Sydney's Occupied Territories:Sheik Shabbir Mohammedbhai Vaziri and Helen Magennis, charged with Female Genital Mutilation

The barbarity of being kept in the dark ages

Mark Morri 
The Daily Telegraph
September 14, 2012 12:00AM

A SYDNEY sheik accused of involvement in the barbaric "genital circumcision" of sisters aged 6 and 7 is alleged to have told his Muslim community to lie about its widespread practice.

Police claim Sheik Shabbir Mohammedbhai Vaziri told members of the Dawoodi Bohra community at Auburn to lie to police when they questioned them over the mutilations.

Vaziri, 56, of Auburn, Helen Magennis, 68, a retired nurse of Campbelltown, and the children's parents have all been charged in relation to the alleged acts on the girls.

Police allege the procedures were carried out by Magennis.

A strike force of seven detectives from the NSW sex crimes unit was set up after an anonymous tip to the Department of Community Services several months ago.

It is the first time anyone has been charged with the offence in relation to children after legislation was passed in 1994.

Protect girls from cruel culture

FEW in Australia realise that female genital mutilation or FGM is an issue both here and in other modern multicultural nations.
Genital mutilation may not be isolated
A MAN has appeared in a Sydney court charged over the genital mutilation of two girls aged six and seven.

Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward said she did not believe genital mutilation was rare in NSW.

Ms Goward said that female genital mutilation was an "abhorrent practice" and "a form of child abuse".

The two children are still in the care of their parents.

"They are good parents," NSW sex crimes unit head Detective Superintendent John Kerlatic said.

"It may seem a contradiction to say that when the parents are facing such serious charges. But they are not in any danger of any physical abuse."

The alleged genital mutilations occurred in the past 18 months at homes in Sydney.

Vaziri appeared in Burwood court yesterday on two counts of being an accessory after the fact to female genital mutilation, and hindering the police investigation.

Police allege Vaziri hindered the investigation by telling people to lie about the extent of female genital mutilation.

Magistrate Chris Longley said despite what many people would see as very serious charges, he was granting bail under strict conditions.

He said police opposed bail saying Vaziri was a flight risk.

Mr Longley ordered Vaziri surrender his passport and report to Auburn police daily and appear in Parramatta Local Court on September 26.

The parents were charged last Friday, granted bail and ordered to reappear in court on September 26.

Magennis is alleged to have carried out the procedure and was granted bail to reappear on October 3.

Big Boobed Bandit,Tonee Walker pleads guilty remanded for sentencing.

Buxom bandit Tonee Walker pleads guilty to armed robbery of service station on Gold Coast

Greg Stolz
The Courier-Mail
September 13, 201212:03PM

A FEMALE armed robber dubbed the 'buxom bandit' has pleaded guilty to holding up a Gold Coast service station and will be sentenced for the crime.
Tonee Walker, 22, made international headlines when CCTV footage emerged of her wearing a low-cut top to rob the Arundel service station in July.
The crime even inspired a hit Taiwanese animation cartoon, complete with a big-breasted Walker bounding into the service station on a kangaroo.
A court heard Walker told friends she planned to give the middle-aged male service station attendant "something to look at" before robbing him at knifepoint.
A committal hearing was to have been held on Monday in Southport Magistrates Court, but Walker pleaded guilty to the armed robbery.

She was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in Southport District Court at a date to be fixed.

Terror Australia: Terror Suspect admitted to Hospital with Stomach ( Period ? ) Pain

Muslim Insurgents Sydney Riot latest Video and Pictures

'He doesn't have a bomb. If he did, I'd kill him'

The Age
Nino Bucci
September 13, 2012 

• Guns seized in terror raids: latest news   
• Terror and the power of persuasion
• What is the Al-Furqan centre?

He's such a good boy he neva do nutting to nobody

Badria and her family fled Afghanistan 18 years ago to escape terrorism. Now, it is threatening the lives they have worked so hard for in Australia.
Badria's brother has been linked to terrorism plots in Australia, the country they now call home.

"A year ago he knew nothing about Islam, he was one of those party people. Since he's started praying, things have turned around for him."

The family's Endeavour Hills house was raided yesterday morning during an Australian Federal Police operation.
Computers, mobile phones, hard drives, an iPad and a printer Badria says she used for her homework were seized.

Speaking to Fairfax with her mother in their neat two-storey home, Badria said the family had been so shocked since the raid, they had not eaten.
Badria did not wish to give her surname, and her mother wished to remain anonymous. But both wanted to speak out about the damaging links that are continually made between practising Muslims and terrorism.
Badria said his brother's wife had lost her father and brother to violence in Afghanistan, and her mother had lost both hands.
He had never been to the Al-Furqan centre, which was also raided yesterday, and did not know Sheikh Harun, the Muslim preacher mentioned during the operation, she said.
"He hates terrorism," Badria said.
"Why would he have anything to do with it? I know my brother very well, and he swore on the Koran that he had nothing to do with it. I believe him, and my parents believe him.
"I told the police that I respect what they're doing, because you're just trying to protect us. We're part of this society too.
"We might be innocent, but the next people they raid might not be."
Badria, 19, was a year old when she left Kabul with her two older brothers and older sister.
The 28-year-old brother who was targeted in the raid yesterday is married, and lives in the Endeavour Hills home with his wife and four-month-old baby.
He owns a small business, as does his older sister, while his brother is a financial planner and Badria studies law and is training to be a pilot.
His mother said her children had been successful in Australia, but she was dismayed that many thought of Afghans as terrorists.
"In Afghanistan, we had a good life, but we were worried about terrorism," she said.
"We thought we would come to Australia for the lives of our children, for their education. Now, just because my son goes to a mosque and prays he's in trouble with the police.
"Just because he prays five times and day and has made CDs showing other people how to pray, it doesn't make him a terrorist.
"He doesn't have a gun, he doesn't have a bomb. If he did, I'd kill him."
Badria believes her brother, who was at work and could not speak to The Age, may have come under attention as he had recently become a more devout Muslim.
He had also been collecting money for a charity, which is registered, and had given Korans to Afghan children as a way of educating them about their heritage.
"He's just trying to collect money to give to the poor in Afghanistan," Badria said.
"The police were asking him 'Why do you go to the mosque five times a day? Why do you have a beard?' We were just in shock.
"A year ago he knew nothing about Islam, he was one of those party people. Since he's started praying, things have turned around for him."
His mother said she hoped the family would not be shunned by those in the street who had seen the early morning raids. She said she chose not to wear a hijab, despite being a practising Muslim who prayed five times a day.
"I should be able to pray without people thinking I support terrorism," she said.

From Sydney's Occupied Territories: Sheik and a Nurse charged over Female Genital Mutilation

Sheik charged over female mutilation

Mark Morri, Crime Editor 
The Daily Telegraph
September 13, 2012 2:40PM

A SHEIK and retired nurse have been charged in relation to the genital mutilation of two young girls in Sydney.

Police arrested the Sheik, 56, from Auburn and the 68-year-old nurse earlier today.

The children’s parents were charged last Friday with two counts of female mutilation.

NSW Police Force’s Sex Crimes Squad began investigating the allegations earlier this year and set up Strike Force Longfield and have been been working closely with NSW Health and the Department of Family and Community Services.

Police will allege the two girls had the procedure, which is also known as female circumcision, performed on them in NSW when they were aged six and seven.

Female genital mutilation is illegal in NSW, with it also an offence to take a NSW resident overseas to have the procedure performed.

The 56-year-old man was arrested earlier today and has been charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of female genital mutilation; 

and hindering investigation of serious indictable offence. He was refused bail to face Burwood Local Court today.

Also arrested today was a 68-year-old woman who has been charged with two counts of prohibition of female genital mutilation.

Police will allege the woman performed the procedure on the two girls.

She has been granted conditional bail to face Campbelltown Local Court on Wednesday 3 October 2012.

A 42-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were arrested on Friday 7 September and charged with two counts each of female genital mutilation. 

They were granted bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on 26 September 2012.

Investigations by Strike Force Longfield are continuing, and police are also appealing for anyone with information about female genital mutilation to come forward.

The mutilation is unlikely to be an isolated case, NSW Family and Community Services and Minister Pru Goward says.

Ms Goward told reporters the investigation was triggered by an anonymous tip-off to her office, and she understood it to be the first time in NSW 
someone has been charged with female genital mutilation.

She would not say if the circumcision of the two girls was for cultural or religious reasons, but added it was "unlikely'' to be an isolated incident.

"That's why the rules were changed in 1994, because I believe that the state was aware that this was a distinct possibility,'' Ms Goward told 
reporters at NSW parliament.

"It is disappointing in a way that it has taken this long for there to be a case where there was sufficient evidence collected to be able to press charges and make arrests.''

Ms Goward said female genital mutilation was an "abhorrent practice'' and "a form of child abuse''.

"It is illegal, and whilst there might be cultural practices acceptable to some communities in NSW it remains the case that it is illegal and that the full force of the law will be brought to bear,'' Ms Goward said.

She would not reveal where the two girls were being cared for, or who was caring for them, but said ``they are safe, and not at risk of further harm''.

"My department have been involved in this all the way along and we've certainly made all the necessary arrangements we believe are in order to ensure these children are safe,'' she said.


Genital mutilation not tolerated: Goward

By Isabel Hayes and Adam Bennett 
Daily Telegraph
September 13, 2012 6:26PM

THE NSW government has warned that female genital mutilation will not be tolerated, after a man charged over the circumcision of two young girls appeared in a Sydney court.

Shabbir Vaziri, 56, appeared before Burwood Local Court on Thursday charged with two counts of being an accessory after the genital mutilation of the girls, who were aged six and seven at the time.

He is one of four people charged over the alleged female circumcision, which occurred in an unspecified location in NSW in the past 18 months.

The two young girls were unlikely to be isolated cases, NSW Family and Community Services and Minister Pru Goward told reporters.

Ms Goward said the investigation leading to the charges was triggered by an anonymous tip-off to her office.

It is understood to be the first time someone has been charged with female genital mutilation in NSW.

Ms Goward would not say if the circumcisions were for cultural or religious reasons, but she added the case was "unlikely" to be an isolated incident.

She described female genital mutilation as an "abhorrent practice" and a form of child abuse.

"It is illegal, and whilst there might be cultural practices acceptable to some communities in NSW, it remains the case that it is illegal and that the full force of the law will be brought to bear," Ms Goward said.

A 68-year-old woman was charged on Thursday with carrying out the procedure and will face Campbelltown Local Court on October 3.

A 42-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were arrested last Friday and each charged with two counts of female genital mutilation.

They were granted bail to appear in Parramatta Local Court on September 26.

The court heard Vaziri, from Auburn, had no prior convictions and had close ties to the community.

"The defendant has no previous record and is a law-abiding citizen," his lawyer, Hussein Karimjae, told the court.

Vaziri's bail application was opposed by the police prosecutor, who said he posed a flight risk.

The court heard Vaziri held an Indian passport and was about to fly to India when he was arrested.

Magistrate Christopher Longley noted that if convicted, Vaziri would probably be jailed.

But he granted bail under "stringent" conditions, including a $20,000 bond.

"To the overwhelming majority of citizens, this is a most serious set of circumstances," the magistrate said.

Ms Goward would not reveal where the two girls were or who was caring for them, but said "they are safe, and not at risk of further harm".

Terror Australis:Syrian linked Muslims arrested in Australian Terroro raid

Australia, Victorian man arrested over Terrorism Offences

Yahoo News
September 12, 2012, 9:06 pm

A Melbourne man has been arrested in connection with terrorism offences.

Police raided a number of properties across Melbourne's southeast on Wednesday and say they expect to charge a man with collecting or making documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts.

There was no immediate threat to the community's safety, Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said.

Police targeted 11 properties in Melbourne's southeast, including the Al-Furqan Islamic Information Centre in Springvale, in simultaneous raids about 6am (AEST) on Wednesday.

They seized a number of items including a USB memory stick containing violent extremist materials, computer equipment, imitation firearms and a number of registered firearms, a joint AFP and Victoria Police statement said.

Police arrested a 23-year-old man from the southeastern suburb of Officer. He was expected to be charged on Wednesday night with collecting or making documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts.

The maximum penalty for the offence is 15 years' jail.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner for Crime Steve Fontana said the joint investigation was ongoing.

"I would like to reassure people that we have not identified any immediate threats that pose immediate concerns to the safety of the community and we will continue to work to ensure that all steps are taken to protect all members of the community," Mr Fontana said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Al-Furqan centre in Springvale, who did not want to be identified, said police arrived there at 6am (AEST) and stayed until about 6pm.

"They wouldn't allow anyone inside, they just cordoned it off," the man told AAP.

"They took a few things and gave us a receipt."

He said Al Furqan was an Islamic information centre and book shop.

"Everyone has been taken aback but you always have the feeling that these things can happen," he said.

He said police also raided a number of houses in the Springvale area.

"Muslims live here and they are checking things in the neighbourhood," he said.

The Al-Furqan centre also engages in religious instruction and conducts lectures on Islam.

Its website carries videos of Islamist militia fighting in the Arab world, such as the uprising in Syria, separatists in Mali and reports of the Taliban infiltrating the Afghan army.

Police briefed representatives of the local Islamic community in Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon saying 11 properties had been raided.

Islamic Council of Victoria president Ramzi el Sayed said Al-Furqan was on the fringes of the Muslim community and its leader, Sheik Haron, was not a member of the mainstream Muslim society.

He said the organisation also held Islamic classes and had recreational facilities which it used to attract younger people.

The raids were carried out in the suburbs of Narre Warren South, Craigieburn, Hallam, Officer, Springvale South and Noble Park.

The AFP's acting counter terrorism national manager Justine Saunders described the arrest as a positive outcome for the two agencies, which are committed to preventing terrorist activity.

"The result of today's operation demonstrates the importance of operations undertaken by Australia's Joint Counter Terrorism Teams, and is an example of proactive law enforcement action to prevent terrorist activity in Australia," Ms Saunders said in the joint statement.

"The AFP is committed to working with state and territory police, and the community in order to counter the ongoing and enduring threat of terrorism and ensure the safety and security of the community."

Mr el Sayed commended the police for consulting with the Islamic community as events unfolded.

"They carried out the raids showing a lot of respect including telling the women at some of the houses that they were coming in and for them to put on their headgear and scarves," he told AAP on Wednesday night.

"The whole landscape of terrorism is a tough area. It's a very fine line between what constitutes an offence and what doesn't.

"We have had some high-profile raids in the past and one of the outcomes was that we should be debriefed so we can be better prepared for the response rather than being on the backfoot."

Three Islamic extremists were jailed in December for 18 years over a 2009 plot to kill as many Australian soldiers as they could at Sydney's Holsworthy Army Base.

Victorian Supreme Court Justice Betty King told Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, 35, Saney Edow Aweys, 28, and Nayef El Sayed, 27, they should hang their heads in shame.

The trio plans to fight the convictions while prosecutors are also appealing their sentences. Two other Melbourne men were cleared by a jury over their alleged roles.

Fairfax reported the men arrested on Wednesday were Australian residents with a mixture of cultural backgrounds.

It said one whose house was raided condemned the police and intelligence services in a Facebook posting.

"And look at the tactics. They come early in the morning (6am) and break the door of the markaz and about 20-30 come to the door of my neighbour as well. He (the neighbour) is overseas and has no control over what's happening over here," he wrote.

"In the house are only his wife and children who have been followed in the house even to the point that one policewomen has to go with them when they change clothes!

"Also, there are two police cars parked in the front of units to check who is entering and exiting the units! Also, there are brothers living in the nearby house who have also being raided."

ASIO warns of rise in home-grown terrorism

ABC News
By chief political correspondent Simon Cullen
Tue Sep 4, 2012 5:19pm AEST

The nation's spy chief says Australia is increasingly at risk of home-grown terrorism. 

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general David Irvine says there has been a rise in the efforts of some Australians to support violent jihad, although the number remains "very small" in absolute terms.

"It's a fact that we continue to have in Australia people who believe that violence is the way to fulfil perceived religious obligations," Mr Irvine told a security in government conference.

"They reject outright Australia's right to democratic self-governance and our separation of church and state."

Mr Irvine says a mixture of good work and good luck has prevented more large-scale attacks like those seen on September 11, 2001.

Though, he says it would be dangerous to assume all future terrorism plots will be detected.

"The threat will remain as long as the proponents of violent jihad stay committed to the promotion of their objectives by violent means," he said.

"The suicide bomber, with an absolute belief in martyrdom leading to a blessed eternity in another world, remains a particularly dangerous phenomenon."

Mr Irvine says the security issue is not so much their beliefs but that they are prepared to use extremely violent measures to achieve their goals.

"We're seeing at the moment less importation of foreign terrorists... but of concern is a rise in efforts by Australians who wish to support acts of terrorism in Australia or travel overseas," he said.

He says ASIO is aware of a small but steady number of Australians seeking to travel overseas for terrorist training or to participate in armed conflict.

The ASIO boss says the intelligence agency is currently dealing with about 200 active counter-terrorism investigations.

Hussein's Arab Spring rolls on in Libya and Egypt

US Ambassador and Three Officials Killed in Libya

By Ibrahim al-Majbari, 
Yahoo News
Updated September 12, 2012, 

The American ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, and three officials were killed when a mob attacked the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, the interior ministry says.

"The ambassador was killed along with three other officials," said Wanis al-Sharif, the deputy minister of the interior, on Wednesday.

Stevens's death in Tuesday's attack was confirmed in a tweet by Mustafa Abu Shagur, the deputy prime minister.

Stevens, a career officer with the US foreign service, had been in the country for less than four months after taking up his post in the capital Tripoli in May.   

Fawzi Wanis, who heads the High Security Commission in Benghazi, confirmed that Stevens was at the consulate when it was attacked.

The envoy died when an armed mob protesting against a film deemed offensive to Islam attacked the US mission, just hours after Islamists also stormed Washington's embassy in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Stevens was reportedly killed when he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff. The protesters were said to be firing guns and rocket propelled grenades.

The film at the centre of the anti-US protests was made by an Israeli-American who describes Islam as a "cancer" and depicts the Prophet Mohammed sleeping with women, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Before confirmation of Stevens's death, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that a State Department official had been killed in the attack on the consulate, saying: "We are heartbroken by this terrible loss."

Abdelmonoem al-Horr, spokesman for the Libyan interior ministry's security commission, earlier said rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the consulate from a nearby farm.

Witnesses said the attackers ripped up a US flag, then looted the consulate before setting it on fire on the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

"Dozens of demonstrators attacked the consulate and set fire to it," said a Benghazi resident, who only gave his name as Omar, adding that he had seen the flames and heard shots in the vicinity.

Another Libyan witness said armed men, including ultra-conservative Salafists, had closed the streets leading up to the consulate.

The violent protest was strongly condemned by Libya's General National Congress, which in a statement expressed "outrage at the unfortunate attack against the American consulate in Benghazi".

The Libyan incident came after thousands of Egyptian demonstrators on Tuesday tore down the Stars and Stripes at the US embassy in Cairo and replaced it with a black Islamic flag, similar to one adopted by several militant groups.

Nearly 3000 demonstrators, most of them hardline Islamist supporters of the Salafist movement, gathered at the embassy in protest over the film, which was produced in the United States.

A dozen men scaled the embassy walls and one of them tore down the US flag, replacing it with a black one inscribed with the Muslim profession of faith: "There is no God but God and Mohammed is the prophet of God."

Egyptian police intervened without resort to force and persuaded the trespassers to come down. The crowd then largely dispersed leaving just a few hundred protesters outside the US mission, an AFP correspondent reported.

An Egyptian security official said on Wednesday that security has been stepped up in the area around the US embassy in Cairo following the protests.

"There is an increased security presence in central Cairo, particularly around the American embassy," the official told AFP, adding that no arrests had been made during Tuesday's demonstration.

Coptic activists said they would stage a vigil on Wednesday in protest against the film.

The Maspero Youth Union (MYU) and the Coalition of Coptic Egypt condemned "all sorts of contempt or disdain against any religion, as well as to the sowing of sedition between people who embrace different religions", the statement said.

The movie, Innocence of Muslims, was directed and produced by Sam Bacile, a 52-year-old real-estate developer from southern California.

"Islam is a cancer," Bacile told the Wall Street Journal of his crudely-produced film, which depicts the Prophet Mohammed variously sleeping with women, talking about killing children and referring to a donkey as "the first Muslim animal".

In Washington, Clinton said she had spoken with Libyan leader Mohamed al-Megaryef to coordinate extra support to help protect Americans working in Libya, and he had pledged his full cooperation.

"In light of the events of today, the United States government is working with partner countries around the world to protect our personnel, our missions, and American citizens worldwide," Clinton said.

 American ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens,US consulate Benghazi,Wanis al-Sharif,Tripoli, Mustafa Abu Shagur,US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,Abdelmonoem al-Horr,

Australian Mining: Labor Green Loon Policies working: Xstrata coal has announced the loss of 600 jobs from mines in the Bowen Basin in Queensland and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and BHP Billiton will close its open-cut operations at the Gregory coal mine near Emerald next month with the loss of a further 300 jobs. The cuts have been blamed on falling coal prices.

900 mining jobs to go in NSW and Queensland

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3587252.htm
Broadcast: 10/09/2012
Reporter: John Stewart
Xstrata coal has announced the loss of 600 jobs from mines in the Bowen Basin in Queensland and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and BHP Billiton will close its open-cut operations at the Gregory coal mine near Emerald next month with the loss of a further 300 jobs. The cuts have been blamed on falling coal prices.

Transcript
EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: BHP Billiton and Xstrata today announced a total of 900 jobs will be cut from the resources sector in Queensland and New South Wales. The mining companies are blaming rising costs, falling commodity prices and the high Australian dollar. 

John Stewart reports on the latest reversal of fortunes for the mining industry.

JOHN STEWART, REPORTER: BHP Billiton today announced it will close the Gregory coal mine near the Queensland town of Emerald. Three hundred jobs will go. The open cut mine has been operating since 1979. The mining industry says that tough times are ahead.

MICHAEL ROCHE, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL: Well certainly the days of easy money on the back of high commodity prices is behind us. The hard work is ahead of us of growing volumes, boosting productivity, getting costs down and holding on or growing our market share. So it's tough work from here.

JOHN STEWART: Xstrata Coal has also announced that 600 jobs will be cut from mines in Queensland's Bowen Basin and the NSW Hunter Valley. 

With a dozen sites in two states, Xstrata hasn't outlined exactly where the jobs will be lost, but the company says the cuts will affect both contract and permanent positions.

The Queensland Premier says that in the current climate, workers need to show restraint in wage claims.

CAMPBELL NEWMAN, QUEENSLAND PREMIER: I do make the point that it's quite appropriate that workers should share the rewards of the good times. But I do sort of ask everybody in the coal industry to recognise now that prices are off. It's not a time to be asking for huge increases in prices from subcontractors or indeed high pay rises for employees.

JOHN STEWART: But the miners’ union says that while labour costs are higher in Australia than some overseas countries, there are still many benefits for multinational companies operating in Australia.

ANDREW VICKERS, CFMEU, MINING AND ENERGY DIVISION: The reserves and the resources in Australia are so good. They are located so close to the coast. We have a marketing advantage, we have a freight advantage, we have a climate advantage - none of our mines get frozen for six months of the year like they do in places like Siberia and the northern parts of Canada. And we have significant political security, which isn’t the case in many developing countries.

STEPHEN SMYTH, CFMEU: A lot of them are still announcing enormous huge profits. So, you know, I'd like to think it's not profits before people. A lot of people are unsure about their future. We say the industry's still good, it's still strong and it'll pick up, but at this stage, for those that have been affected, it's a terrible situation.

JOHN STEWART: Today's job cuts come after last week's shock announcement by Fortescue Metals that it would cut 1,000 jobs in response to a plunge in iron ore prices.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have also shelved billions in investment plans as the outlook for demand from China becomes less certain.

The mining industry is also concerned about any future increases in government taxes.

MICHAEL ROCHE: Well I think there was a misconception that projects are impregnable, that you can throw any extra costs, any extra taxes at a resource project and they will keep standing tall and will keep rolling on.

JOHN STEWART: Resource analysts are anticipating more coal production cuts and layoffs.

John Stewart, Lateline. 

More Harmony Day's Down Under

The Bolt Report 9912

Australian Cameraman Decks Dirt Bag outside Court House

Australia’s richest mining magnates have lost around $15 billion over the past 4 months.

Mining moguls losing millions daily

Yahoo Finance

Australia’s richest mining magnates have lost around $15 billion over the past 4 months reports BRW. The plummeting price of iron ore, Australia’s biggest export, has contributed heavily to the decrease in net worth of some of Australia’s richest individuals.

Iron ore is used to make steel, and as demand wanes for steel in China the spot price for the resource has fallen almost 40 per cent since April. In one session alone, the price of the commodity slipped 5 per cent and ended at a two and half year low. 

Hardest hit by the price slump is Gina Rinehart, who has lost around $9.5 billion in four months, estimates BRW. Earlier this year, Rinehart had an estimated wealth of $29 billion which made her the richest woman in the world. If the world’s second richest woman, Walmart heiress Christy Walton, has not lost a significant part of her $25 billion dollar fortune it’s likely she has regained the top spot as the richest female on the planet.

Related: Rinehart loses title of world’s richest woman

While Rinehart looks to have lost almost a third of her total wealth, fellow outspoken mining mogul Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s wealth has fallen by more than $2 billion, estimates BRW.

Forrest, who had an estimated worth of $9.41 billion earlier in the year, has been forced to spend some $38 million in recent days to buy 10 million shares in his Fortescue Metals Group.

Investor anxiety about Fortescue’s massive debt level was rising as quickly as the iron ore price was falling before Forrest stepped in and increased his stake in the company.

Related: Fortescue boss hikes his shares by $39m

Related: Fortescue sells power station for $US300m

While Ivan Glasenberg is not as well known as the first two moguls he has still lost more than $1 billion over the past four months thanks to the price plunge. As the major shareholder in commodities trading giant Glencore International, Glasenberg has seen his wealth slump from $7.40 billion to $6.10 billion, estimates BRW.

Related: Grave global concerns for Australia’s economy

Lance Corporal Mervyn McDonald and Private Nathanael Galagher ,Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate ......are coming home.

Five Australian soldiers Killed in Action this week, are on their way home after being farewelled by their comrades in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan.
At the ceremony, Commanders paid homage and soldiers remembered fallen mates with heartfelt words. Australian soldiers and their coalition partners lined the route and saluted as a slow moving convoy of five Long Range Patrol Vehicles carried the soldiers to the Royal Australian C-130 Hercules for their final journey home.
The moving ceremony was also attended by senior Australian Defence Force, ISAF and Afghan National Security Force Commanders.
Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate from the 3 RAR Task Group were killed and two of their comrades wounded following an insider attack at Patrol Base Wahab in the Baluchi Valley region of Uruzgan on the evening of 29 August, 2012.
In a separate and unrelated incident Lance Corporal Mervyn McDonald and Private Nathanael Galagher from the Special Operations Task Group died when a ISAF helicopter crashed in Helmand Province in the early hours of 30 August, 2012.

The Bolt Report 2912 Pts. 1,2 and 3

The Bolt Report Pt.1 Sept. 2 2012,Andrew Bolt,Australian Politics,Tanya Pliberserk,Dental Health,Julia Gillard,Labor Spending,Wayne Swan,Dr. Martin Parkinson,Greg Combet,CO2 Tax SCAM,Bjorn Lomborg,Cap and Trade SCAM,European CO2Tax SCAM,Carbon Emmissions,

The Bolt Report Pt.2 Sept. 2 2012,Andrew Bolt,Australian Politics,Afghanistan,Australian Soldiers Killed,Green on Blue Murders,Julia Gillard,Andrew Wilkie,John Della Bosca,Mathias Corman,Liberal Party, Labor Party,Asylum Seeker Scam,Illegal Entrants,Open Borders,Nauru,John Howard, Tempory Protection Visas,Building and Construction Watchdog,CFMEU,Fairwork Australia,China,USA,BHP,Vote Buying,Mining Taxes,

The Bolt Report Pt.3 Sept. 2 2012,Andrew Bolt,Liberal Party,Australian Labor Party,Tanya Pliberserk,Sexism Card,Christine Forster,Gay Marriage,Bess Price,Northern Territory Elections,Sydney City Council Elections,Tim Tams, Clover Moore,Clint Eastwood,Mitt Romney,Made My Day,

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QANTAS Renamed by TV Host Carrie Bickmore

Five Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Patrick Lion, National Political Reporter
Daily Telegraph
August 30, 20126:11PM



FIVE Australian soldiers have been killed in two separate incidents in Afghanistan, in one of the darkest days of Australia's campaign.

In the first incident, three soldiers were killed in an attack in Oruzgan province by a man wearing an Afghan National Army uniform.

Two other soldiers were also wounded in the incident, Acting Chief of Defence Air Marshal Mark Binskin told a media conference in Canberra. 

In the second incident, two Australian Special Forces soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed in Helmand province.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has cut short her trip to the Pacific Islands Forum and will fly back to Canberra tonight. 

She said Australians would be grieving for the five dead soldiers in what was the worst day of deaths in combat since the Vietnam War.

"I believe this is the most losses in combat since the days of the Vietnam war and the battle on Long Tan,'' she told reporters.


"This is news so truly shocking that it's going to feel for many Australians like a physical blow.

"If we are feeling that, then it is hard to imagine what the families of these five men are feeling," she said.

"Their loss is immense, their grief will be sharp and our condolences go to each of them as they are confronted by this news."

The three soldiers killed in the first incident were all based at the Gallipoli barracks in Brisbane's Enoggera.

One was a 40-year-old lance corporal posted to the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment of the Queensland Mounted Infantry.

He was on his second tour of Afghanistan and had previously served in Iraq.