This story just shows you how badly some people treat their relations. I would be like these parents if it were me BUT they were a little bit naive, IMHO.
Thieving son can 'rot in hell', say parents November 2, 2008 - 7:56AM An elderly New Zealand say their son can ``rot in hell'' after he stole tens of thousands of dollars from them. Brett Andrew Laurent, 38, was jailed for 18 months by a Tauranga District Court judge on Friday after admitting 28 charges of stealing money and household goods from his parents.
Laurent had pleaded to stay with his parents Heather and Noel in August at their Te Puke retirement village after his girlfriend kicked him out.
But he proceeded to steal electrical goods and $NZ10,000 from them and failed to repay a loan of $NZ10,000 he took from them.
The upset parents say they plan to move from Te Puke so their son will never see them again.
Mrs Laurent said they cut their son from their will after he stole from them four years ago but they gave him a second chance, not knowing he had been in jail.
``He can rot in hell, the sooner the better,'' Mrs Laurent told Sunday News.
``He will never come into our lives again. He's had lots and lots of chances.
``You just forget he ever existed. We must get on with our lives and forget we had a son. We just don't want to see him.
We don't want him to ring us, or write letters or come anywhere near us.''
She said they only discovered their son's theft when her eftpos card was declined at an ATM, and it will stop them having an overseas trip.
``I was in real shock. I thought Noel was going to have another stroke,'' she said.
``We have never been overseas. I need my teeth done, we need a new vehicle. We have saved and saved and saved.''
Bones identified as Steve Fossett November 4, 2008 - 8:12AM
MADERA, California - Bones found near a California plane crash site have been identified as the remains of adventurer Steve Fossett, a sheriff says. Fossett vanished in September 2007 after taking off from a Nevada ranch owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton during what was supposed to be a short pleasure flight.
His disappearance spurred a huge search that covered more than 50,000 square kilometres, cost millions of dollars and included the use of infrared technology.
AN Australian-based Kiwi correspondent looks likely to lose her job after antagonising pop singer Pink during an interview in Sydney last month.
TVNZ reporter Hannah Hodson used the opportunity of face-time with the US singer to face-off with the performer over the sacking of her sister, who once worked as an assistant to the star.
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The confrontation went so badly the So What songbird stormed out, while her management tried to forcefully confiscate the recording from the TVNZ crew, Stuff.co.nz reports. With cameras rolling, the reporter sought an explanation for her sibling's axing - Pink and her entourage saw red.
The interview was due to appear on New Zealand current affairs show Close Up but sources said it was a "train wreck" that will never be aired.
It's not the first time Hodson has had a run-in with celebrity. Last year she upset Nicole Kidman at the Sydney premiere of The Golden Compass.
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Addressing the film's mixed reception with critics, Hodson asked Kidman: "What about some of the reviews? I mean, one person called it an embarrassing, colossal piece of crap."
A startled Kidman replied: "That's a charming thing. I didn't know that. You're a sweet woman."
A terminally ill teenager has won the right to die by refusing a heart transplant.
Leukaemia sufferer Hannah Jones, 13, from the UK, was taken to court by her hospital, which wanted to give her the transplant against her wishes.
The girl's parents say they were "outraged" when child protection officers from Hereford Hospital phoned to warn they were applying for a High Court order to forcibly remove their daughter, accusing the parents of "preventing treatment".
"It is outrageous that the people from the hospital could presume we didn't have our daughter's best interests at heart," Hannah's father, Andrew, was quoted by the UK's Telegraph as saying.
"Everything we do is geared towards her happiness."
High-strength drugs used to treat Hannah's rare form of leukaemia, diagnosed when she was five years old, had caused a hole in her heart. She stopped the treatment but the drugs left her heart so weak doctors say it could give up at any time.
Hannah remains adamant she does not want a heart transplant because there is a high risk she will not survive the procedure and, if she did, the leukaemia could return due to her weakened immune system.
"Hannah had been through enough already and to have the added stress of a possible court hearing or being forcibly taken into hospital is disgraceful," Mr Jones, 43, an auditor, said.
Hannah eventually convinced the High Court she was old enough to decide for herself whether she wanted a transplant.
"It is an incredible thing for a young person like her who has been through such a lot to have the presence of mind and bravery to stand up for her rights. We're so very proud of our little girl," Mr Jones was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.
Hospital authorities have now agreed to leave Hannah in peace to spend her remaining days with her father, mother, who is a nurse, and her three younger siblings.
I don't mean this to sound harsh but how was permission granted to use a transplant organ on someone with leukaemia? Wouldn't a person need to be in good health in order to receive a transplant or is the transplant list in the UK REALLY short?
I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. - Captain Jean-Luc Picard
I don't mean this to sound harsh but how was permission granted to use a transplant organ on someone with leukaemia? Wouldn't a person need to be in good health in order to receive a transplant or is the transplant list in the UK REALLY short?
She didn't have a donor yet I don't think, but they wanted to put her on the list? Maybe :S No they said the list is long, she said she's happy that if she dies at least someone else can be saved with the heart.
BRISBANE has been declared a natural disaster area, as soldiers help repair damage caused by one of the biggest storms to hit the city in two decades.
More than 32,000 properties across Brisbane, Redcliffe and the Gold Coast were without power today after Sunday's storm brought hail and wind gusts of up to 130km/h, unroofed homes and toppled power lines and trees.
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While most areas received 40mm to 60mm of rain, Ferny Hills, in the north-west suburbs of Brisbane received 80mm, 69mm of which fell in the space of 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon.
A 20-year-old man was killed when he was swept away by quickly rising water while photographing the storm in a drain with a 23-year-old friend at Chermside, in Brisbane's northern suburbs.
Premier Anna Bligh compared the disaster to Cyclone Larry, which devastated north Queensland in 2006.
Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard activated natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements, including the deployment of 40 chainsaw-equipped soldiers, and pledged to cover half of the state government's clean-up costs.
“The public rightly expects all levels of government to work closely together in times of need so that the community can bounce back quickly,” Ms Gillard said.
“The Government's thoughts are with the thousands of families that have been caught up in this disaster and most particularly with the family of the young man who tragically lost his life.”
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said 1200 people, including emergency services personnel, Energex staff, Queensland police and the army, were working on the clean-up.
“Nothing like this has happened to the city for at least 10 years,” he said.
“Perhaps it goes back to 1985 with a very big storm back in those days.”
He said Energex had recorded 576 cases of toppled powerlines.
Some homes are expected to remain without power until tomorrow.
The city council has warned residents in western Brisbane to boil their water or buy bottled water after a bird dropping-coated roof collapsed into a reservoir at The Gap - the worst-hit area of the city.
Transport services are expected to remain disrupted into Tuesday and traffic lights are out at many intersections.
Ms Bligh said families severely affected by the storm were eligible for a cash assistance payment of up to $765 and individuals could claim $165.
“These are just the immediate cash payments for people who have literally got nothing, for people who need to buy food for their children or buy clothes,” she said.
Ms Bligh said some people would not be able to return home for weeks.
Police patrols are being boosted to deter looters.
Ms Bligh said up to 4000 insurance claims had already been made, but this would grow.
She also warned more storms were expected to hit south-east Queensland on Thursday.
Jackson, 50, wore a special Islamic hat to pledge allegiance to the Koran in a ceremony at a friend's mansion in Los Angeles, The Sun said.
British singer Yousef Islam - formerly Cat Stevens - was reportedly in attendance as Jackson recited the shahada, the Muslim declaration of belief.
Jackson had rejected an initial name choice of Mustafa in favour of Mikaeel, the name of an angel in Islam, the Sun reported.
It said the ceremony was held at the home of Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro.
The reclusive Jackson is due to testify in court next week in a lawsuit brought by a Bahraini prince, who claims the singer agreed to record songs and failed to deliver.
Florida youth Abraham Biggs, 19, who went by the screen names "CandyJunkie" and Mr Biggs, told users on a bodybuilding forum he would be committing suicide that night and invited them to watch the live video.
The forum moderators dismissed the claim, assuming it was a prank while other users posted insults and even encouraged him.
The teen used the "lifecasting" website Justin.tv, designed to let users share the minutiae of their everyday lives, to stream footage from his bedroom.
Biggs was seen taking pills before lying on the bed with his back to the camera.
He didn't move, and users claim they realised it was serious a few hours later when they saw he wasn't breathing.
Moderators traced Biggs' location and called authorities.
The webcam was still streaming live footage of the body as police entered the room. A laser-guided weapon was pointed at the body and an object was thrown at the bed.
Authorities then were seen on the video as they approached the body, checked for a pulse, and covered up the webcam.
Biggs' death was reportedly confirmed by the Broward County medical examiner.
Justin.tv chief executive officer Michael Seibel told online video news website NewTeeVee.com the service relied on users to report inappropriate content.
Biggs' friends have posted "RIP" messages on his MySpace page, with some still asking him to pick up his phone.
The circumstances of the teen's suicide are similar to another incident last year, when a man hung himself in front of a live webcam as internet users egged him on.
I flushed newborn down toilet by accident, says mum
* November 25, 2008 - 7:07AM
A woman has told a British court she accidentally flushed her newborn baby down the toilet because she didn't realise she was giving birth.
Claire Jones said she knew she was pregnant from an affair with a colleague but thought the pain she suffered in the early hours of December 28 was from diarrhoea.
Jones told a coroner's court in Cardiff, Wales, on Monday that she only realised what had happened when she saw a foot in the toilet bowl.
She said she tried unsuccessfully to revive the baby and then put the body in the trunk of her car.
The corpse was found in Jones's vehicle after she was arrested. She was given a suspended sentence for concealing the baby's birth.
The coroner's court is investigating the circumstances of the baby's death.
Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
CONTINUES TONIGHT! 6.30pm eVSC Fan Favourites 7.00pm eVSC Grand Finale : Compilation 7.12pm eVSC Grand Finale : Results #1 & #2 All times in AEDST. Air times and/or dates subject to delays.
Oh god, that's awful! :O How could you not notice a freaking head coming out of you!
This bit made me laugh before I stopped myself because that's horrible A woman has told a British court she accidentally flushed her newborn baby down the toilet because she didn't realise she was giving birth.
Brisbane Islamic college bans Australian national anthem James O'Loan December 04, 2008 11:00pm
A BRISBANE Islamic school has banned the national anthem at assemblies and sacked the teacher who asked for it to be played, The Courier-Mail can reveal.
Australian International Islamic College teacher Pravin Chand was sacked in November, four months after his proposal for students to sing Advance Australia Fair was ruled to be against the "Islamic view and ethos".
A memo sent to teachers at the Durack school in July and obtained by The Courier-Mail, also said "the singing of the anthem will be put on hold".
The revelations follow an outcry on the Gold Coast this week at a plan by the same college to open another campus at Carrara. A vocal crowd draped in Australian flags accused the college of promoting segregation, anti-Australian values and even terrorism.
Muslim leaders slammed the protests as "un-Australian" and claimed religion should not be used as a reason to protest against a school.
School chairman Imam Abdul Quddoos Azhari yesterday denied the anthem ban and said students sang it "at every function".
But Mr Chand, whose version of events was backed by a second teacher, said he had not heard the anthem once this year.
"No national anthem to me means no integration with Australian kids," Mr Chand said. "Western values (at the school) are a no-no.
"It's like a paramilitary camp that place."
Mr Chand's employment was terminated by the college board last month on the grounds he was "not fitting into the school's ethos".
Outgoing principal Azroul Liza Khalid, who started at the school in July, said she had not heard the anthem once at assembly, although it was played two or three other times.
Ms Khalid said she was told by a board member not to play the anthem or any songs on Friday because it was a holy day. In July, school assembly day was moved from Monday to Friday.
A spokeswoman for Education Minister Rod Welford indicated it was unlikely a public school had banned the national anthem.
"It's not compulsory for schools to play the national anthem," she said. "There's an expectation it would be played on formal occasions when the Australian flag is being raised."
A Catholic education spokesman said: "I'm absolutely confident that no Catholic school has ever banned the playing of the national anthem and never will."
School trustee Keysar Trad and Imam Quddoos said they had not heard of the ban and supported the playing of the anthem at future assemblies.
The future of the proposed 60-studentl college at Carrara will be decided by Gold Coast City Council next year.
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