Mali another Islamic Utopia in the making,courtesy of Obama's "Peace Partners"

From amputations to army reprisal, it's hell

FLORAL BAGENAL, BAMAKO 
The Times 
January 28, 2013 12:00AM

AFTER being dragged from his home, blindfolded, kicked, beaten and taunted, truck driver Solemon Trarre thought the worst of his ordeal as a prisoner of Islamist militants in Mali was over.

He was wrong.

They tied him to a chair on a patch of land in the city of Gao. Militants crowded round, shouting, "God is great", and firing guns in the air. Then one of them cut off his hand with a kitchen knife.

"I was screaming and crying with pain and there was a lot of blood," said Trarre, 25, last week in Bamako, the capital, recalling the "operation" he underwent in October.

Trarre is one of hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the north of the country and the brutal law of amputations and stonings imposed by jihadist rebels across a territory twice as big as Germany.

Their tales of atrocities committed under the black al-Qa'ida banner, and reports of hardship in northern cities deprived of supplies, have added urgency to a northward push by French forces to liberate the ancient cities of Gao and Timbuktu.


According to Omar Toure, 28, a teacher who fled Timbuktu two weeks ago, battle-hardened Islamist militants are preparing for a long fight in the desert.

"There are training camps where fighters practise and even children are taught to handle weapons," he said.

Toure said a friend caught kissing his girlfriend was punished with a public flogging by militants, whose northern enclave has become a magnet for jihadist fighters from all over North Africa.

They have banned smoking and music and are said to have destroyed countless centuries-old texts that were hidden in houses in Timbuktu's warren of dusty streets.

Communications with the city were cut off last week after heavy French airstrikes in the area.

The city, famous in the West as a synonym for somewhere far from anywhere, has had no water or power for days.

Aid agencies warn of a looming humanitarian crisis amid fears that northern cities will run out of food and medical supplies.

"We pray they (the French) will come soon," said a resident of Gao.

French and Malian government forces yesterday reached the town of Hombori, one of the three largest under militant control. Their advance raised hopes that Timbuktu could be liberated in weeks.

But satisfaction in Paris and Bamako with the speed of the French advance has been tempered by reports of human rights violations by the West's latest ally in the war against terror, the ill-equipped army of Mali.

Corinne Dufka, a senior investigator for Human Rights Watch, said it had two credible accounts of suspected Islamist sympathisers being lined up and shot by soldiers in towns recaptured by the government over the past two weeks.

"We're talking about a dangerous rule-of-law vacuum," she said.

Up to 35 people are believed to have been killed by Malian soldiers in the days just before and after the French intervention.

Residents in the cities of Mopti, Sevare and Niono reported seeing bodies hastily buried by soldiers.

In one incident on January 10, the day before French airstrikes began, people are said to have been shot near a bus station in Sevare and their bodies thrown down a well.

In another incident in Konna, witnesses said jubilant Malian troops, buoyed by the sudden shift of power in their favour, ransacked homes, looting money and phones and dragging off a preacher accused of fighting with the rebels.

"The soldiers surrounded the house of a marabout (Koranic teacher) suspected of helping the jihadists," said Mohamone Omar. "He was taken away and no one knows what happened to him. We were told he was shot."

Gunshots have been heard from inside military camps where prisoners are held.

Men have been arrested simply because they have beards in the Islamist style, reports said.

Police are also involved in the crackdown: a suspected Islamist sympathiser was reportedly shaved in a police station.

There are concerns about reprisals against Tuaregs - one of the ethnic groups associated with the rebellion in the north - by the Malian military and militia supporting the government.

The army's woeful lack of supplies was demonstrated in a film on YouTube that showed soldiers making shooting sounds in training exercises because they did not have any bullets.

Trarre hopes the French will swiftly rid the north of the Islamists who mutilated him for hiding weapons left by fleeing government soldiers.

"I hope they dig a huge hole and bury those bastards alive in it," he said.

The Sunday Times

Islamic Science and innovation knows no limits all courtesy of Barack Hussein Obama's "Peace Partners" "God" the  Moon God allah.

Ah, the technology! The science! An actual invention from the Muslim world. Finally, an original invention. I hope we see its inclusion in the 1001 Muslim Inventions, a traveling museum exhibit.

Iran unveils machine for amputating thieves' fingers Jihadwatch

Coming to a suburb near You in the name of Multiculturalism and Diversity and don't forget Tolerance.

You object ? then you must be a RACIST!!!!!

K I L L!! THE RACIST!! K I L L!!THE INFIDEL!! in the name of

Multiculturalism,Diversity and Tolerance,

Littler Bub rescued by Helicoptor Mum trapped in flood

Australia: Queensland ,Tornados, "Catastrophic" weather conditions headed to NSW over next 24 hours

Australia: Queensland ,Tornados, "Catastrophic" weather conditions headed to NSW over next 24 hours

Australia's Finest,Private Nathanael Galagher.

"Then there was a knock at my door," Lance-Cpl Feeney said. "There were three men in army uniform standing there and I knew then.

" I knew instantly."

Digger's boy has father's fighting spirit

EXCLUSIVE LAURA SPERANZA
The Sunday Telegraph
January 27, 201312:00AM

HE has the same fighting spirit as the father he never met.

Three months before Jack Galagher was born, Private Nathanael Galagher died beside his mates on the battlefields of Afghanistan.

But even though the man she loved is gone, Jack's mother Lance Corporal Jessie Feeney rejoices every day that she has been blessed with a son who is so like him.

"He has his nature - he's really easy-going and happy in his own skin," Lance-Cpl Feeney said yesterday. "Nate was exactly the same."

Cradling her newborn boy, Lance-Cpl Feeney said one day she will tell him how special his Dad was.

"I want Jack to know his Dad like I did, like he's still here with us," Lance-Cpl Feeney said. "When Jack gets older, I'll be able to explain what happened. I want him to know his dad is a hero."

If one day Jack decides to follow his father's path and join the army it will come as no surprise to Lance-Cpl Feeney, who is a storewoman based at Holsworthy Barracks.

"If that's his choice, I will back him 100 per cent and I'll be proud of him," she said. "I'll be able to understand why, because he knows his Dad was a hero and he might want to follow in his footsteps."

Pte Galagher, 23, from Narrabri in the state's north, and Lance-Cpl Feeney, 22, met in 2007 while training in the Army. But it wasn't until they were both posted to Townsville that they fell in love - two years ago today. As they excitedly awaited the birth of their son, Pte Galagher departed for his second deployment in Afghanistan in July.

"He kissed my belly and he said 'I'll see you when I get back'," Lance-Cpl Feeney said.

He was killed beside his idol, Lance-Cpl Mervyn McDonald, on August 30 when their helicopter crashed in Helmand province as they were preparing for a late-night raid on a Taliban position.

When Lance-Cpl Feeney heard about the crash, it didn't cross her mind that her partner could be involved.

The pair had spoken via Skype just hours before.

"Then there was a knock at my door," Lance-Cpl Feeney said. "There were three men in army uniform standing there and I knew then.

" I knew instantly."

She was six-and-a-half months pregnant. Over the Australia Day weekend she reflected on and remembered her beloved "hero" who lived for the Army.

Never far from her thoughts are the troops still in Afghanistan. Her message to them is a simple one: "Keep your heads up. You're doing a great job and all of Australia respects and admires your hard work.

"Hopefully you'll be home soon to see your families.

"If anyone says to our troops they shouldn't be there, they don't agree with that. That's their job and that's what they love to do." As for her own future, she said: "It was only after I'd had Jack, it hit me that this was my life now Nate was gone and I was going to be a single mum."

Meet the Pious Alameddine Family: Exploite the Infidel at every opportunity especially of they are among the most vunerable.

Is there no level these Godless Swine, "Cultural Enrichment" Diversity Ambassadors  won't sink to?

Sydney's Occupied Territories: Tim Priest Down the Barrel of a Gun or Australia's Gun Laws

There have been comments made in the media recently abou the current Sydney shooting epidemic compared with the year 2000 which is still considered the "record" year for shooting incidents in our city.

Invariably the comparisons between the two time periods tend to play down the current
situation and perhaps make us feel a little relieved that things are not as bad as they were
more than a decade ago.

But there are distinct differences between the two time periods that have not
been publicly explained and they need to be.

The year 1999-2000 was the year that Cabramatta exploded into an all-out gang
war between two rival groups who were seeking control of Australia's heroin capital,
Cabramatta. Many of the murders that occurred were linked to the two warring
gangs or their associates.

In the main, the shootings were confined to a very small geographical area, much
smaller to where the shootings are occurring today. It was inevitable that both gangs
would ultimately destroy each other and that is what occurred, along with a long
overdue police crackdown on gang and drug offences.

Many of the gangsters died,were arrested and imprisoned or simply disappeared off the
face of the earth and as a result a war zone turned into a tourist hot spot.                   

However, these recent shootings in Sydney are occurring in a much wider area
of the city and they appear not to be confined to just two gangs. From what I have read     
and been told, the numbers of young men in southwest  Sydney that either carry or   
have access to handguns is simply staggering.

But what alarms me more,as a former detective who witnessed first-hand the
explosion in Cabramatta, is that the current shooting incidents can occur anywhere
and at anytime across south-west Sydney and for a multitude of reasons — not
just related to drug turf wars.
That anyone in certain areas of our city can quickly access a handgun to then use in a
minor dispute signals a clear and present danger to all of Sydney.

Cabramatta's problems were the result of years of neglect by police commanders
and a refusal to acknowledge the problem, let alone rectify it. That does not appear to be
 the case in southwest Sydney today where huge police resources are being applied.
Yet still they are having little deterrent effect.

To some extent, the shootings in southwest Sydney are also a legacy of the
previous government, which almost succeeded in ompletely disabling our  police force. 
It is slowly getting back on its feet but it is still very much a work in progress.                       

But at some point in time,the O'Farrell government will run out of excuses as to why _
they have been unable to curb this seemingly endless saga of gun-related crime. There is
also little or no chance that the Gillard government will be able to come up with a long-
term meaningful solution to this alarming epidemic.

So NSW will have to go it alone and they should be able to, given that they were given
the biggest mandate to govern in Australian electoral history almost two years ago.

The first thing Barry O'Farrell has to realise is that  none of the measures being
used now are having any impact on the gun violence problems here in Sydney.

There is no deterrent either from policing strategies and certainly none from the courts,
and therein lies the problem.

It's time to think outside the square and invent new strategies. I would start with
the NSW Crime Commission which has recently undergone a long needed re-invigoration
by Police Minister Mike Gallacher.The Crime Commission needs to be at the
forefront of measures taken to prevent and deter the south-western gangster mentality
that continues to attract a never-ending source of impressionable young men.

The commission operates almost entirely in a shroud of secrecy and for operational
reasons this must continue but consideration has to be given to also allow it to hold public
hearings just as the ICAC and the PIC do.

When gangsters are brought before the crime commission they are interrogated behind closed doors and no one apart from crime commission staff, police and defence lawyers know who they are. It's time that perhaps the cloak of anonymity that protects these thugs was lifted so the whole of Sydney can know who they are and where they operate.

We do this to corrupt cops and politicians so why not expose murders, gun runners and drug dealers in the same way? We might then see a new spirit of co-operation from previously reluctant neighbours and relatives who have vital information on specific incidents involving said gangsters.

There will be the usual screeching from the civil libertarians and defence lawyers but very few of them actually live in southwest Sydney and most probably think a drive-by is a McDonald's outlet.

The other more costly alternative is to hold a special commission of inquiry into organised crime in southwest Sydney and publicly expose anyone connected to the insidious trade in illegal drugs,firearms and its associated
violence.

 "It's time to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding crime families,whose very existence is often nurtured inadvertently bylaws meant to protect the average law abiding citizen."

The secrecy surrounding police operations into organised crime has its limitations, particularly if the evidence against these suspects falls short of the required criminal proofs needed for prosecutions. It's time to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding crime families,whose very existence is often nurtured inadvertently by laws meant to protect the average law abiding citizen.
The new consorting laws have to be relentlessly and ruthlessly applied by a dedicated police task ferce similar to those successfully used in the US to hunt down and prosecute hard to get felons.

And despite delivering the government's pre-election promise of record police numbers, there are by international standards,simply not enough police in NSW and, indeed, across the country. While police numbers rise slowly each year,organised crime is flourishing at an alarming rate simply because police resources are stretched to breaking point.

Perhaps a new federal government under Tony Abbott might do a Bill Clinton and federally fund a huge increase in state police numbers as the US President did during the 1990s, which resulted in massive drops in crime rates across America.

If not, the idea of special reserve police officers needs to be considered to bolster full-
time police numbers where and when they are needed.
Part-time cops are used throughout the western world, particularly in the US, and
they are extremely effective and economical.

Northern Ireland had the world renowned B Specials that operated during The Troubles and it could be done here.

What is needed to make our city safe again is innovation, not procrastination, and with his record mandate Barry O'Farrell is in the right place at the right time to leave a lasting legacy and set the standard for the rest of the country. If he doesn't then it is just a matter of years before Sydney becomes the not-so- proud owner of designated bandit zones and no-go areas and no one wants that.

The greatest mistake former PM John Howard ever made, 
Australia's ban on firearms has only ensured that the Non Criminal  / Gang member is unarmed and that it is business as usual for those who tell us daily that their only objective  is to eliminate Judeo Christian Civilization in Australia.

What were known as "South Western Sydney Suburbs" are now in reality, Sydney's Occupied Territories, where armed gangs of predominantly (Pious?) Middle Eastern Muslims roam at will, administering their very own "Cultural Enrichment" of Australia, under the auspicies of the Labor Green Loon's Multiculturalism / Open Borders Policies of Diversity and Cultural Enrichment.
The Australian Labor Party,the Greens, Progressives and their media apologists, tell Australians that we MUST celebrate DIVERSITY.
Gee even if your wife or daughter was gang raped "Leb Style" or your son was shot stabbed or beaten to death by any of the "Progressives" Cultural Enrichment Ambassadors, just think of the fun you and the surviving Infidel members of your family can still have every year at a Labor Green Loon sponsored "Harmony Day" spectacular paid for by YOUR TAXES.

Sitting Ducks

• 6 shooting fatalities since October
• 5 shootings this year
• 187 shootings since Barry O'Farrell was elected

2013
January 22-31-year-old man was shot in the leg while walking near the
intersection of Acacia Ave and Napoleon Rd, Greenacre.

January 20 - 24-year-old man shot in the chest and killed at Cidley
Crescent, Claymore.

January 15 - One man shotand killed, another wounded In the arm
following a shooting at Wetherill Hill at3:50pm.

January 13-Man shot in the stomach and chest at his home in
Homebush in what police believe was a targeted shooting.

January 9 - 32-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to his
head at Mullaway Bay.

2012
December 30,2012 - 21-year-old man shot in the stomach at Busby

December 24 - 22-year-old man shot in thecal fat Lansvale.

December 2D - Shots fired into a house at Panama. No one injured

December 18 - 28-year-old male shot and killed outside his home in
Punchbowl.

December 18 - Drive-by shooting at a home In Cherrybrook.

December 18 - Shots reportedly fired during an argument in Mosman.

December 18 - A single shot fired into a home in Milperra.

December 4 - Several shots were fired during an altercation between
two men in Auburn.

December 1 - A 23-year-old man attended Auburn Hospital with a
gunshot wound to his right lower leg.

November 29 - Drive-by shooting at a home in Hunter Ave, Lurnea in the
middle of the day. Two men and their mother escaped uninjured.

November 27 - One man killed and other injured after they were shot at
in broad daylight in Leumeah Ave,Punchbowl.

November 21 - Shots fired into home In Edgewater Drive, Bella Vista.

November 21-Shots fired into home in the vicinity of Cranbrook and
Salisbury Rd, Bellevue Hill.

November 21 - Man shot while sitting In car on Andy St,Guildford West.

November 7-Man found sertously injured from gunshot wounds on Rider
Boulevard, Rhodes.

November 5 - Three men shot outside wedding reception at a
function centre on Bareena St, Cahley Vale. A 23-year-old man later died of
his injuries.

October 23 - Shots fired In a home In Busby St,Busby.

October 21 - Shots fired into taxi on Fairmount St, Lakemba.

October 20 - Man shot in face in Newtown.

October 18 - Shots fired into home at Garnett St, Merrylands,

October 18 - Shots fired Into home at Caroline Chisholm Drive at
Winston Hills.

October 14 - One man shot dead and another seriously injured in a daylight
shooting In Greenacre.

October 10 - Double shooting Kfhilla and Rawson streets.Auburn.

October 9 - Shot fired during brawl on Charlton St, Woy Woy.

October 8 - Man suffered shot to his leg George St, Yagoona.

October 4 - Man found with gunshot wound, person charged,
Treuer Pde Bankstown.

October 3 - Man shot in the leg Boythorn Ave and Barnaby,
Ambarvale.

Above post sourced from the Daily Telegraph Saturday 26 Janurary2013 Pgs. 40 & 41

Liam Knight Fund Raiser Australia Day 2013

Peoples Republic of Canberra the Cocaine Capital of Australia

This article will explain why you can never get any sense out of a Public SERVANT Now REMEMBER why you pay taxes sweat in summer freeze in winter and turn your lights off at night.
Coked up in Canberra

Myles Peterson 
The Daily Telegraph 
January 26, 2013 12:00AM

CANBERRA '13: Stop the Coke. Nothing epitomises the current state of Canberra's economy better than a pair of cocaine-addled public servants spouting unwanted, acronym-laden rants at anyone unfortunate enough to fall within hearing range.

This is not a bad-taste Chaser joke. It is a real and regular occurrence, repeated across Canberra's bars and clubs on any given weekend.

This year, Canberra's local government will sacrifice a mountain of public cash (both local and federal) on the altar of celebrating itself. Hired spinmeisters have already labelled the expenditure a necessary, no, inspired act designed to bring a sense of pride in the nation's capital to all Australians.

When it first came into being, the Australian federal government employed 40,000 public servants, three-quarters of them postal workers. Since then the rise of Canberra's working-rich executive class has been arrow swift.

Today, the federal government boasts a quarter of a million employees, augmented by tens of thousands of public servants who report to the Australian Capital Territory government directly. Chances are, statistically speaking, most of them earn more than you do.

The Australian public service is graded in paramilitary fashion, complete with enlisted and officer ranks. But unlike the army, there are no longer any privates.

While the entry-level position of administrative service officer grade one (ASO1) still exists on paper, operationally, there are none. ASO4 represents the starting point for the majority of newly-minted public servants.

In the absence of junior positions, ASO levels 4 to 6 perform the role of worker bee, average salary $60,000 to $80,000. They keep the records, file the files, stamp the stamps and carry out orders handed down by the executive.

Above the ASO corporals and sergeants sit the executive classes, the "officers" who make up one quarter of the entire federal public service. One particular band, executive level one, or EL1, recently multiplied like a virus. An EL1 commands a salary of at least $100,000 (excluding incentives, allowances for parking, technology, travel, living away from home and the many, many junkets).

Between 2001 and 2011 the number of EL1s grew by more than 100 per cent - an epidemic of highly paid bureaucrats for whom million-dollar homes, a coastal holiday house and the odd cocaine binge are well within their price range. Thanks to the EL1 scourge, low-paid Canberrans suffer just as much as the public purse in a city labelled the 12th most expensive in the world in 2012 by Eurocost International.

EL1 bloat and the laissez-faire attitude to spending taxpayer dollars that underpins it has warped the entire Canberran economy. Utility prices are obscene. Housing prices worse.

Cashing in on the torrents of taxpayer cash flowing on to Canberra's gold-paved streets, local retailers and supermarkets charge prices found only in South Yarra and Vaucluse. Low-paid Canberrans have been steadily priced out of the city. Students cannot afford to rent anywhere, often taking drastic measures just to put a roof over their head. Many visiting undergraduates flee long before completing first year.

Savvy former public servants have taken the exploitation to absurd, some would argue corrupt, levels. Government-owned land is selectively released to cartels of ex-bureaucrats, who then make out like bandits on-selling postage stamp-sized blocks to Canberra's housing-desperate underclasses.

Panels, the only way to bid for a government contract, are stacked with insiders, making it impossible for outsiders to even put in a bid, no matter the competitiveness of the tender.

Canberra's elite regularly host opera events for themselves in a $100 million artificial forest, doomed to burn should the firestorm of 2003 - which cleared the site in the first place - ever return.

Dependant on government advertising for much of its revenue, local media rarely draws attention to these problems, themselves addicted to the public purse as a last remaining source of revenue.

Cocaine busts in Canberra have been spiralling upwards. Late last year, kilos of the stuff was discovered within just 1km of Parliament House. If frequent police and Customs claims that only 1 to 2 per cent of the illicit drug trade is uncovered are to be believed, hundreds of kilos, with a street value gauged in the millions, are potentially wandering the capital's streets looking for cashed-up buyers.

Canberra is a beautiful city. Hectares of manicured lawns and small forests surrounded by august and occasionally gaudy architecture. Life expectancy is world-first. Warped by the executive bubble, average incomes soar higher than any other city in Australia.

But that beauty disguises a dirty secret. Canberra rides a wave of federal money with only the not-so-focused eyes of our federal politicians to keep it in check. Canberra will never go bankrupt. It obeys no economic rules bar those loosely and ineffectively imposed upon it. Failure is measured in charts and spin and the quiet, oft unreported tones of a minister dumping an initiative, program or entire department, not commercial failure and bankruptcy.

Whichever coalition seizes government at this year's federal election, Liberals and Nationals or Labor and Greens, they would perform the Australian taxpayer, and many of the people and small businesses of Canberra, a great service by conducting a root-and-branch review of the country's public service.

Stopping the rorts, stopping the scams, stopping the EL1 scourge would benefit every Australian except those currently benefiting. And for pity's sake, Ms Gillard, Mr Abbott, whoever should prevail, please: Stop the coke.

Myles Peterson is a Canberra-based writer. Twitter: @MylesPeterson

Australia Day 2013

Egypt, Black America's "New Jesus" Hussein Obama's Arab Spring or just another streaming pile of Muslim Terrorist SHIT?

Atlas Shrugs, Pamela Geller proven RIGHT again

SIGN IN TAHRIR SQUARE: 'OBAMA YOU JERK, MUSLIM BROTHERHOODS ARE KILLING THE EGYPTIANS'...

"Read the rest of the sign. Will the media cover this? Never. Are they culpable? You bet they are. They are shamelessly carrying water for jihadists and a President who is advancing the most brutal, bloody and extreme ideology on the face of the earth."

Liam Knight : What Great Australia Day News this is

 Hang in there Mate!!!!!

Liam's smile best tonic for heartbroken family

CLEMENTINE CUNEO, POLICE REPORTER 
The Daily Telegraph
January 26, 2013 12:00AM

IT was the cheeky smile that signalled to Liam Knight's family he was alive.

As doctors removed the breathing tubes from the critically ill teen's throat on Thursday to see if he could breathe unassisted, Liam's older brother Shane cracked a joke to lighten the mood.

"I said: 'Liam, it's my birthday in a few days, what are you buying me?'," Shane said yesterday.

Liam's response was the greatest gift of all to an anxious family who have maintained an around-the-clock vigil at his bedside since he suffered horrific injuries at a party almost a fortnight ago.

"He just looked up and gave this enormous smile. It was amazing," Shane said. "It was the first time I recognised Liam again since it all happened."

One of Liam's other brothers, Kyle, captured the milestone on his iPhone.

Doctors have told the Knight family that Liam, 17, is still in a serious condition and has a long road to recovery ahead of him.

But Liam's smile was just the tonic the people closest to him needed.

"There really hasn't been anything too positive until then, so it was pretty exciting," Shane said.

"Mum said she felt like it was Christmas. He's gone from his death bed to looking up and smiling at us."

I thought this kid was history, so good to see he is on the way back

When Liam was rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital late on January 11, doctors told his family things were not good. He had been hit in the head with a metal bar, allegedly thrown by a gatecrasher at an 18th birthday party in Forestville, on Sydney's northern 
beaches.The rusted metal bar that had pierced his skull not only caused severe damage to his brain, but also a serious infection.

"When I saw him that night in hospital with all the tubes, I thought he'd never recover," Shane said.

"We were pretty much told to prepare for the worst, but you never want to think that, you want to remain hopeful, and we did.

"We've been told we won't know exactly what damage has been done for a while, until he tries to do things like talk or walk."

While his family remained at Liam's bedside, the local community has been rallying behind him.

A barbecue fundraiser will be held today from 11am at Woolworths, Frenchs Forest, with all proceeds going towards Liam's ongoing care.

Liam worked there part-time and his mother Mary and one of his brothers are also employees. "They are very much part of the Woolworths family and Liam's colleagues at the Frenchs Forest store were very keen to do something to help out," a Woolworths 
spokeswoman said.A 16-year-old male from North Ryde has been charged over the incident.

23 JAN 13 @ 12:01AM

Liam support day at St Pius X college

AROUND 100 well-wishers gathered to write get-well messages for attack victim Liam from St Pius X College.

17 JAN 13 @ 09:20AM

North Ryde youth accused of hurling metal pole at party denied bail

A North Ryde boy accused of hurling a metal pole like a javelin at another youth appeared in court yesterday.

16 JAN 13 @ 11:49AM

Boy charged with spearing Sydney teen denied bail

A boy charged with spearing a 17-year-old with a metal rod during a birthday party was denied bail yesterday.

16 JAN 13 @ 12:01AM

St Pius X College sends prayers and messages for Liam Knight

THE ST Pius X College school community is offering its prayers and writing messages in a special book

16 JAN 13 @ 12:01AM

Call for witnesses to attack on Liam Knight

POLICE are calling for witnesses to come forward following an attack by gatecrashers on the weekend. 

Brian Wilshire's response to a "Warmist's" email on Anthropogenic Global Warming

Australia : The Obeids "Goodfellas" - Labor Inc. ICAC

NSW Labor Inc.: The story so far...

The Daily Telegraph
January 24, 2013 12:00AM

It's alleged Ian Macdonald passed on inside information to the Obeid family, including his former political ally Eddie Obeid, who had bought land in the coal-rich area before the tender process was reopened.

The inquiry heard Mr Macdonald also made the decision to exclude large companies from bidding for the exploration licences, an "unprecedented" move which caused outrage in the industry.

This investigation is considered the public watchdog's most important case to date, with an explosive opening address revealing this may be the greatest-scale corruption by state-elected officials in more than 200 years.

Two former premiers, Morris Iemma and Nathan Rees, gave evidence at the inquiry.

Both said they knew their leadership was in trouble when they stood up to Mr Obeid, a Labor powerbroker.

A former family friend told ICAC that Eddie's son Moses had boasted of the $100 million wealth which would come to the family from the licences, adding "Ian's going to help dad out".

Another witness, family associate Arlo Selby, said in a statement tendered to ICAC that Moses described Mr Macdonald as being "in on the deal" and "that's how we can guarantee we will win any tender we go for."

The Obeids and their associates are alleged to have given the seven owners of successful bidder Cascade Coal secret information to win the coal exploration licence and re-sell it for a profit.

It's alleged Cascade Coal decided the Obeids needed to be paid out of the deal, with $30 million in "sanitation" money given to them for their 25 per cent stake.

The hearing is yet to hear from the main players. Mr Macdonald, Mr Obeid and his sons will be called in coming weeks.

At the end Commissioner David Ipp will prepare a report and decide if the case is to be referred to the DPP for possible criminal charges.

Very good fortunes of Obeids laid bare

AMY DALE COURT REPORTER 
The Daily Telegraph
January 24, 2013 12:00AM

A SNAPSHOT into the Obeid family fortune was revealed yesterday as one member of the colourful clan admitted to the ICAC that a "brand spanking new Mercedes" was paid for with funds from their secret mining stake.

The Obeid family ledger and trust fund deed, tendered yesterday during a fiery day of evidence at the corruption watchdog, shows former Labor powerbroker Eddie used a payment from the sale of the family's share in a mining venture to splash out on the luxury $400,000 car.

His son-in-law, living in a million-dollar Sydney home while on a $55,000 salary, was also questioned about whether a deposit on a waterfront property made by Eddie Obeid's wife Judith came from their earnings in a mining tenement.

It emerged the family received $15 million into their accounts through the sale of their share in the Mount Penny tenement - the area at the centre of the current corruption hearing.

The ICAC is investigating allegations former resources minister Ian Macdonald rorted the tender process for the coal mining exploration licences in the Bylong Valley in 2008 and provided inside information to the Obeid family.

The detailed trust documents were tendered to yesterday's hearing despite an objection from the former Labor powerbroker's barrister Stuart Littlemore QC as evidence was heard of a complicated system of payouts between the Obeid family members.

Mr Obeid's son-in-law Hassam Achie spent a testy few hours in the witness box as he faced rapid-fire questioning from Geoffrey Watson SC, the counsel assisting the inquiry.

Mr Achie, who the ICAC heard makes $55,000 a year as a financial controller for the Obeids, said he was unsure of what the payments were about, even though he was the trustee of the company which received them.

"Do you know that Eddie Obeid Snr bought a brand spanking new Mercedes," Mr Watson asked.

"That was actually leased," Mr Achie said.

"Did you know that the money came out of the money from the sale of shares in Mt Penny," Mr Watson asked.

"Some money got put towards the car, yes," Mr Achie replied.

Loans were paid out to family members, including Eddie and Judith's nine children, through a complicated trust fund trail, the ICAC heard.

Mr Achie, married to Mr Obeid's daughter Fiona, said he wasn't familiar with who the beneficiaries of some trusts were, and he would move money around only on instruction from "the (Obeid) boys".

He denied Mr Watson's suggestion that he was "a front" for the family but agreed he had "no independent authority to make a decision" on finances.

He said he couldn't be sure if a deposit made on a multi-million-dollar home in Woolwich for Judith Obeid, his mother-in-law, came from the Mount Penny profit.

"All I knew was ... they had done some particular deal regarding a particular tenement," he said.

He said when he was told by Eddie's sons Paul and Damien Obeid that almost $15 million was to be paid into the account for Calvin Holdings, the company of which he was trustee, that the funds were "for the sale of some shares".

"Did Calvin Holdings pay tax on that $15 million," Mr Watson asked.

"No it didn't ... when the distributions are made the individuals pay the tax," Mr Achie replied.

"Who ... received that money," Mr Watson asked.

"It was the (Obeid) boys and some of the wives," Mr Achie replied.

Fiona Obeid doesn't work but together the couple has a home in Hunters Hill valued at close to $1.5 million with a $1 million renovation planned, the inquiry was told.

The ICAC also heard yesterday that no evidence potentially clearing Mr Macdonald of corruption allegations about his reopening of mining exploration licences emerged during secret hearings.

It was revealed that former premier Kristina Keneally- who reinstated Mr Macdonald to Cabinet after he was sacked by her predecessor Nathan Rees- would not be called to give evidence at the inquiry, which is expected to run for several more weeks.

The decision -made because her evidence wasn't considered relevant to the allegations- led to Mr Macdonald's barrister Tim Hale SC asking for a copy of her compulsory examination , a request the commission refused.

Mr Hale said Mr Rees's evidence at the ICAC last year suggested Ms Keneally's successful challenge for the premiership was "due to the influence of Mr Obeid and (Joe) Tripodi" and meant Mr Macdonald was "beholden" to the pair.

"(We want) the transcript of compulsory examination which may be exculpatory of Mr Macdonald and inconsistent with the allegations made against him," Mr Hale said.

"I cannot recall one instance of any evidence exculpatory of Mr Macdonald," ICAC Commissioner David Ipp said.

"But I accept that somewhere in there, there may be something that does exist ... I personally cannot recall any such evidence.

"There was a great deal of evidence from other witnesses dealing with other matters demonstrating the degree of influence of Mr Obeid and his support of Mr Macdonald."

The inquiry continues.

Cunning accounts in which they trust

Janet Fife-Yeomans 
The Daily Telegraph
January 24, 2013 12:00AM

AS a lesson in accounting it was a stark reminder to all of us about where we're going wrong.

For a start, we are not members of the tight-knit Obeid clan.

We don't have a network of family companies and family trusts to lend us money on which we don't need to pay tax - because it is a loan.

A big loan for a house, a smaller loan for household expenses, another loan to pay off a credit card or for pool maintenance bills. Company cars.

The loans are offset against any disbursements from profits the trusts may make at the end of the year but, as son-in-law and family financial controller Sam Achie explained yesterday, disbursements only come after he, the Obeid brothers and family accountant Sid Sassine sit down and work out the "best tax-effective position".

That has meant no substantial sums have been distributed to the Obeids from the trusts over the past 10 years.

Lugubrious Commissioner David Ipp wondered out loud about how Achie, on $55,000 a year, and his wife Fiona, who doesn't work, could shoulder the burden of a $1,145,000 Hunters Hill townhouse for which the council has approved a $1 million renovation.

It was all a loan from the trust, said Achie, before he proved that listening to accountants is not all that boring as he burst out in seeming anger and frustration at the commission: "I don't understand what I'm here for, it's just crazy."

Most of us work for a wage, not for a lucky handout, but the rest of the city's millionaires' club no doubt have similar accounting practices.

The Obeids' income and tax arrangements are now out there for all to see, despite the best interests of their lawyers to have the previously private details and personal spending habits suppressed yesterday.

In fact, the family is so obsessed with privacy it has front men hiding that they are involved in some deals. Privacy was the reason a couple of their front men gave to the commission yesterday. Nothing sinister.

With the greatest of respect to my own accountant, I'm going to join the queue forming outside the office of Mr Sassine come the end of this financial year.

Labor Values