In today's news there is an article about the Father of the little Chinese girl, Pumpkin, who was abandoned in Melbourne by him after he murdered his wife in NZ and fled here then to the USA. He is still in hiding in the US in LA they believe. Why can't the FBI find this murdering poor excuse of a human being? Surely someone knows where he is. Also this today.....
Cyclists should pay, says MPJano Gibson Urban Affairs Reporter
February 8, 2008
BICYCLE riders should pay registration fees to help legitimise their place on the roads and pay for infrastructure and safety campaigns, says the Federal Opposition spokesman on sports, Pat Farmer.
His plan has received a mixed response from bicycle lobby groups. It is less than a month since the NRMA questioned spending taxpayer dollars on barely used cycle paths.
Mr Farmer said motorists often complained it was unfair for cyclists to use roads without paying registration costs. A bicycle levy would make such an argument redundant and could increase government funding for bike lanes, he said.
"We need to work with cyclists and cycling associations to come up with a levy … so that we've got some money to support them with much-needed infrastructure and to justify them being on the road."
Mr Farmer, who recently moved from his western Sydney electorate of Macarthur to Mosman, is yet to determine the cost of the levy but said it could be administered at bike shops and applied to people over the minimum driving age.
The Minister for Roads, Eric Roozendaal, dismissed the idea, saying bike riding would remain a free activity in NSW.
"Mr Farmer should get himself a long-distance Malvern Star racer and enjoy the free bike ride between his new home in Mosman and his electorate in Campbelltown," he said.
Bicycle NSW said it supported initiatives that seek to legitimise cycling. "A form of bike registration or levy may help achieve this," said its chief executive, Alex Unwin.
But the Cycling Promotion Fund, a bicycle industry lobby group, said a levy would discourage bicycle use.
"There is no country around the world which has registration for bicycles, and the revenue raised would be quite low," said the organisation's program director, Rosemarie Speidel.
Preliminary results from a study undertaken on behalf of the Department of Health and Ageing found cyclists saved more than $82 million in public health costs, almost $64 million in traffic congestion-related costs and $9 million in greenhouse gas-related costs.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cyclists-should-pay-says-mp/2008/02/07/1202234066487.htmlFive dead in bloody Los Angeles siegeFebruary 8, 2008 - 6:09AM
Five people including an elite Los Angeles SWAT team police officer are dead after a bloody siege at a house in Los Angeles.
The fatality is the first in the 41-year history of the Los Angeles Police Department's elite tactical response unit.
LA police told reporters a 51-year-old officer had died and another was seriously wounded after violence erupted at a home in the northern suburb of Winnetka.
The gunman later died in a shoot-out with police.
The drama began late on Wednesday when the gunman phoned police about 9pm (1600 AEDT Thursday) to say he had shot dead three family members.
Police arrived and entered the building shortly after midnight, engaging in a fierce gunbattle which left one police officer dead and another injured.
Shortly after 7.30am on Thursday the stand-off ended after police fired tear gas and flash grenades into the home, possibly triggering a fire at the property that send thick smoke belching out of the building.
Local media reports initially said the gunman was arrested and handcuffed although police later confirmed the shooter had died in a further exchange of fire with officers.
Los Angeles deputy police chief Mike Moore told reporters the gunman had had no communication with police during the siege despite pleas from family members outside the home to give himself up.
"The family also made remarks to this suspect to give himself up and surrender to police," Moore said.
"Unfortunately, the suspect had absolutely no contact with us, made no effort to surrender."
Moore said the gunman was killed after exchanging fire with police as they escorted fire crews attempting to protect neighbouring homes from the fire that had broken out.
"During that encounter the suspect again presented himself as a risk and a threat to our officers. Further exchange of gunfire occurred," he said.
AFP
[url]http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/five-dead-in-bloody-los-angeles-siege/2008/02/08/1202234104291.html
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Worst rain damage in 50 years
Article from: The Courier-Mail
Ursula Heger, Brian Williams and Peter Morley
February 07, 2008 11:00pmSOUTHEAST Queenslanders cleaned up under blue skies following fierce storms that brought flash-flooding and cut power to more than 8000 homes.
With 1.2 million square kilometres of the state now flood-impacted, the damage bill from the worst rain damage in about 50 years is expected to run into the tens of millions of dollars.
Telstra crews have struggled to keep up with about 10,000 jobs and more problems loom with the Weather Bureau yesterday predicting a rain-bearing monsoon trough to hit north Queensland early next week.
Residents were left to pick through debris to retrieve belongings after massive storms hit the southeast on Wednesday afternoon.
In Brisbane's east, Hawthorne resident Lara Caughey spent yesterday drying out clothes and mattresses and trying to reassemble her recently landscaped garden.
"It was pretty bad. I was out at Carindale Shopping Centre with mum. By the time I got home (my flatmates') things were floating around," she said.
"All my garden has been wrecked, it was looking good before all of this. Today I'm just going to hose it and try and get all the debris cleaned away."
Another Hawthorne resident, Greg Richardson, has had to remove all the carpets from the ground flood of his property after he was left standing in 25cm of water when drains clogged.
"All the things downstairs were wrecked, including books, a computer and a printer," he said.
The State Emergency Service received more than 260 calls for help after the downpour, with Brisbane's southern suburbs, the Redlands and the Gold Coast the worst-hit areas. Most calls were for water inundation, including leaking roofs and flooded streets.
Many homes and businesses across Brisbane and the Gold Coast lost power at the height of the storm,with the worst-affected areas Beenleigh and Logan.
Telstra suffered such severe flood damage to its facilities and networks that 200 technicians from around Australia were flown to Queensland to help repair the damage.
Telstra's worst-hit facilities are those that went under water, including sites at Emerald, Charleville, Rockhampton, Mackay, Charters Towers and parts of southeast Queensland, especially border regions.
Losses include a major optic-fibre cable washed out near Alpha in central Queensland.
Even the drought-hit Burnett region recorded good falls on Tuesday night and Wednesday, with Maryborough registering 67mm to 9am, Woodgate 150, Monduran 154 and Eidsvold 122.
Near Wondai, in the South Burnett, SES volunteers pulled a 22-year-old man from the flooded Boyne River after his car was swept from a bridge on Wednesday morning.
Firefighters also rescued an Oakey man from a flooded creek yesterday after his car stalled in deep water.
And at Boonah, southwest of Brisbane, an Emergency Management Queensland helicopter airlifted a couple and their 19-month-old baby to safety after police could not reach the farming family.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23177628-3102,00.htmlPilots stabbed in hijack attempt
Article from: AAP
February 08, 2008 08:35amA WOMAN stabbed two pilots and threatened to blow up a plane during a harrowing mid-air drama on a New Zealand domestic flight early today, police said.
The pilots reported that a passenger attacked them in the cockpit, inflicting minor injuries and making threats of a bomb on board.
Police said a mayday call was received at 7.40am (0540 AEDT) from an Air National flight heading from the provincial town of Blenheim to the main South Island airport in Christchurch.
Inspector Kieren Kortegast said a woman attacked the two pilots before being restrained.
The plane landed safely in Christchurch 20 minutes later and the passengers were taken to a private room.
A 33-year-old Blenheim woman of Somali descent was taken into custody, while a stabbed pilot walked off the plane and was taken to hospital, police said.
Flights to and from Christchurch were suspended for two hours while the aircraft was searched and the bomb squad defused a device thought to have been in the woman's bag.
The New Zealand Press Association reported that "three or four people" were taken from the airport by ambulance.
Police said an Australian from Victoria was on board the flight, as were four New Zealand passengers, an Indian and the alleged hijacker.
Four people were injured including the woman taken into custody.
The alleged attack occurred in the cockpit, with one pilot suffering severe cuts to his hand, another with less severe cuts to his foot, police said.
Another passenger was cut, as was the woman who sparked the drama.
Wayne Johnstone, a passenger on board another flight to Invercargill, said he was asked to get off his plane and he saw police surrounding the aircraft involved.
He said there was a sniper on the ground, and police rushed into the plane.
"I saw a dog go in, the passengers came out in a rush, then the woman came out, bundled to the ground and searched by police and taken away," he added.
Air New Zealand said the two pilots were receiving treatment at Christchurch Hospital.
Group general manager short haul airline Bruce Parton said the airline was providing specialist support to the pilots and seven passengers involved in the incident.
He said the seven passengers were being interviewed at Christchurch airport by police and Aviation Security.
"Today's incident, although a one-off, has naturally given us cause to conduct a thorough review of our safety and security systems and processes on regional domestic flights."
The flight was operated for Air New Zealand by Air National, the employer of the pilots.
Air National chief executive officer Jason Gray said his company was proud how its two pilots had handled an extremely difficult situation.
"They did an amazing job, which reflects their high level of training and professionalism. We are currently providing them and their families with all necessary support," Gray said.
Passengers on domestic flights out of Blenheim are not subject to security checks.
Marlborough District Council support services manager Dean Heiford said that, like all domestic airports across New Zealand, the size of the aircraft and length of the flight dictated the security measures in place.
None of the airlines at Blenheim Airport require hand luggage to be scanned.
Heiford said security measures were dictated by the Civil Aviation Authority and the airlines, not the airport management.
Police later said they were confident there was no bomb on board the plane.
"We have now pretty well confirmed that there were no bombs on board," Superintendent Dave Cliff told AAP.
"The airport has just returned to normal."
Air traffic resumed at Christchurch after a backlog of three hours, but the incident caused chaos around the terminal.
"Passengers are getting out of their cars and walking up to their flights, and staff are walking through to the airport," a man, who did not want to be named, said.
The incident will focus attention on security on New Zealand domestic flights.
None of the airlines at Blenheim Airport requires hand luggage to be scanned.
Heiford said security measures were dictated by the Civil Aviation Authority and the airlines, not the airport management.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23179329-952,00.html 
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