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US digs out from huge blizzard

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 10 Februari 2013 | 23.08

A blizzard dumped roughly two feet of snow on the US Northeast and prompted authorities to close major roads. Deborah Gembara reports.

THE northeastern US began digging out on Saturday in the wake of a fierce blizzard that left at least six dead, half a million customers without power, and air, road and rail links paralysed.

In Massachusetts an 11-year-old boy died of carbon monoxide poisoning Saturday after being overcome as he sat in a running car to keep warm, while his father was shoveling snow to get the car out of a snow bank.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the boy was helping his father shovel the snow in the Dorchester neighborhood but got cold, so his father started the car and the boy got inside the vehicle. MacDonald said the car exhaust was covered by a snow bank, causing the fumes to collect in the car.

"I don't know how long the boy was in the car, at some point the father was still working and was unaware of the boy's condition," said Boston firefighter Octavius Rowe, who lives nearby and went to help. "So very, very unfortunate."

A man pulls a child on a sled in Prospect Park in Brooklyn the morning after a massive snow storm that hit New York City and the US east coast.

When the boy was overcome by the fumes, the father went into respiratory arrest and emergency workers took both to Boston Medical Center, officials said. The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital. No names were released.

Meanwhile, the storm dumped between one and two feet (30 -60cm) of snow across New England, with hurricane-strength wind gusts helping to create massive drifts. But according to the National Weather Service, the system was on its way out of the region.

Snowfall timelapse from the backyard of a meteorologist in New Haven, Connecticut. YouTube/Geoff Fox

A person crosses a snow covered street in New York City after a winter storm dumped more than two feet of snow.

New York area airports LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark, which halted all flights during the height of the storm on Friday, were expected to resume service shortly. However, FlightAware.com listed almost 2000 cancellations, on top of the 3000 plus flights scrapped on Friday.

Amtrak said its rail link between New York and Boston would remain closed, but trains were resuming normal schedules to the capital, Washington.

A driving ban remained in force in Massachusetts, where some two feet (60cm) of snow fell in the blizzard, burying Boston streets.

A runner runs in the snow in the park along Commonwealth Ave in Boston. Picture: AP

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy also extended a partial driving ban to all roads until further notice.

"It's critical right now that residents stay off the roads, so that our plows can continue their efforts to clear our streets and highways," Mr Malloy said.

"This is a record setting storm. It's going to take time to dig out of the snow. Stalled or abandoned vehicles will only slow that process. Unless you face an emergency, please stay put."

Lauren Rae Levy, of Manhattan, stands outside the Metropolitan Opera House in the snow at Lincoln Centre during Fashion Week. Some shows were rescheduled because of the blizzard.

But in New York City, where just under a foot of snow accumulated in Central Park, most roads were cleared by morning.

"Looks like we dodged a bullet," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

With wind and heavy snow snapping power lines, more than half a million customers lost electricity, including 389,000 in Massachusetts, 177,000 in Rhode Island, and 35,000 in Connecticut.

Tow truck operator Shawn Juhre sets up road safety reflectors before towing a car out of a ditch during a winter snow storm in Buffalo, NY. Picture: AP

Utility companies in Connecticut said they were planning for up to 30 per cent of their customers, or more than 400,000 homes, to eventually lose power.

The severity of the impact was lessened by the storm's timing at the start of a weekend, but even the almost deserted roads across the region were highly dangerous.

A car driven by a young woman went out of control in the snow on a highway in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, striking and killing a 74-year-old man, who was walking on the shoulder of the road.

A worker carries a mannequin outside Lincoln Center, home of New York's Fashion Week shows. In New York City, the snow total in Central Park was 8.1 inches (20cm) by 3 am on Saturday.

And in Auburn, New Hampshire, a man was killed after losing control of his car and hitting a tree, local officials said.

Minor injuries were reported in a 19-car pileup on Interstate 295 in Falmouth, Maine, caused by poor visibility and slippery road conditions.

The National Weather Service said the low pressure system, now centered just out at sea off Cape Cod, would "reach its peak intensity this morning before pulling slowly away from the New England coast."

A man operates a snowblower during a blizzard in the Back Bay area of Boston.

"Wind gusts of up to hurricane force are possible early today, especially near the coast, before they slowly subside through the rest of the day," the NWS said. "Travel conditions will continue to be extremely hazardous, if not impossible."

The storm came a little over three months after Hurricane Sandy devastated swathes of New York and New Jersey, killing 132 people and causing damage worth some $US71.4 billion ($69.2 billion).


23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Attenborough 'ignoring gay animals'

British naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has been accused of ignoring gay animals in his BBC documentaries. Source: Supplied

AN ACADEMIC has accused Sir David Attenborough of failing to cover homosexuality in his famous BBC nature documentaries.

Dr Brett Mills, head of media studies at the University of East Anglia, said that while he doubted Sir David was deliberately ignoring the issues, homosexuality is "pretty much everywhere" in the animal world.

He said that by ignoring or sidelining the issue, wildlife documentary makers are skewing the audience's view of what is natural.

Dr Mills – who has previously criticised such documentaries for invading animals' rights to privacy – said: "These programmes make a valuable contribution to environmental awareness and how people think about the world around them. They are highly regarded and educational but they should also be offering alternative interpretations of animal behaviour.


"The central role in documentary stories of pairing, mating and raising offspring commonly rests on assumptions of heterosexuality within the animal kingdom.

"This is despite a wealth of scientific evidence which demonstrates that many non-human species have complex and changeable forms of sexual activity, with heterosexuality only one of the many possible options."

Dr Mills's criticisms come after watching hours of Sir David's documentaries, spanning two decades.

In one example from 2003's The Life Of Mammals, two male chimps are shown embracing. The narrator describes it as an act of friendly affection – but Dr Mills says alternative explanations should also be given.

In The Life Of Birds in 1998, viewers were treated to male sandpipers circling one another in an "aggressive" manner. Again, Dr Mills suggests another interpretation should have been addressed by the programme.

The academic also complains that Sir David's programmes place too much emphasis on traditional family values and monogamy while ignoring promiscuity and single parenting, which are also rife among many animals.

He highlighted footage of emperor penguins from 1993 that suggests "family is an essential unit for the success of the offspring". Similarly, the description of blue manakins, South American birds which have multiple mates, as "neglectful of their parental duties" feeds the idea that one type of family is better than others, it is claimed.

The researcher chose Sir David's documentaries to illustrate his point because of the "perceived authority and reverence" lent to them by the veteran broadcaster – but he stressed that other wildlife documentaries are just as guilty.

Dr Mills, who airs his arguments in the European Journal of Clinical Studies, said: "The research now suggests that [homosexual] behaviour can be found in pretty much every species to different extents.

"Anywhere people have actually looked, it will be found."

The BBC did not respond to requests for comment.


THE "CHARGES" AGAINST SIR DAVID

The Scene: Male chimps in Uganda hug in The Life of Mammals, BBC1, 2003.

The voiceover: "After a quarrel they embrace one another to re-establish their bonds of friendship."

Dr Mills: This ignores alternative interpretations, despite ample evidence of primate homosexuality.

The Scene: Male Buff-breasted sandpipers circle each other with one raising its rear in The Life of Birds, BBC1, 1998.

The voiceover: "Competing for mates all too often leads to sexual violence."

Dr Mills: One male could be mounting the other, yet the birds are assumed to be trying to court females.

The Scene: A male and female emperor penguin share the care of an egg and chick in Life in the Freezer, BBC1, 1993.

The Voiceover: "The female is eager to take charge of the chick but the male, having cared for it for so long, is reluctant to give it up."

Dr Mills: Draws on ideas of the family in which a heterosexual couple do all they can to protect their offspring. We are not given a wider view of the range of ways in which young are raised.
 


23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Holden's new 'world-class' Commodore

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Holden has finally unveiled its VF Commodore, which is the first new Commodore to be released since 2006.

It was a launch so big Holden even flew-in mystery driver The Stig from Top Gear - race driver Ben Collins - to help unveil the new Commodore to dealers at a secret meeting last Thursday. Today, it's the public's turn to see it.

The new "world-class" Holden Commodore has arrived - and it is the most technically-advanced car ever designed, engineered and built in Australia. Holden finally took the covers off the new Commodore at a media preview in Melbourne this morning before it goes on sale in June.

Exclusive: Holden will be sold on four continents
 
It has been seven years since the last new Commodore - the longest gap in the model's 35-year history - and it will be the last of its type. When this VF Commodore bows out in 2016 it will be replaced by a large front-drive sedan based on new global underpinnings that will be adapted for local conditions.

Holden's new VF Commodore finally unveiled. Photo: Holden Source: Supplied


 Holden showed only the luxury Calais version of the new Commodore range today - the fleet models will be unveiled in the coming months - as the company tries to win back buyers with technology.
 
To combat the perception that the Commodore is too big to park in some cities, every new Commodore will come with a self-parking system - sensors in the bumpers measure the size of a parking space and guide the car into position. The driver only needs to select reverse and apply the brakes.

Unveiling of the new Holden VF Commodore in Melbourne. Picture: Chris Scott Source: News Limited


The new Commodore will also be available with technology that alerts drivers if they are about to crash into the car in front in stop-start traffic, wander from their lane without indicating, or if there is a vehicle in their "blindspot" (the view over the shoulder not covered by the side mirrors).
 
Top-line Commodore models will also have a heads-up display that reflects the vehicle's speed and other key information in the driver's line of sight, similar to that used on BMWs. The internet music service Pandora - and its talkback equivalent Stitcher - will also be available.

Holden's new VF Commodore finally unveiled. Photo: Holden Source: Supplied


"No other car created in Australia is as technologically advanced, and we're very proud," said Holden chairman and managing director, Mike Devereux. "Our aim … was to create a car that challenged some of the broader perceptions people have about the traditional Australian-made large car. It will offer levels of quality and sophistication to rival some of the best cars in the world."
 
Holden is confident it will get a sales boost with the new model but stopped short of saying whether the new Commodore would ever reclaim its status as Australia's top-selling car, after losing the crown it held for 15 years in 2011 to the Mazda3.
"We're back, better than ever, it's game on," Devereux said. "I think this [Commodore] is going to change people minds about what we can do in this country. Australians should say 'look at what we can do, look at how good we can be, we do punch above our weight, big time'."
 
But, Devereux said, the Commodore would never again reach its all-time high sales set in the late 1990s. "The time for any one vehicle … to sell one tenth the cars in any country is an illogical assumption to make. No model of anybody selling any car in this country will [do that]. The market is so fragmented now."

Holden boss Mike Devereux and design chief Andrew Smith unveil the VF Commodore. Picture: Joshua Dowling Source: News Limited


 At its peak in 1998 Holden sold more than 94,000 Commodores (in a year Australians bought 807,000 new cars). Last year Holden sold just 30,000 Commodores, its lowest tally ever, despite a record 1.1 million new-car sales.
 
"Every feature that we could cram into this car, and frankly every feature that you can find on any car, is in this one," Devereux said. "If you're going to sell a car in San Francisco and in Sydney, or and in Miami and in Melbourne, it has to be world class. This is a no-excuses car."

Unveiling of the new Holden VF Commodore in Melbourne. Picture: Chris Scott Source: News Limited


 Holden will keep the performance V8 SS Commodore under wraps for one more week. Holden's North American counterpart Chevrolet will unveil that car at Daytona Speed Week next weekend, where the Commodore will also make its debut as a Nascar before being sold as a Chevrolet SS from November.
 
"[VF Commodore] will also be exported to the USA for GM's biggest brand, Chevrolet," Devereux said. "But you're going to have to wait [to see it]." In the meantime, News Limited has created a computer-enhanced illustration of what it will look like.

A dated VC Holden Commodore advertisement from the 80s.


 The 'new' VF Commodore is in fact a redesign of the VE Commodore released in 2006; the company could not justify investing in an all-new model in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis and with sales of large-cars falling to record lows. Instead, it invested heavily in technology.

Holden's new VF Commodore finally unveiled. Photo: Holden Source: Supplied


The front and rear appearance have changed – and the interior is completely new, with a much more upmarket appeal - but the core of the car (the doors, roof and body) are the same as before.
 
The new Commodore is a little bit longer than the last one because the designers stretched the edge of the boot and rear bumper for better aerodynamic efficiency at freeway speeds.
 
It looks wider because the headlights have been moved outboard slightly - and the front fenders are not as pronounced - but the new Commodore is the same width as the last. Even the side mirrors and exterior door handles are the same.

From the Holden archives come this classic ad for a classic Aussie car.


The V6 and V8 engines are carried over from before but the new model is expected to be about 10 per cent more fuel efficient due to the use of weight-saving aluminium in the bonnet, boot and underbody, said to trim 40kg from the car's overall mass.
 
The flagship Holden Caprice will get the Commodore's new interior but only a mild external makeover. The fleet versions of the new Commodore - and the wagon and ute - are due to be unveiled closer to the June on-sale date.
 
This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling
23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Woman 'killed with vase, knife'

Police at the apartment at Brighton Le Sands. Picture: Gordon McComiskie Source: The Sunday Telegraph

Police at the apartment at Brighton Le Sands. Picture: Gordon McComiskie Source: The Sunday Telegraph

Police are investigating the death of a woman who was found in an apartment in Sydney's south.

Sadly missed: Susan Sarkis Source: Twitter

A YOUNG woman was allegedly beaten with a vase before being stabbed with a kitchen knife during an argument in a south Sydney apartment yesterday.

Paramedics were called to the Brighton-le-Sands unit on Moate Avenue about 6.15pm yesterday, where they found a 21-year-old woman with severe head and chest injuries.

The woman, Susan Sarkis, from Chipping Norton, was taken to St George Hospital and died a short time later.

Police Superintendent David Donahue said the 31-year-old owner of the unit had been charged with the murder of her housemate.

"The woman suffered stab wounds to her chest and head injuries," he said.

"Police conducting a crime scene search located a number of exhibits which led to the 31-year-old housemate of the deceased being charged with murder."

Supt Donahue said both of the women were known to police.

Police removed several bags of items from the apartment.

The 31-year-old woman is expected to face Parramatta Bail Court today.


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Sheen's plea to rogue cop: 'Call me'

Police release security camera stills of a fugitive former police officer accused of killing three people, as snow slows down the manhunt. Sarah Charlton reports.

CHARLIE Sheen has pleaded with the rogue cop on the run to call him, as hundreds of police and bloodhounds scour mountains, wary of traps set.

The 'Anger Management' star has released a video message via gossip website TMZ.com asking former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) employee Christopher Dorner, who is the target of a massive manhunt in California and is accused of killing three people including a cop, to contact him to talk things out.

The former 'Two And A Half Men' actor - who was praised by the ex-cop, thanked the suspect for his "kind words" but asked the man to make contact, saying: "You mentioned me in your manifesto, so thank you for your kind words. I am urging you to call me. Let's figure out together how to end this thing."


The 47-year-old actor was one of a number of celebrities, including TV chat show host Ellen DeGeneres, 'Inglourious Basterds' star Christopher Waltz and comedian Larry David, mentioned in Dorner's "uncensored manifesto", which he posted online earlier this week.

In his message to Charlie, the ex-cop said: "Charlie Sheen, you're effin awesome. (sic)"

Dorner is still currently at large and has been labelled as a "very dangerous individual."

Charlie has had several brushes with the law in the past relating to domestic violence and drugs but he is said to be eager to help law enforcement bring the ex-cop out of hiding.

Los Angeles police say they will reopen the disciplinary proceedings that led to the firing of a former US officer who's wanted in three killings over the past several days.

Commander Andrew Smith said on Saturday that the department will reopen the investigation that apparently has led Christopher Dorner to seek revenge against former LAPD colleagues who he believed cost him his law enforcement career.

Dorner alleged in an online manifesto that he was wrongly fired for reporting that his training officer used excessive force.

Police Chief Charlie Beck told KCBS-TV the department will thoroughly re-examine Dorner's allegation to ensure the public that the LAPD is fair and transparent.

He said if Dorner wants to surrender, the LAPD will "be happy to hear what he has to say."

The actor recorded a short video message for the gunman at the centre of a manhunt in California, asking him to contact Sheen and sort it out. Fox News

So far, all that was left were footprints leading away from Christopher Dorner's burned-out truck, and an enormous, snow-covered mountain where he could be hiding among the skiers, hundreds of cabins and dense California woods.

More than 100 officers have been searching San Bernardino Mountains since Thursday for Christopher Dorner, 33, who has threatened in a chilling online manifesto to target police officers and their families in revenge for his sacking five years ago.

Actor Charlie Sheen has called on the rogue cop to call him. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

The manhunt continued overnight, when heavy snow began falling in and around Big Bear, two hours east of Los Angeles, with a couple of reported sightings but still no sign of Dorner, described as armed and "extremely dangerous."

With bloodhounds in tow, officers went door to door as snow fell, aware they could be walking into a trap set by the well-trained former US Navy reservist who knows their tactics as well as they do.

This image provided by the Irvine Police Department shows Christopher Dorner from surveillance video at an Orange County, California, hotel. (AP Photo/Irvine Police Department)

"The bottom line is, when he decides that he is going to make a stand, the operators are in great jeopardy,'' said T. Gregory Hall, a retired tactical supervisor for a special emergency response team for the Pennsylvania State Police.

As heavy snow fell in the mountains, thousands of heavily armed police remained on the lookout throughout California, Nevada, Arizona and northern Mexico.

A huge manhunt is underway in southern California for a former LA police officer who allegedly killed three people.

Police said officers were guarding more than 40 people mentioned as targets in a rant they said Dorner posted on Facebook. He vowed to use ``every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordinance and survival training I've been given'' to bring ``warfare'' to the Los Angeles Police Department and its families.

The manhunt had Southern California residents on edge. Some law enforcement officials speculated that he appeared to be everywhere and nowhere, and that he was trying to spread out their resources.

Law enforcement officials spent all night searching the snowy mountains of Southern California for accused cop killer and former Los Angeles officer, Christopher Dorner.

The focus was on the mountains east of Los Angeles - a snowy wilderness, filled with deep canyons, thick forests and jagged peaks. Bad weather grounded helicopters with heat-sensing technology.

Property records show his mother owns undeveloped land nearby, but a search of the area found no sign of him.

A San Bernardino County sheriff's helicopter searches for former Los Angeles officer Christopher Dorner in Big Bear Lake, California.

"The snow is great for tracking folks as well as looking at each individual cabin to see if there's any signs of forced entry,'' said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon.

In his online rant, Dorner seemed to taunt authorities.

Christopher Dorner in an undated photo wearing a military uniform.

"I have the strength and benefits of being unpredictable, unconventional, and unforgiving,'' he wrote.

Authorities said they did not know how long Dorner had been planning the rampage. Even with training, days of cold and snow can be punishing.

A grey Nissan Titan pick-up truck believed to belong to Christopher Jordan Dorne seen in this photo from a surveillence camera, at a press conference at Los Angeles Police Department.

"Unless he is an expert in living in the California mountains in this time of year, he is going to be hurting,'' said former Navy SEAL Clint Sparks, who now works in tactical training and security.

Jamie Usera, an attorney who befriended Dorner when they were college students, said he introduced him to the outdoors and taught Dorner about hunting and other outdoor activities.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper received a parcel from the former police officer now a wanted man.

"Of all the people I hung out with in college, he is the last guy I would have expected to be in this kind of situation,'' Usera told the Los Angeles Times.

Others saw Dorner differently. Court documents obtained by The Associated Press on Friday show an ex-girlfriend of Dorner's called him ``severely emotionally and mentally disturbed'' after the two split in 2006.

Police respond in Riverside after one officer was killed and another critically wounded in a shoot out with a murder suspect.

Dorner served in the Navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. He took leave from the LAPD for a six-month deployment to Bahrain in 2006 and 2007.

Last Friday was his last day with the Navy and also the day CNN's Anderson Cooper received a package that contained a note on it that read, in part, "I never lied.''  A coin typically given out as a souvenir by the LAPD police chief was also in the package, riddled with bullet holes.

Monica Quan (pictured) and her fiance Keith Lawrence were found shot to death on Sunday night.

On Sunday, police say Dorner shot and killed a couple in a parking garage. The woman was the daughter of a retired police captain who had represented Dorner in the disciplinary proceedings that led to his firing in 2008.

According to documents from a court of appeals hearing, Dorner was fired after he made a complaint against his field training officer, saying that said that in the course of an arrest, she kicked suspect Christopher Gettler, a schizophrenic with severe dementia.

This image provided by the Irvine Police Department shows Christopher Dorner from surveillance video at an Orange County hotel in California. (AP Photo/Irvine Police Department)

Richard Gettler, the schizophrenic man's father, gave testimony that supported Dorner's claim. After his son was returned home on July 28, 2007, Richard Gettler asked ``if he had been in a fight because his face was puffy'' and his son responded that he was kicked twice in the chest by a police officer.

Hours after authorities identified Dorner as a suspect in the double murder, police believe Dorner shot and grazed an officer and then used a rifle to ambush two police officers early Thursday, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

The incident led police to believe he was armed with multiple weapons, including an assault-type rifle.

Law enforcement officials said they will continue to search for Dorner through the weekend.

Since Dorner has been on the run, his story has spread across social media. Twitter has been filled with references to chilling moments in Cape Fear, Rambo, The Deer Hunter, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Fugitive. Facebook pages also emerged showing support for him as a rebel.

Mobile phone footage of the alleged truck belonging to murder suspect Chris Dorner that was found abandoned and burned-out by police. YouTube/pewpism (Greg Tait)


23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dons investigation may take months

Gill McLachlan, AFL's CEO fronts the press to relay the latest information regarding AFL clubs and players under scrutiny.

The AFL says it is aware of only two specific cases where players or clubs may have breached the league's WADA code.

AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirms Essendon players are being investigated for use of performance enhancing drugs. Picture: Hamish Blair Source: Herald Sun

FRUSTRATED clubs have implored the AFL to come clean with the identity of an alleged rogue drug taker.

Confusion reigned last night after AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed multiple Essendon players were being investigated for performance enhancing drug use and revealed an individual player from an unknown second club had been named in the Australian Crime Commission coruption in sport report.

The AFL has sought permission from the Crime Commission to reveal currently classified details from the Operation Aperio report.

The league last night said it was still negotiating with the ACC over what could be released, to whom, and with what conditions.

"We've all just been left hanging because we don't know if it's us," one AFL chief executive said.


"I can't tell you if our club is clean because we haven't been told."

Other club chiefs shared the frustration that while it was known only two clubs had been implicated, the public was open to believe the second club was any one of 17 teams.

Essendon last night said it was "fully co-operating" with an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation.

"In this case it is possible that players were administered the WADA-prohibited performance enhancing drugs without their knowledge or consent," McLachlan had said earlier.

Former ASADA Chairman Richard Ings says it will be difficult for the organisation to prove clubs and individuals are guilty of doping.

The mystery rogue player may not even still be at the club in question or in the AFL given McLachlan suggested he was confident of a clean 2013 season.

"The AFL is not aware of any issues, potential use of performance enhancing drugs by any players, on AFL lists coming into the 2013 season," McLachlan said.

"There are some potential historical issues that we are investigating, there are vulnerabilities, but at the moment that investigation will take some time and until we get to the bottom of that the season will go ahead until we have futher information."

In other developments yesterday:

JUSTICE Minister Jason Clare said phone taps had been used to help gather information on those believed to be involved in suspect practices.

MCLACHLAN said a resolution to the saga is likely to be months rather than weeks away.

THE AFL revealed approximately 1100 performance enhancing drug tests were conducted on AFL players last season. A similar number is planned for 2013.

THE league said despite the Crime Commission implicating two clubs in doping, it was aware of a wider danger of illicit drug use by players across the competition.

MCLACHLAN stated no AFL game was being investigated for match fixing.The Crime Commission has said one match-fixing inquiry is under way in Australia.

The AFL's statement yesterday leaves an NRL match as the most likely subject of that probe.

Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare admits that players have come forward in relation to doping, following the ACC's damaging report.

While the AFL's net of suspicion was yesterday narrowed to two clubs, the NRL has been told it has six clubs with alleged links to the use of performance enhancing drugs and links with crime syndicates.

Clare said evidence against clubs and individuals specified in the ACC's confidential report had been passed to NSW and Victorian police.

"We're not just talking about evidence that's been collected through coercive hearings, we're talking about documentary evidence that the Crime Commission has got as well as the use of phone taps that corroborate all of the information they've got," Clare told ABC TV.

McLachlan said fans awaiting the investigation's outcome needed to be be patient.

"The reality is it's not going to be as quick as everybody would like," McLachlan said.

"It's not going to be as quick as the club, the players, the AFL, the media, the supporters would like.

"The reality is that the investigators - which ultimately is ASADA in conjunction with the AFL - has to get the right answers and that will take as long as it takes.

"It's more likely to be months rather than weeks."
 


23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tearful James Packer: My dad loved me

James Packer gives an emotional interview talking of his fathers passing and finding an unlikely but very special friendship with Tom Cruise. Source Sunday Night Network Seven

James Packer breaks down durring an interview an interview with Michael Willesee on tonight's Channel Seven's Sunday Night program Picture: Channel 7 Source: Supplied

JAMES Packer cried as he described the last time he spoke to his 'legendary' father Kerry.

His raw and candid interview with Channel 7's Sunday Night's Mike Willisee had social media and television audiences captivated - and emotional.

It was the death-bed phone call that James Packer had waited all his life to hear - his media tycoon father Kerry telling him he loved him and was proud of him.

Until then, Mr Packer admits, he had lived in fear of the "terrifying" dad he described as "best in class for temper".

Knowing death was imminent, a secret he kept from his son, Kerry also told James he should lead the life he wanted to, not the one he thought his father wanted him to live.

"He said he loved me, he said he was proud of me," Mr Packer said. "Twenty-four hours later his doctor rang and said, 'Get on a plane, he's only got 24 hours to live'."

Breaking down as he recalled that moment, he added: "Dad knew and he didn't tell me."

The Twittersphere was abuzz with comments as the interview progressed. Sunday Telegraph TV editor @debbieschipp said: "James not the only one crying when he recalls his dad's words 'live your life your own way'. Raw and honest stuff".

@MolksTVTalk said: "The touching thing about #Packeron7 is the tears in discussing his father. As hard as KP may have been he was still loved by his son".

@LMStellaPR said: "Kudos the James packer for agreeing to this interview and being so open".

@lucyetlamachine said: "Wow. Well done #SN7 the #Packer interview was one of the best tv interviews in current affairs in such a long time".

@PestmanNeil said: "#Sn7 great interview good on you James for being so candid

@KristySlater said: "What an astounding interview with an emotional James Packer. He has such great passion for what he does".

The details of the phone call between father and son were revealed in an exclusive Channel 7 interview with the notoriously media-shy billionaire by Sunday Night's Mike Willesee.

Seven is understood to have spent eight months convincing Mr Packer to agree to the sit-down, which was recorded over six days.

Unaware at the time of just how sick his father was, Mr Packer said: "I always got a bit jumpy when dad called, 'cause I didn't know if it was going to be a good call or a bad call.

"And it was a beautiful call."

He said the conversation went for "about an hour". His father died of kidney failure on Boxing Day 2005, aged 68.

The call ended what Mr Packer admits was a rocky relationship.

"My dad was a larger-than-life character and I'm not going to say every minute or every hour we spent together was a highlight," he said.

"He had a good temper. He was best in class that I've come across in temper.

"When he wanted to be, he could be terrifying."

The interview gave an insight into Mr Packer's lifestyle, his early dating years and his ambitious bid to turn Sydney's Barangaroo into a money-spinning casino resort to rival those in Singapore and Macau.

Willesee, who also spent time on Mr Packer's private jet, asked about Scientology and his friendship with Tom Cruise. Mr Packer told how the Hollywood star reached out to him when he was at his lowest following the breakdown of his marriage to first wife Jodhi Meares in 2002, and the collapse of telecommunications company One.Tel.

"I was depressed and emotionally exhausted," he said. "My marriage had broken up. I felt isolated. I felt like a failure.

"When I was at my lowest, Tom Cruise reached out to me. He believed in me when other people didn't."

Mr Packer ventured into Scientology soon afterwards, although he appears to have distanced himself from the organisation in recent years.

The interview was a strategic move on Mr Packer's part. The former executive chairman of PBL is keen to expand his casino empire with a $2 billion, six-star Crown Sydney Hotel Resort at Barangaroo.

A close source said he was proud of what he had helped build in Perth and Melbourne, and wanted to show people the benefits of having a similar resort in Sydney.

Mr Packer, who fiercely guards his private life, described his wife Erica as "amazing" and one of the best things that has happened to him.

He jokes about how his fortune may have assisted his quest to find a girlfriend.

"I think it helped," he says, but adds:"I'm just going to choose to look at it as a positive and another piece of good fortune that's happened in my life."


23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dons investigation may take months

Gill McLachlan, AFL's CEO fronts the press to relay the latest information regarding AFL clubs and players under scrutiny.

The AFL says it is aware of only two specific cases where players or clubs may have breached the league's WADA code.

AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirms Essendon players are being investigated for use of performance enhancing drugs. Picture: Hamish Blair Source: Herald Sun

FRUSTRATED clubs have implored the AFL to come clean with the identity of an alleged rogue drug taker.

Confusion reigned last night after AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed multiple Essendon players were being investigated for performance enhancing drug use and revealed an individual player from an unknown second club had been named in the Australian Crime Commission coruption in sport report.

The AFL has sought permission from the Crime Commission to reveal currently classified details from the Operation Aperio report.

The league last night said it was still negotiating with the ACC over what could be released, to whom, and with what conditions.

"We've all just been left hanging because we don't know if it's us," one AFL chief executive said.


"I can't tell you if our club is clean because we haven't been told."

Other club chiefs shared the frustration that while it was known only two clubs had been implicated, the public was open to believe the second club was any one of 17 teams.

Essendon last night said it was "fully co-operating" with an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation.

"In this case it is possible that players were administered the WADA-prohibited performance enhancing drugs without their knowledge or consent," McLachlan had said earlier.

Former ASADA Chairman Richard Ings says it will be difficult for the organisation to prove clubs and individuals are guilty of doping.

The mystery rogue player may not even still be at the club in question or in the AFL given McLachlan suggested he was confident of a clean 2013 season.

"The AFL is not aware of any issues, potential use of performance enhancing drugs by any players, on AFL lists coming into the 2013 season," McLachlan said.

"There are some potential historical issues that we are investigating, there are vulnerabilities, but at the moment that investigation will take some time and until we get to the bottom of that the season will go ahead until we have futher information."

In other developments yesterday:

JUSTICE Minister Jason Clare said phone taps had been used to help gather information on those believed to be involved in suspect practices.

MCLACHLAN said a resolution to the saga is likely to be months rather than weeks away.

THE AFL revealed approximately 1100 performance enhancing drug tests were conducted on AFL players last season. A similar number is planned for 2013.

THE league said despite the Crime Commission implicating two clubs in doping, it was aware of a wider danger of illicit drug use by players across the competition.

MCLACHLAN stated no AFL game was being investigated for match fixing.The Crime Commission has said one match-fixing inquiry is under way in Australia.

The AFL's statement yesterday leaves an NRL match as the most likely subject of that probe.

Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare admits that players have come forward in relation to doping, following the ACC's damaging report.

While the AFL's net of suspicion was yesterday narrowed to two clubs, the NRL has been told it has six clubs with alleged links to the use of performance enhancing drugs and links with crime syndicates.

Clare said evidence against clubs and individuals specified in the ACC's confidential report had been passed to NSW and Victorian police.

"We're not just talking about evidence that's been collected through coercive hearings, we're talking about documentary evidence that the Crime Commission has got as well as the use of phone taps that corroborate all of the information they've got," Clare told ABC TV.

McLachlan said fans awaiting the investigation's outcome needed to be be patient.

"The reality is it's not going to be as quick as everybody would like," McLachlan said.

"It's not going to be as quick as the club, the players, the AFL, the media, the supporters would like.

"The reality is that the investigators - which ultimately is ASADA in conjunction with the AFL - has to get the right answers and that will take as long as it takes.

"It's more likely to be months rather than weeks."
 


23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More
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