Today's Headlines
Sunday 28th April 1996
International:
A Brisbane woman was in hiding yesterday in fear of her life after it was revealed on the national 60 minutes program that she had
married a Syrian defector embroiled in an international spy ring. The woman named in the Channel 9 program as Monica Monzer
claimed that her life was put in jeopardy by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) after one of their agents
persuaded her to marry the Lebanese man.
After 18 months she discovered that he was a former Syrian fighter pilot who had defected to Israel! The couple have split up and
her husband is apparently in hiding somewhere in Melbourne.
Political:
The Labor party are taking the political high road with talk about forging closer links with the Aborigines in this time of crisis in the
Aboriginal and Torress Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).
Business:
A new tourism tax on business on the Gold Coast is being cosidered to help raise revenues for the state government coffers. That
tax will vary from $50 to $10,000 per annum depending on the size of the business.
Sport:
Kieren Perkins comes good - he's off to Atlanta.
The whole nation sat and watched Kieren Perkins challenge his own form over the gruelling 1500 metre distance yesterday. He came
good, but in a slow time of over 5 minutes 10 seconds - coming second to Daniel Kowalski.
The long time Channel 9 "Hey, Hey it's Saturday" show stopped at 7.25pm so that a live broadcast of the long distance freestyle race could be shown to
a curious but supportive nation. The fans at the poolside erupted after Kieren came in well ahead of third place.
Social:
Judge Fred McGuire yesterday challenged the wisdom of abolishing corporal punishment in schools. The judge who is President of the
Children's Court of Queensland said that the alternative to corporal punishment, expulsion or suspension, might have "undesirable
consequences."
Speaking on moral leadership, Judge McGuire said he was not advocating corporal punishment but that the options seemed to cause
more damage than good.
Good on'ya Judge couldn't have said it better myself. The trouble with society now is that it is run by an ansy-pansy social system
where good intentions lead to strife in the lives of those "being protected."
Busy day at the global office putting pages together for our mining client Mount Isa Mine Holdings Limited. The work was
interrupted by another all out war in the large mangoe tree next door. It now appears that both the Correllas and the sulphur crested
cockatoos have chicks there. Must be fun living in the tree!
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