Aussie News from Latrobe (5/17)
Kym Horsell
Dec 31 Adelaide. SA's coastal reefs will be protected from Jan 1 under
new Aquatic Environment leg'n. Newly-appointed State Prim Ind Min Rob
Kerin said the leg'n aims to protect the molluscs which live on the
State's inter-tidal rocky reefs. Fines of up to $2K can be imposed
from tomorrow for anyone removing ocean-floor maritime organisms
within the State's protected reef zone.
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SA dogs win a reprieve
Jan 2 Adelaide. The owners of 2 dogs that attacked a 17 yo girl last
wk have reportedly won a reprieve for the animals, and they will not
be destroyed. But they will have to meet a list of conditions,
including a larger "beware of the dogs" sign, and have them registered
as dangerous animals. A Glenelg Council rep said the dogs could be
returned as early as today. The Council will also fine the owners $400
and insist the empty house is further secured and warning signs more
prominently displayed. A teenaged girl was attacked by the pair of
bull mastiffs last Fri after she and a friend entered the property to
take photos of the historic house. [She has since made an appearance
on nat'l TV calling for people not to enter private property without
permission].
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Sampoong owners sentenced -- S Korea
Dec 27 Seoul. The owner of the Sampoong dept store which collapsed in
Jun, killing more than 500, has been sentenced to 10.5 y. Lee Joon,
73, was found guilty of criminal negligence. He son Han-Seng, the
store's Pres, has been sentenced to 7 y.
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Shoplifters could be fined on-the-spot -- SA
Dec 18 Adelaide. Shoplifters could be fined on-the-spot or cautioned
under proposals being considered by a top-level comm'ee established to
cut retail crime.
The Retail Ind'y Crime Prevention Comm'ee was estab in SA last m to
consider a co-ordinated approach to retail offences, including shop
stealing, fraud and burglary. It includes reps from police, the
insurance ind'y, retailers and the State AG's Dept.
One nat'l retailer has already told the Comm'ee that 35K reports were
made in its stores during 94/5, with about 1000 involving theft by
staff. The retailer suggested that organised groups of shoplifters
were targeting clothes, with were then re-sold in Eastern Europe.
Figures published in the Advertiser show 9100 reports of shop-lifting
were rec'd by SA police in 94/5, with about 5500 cleared up. The
previous y 9271 shop stealing reports were made, with 6265 cleared up.
[The numbers show a statistically significant decline in the clear-up
rate, BTW]. Criminologists believe the real numbers could be much
higher, with many thefts unreported and many retailers not proceeding
with prosecution because of time or costs involved.
Retail Traders Assoc exec Dir David Shetliffe said retailers were
"frustrated" by the law. To convict a shop stealer they had to take
time off work, give evidence and prove an intent to steal. "There are
times when you recover the goods and send off the offender with a good
talking to", said Mr Shetliffe.
Under the new proposals shoplifting involving less than $100 would
attract a caution from police for an initial offence, with subsequent
offences penalised under the present SA system involving court
appearances. Police in SA have the power to report or caution juvenile
shop offenders, but do not have the power to caution adults. "In a
number of other states there is a caution system", said Mr
Shetliffe. "The notion of cautions in some circumstances is something
the Comm'ee may well put its mind to", he continued.
On-the-spot fines would reduce costs of police, court and the retail
ind'y, Mr Shetliffe said. But he doubted they would be intro'd,
because such a system didn't operate in other States.
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Skyshow 96 -- Syd
Dec 31 Sydney. 3 big fireworks displays will light up Syd's night as
part of the New Years Eve celebrations tonight. Organisers say the Syd
Council-sponsored Skyshow will be choreographed to music b'cast on
radio 2UE from 9 pm. The 20-min display will centre on the Harbour
Bridge and is expected to attract 400K spectators. It will be replayed
on Ch 7 at midnight.
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Smash and grab fails -- Mel
Dec 27 Melbourne. A smash and grab failed to complete phase 1 as 4
armed men fled empty-handed from a bank in Thomastown, in Mel's
N. Police say the gang struck just before 9 am while an employee was
emptying the night safe inside the NAB in Settlement Rd. After failing
to smash their way through the front door and a window of the
premises, the 4 men fled in a car. The car has since been found
abandoned, but a search has failed to find the culprits.
---
Snip snip -- law suit
Aug 5 Brisbane. Doctors face being sued by circumcised men,
regardless of whether their parents gave permission for the operation.
The AMA medico-legal comm'ee is seeking legal advice after a report to
the Qld Law Reform Comm'n warned that parents' consent may be no
defence against such suits. The success of any future lawsuit may
hinge on whether there was a "medical need" for the operation, rather
than it being formed as a social or religious rite. A strict
interpretation of the law could leave doctors liable to be sued for
damages for assault, as lack of benefit may negate parental consent.
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Snr police contracts won't be renewed until RC finishes -- NSW
Dec 28 Sydney. The NSW govt announced yesterday it would not renew the
contracts of the State's snr police until the Wood RC into Police
Corruption was completed. It will push ahead with a plan to put the
State's top 40 police officers on monthly contracts despite criticism
from the Commissioned Officers' Union. Police Min Paul Whelan said
that for duration of the RC police from the rank of Super to Dep
Comm'er will be placed on m'ly contracts when their current long-term
contracts come up for renewal.
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Solar-powered boat breaks record -- SA
Dec 30 Adelaide. A solar boat, built and crewed by a group of Adel
school students, is closing in on the world distance record for a
solar-powered boat [apart, that is, from yatchs et al that are,
technically, powered by the sun too]. The Prince Alfred College
Sunboat II was expected to pass the 2K km mark on the Murray R
yesterday before pushing on to set a new record of just over 2.1K km
yesterday. From there the crew has vowed to stay on board and continue
downstream to Goolwa, SA, to extend the record to 2.5K km.
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Spear-gun siege -- NSW
Jan 2 Sydney. Police have surrounded a home in the Blue Mtns, W of
Syd, where a man with a spear-gun has barricaded himself inside. A
police rep said a 38 yo Blaxland man has been keeping police at bay
since around 9 pm last night. It's understood no-one else is in the
home. No other details are immediately available.
[Later reports say the man gave himself up quietly after about 12 h of
standoff. It's understood the trouble started after the man had a
fight with his de facto wife].
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Special Xmas gift for airport neighbours
Dec 23 Sydney. Residents around Syd Airport will receive a special
Xmas present -- some respite from aircraft noise. Under laws initiated
by the Fed opp'n, to come into effect tomorrow, the number of jet
movements to and from Syd airport in the early morning and last at
night has been reduced. The change comes about as a result of a
Private Member's Bill intro'd to the Fed Parl by opp'n leader John
Howard. Flights are also to be directed over Botany Bay as much as
possible, and week-end penalties for aircraft which breach the curfew
restrictions are increased to a maximum of $100K.
[Transp Min Laurie Brereton made some political hay from displaying a
map attached to the submission by John Howard. The map showed Mr
Howard's N shore electorate of Benelong as a small blue rectangle, and
the proposed air corridors carefully arranged to avoid it].
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Spending Xmas with the family -- Italy
Dec 27 Cremona. Xmas time for "the family" is much like that for other
Italians, with a twist. Italian police say the desire of a fugitive
Mafia boss to have Xmas dinner with his family led to his arrest. The
say Eugenio Barresi, 35, was arrested on Xmas Eve at the home of a
friend as he celebrated the holiday with his wife and 2 small
children. They say investigators tracked him down after discovering
his family had travelled from the Sicilian city of Messina to an area
outside the N town of Cremona.
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Stabbing on train [yes, in Aus this still makes the news] -- Syd
Dec 29 Sydney. A man was stabbed on a train at Quakers Hill in Syd's W
last night is now in critical condition in hosp following heart
surgery. Police say the 30 yo Auburn man had been city-bound ,
approaching Quakers Hill stn just after 9 o'clock last night, when a
pair of youths demanded money. He refused and one of the youths
stabbed him in the chest using a knife with a 10 cm blade.
---
Stop it -- you REALLY could go blind!
Jun 22 Pittsburgh. [Does the earth move for you -- or do the lights
go out?] Masturbation or vigorous sex can cause blindness or serious
eye damage, a study has found.
Victorian wowsers may have been right -- at least partly -- according
to Dr Thomas Friberg of U Pitt. Dr Friberg studied a group of cases
over the past 2 y that left people with serious vision impairment
during particularly intense sexual sessions. He has debunked, in bland
scientific language, one of the sexual revolution's tenants -- the
disease-free sex is good.
"In the early 20th C, admonitions against auto-erotic activity of
``self pollution'' were strong, and visual symptoms, including
subjective light sensations and optical cramps, were believed to
develop as a result of onanistic [self-gratification] behaviour", he
wrote in the study's findings.
Dr Friberg cited 6 examples to support his findings:
A 48 yo man was in bed with his girlfriend engaging in "very vigorous
manoeuvres" when it all got too much for his right eye, that
haemorrhaged, tearing the retina and requiring laser surgery.
A 24 yo woman lost vision in her left eye when it haemorrhaged when
her boyfriend was employing a "hand held massage machine" to stimulate
her.
A 30 yo man was holding his breath while masturbating to increase the
erotic effect. When he stopped, the spots before his eyes didn't go
away -- for 6 wks.
A 53 yo man was being "particularly vigorous" to himself when he
suffered a dramatic loss of vision in his right eye, that required 10
m of treatment. The retina was nearly dislodged and he was off work
for all that time.
A 39 yo man suffered sudden blurred vision while his girlfriend was
performing oral sex on him. He suffered a retinal haemorrhage, that
eventually healed.
Dr Friberg concluded the most likely cause was a rush of blood to the
head, causing an increase in blood pressure enough for haemorrhages to
occur.
--
R. Kym Horsell
KHor...@EE.Latrobe.EDU.AU k...@CS.Binghamton.EDU
http://WWW.EE.LaTrobe.EDU.AU/~khorsell http://CS.Binghamton.EDU/~kym