of Newcastle.

The winter weather doesn't stop people from wanting to go back to nature in the bush, to sit around a campfire with family and friends. The June long weekend is the last possible break we get before the next one in October.

Jay Fowler, from Tenambit in Maitland, was camping with 10 of his family and friends at McLeans Lookout in the Watagan National Park.

On Monday morning around 9 o'clock, Jay left the group and headed into the bush with some toilet paper and didn't come back.

After a frantic search, his body was found yesterday at the base of a 100 metre cliff and while police say the body has to be formally identified, they believe it to be Jay Fowler.

The family is associated with the Christian Brethren community and have already received many online messages of support. One person wrote "Our prayers are with the Fowler family and those close, God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers."

Another said "We send much love to you all and praying for your support in your sorrow.  God's ways are beyond our feeble minds. Comforting to know we will one day know the reason for every deed in every day.  Safe with Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Very much love and prayers."

Jay's father Kevin Fowler and his wife are struggling to cope with the news.  He paid tribute to the tireless efforts of the emergency service workers who searched for two days and to the police for their understanding and sympathy.

A helicopter will be .used to retrieve the body and a report is being prepared for the Coroner.

Sydney couple die in shipping container

The loving couple who were found dead inside a shipping container have been identified as Australian Helena Curic and Canadian-born Derek Kehler.

They met in Canada while both working for an IT company in Vancouver.

It should have been a great winter long-weekend getaway. It's cold in Sydney at the moment and it's even colder up in Kurrajong, 75 kms from the city.

The owners bought a 50 acre property in the bush, a dream come true, and looked forward to great camping holidays with family and friends. 

Because shipping containers are relatively cheap, the owners had made a make-shift camp and the owner's wife invited her sister and her partner to spend the long weekend with them. 

There were three containers.  The couple were in the middle - a makeshift kitchen - while the owners and their two children were in the one next door.

All went well until 7.30 am on Monday morning when the owners discovered the couple, dead in their bed.  They died in their sleep from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning from a cooking pot of hot coals.

Flowers left at the gate

Hawkesbury Police Inspector Suzanne Rode-Sanders said the deaths were not being treated as suspicious.  "It appears they had some sort of makeshift heater inside the cabin and there wasn't any ventilation and as a result, they have asphyxiated with carbon monoxide poisoning.... you always have to be mindful that when there is any sort of open fire, it creates fumes and you need ventilation."

A Kurrajong resident said "These containers that are converted into cabins have sealed glass windows that don't open, you need to keep the door ajar." 

So simple, so tragic.

Rebecca Hannibal's tragic mistake

Georgina Bartter

Some people might think that Rebecca Hannibal is about to get off lightly for supplying her best friend Georgina Bartter with ecstasy tablets that led to her death.  

The two friends were at a dance party on Sydney Harbour in November last year, looking forward to a great night out.  But it turned into a nightmare when Georgina collapsed and later died in hospital.

The tablets called "purple speakers" were stamped, originated in Europe and cost $40 each.

They say that taking MDMA at dance parties is considered more socially acceptable than getting drunk on alcohol. It removes inhibitions and allows people to feel happy at these events.

Sadly, Georgina Bartter believed it and now she's dead.

Rebecca Hannibal pleaded guilty in April to supplying the drugs to her friend.  Her Barrister Phillip Boulton SC asked the judge not to record a conviction and to limit the sentence to a good behaviour bond.

He told the court that people were being nasty to her on social media and that it was punishment enough.  She was suffering "symptoms of anxiety and depression" and has moved to Melbourne. "The grief involved in the Bartter family can only be guessed at but my client and her family are also grieving" he said.

"This is an extraordinary burden for anyone let alone someone charged with this offence, she has a lot to deal with that young people don't normally have to deal with."

Hannibal bought the drugs from drug dealer Matthew Forti before the music festival and assisted police which led to his arrest.

Hannibal will be sentenced next week.

Edit 26 June 2015:  Rebecca Hannibal, the NSW teenager who supplied ecstasy pills that killed her best friend Georgina Bartter at a Sydney dance party, has been sentenced to a 12-month good behaviour bond.

Duggar family scandal

19 Kids and Counting

When Josh Duggar was 14 years old, he admitted to sexually molesting his sisters and a baby sitter.  He committed at least seven acts of sexual molestation, according to a new police report.

Josh confessed to his father Jim Bob Duggar on three separate occasions and his parents waited at least 16 months before telling police, even though his behaviour was ongoing and getting worse, police allege.  During that period, his parents did not get professional counselling for Josh or his sisters.

In March 2002, Josh went to his father very upset and crying and said he had been sneaking into his sisters' bedroom at night and touching them on the breasts and vaginal areas.  The fondling was done over the girls' clothes, except in two cases, and happened when the girls were sleeping Jim Bob said.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar could have faced a jail sentence for not telling authorities and not doing more to protect their daughters from what they knew was going on in their home.

But in Jim Bob's eyes, they did do something about it.  He took the problem to his church elders and it was decided that Josh should enter a treatment program and spent four months in Little Rock helping a family friend remodel a building.


When he came home, his father decided it was time to tell the police so he took Josh to see a family friend - State Trooper Joseph Hutchens - who is currently serving 56 years in prison.  Hutchens said that Jim Bob and Josh told him about only one incident and that's why he didn't report it to child abuse hotline.

At one point, Jim Bob stopped cooperating with police, refused to turn Josh in for an interview and hired an attorney.

Jessa Duggar, one of the sisters involved and featured in the reality show defended her brother about allegations that he was a child molester and paedophile.  "They are so overboard and a lie" she said.

Josh and his wife are expecting their fourth child

Josh Duggar, now married and expecting his fourth child apologised for his bad behaviour two weeks ago when the story broke and resigned as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group.

"I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions" he wrote online.  "In my life today, I am so very thankful for God's grace, mercy and redemption."

This very private family scandal came to light by accident.

Someone in the church borrowed a book from the Duggars and found a note inside detailing Josh's molestations and sent it to Oprah.  No charges were laid because the statute of limitations had by then run out.

To get nineteen children through puberty into adulthood unscathed would be almost impossible in today's world, and I see many more headaches ahead for this family.

Homeless student who lives under a bridge

Winter has just begun in Australia and snow has already fallen on the ski fields.  Yet under a bridge in Melbourne, 19 year old Alicia sits in her tent, surrounded by books.  Her meagre possessions include a camp stove, a mattress and a two-piece business suit hanging up in a dry cleaner suit bag.

She's been homeless for three years but is currently studying Year 11 at RMIT University campus which offers Year 11 and 12 subjects. Unlike normal high schools, she doesn't have to go to assemblies and most of her work can be done in class but she also spends time at the State Library, the Youth Projects Homeless Centre or studies in her tent by lamplight.

In the morning, Alicia and her boyfriend walk to a drop-in centre for breakfast and then she travels to class in the city five days a week.

She dreams of becoming a criminologist.  "I'm not one of those people who want to get married and have kids" she said.  "I want to start my career first."

Youth Projects chair Melanie Raymond was shocked when Melanie came to the drop-in centre one afternoon to do her homework.  "All she asked me for was a couple of highlighter pens, some folders and some paper clips" she said.  "If you can stick Year 11 under a bridge, you're as tough as nails - I would employ anyone who has overcome that adversity."

Alicia currently survives on $360 a fortnight which is shared between four homeless people. "I always run out, I'm dead broke now" she said.

Suit bag

The black two-piece suit was donated two months ago when she was asked to attend a tour of the Melbourne Magistrates Court.  "It makes an incredible difference" she said.  "You feel so much better."

If you want to make a donation to the young woman featured in this story - supermarket vouchers are most practical - you can contact Youth Projects direc at admin@youthprojects.org.au

Sydney Mayor's daughter makes $330,000 profit in 12 days

Mr Hindi and his daughter Rachel

With Sydney real estate prices soaring to unheard of heights, Hurstville Mayor Con Hindi and his children have made a packet lately and their antics have come to the attention of Sydney Morning Herald journalist Kate McClymont.

She writes:

Although the son of Con Hindi, the property developing mayor of Hurstville, was only 20, late last year Malcolm Hindi splashed out more than $2 million for a waterfront property.

Malcolm Hindi, a university student, may be about to make a motza with rumours that Kogarah Council is set to re-zone the area to allow six-storey developments.

Last year, Con and Miray Hindi's daughter Rachel showed similar good fortune property wise when her parents sold her a development site they owned.

In less than a fortnight, the university student on-sold it for $980,000 – making $330,000 profit in only 12 days.

On 12 November, 2014, Malcolm Hindi set up a company Blakehurst Holdings. His partner Xiaomin Shen, 57, is the father-in-law of Liberal councillor Christina Wu. Cr Wu was Cr Hindi's running mate for the 2012 Hurstville council elections.

On the day it was set up, Blakehurst Holdings purchased 434 Princes Highway, Blakehurst. Blakehurst Holdings acts as a trustee for the Blakehurst Properties Unit Trust but the beneficiaries of the unit trust are not known.

The Blakehurst waterfront investment is not Malcolm Hindi's first foray into property development.

In August 2013, when he was 19, he paid $650,000 to buy a property in Rosebery Street, Penshurst, from his parents. Two years earlier the Hindis had been trying to sell the property for $879,000.

Before he had sold the property to his son, Cr Hindi put in a development application to Hurstville council. Cr Wu moved the motion that council approve the Hindis' planned development.

Cr Hindi claimed he had sold the property to his son Malcolm with the intention that Malcolm should live in one of the townhouses, and his sister in another.

He also said recent changes to the building code for that part of Penshurst would have allowed him to build three townhouses and a villa on the almost 800-square-metre block.

"I could have made a lot more money but I chose to develop it for my kids," he said at the time.

But 12 months later, his son Malcolm sold one of the new townhouses for $1.395 million. His mother, Miray, a real estate agent, recently handled the sale of the second Rosebery Street townhouse. The price remains undisclosed.

When the Hindis were negotiating to buy a deceased estate in Peake Parade, Peakhurst, towards the end of 2012, the area had been flagged to be rezoned from low density residential to medium or high density. Following its rezoning, in early 2014 the Hindis began negotiating to sell their development property to Peter and Myrna Abdallah's company Peake Industry. During the negotiations the Abdallahs were informed that Rachel Hindi now owned the property.

Land title records show that Con and Miray Hindi sold the property to their daughter on February 2, 2014, for $650,000. Less than a fortnight later, on 17 February, Rachel on-sold to the Abdallahs for $980,000.

Although he had sold them the site, when the Abdallahs put in their development application later that year, Cr Hindi voted to reject it without declaring any conflict of interest. It was later passed.

Cr Hindi, his family and relatives have several other developments on the boil. But the mayor's most controversial development site is at 40 Crump Street, Mortdale.

A spokesman for Local Government minister Paul Toole confirmed that late last week Hurstville Council was notified that the Office of Local Government has launched an investigation into the council's May 20 meeting in which prosecution of Cr Hindi was to be discussed for his failure to remediate the asbestos-riddled Crump Street site. The inquiry will also examine the decision that same night to suspend the general manager who had carriage of the investigation into Cr Hindi's site.

Cr Hindi and Cr Wu did not reply to Fairfax Media's emails or calls. Mrs Hindi, a former Kogarah councillor said, "We have always acted honourably and honestly." She also said "my husband has been very upset by recent articles you have written about him" and that he is contemplating legal action. Five councillors who have recently opposed Cr Hindi in council have also received defamation threats from the mayor.

Son, Malcolm Hindi

Most of us are apathetic about Council elections, and this article gives us a reason to sit up and take notice of what's really going on inside our local Council chambers.  And it's outrageous.