Lennon speaks at police corruption probe

Former Tasmanian premier Paul Lennon has changed his evidence to a corruption hearing for the state's suspended police chief Jack Johnston.

Johnston has pleaded not guilty to disclosing official secrets to Mr Lennon and current Police Minister Jim Cox in April last year.

Johnston is charged with illegally telling them the details of a police investigation involving cabinet ministers who were potential suspects in a corruption probe to do with two senior judicial appointments.

Mr Lennon told the Hobart Magistrates Court on Wednesday that it was highly probable he knew about the "secret" before Johnston told him on April 11, 2008.

His comments change his earlier evidence.

Mr Lennon had said in a statutory declaration that he first learned of an investigation involving cabinet ministers and two judicial appointments when Johnston told him on that day last April.

On Wednesday, under questioning by defence lawyer Terry Forrest QC, Mr Lennon said it was "highly probable" he knew about a police investigation before April 9, 2008.

Mr Lennon also said Johnston was duty bound in his role of secretary to the Department of Police and Emergency Services to provide him with a full and detailed brief of the investigation at that meeting so as to allow him to answer an opposition question in parliament.

Mr Forrest later described Mr Lennon's inconsistency as being "simply a witness's memory being better with time and thought".

Tasmania's Solicitor General Leigh Sealy also gave evidence to the hearing on Wednesday.

He also said Johnston was legally bound in his role as a department secretary under the Westminster system to provide timely, full and accurate the advice to Mr Lennon and Mr Cox.

"No servant of the crown has the authority to act unlawfully," he said.

The case continues.

aap 25 Mar 2009

Rival bikie gangs are forging alliances with other gangs to bolster their power on Sydney's streets (what for - to sell fluffy toys for charity ??? !!! ???), according to reports.

The group Notorious, believed to be the catalyst for recent gang-related shootings and bloodied violence sweeping Sydney, has joined forces with the Rebels, the Daily Telegraph reports.

PHOTOS: Bloodied bikie gang war

And their rivals, the Bandidos, have united with Brothers 4 Life, another gang based in Auburn in western Sydney.

Authorities and "inside" sources were quoted as saying that Notorious and the Bandidos were forming alliances to increase their weapons stock.

The war between the two gangs is believed to have sparked at least five drive-by shootings in the past fortnight.

One man has been charged with gun possession but no one has been charged over the spate of shootings.

Meanwhile, the president of another outlaw motorcycle gang, the Comancheros, has asked for police to guarantee the safety of bikie leaders as they discuss ways to end the so-called "turf war".

Comancheros leader Mick Hawi yesterday contacted other prominent bikie members to begin peace talks.

Comancheros lawyer Lesly Randle said Mr Hawi had ordered members not to ride bikes or wear their emblem or colours until the community felt safe.

But his efforts have been rejected, with some bikie insiders saying it is a calculated move to ward off future legal problems.

"He is just assuming he is going to be pulled in next so he wants it to look good when they do," the source was quoted as saying.

"It is going to get worse before it gets better."

ninemsn 26 Mar 2009

The bikie gangs are involved in drug production distribution as well as prostitution, and the law is FULLY aware of this.

It is only thorough acts that spill out into the community, the law MUST be seen as TRYING to do something.

Trouble hot spots ( e.g Griffith, Adelaide Hills ) are well known to the public therefore the Police as well. They are NOT shut down, as there are too many people involved in 'respectable' positions of authority.

There are (shady) laws created that can lock up an INDIVIDUAL for TERRORISM, BUT there are gangs that BLATANTLY TERRORISE and NOTHING is done.

Australia's Richest Executives

(illustration : Penelope Maclagan)

Mr Stensholt also said it was sad there were not more female executives on the list. Computershare's executive director, Penelope Maclagan, was one of five women on the list, with shares worth $114.8 million.

ninemsn

Still a MANS world in the corporate / financial sector,
no matter how hard we try, or for whatever reasons.

Overland keen to sack rogue cops quickly

Victoria's new police chief wants greater powers to sack rogue officers.

Chief Commissioner Simon Overland will urge parliament to amend regulations to give him the right to sack on the spot any officer caught doing the wrong thing.

Dozens of police are currently on suspension, many facing misconduct or criminal charges.

"We currently have, or normally have, between 50 and 60 police suspended at any one time, for a range of reasons," Mr Overland told journalists on Wednesday.

"With 50 or 60 people out of the workforce that is a 24-hour police station that in effect we are not able to operate because those people are suspended."

Mr Overland said he wanted the same powers other employers had to dismiss workers whose misconduct was beyond question.

"If we have caught someone with literally their hand in the till - as for any other employer, they can pretty much then and there dismiss - and I just want to be in the same position," Mr Overland said.

He made the call as the Victorian Parliament prepares to consider next week amendments to the Police Regulation Act.

Under current laws, the chief commissioner can sack police he has lost confidence in but the process can take years (why ??? - because the laws are made for CRIMINALS) and has been the subject of a successful court challenge.

Mr Overland said the current system was costly, time consuming and contentious and he would give up his "loss of confidence" powers if the new proposals were accepted.

Michael Strong, the director of the police watchdog the Office of Police Integrity (OPI), supported Mr Overland's call.

"As OPI has consistently reported, the police discipline system is antiquated, barely functional and in dire need of reform and I support any changes in that direction," he said.

But Victorian Police Association secretary Greg Davies said the odds were already stacked against police accused of doing the wrong thing and the proposed changes would make it worse.

"It is a reverse of the onus to prove guilt. An accused copper has to prove they are innocent," he said.

"You have to declare associations, coppers are not allowed to have contact with persons that are suspended who might assist you in formalising a defence.

"You are against the best prepared legal team so how do you prove your innocence?"

25 Mar 2009

And they are only the ones that have been 'caught'....

Corrupt Police are known to work with criminals within the manufacture and supply of drugs and illegal prostitution.

The REAL figures are hidden from journalists.

Vandals attack ex-UK bank chief's home

Vandals have attacked the home of a former British banking boss amid ongoing public outrage at his pension payout of about STG700,000 ($A1.48 million).

Police were called to the Edinburgh home of former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin about 4.30am local time on Tuesday after three ground-floor windows were smashed.

The windows of a Mercedes S600 parked in the driveway of the two-storey stone villa were also broken.

Sir Fred, 50, sparked anger when he took early retirement late last year after the bank was given a STG20 billion ($A42.23 billion) cash injection from the British government.

RBS revealed last month that it made a STG24.1 billion ($A50.89 billion) loss in 2008, the biggest loss in British corporate history.

Detectives were examining the damage at Sir Fred's home on Tuesday morning.

It is believed he was not at home when vandals attacked.

When he left his job last October, Sir Fred rejected repeated calls for a cut in his pension payout, which was branded as "obscene" by some MPs and "unjustifiable" by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Sir Fred earned the nickname "Fred the shred" for cutting hundreds of jobs during his nine years at RBS

ninemsn 25 Mar 2009


The Banking and Finance is a VERY private and ELITE 'boys club'.

The 'official' news in the 'mass media' state the the worlds LARGEST DEPOSITS of GOLD are in LONDON and NEW YORK.

The 'Anglo' - Masonic capitals of the financial world.

Ladette to Lady

Occupying the 'masses' with gutter trash.

The Australian 'mass media' especially in the free to air arena has taken a downward spiral to produce 'MIND NUMBING' trash TV.

The product is not so much the concern, as is the amount of 'viewers' that are drawn into this.

Entertainment is VITAL for society, BUT it is with the advent of a 'OFF SWITCH', that is the saving grace.

Bikie chief calls for peace talks

The national president of the Comancheros is calling for high-level peace talks between bikie gang leaders to ease public fears of an all-out war.

Bikie chief Mick Hawi said he was aware members of the public were concerned for their safety, and has given his members strict orders barring them from wearing gang colours or riding their bikes.

In a statement released via his Sydney lawyer, Lesly Randle, Mr Hawi said he wanted to meet with fellow bikie leaders.

"Mr Hawi has instructed to me to inform the media that at this stage due to the concern raised by the general public ... (there will be) no riding of bikes at the moment, no wearing of colours," she told reporters.

"He has invited other persons of influence to a meeting to discuss the issues."

Mr Hawi's call for calm came as four Comancheros reappeared in Sydney's Central Local Court charged with affray over the violent bikie brawl at Sydney airport on Sunday that left 29-year-old Anthony Zervas dead.

The same incident saw Hells Angels leader Derek Wainohu stood down from his $100,000-a-year job at the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA).

Mr Wainohu was allegedly at the airport when the brawl occurred.

He was put on a good behaviour bond last year after being convicted of affray, possessing an offensive implement and using unlawful violence.

The charges related to threats made by a hammer-wielding Mr Wainohu in July last year.

Roads Minister Michael Daley said Mr Wainohu would be suspended with pay while investigations were carried out into the incident at Sydney airport on Sunday.

However, Mr Daley said an investigation had cleared concerns raised earlier by the state opposition that Mr Wainohu may have access to people's personal details, including their addresses, via the RTA database.

"The RTA has a code of conduct whereby if an employee brings the RTA into disrepute they may be subject to a disciplinary process," Mr Daley said in a statement to AAP.

"There have been no reports of incidents at work involving Mr Wainohu during his 17-year career with the RTA."

NSW is considering legislation, similar to that adopted in South Australia, making it an offence to be part of an outlaw motorcycle gang.

The legislation would also restrict what types of jobs bikie gang members can have.

Premier Nathan Rees said he did not envisage the RTA becoming a prohibited employer, saying it was not a "high-risk job" like a security guard or a bouncer.

Meanwhile, the federal opposition says cutbacks to sky marshals are to blame for a fatal bikie brawl at Sydney Airport.

Opposition justice and customs spokeswoman Sussan Ley says the brawl could have been prevented if a sky marshal was aboard the flight, and was able to warn Australian Federal Police before passengers alighted.

"If a sky marshal had been on the flight when the bikies were causing alarm to passengers on Sunday, they could have picked up on their behaviour and intervened early to prevent the situation deteriorating," Ms Ley said in a statement.

The sky marshal program, introduced by the Howard government in 2001, has weathered budget cutbacks.

"The Rudd Labor has cut the number of sky marshals patrolling flights and keeping Australians safe in our skies and our airports," Ms Ley said.

The coalition has called on the government to restore sky marshal numbers and increase funding to the AFP and the Australian Crime Commission.

25 Mar 2009

It is a well known fact that criminals occupy 'positions of authority'. The government 'justifies' this by saying that 'strict' laws a put in place, but in reality they are INEFFECTIVE .

Norman vs Andrassy

Golfer Greg Norman says the end of his first marriage lifted a burden from his back.
Norman and his new wife, former tennis star Chris Evert, spoke for the first time about his divorce and their marriage on the Nine Network's 60 Minutes on Sunday.
The story followed an interview with Norman's former wife Laura Andrassy, aired on Nine's A Current Affair program last year.
"It's an amazing thing when a certain amount of burden is taken off your back and a certain amount of freedom is given back to you, so your happiness comes through in a lot of ways and it's reflected right across the board for me," Norman said.
"I enjoy being around my friends more now than I have ever been before.
"Some of my friends were controlled ... I wasn't allowed to be friends with my friends in a lot of ways, so it's just good to be me."
Norman said his life had changed for the better since he has been with Evert. "Oh my Gosh. This is a new space in life. You feel like there is no manufacturing. You are who you are," he said.
"So when you actually find each other - your soulmate in life, if you want to call it that - you know it's that."
Norman said he and Ms Andrassy had been seeing a marriage counsellor for years before the split.
He said Ms Andrassy demanded a divorce in December 2005.
"She packed her bag. My parents were at the ranch (with them) and Laura said, `Aren't you going to tell `em?', right in front of them, and I was, `OK, Laura's asked for a divorce and she's leaving'. That was it. I drove her to the airport, and that was it. That's a fact. That's how the situation started unravelling."
Evert, who Ms Andrassy described as "predatory", denied any affair with Norman before the couple split.
"I think her accusations come from a place of pain and I'm shocked - astounded. That wasn't the scenario at all," she said.
"There's just no turning back, and you are aware of the consequences and the hurt and everything, but love is a funny thing," Evert said.
Norman and Ms Andrassy divorced in 2006.
He and Evert married in a lavish $2 million ceremony in June 2008, on an island the couple rented in the Bahamas.
Ms Andrassy received a reported $US100 million ($A162 million) of Norman's estimated $US300 million ($A487 million) fortune.

ninemsn 2 Mar 2009

The Shark gets Bitten.

Jane vs Jane

THE tyre tycoon Bob Jane admits the signature looks like his but yesterday he denied signing a mortgage to pay off $1.5 million of his former wife's credit card debts.

The Supreme Court in Melbourne heard Laree Jane was an "extravagant spender" who had owned 41 credit cards and could not live within an $800,000 yearly allowance during her marriage.

David Collins, SC, for Mr Jane, said Ms Jane had once spent $1.5 million on credit cards within three years.

He said the debt was cleared with a mortgage taken out on Mr Jane's family home that he had no memory of signing.

By April 2007, Mr Collins said, Ms Jane had amassed another $650,000 in debt with her taste for pearls and "an unwillingness to try and exercise any control over her spending".
Mr Jane and his former wife are locked in a legal battle over two Bob Jane T-Mart franchises that have been operated by Ms Jane, her sister Natarsha Ryan, and brother-in-law Glenn Ryan.

The court heard the Bob Jane Corporation tried to terminate the franchise agreements of the Essendon and Taylors Lakes stores because of hundreds of thousands of dollars of unpaid franchise debts.

Mr Collins said the businesses' bank accounts were being drained by Ms Jane and the Ryans to pay for personal expenses and property investments.
Kate McMillan, SC, for Ms Jane, has said Mr Jane was reclaiming the businesses to punish his former wife after their relationship turned sour at the end of 2006.

Following the couple's bitter break-up, Mr Collins said, Ms Jane was initially paid $30,000 a month for personal expenses.

But he said when the payments stopped she resorted to raiding the franchises' bank accounts to pay off her overused credit cards.

Ms Jane met Mr Jane, a former racing car driver, when she was 19 and he was 55. They were together for 20 years and have three teenage children. Ms Jane did not acknowledge (Why ??? !!! ??? - Because he did NOT pay her credit card bill ??? !!! ??? ) her former husband's entrance as he slowly made his way to the front of the court.

The case before Justice Peter Vickery continues.

smh 22 May 2008

I'd be SMILING too if some one else was to pay my credit card bill !!

A pure and unadulterated O.H'S

Speilberg vs Irving

Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg's first marriage, to actress Amy Irving, ended in 1989 with his ex-spouse awarded roughly half of the filmmaker's fortune, about $100 million.

Costner vs Silva

Screen star Kevin Costner had an estimated $80 million settlement obtained by his first spouse, Cindy Silva, whose 16-year marriage to the actor spanned his peak earning years.

And 'she' contributed ????

$70,

as in Eddie Murphy's comdey sketches, on Johnny Carson's divorce $300 million and...... 70 dollars...

Cruise vs Kidman

When Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman parted in 2001 it was reported that, in dividing up their reputed fortune of $350 million, Kidman got $4.3 million, a five-bedroom mansion in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles and a house in Sydney, Australia. Cruise kept the couple's $10.5 million estate in Telluride, Colorado, as well as his three planes.

An alarming rate of men end up financially worse off than their counterpart.

Wave good bye to your 'hard ' earned CA$H, buddy.

Jordan vs Vanoy

Basketball great Michael Jordan paid an estimated $168 million (84 million pounds) to his wife of nearly 18 years, Chicago bank officer Juanita Vanoy, when they divorced in November 2007.

McCartney vs Mills

Former Beatle Paul McCartney was ordered on Monday, March 17, 2008 to pay his estranged wife Heather Mills $52.3 million (24.3 million pounds) after an acrimonious divorce battle.

ninemsn

McCartney : Zero, Mills : Won !

Short and Sweet - Pure O.H'S (and that's NOT Occupational Health and Safety..... althought in some cases this CAN be a concern.).

Divorcee 'can't live on $63 million'

A 36-year-old Swedish countess divorcing a former CEO amid accusations of extramarital affairs is arguing she has too many expenses and cannot live on a mere $US43 million ($A63.16 million).
Marie Douglas-David, a former investment banker, says she has no income and needs her 67-year-old husband, George David, to pay her more than $US53,000 ($A80,000) a week - more than most US households make in a year - to cover her expenses.
David stepped down last year as chief executive at Hartford-based United Technologies Corp but is still chairman of the board and has an estimated net worth of $US329 million ($A497 million). He and his wife accuse each other of extramarital affairs, and their divorce trial started on Wednesday.
"I'm just very sad that we are where we are," Douglas-David said. "I hope we resolve this soon so everybody can move on with their lives."
David briefly took the stand on Wednesday. Asked if his marriage is irretrievably broken, he answered simply, "Yes."
David and Douglas-David married in 2002, but the couple was in trouble by 2004, court papers show. Amid a series of reconciliations, the duo signed a postnuptial agreement in October 2005 that would give her $US43 million ($A63.16 million) when they divorced.
Douglas-David wants the agreement invalidated. She accused her husband of coercing her to sign it by preying upon her fears of being divorced and childless. She's asking to be awarded about $US100 million ($A151 million) in cash and stock, plus $US130,000 ($A196,400) a month in alimony.
David is asking a judge to uphold the agreement and order Douglas-David to vacate their Park Avenue apartment but keep their properties in Sweden. His attorneys asked for a separate hearing on Wednesday on the document's validity, but the judge declined.
Douglas-David has filed court papers showing she has more than $US53,800 ($A79,024.68) in weekly expenses, which include maintaining a Park Avenue apartment and three residences in Sweden. Her weekly expenses also include $US700 ($A1,028.2) for limousine service, $US4,500 ($A6,609.87) for clothes, $US1,000 ($A1,468.86) for hair and skin treatments, $US1,500 ($A2,203.29) for restaurants and entertainment, and $US8,000 ($A11,750.88) for travel.
At that rate, Douglas-David would burn through $US43 million ($A63.16 million) in less than 16 years.
Anne Dranginis, an attorney for David and retired Connecticut Appellate Court judge, predicted that Douglas-David will get much less money in the divorce if she doesn't accept the terms of the postnuptial.
In court papers, Douglas-David said she quit her job as an investment banker for Lazard Asset Management to travel and entertain with David, who still earns $US1 million a year from United Technologies. While chief executive in 2007, David made nearly $US27 million ($A39.66 million) in salary and bonuses.
Douglas-David's legal team includes prominent New York divorce attorney William Beslow, who represented Mia Farrow in her child-custody suit against actor-director Woody Allen and Marla Maples in her divorce from Donald Trump.
United Technologies is the parent company of Carrier, which makes air conditioning units, and Otis Elevators.
David is expected to return to the stand on Thursday for several days of testimony.

ninemsn 19 Mar 2009

It DOES NOT GET ANY CLEARER THAN THIS...

Needs hushand for what after divorce? For the MONEY !!!

Looks like a 2000's woman, but has 1950's mentality...

A betrayal to the Liberation of Women Movement.

Signed Sealed and Delivered, a Certified O.H'S

Bruce Willis marries lingerie model

Film star Bruce Willis, 54, of Die Hard fame has tied the knot with model Emma Heming in a Caribbean island ceremony attended by his ex-wife Demi Moore and their three children, his spokesman said on Sunday.

PHOTOS: Willis weds bikini babe
Moore's husband, Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher, was also at the event in the Turks and Caicos islands, the spokesman said.
Heming, 32, is a model for the racy Victoria's Secret line of lingerie.
US television said the A-list celebrity guests included pop queen Madonna.
Moore, 46, was married to Willis from 1987 to 2000. The couple have three daughters, Rumer, 20, Scout, 17, and Tallulah Belle, 15.
After her marriage to Willis broke up she married Kutcher, 31, in 2005.

afp 23 Mar 2009

Another 'prime' candidate for the OHS Files.... Only time / divorce papers will tell....

Hinze, Clark set for lavish wedding

Aussie model Kristy Hinze is set to marry her billionaire boyfriend in the British Virgin Islands tomorrow.

Hinze, 28, will wed 64-year-old Netscape co-founder Jim Clark in a lavish four-day affair that will kick off on his $145 million yacht, the New York Post reports.
The wedding's 120 guests have been advised of a "tropical chic" dress code and strict no-shoes policy on board The Athena, the largest privately owned yacht in the world.
The floating party will be transported to British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's private Necker Island and the island Virgin Gorda, where the ceremony will be held.
Hinze, a former Sports Illustrated covergirl and host of the Australian version of Project Runway, has been dating Clark for almost three years.
The Aussie beauty told The Australian Women's Weekly she was instantly attracted to the US high-flyer, who has been married three times before.
"I never thought I was going to date an older man when I first met him," Hinze told the magazine.
"To me, it was different to hang out with someone with something to say that was so interesting and important and who was truly, incredibly intelligent.
"He's handsome and has so much charisma — and he's so funny."
The US press referred to Hinze as the "Aussie Angel" when she and Clark were first spotted together during his divorce from former Forbes magazine reporter Nancy Rutter.
Hinze was spotted cruising the world's oceans with Clark, just a few days after his divorce was finalised. Hinze said Clark was a regular guy, despite being reportedly worth $1.2 billion.
"He's very normal and down to earth," she said.
"He's an incredible man and I just love him."

ninemsn 22 Mar 2009

Not in the general spirit of the blog of Corprate Australia, but rather to privide 'light' entertainment, and also to 'illustrate' that some women are ONLY in it for the MONEY.

Either trough premeditated actions or later through divorces from 'irreconcillable' differences, the proof is/ will be in the pudding of this outdated 1950's mentality, where the woman needs to depend on the male for survival.

The 'new' category Occupational Ho'S has been added.