Police seek ban on blogs about accused bushfire arsonist

By Calvin Palmer

Victoria Police want to ban messages being posted on Internet blogs about accused bushfire arsonist Brendan James Sokaluk.

The publication of Sokaluk’s address and his image has been banned by a court but members of the public have been freely publishing those details on the Internet.

“It could jeopardize the case,” said Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe. “Victoria police are taking some action to take a look at that.

We’ll talk with the Department of Public Prosecutions and we’ll also make some inquiries with the blogging side of it, whether we can have it removed.

“We don’t want anything to take place, we don’t want anything to be done, that might jeopardize a fair trial down the track.”

Dozens of pages have sprung up on social networking sites including Facebook, with vigilantes calling for Sokaluk to be “burned at the stake” after Magistrate John Klestadt lifted a suppression order on his identity at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

Angry Australians have published the man’s photograph and address in online calls for justice, in defiance of a court order prohibiting such details from being made public.

Sokaluk, 39, of Churchill faces one count of arson causing death, one count of intentionally lighting a bushfire and one count of possessing child pornography.

The charges relate to the Churchill fire that killed 10 people and destroyed about 200 homes.

He has been remanded in custody to appear at a committal mention on May 26 and has not entered a plea nor applied for bail.

The fight to quell the flames continues as police search the charred debris for more victims of Australia’s worst bushfire disaster, which has claimed at least 189 lives.

[Based on reports by the Melbourne Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph.]

FAA explains Texas fireball at the third attempt

By Calvin Palmer

The mystery of the fireball that sparked numerous calls to law enforcement agencies across north Texas on Sunday morning has been solved.

The Federal Aviation Administration who first stated it was falling debris from a satellite and then admitted that it didn’t have a clue, today said the fireball was a natural phenomenon.

A north Texas astronomer, whose identity no media source is giving, said it was probably a truck-sized meteor.

The object had been witnessed from Austin to Dallas and also in east Texas.

In Central Texas, the Williamson County sheriff’s office received so many emergency calls that it sent a helicopter aloft to look for debris from a plane crash.

The FAA backed off its claim that it was falling space debris when U.S. Strategic Command said there was no connection to the sightings over Texas and last Tuesday’s collision of satellites from the U.S. and Russia.

I guess you don’t argue with U.S. Strategic Command.

[Based on a report by the Press Association.]

Economic crisis sounds a gloomy note for opera and the arts

By Calvin Palmer

Opera is facing hard times in the United States. The global economic crisis has taken its toll of endowments and seen a reduction in sponsorship as corporate sponsors themselves fight for survival.

Last November Opera Pacific, in Santa Ana, California, abruptly announced it was shutting down after four decades of performances.  Musicians were told during the intermission of Rossini’s comic opera, Barber of Seville. They honored their professional integrity and played the second act.  If the audience went home happy, the musicians certainly did not.

In the same month, the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Board of Directors voted to suspend opera productions for the 2009-2010 season, citing losses of more than $1.1 million on 11 opera productions over the last six years.

December saw the Baltimore Opera Company announce that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, resulting in the cancellation of the productions of Rossini’s Barber of Seville in March and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in May. Those patrons who bought season tickets or advanced tickets will not get refunds.

Last week, the economy claimed Connecticut Opera after 67 seasons. It closed its Hartford headquarters and laid off all staff. The 2,000 subscribers who bought tickets for the two recently canceled springtime productions, including La Boheme, will not be getting a refund.

Opera board chairman John Kreitler said the group was not filing for bankruptcy because it cost too much. He said opera officials were working with creditors and called the opera “another casualty of the economic conditions”.

A letter to the 2,000 patrons who had bought now-worthless tickets for two recently canceled springtime productions, including La Boheme, suggests that they write off the cost as a charitable contribution to the opera.

The Michigan Opera Theater, in its 38th season, has a deficit of about $600,000 because of declining donations from Detroit’s Big Three automakers. The opera company is also having difficulty securing a credit line and has huge mortgage payments on its opera house, parking structure and related retail space.

A production has been canceled, some employees laid off or cut to part time employment and plans to build an endowment fund have been postponed.
 
General director David DiChiera prays every day that another major corporate sponsor won’t announce bankruptcy or layoffs.

Even the mighty New York Metropolitan Opera has scaled back for the 2009-10 season.  Senior and administrative staff salaries have been cut by 10 percent and three planned revivals of operas have been canceled in the face of falling ticket sales and a drastically reduced endowment.

San Diego Opera has lost $1 million from just three long-time donators and seen its endowments fall $3.7 million as stocks have fallen.  For the 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons, the company will stage only four operas instead of the usual five.

Opera companies in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Houston and Miami are also reducing the numbers of operas they put on. Los Angeles Opera has laid off 17 percent of its staff.

The harsh economic climate has hit opera hard because the orchestras, top singers, large choruses, elaborate sets and costumes involve considerable expense.

But all art forms have been affected.  The Sacramento Ballet and the Santa Clarita Symphony have closed for the season. Donations to New York’s Carnegie Hall are down 18 percent.

Brandeis University shut down its renowned art museum and will sell off the works to prop up its flagging finances. The San Diego Museum of Art, suffering a 30 percent drop in its endowment since last summer, has laid off 23 employees, a quarter of its staff.
 
Bob Lynch, president and CEO of the national non-profit Americans for the Arts, says about 10,000 arts organizations nationwide — about 10 percent of the total — have shut down or stand on the verge of collapse.

Leaders of national arts organizations have been lobbying the Obama administration and Congress for $1 billion of the federal bailout money and the creation of a White House arts czar.

“The president is talking about creating and retaining billions of jobs — and thousands of those jobs are arts jobs,” says Marc Scorca, president and CEO of Opera America. “Those programs will disappear if we have to endure the current situation without some assistance.”

And I doubt you will find a single Republican Party supporter who will shed a tear at their passing even though the nation’s cultural life will be greatly diminished by their demise.

[Based on reports by Reuters, San Diego Weekly Reader, Associated Press, Kansas City Star, Chattanooga Times Free Press, and Baltimore Sun.]

Award winning blogger CancerDiva dies at 42

By Calvin Palmer

A victim of cancer died last night.  Her plight was not taken up by the tabloid press and turned into a media circus.  Instead, she began to blog under the name of CancerDiva and was cited as the best newspaper blogger in Texas in 2008 by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association.

Terry Hayes, an administrative assistant in the sports department at the Houston Chronicle died at a Houston hospice.  She was 42.

Houston Chronicle sports editor Carlton Thompson said: “Terry was the voice of the sports department, the first point of contact for readers who called to complain or compliment, and the liaison between the department and the teams we covered.

“Terry’s loss will be felt not only by those of us who had the pleasure to work with her, but also by the many who knew her only as the caring voice on the other end of the line.”

In April 2006, she was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer and told she had about two years to live. Ten months later, she launched her blog.

“She was hesitant at first about blogging, but she wanted so much to share her experience with others,” said Scott Clark, Chron.com’s editor. “She not only became a good writer but one who touched the lives of hundreds of people who followed her posts — and her struggle.”

The advance of her disease, however, brought an end to regular CancerDiva updates in the second half of 2007.

Hayes was born Oct. 10, 1966, in Garland, graduated from Garland High School and attended Eastfield College in Dallas. She moved to Houston in 1989.

Her sister Beverly’s connections at the Houston Chronicle helped her eventually land a part-time job taking information on high school games for the newspaper, and she became the department’s administrative assistant in 2002.

“We had struggled for years to find the right person for that job, but when Terry took over, it quickly became apparent that she was the perfect fit,” said Dan Cunningham, the Chronicle’s deputy managing editor, who hired Hayes to work for the newspaper. “We were blessed to have her with us, and we are all better off for having had the opportunity to get to know her.”

Hayes is survived by her sister; a brother, Steve Hayes of Fort Worth; and several nephews and cousins.

[Based on a report by the Houston Chronicle.]

Angry scenes as BMW axes 850 workers at Mini plant

By Calvin Palmer

BMW today announced plans to lay off 850 weekend agency staff at its Mini factory in Cowley, near Oxford, as the slowdown in demand for cars worsens.

All those axed were temporary workers contracted by employment agency Manpower to work at Cowley.

Union sources said workers booed and threw apples and oranges at managers after being told the news.

BMW denied the claim. A spokesman said: “No BMW managers addressed the workers. I have confirmation that the fruit was thrown at union representatives.”

Union representatives were shown on mobile phones being abused by disgruntled workers who accused them of not doing enough to prevent job losses.

Tony Woodley, the joint leader of the Unite union, said: “Sacking an entire shift like this, and targeting agency workers who have no rights to redundancy pay, is blatant opportunism on BMW’s part and nothing short of scandalous.

“BMW’s parent company couldn’t attempt this in Germany because it would be illegal to do so. It is a disgrace, therefore, that workers in this country can be so casually thrown to the dole.”

The number of production days at the factory will be reduced from seven to five once the job cuts come into force on March 2, and permanent staff deployed on weekend shifts will be redeployed to the week.

BMW also announced today that it will close down production at the plant for one week in response to plunging demand for new cars.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesman said: “This is very disappointing news and all I can say really is the Government is doing and will do all that we can to help those affected.”

The spokesman added that the recently announced rescue package for the car industry was still being implemented.

The Mini, which celebrates its 50th Anniversary in August, has been a hugely successful model, especially in the United States.

Last year, 50,000 Minis were sold in America, its biggest market, compared with 40,000 in Britain. Global sales fell last month by 34.5 percent, higher than the 31 percent decline in the wider car market.

Mini production is finally following that of other British car makers. Most of its rivals have laid off staff and introduced part-time working as vehicle sales plummet. Jaguar Land Rover has cut nearly 2,000 workers, Nissan 1,200 and Aston Martin a third of its staff.

Bentley has announced it is cutting 220 jobs at its factory in Crewe, Cheshire, and all staff would take a 10 percent pay cut.

[Based on reports by The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian .]

Jade Goody plans a ‘fairytale’ wedding with a little help from showbiz friends

By Calvin Palmer

With a little help from her showbusiness friends, Jade Goody is planning a “fairytale” wedding when she marries fiancé Jack Tweed.

Reality TV star Goody, 27, was told on Friday her cancer had become terminal, briefly left the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, London, to exchange wedding rings with Tweed, 21.

The couple plan to marry formally within the next two weeks but wanted to cement their partnership with the exchange of rings before she becomes too weak.  Goody left the hospital in a wheelchair.

The rings were bought at Tiffany & Co.

A friend said: “There were also tears as they tried on the jewelry in the store and the occasion got the better of them. The rings are simple but utterly stunning.”

The couple then visited Harrods where Goody picked a “beautiful” wedding dress, a gift from the store’s owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

Sir Elton John has offered one of his homes as the location for the wedding ceremony and messages of help and support have been sent by Jonathan Ross, Simon Cowell and Dale Winton.

Her publicist Max Clifford told Sky News: “”This has given her something to think about, a happy event. The wedding, the christening of her two boys, these are all positive things to focus on as opposed to the cancer and what is happening to her and what she’s going through.”

He said: “After they exchanged rings they went to Harrods where she picked out the most beautiful, in her words, wedding dress. Mohamed said it was his gift for her wedding day.”

Clifford said Jade also picked Armani suits for her sons, Bobby, five, and Freddie, four.

[Based on reports by The Daily Telegraph and Press Association.]

Nuclear submarines collide in Atlantic

By Calvin Palmer

Two nuclear-powered submarines, both carrying nuclear missiles, were involved in a collision in the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, The Sun newspaper reported today.

HMS Vanguard and French submarine Le Triomphant were both damaged in the incident but there were no reports of damage to the nuclear sections of either vessel.

The British submarine was last night towed into Faslane in Scotland, with dents and scrapes visible on her hull. Le Triomphant limped to Brest with extensive damage to her sonar dome.

Both vessels, with combined crews of 250, were reportedly submerged when they crashed on February 3 or 4 in the mid-Atlantic.

The Ministry of Defence refuses to comment on submarine operations but a spokesman said: “We can confirm that the UK’s deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety.”

A senior Royal Navy source told The Sun: “Crashing a nuclear submarine is as serious as it gets. The potential consequences are unthinkable. It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion but a radioactive leak was a possibility.

“Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster.”

HMS Vanguard, launched in 1992, is one of four Vanguard-class submarines tasked with maintaining Britain’s nuclear deterrent.  It carries 16 Trident II D5 missiles, each missile can deliver up to 12 warheads.

Le Triomphant, launched in 1994, is one of four Triomphant-class submarines in the French Navy. It carries 16 M51 SLBM missiles.

[Based on reports by The Sun and AFP news agency.]

Court reveals identity of man accused of bushfire arson

By Calvin Palmer

The identity of the man accused of starting a bushfire in Churchill, which claimed the lives of at least 11 people, was revealed today at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

Brendan James Sokaluk, 39, was remanded in custody to appear for a committal mention on May 26.

A suppression order on Sokaluk’s name was lifted by Magistrate John Klestadt, who said he had little doubt Sokaluk’s identity would be known regardless of any court order.

Defense lawyer Helen Spowart said the safety of her client was at risk while in custody.

Klestadt said a suppression order would not thwart anyone planning revenge attacks.

“I am not persuaded that the suppression of his name will have any real effect within that community,” he said. “I have little doubt that whatever the court does, his identity will be well known … if it’s not already.

“Vigilantism would not be thwarted … simply by orders of a court suppression on his name.”

Earlier, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Christine Nixon had warned people not to threaten Sokaluk, despite emotions running high after last week’s devastating bushfires.

“Coming to court and protesting is not an appropriate thing to do,” Nixon said. “Obviously, we will make sure this person is well protected.

“We hope that we don’t have to deal with a gang of people who are angry and concerned about this arrest. We know people are.

“We will make sure he is protected and can go before the justice system, as he should, and be dealt with through that process.”

Sokaluk has been charged with one count of arson causing death and one count of intentionally lighting a bushfire.  He has also been charged with possessing images of child pornography.

The arson charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years, with the bushfire charge carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years.

On what appears to be Sokaluk’s Web page on MySpace, he describes himself as a lovelorn single man hoping to find a young wife.

He writes that his hero is “mother earth with out her we all would be dead.” He lists his occupation as “semi-retired” and describes himself as a “young happy male who wants to meet a young loven female to marrid.”

He says he’s a fan of country music and the television shows CSI and Cops.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was listed as one of Sokaluk’s friends, but soon after the suspect’s name became public, Rudd disappeared from the friend list.

A Facebook group entitled “Brendan Sokaluk, the Victorian Bushfires Arsonist, must burn in hell” had already attracted more than 1,200 members by this morning.

Nixon said police arson detectives were still investigating fires around the state, including blazes that wiped out the towns of Marysville and Kinglake.

This morning, eight bushfires were still burning out of control around Victoria but no towns are under direct threat.

[Based on a report by the Melbourne Herald Sun and Associated Press.]