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.