Vic: Citizenship test keeping refugees stateless: ethnic group

AAP General News (Australia)
04-29-2008
Vic: Citizenship test keeping refugees stateless: ethnic group

By Kellee Nolan

MELBOURNE, April 29 AAP - A fear of failing the Australia's citizenship test is stopping
refugees from applying to become citizens, a Victorian ethnic group says.

Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria chairman Sam Afra today said refugees, who often
had little or no education, feared failing the test and this stopped them from seeking
citizenship.

"There are a lot of people we have spoken with who were afraid of going to the test,"

Mr Afra said.

"It's created a barrier with these types of people. They've been traumatised, never
had education or been to school and the fear of failure is a big issue.

"The people feel `why are they testing us, if they didn't want us, why did they bring us here?'"

His comments came after the federal government yesterday announced it would review
the citizenship test, as results show refugee groups had higher fail rates than others
doing the test.

The government also said there were fears the level of English used in the test had
"crept up" to native speaker level, rather than the basic level supposed to be used.

Mr Afra said in refugee groups such as Iraqi and Sudanese, the fail rates were up to
20 per cent, compared to 5 per cent fail rates overall.

He said it was unrealistic to expect one test could fit all.

"If you lived in a refugee camp for the last five or six years, you didn't have school,
you went through trauma, all these wars, problems, how do you expect people who come from
these areas, who have never had English or didn't have education in general, to come straight
away and ... be able to get up that to that level?" he said.

Since the test was introduced last October, 1,286 people failed it at their first attempt.

Mr Afra said the refugees who failed their first attempt would probably never go for
the test again and so never become citizens.

He welcomed the government's review of the test and said there should be concessions
for refugee groups who came from "less fortunate" backgrounds, or these people would remain
stateless.

"We are not saying don't do the test because a lot of people come from better educated,
calmer areas, no wars," he said.

"But if you take the big extremes, there is a big gap."

AAP kn/gfr/maur/bwl

KEYWORD: CITIZENSHIP VIC

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

What to avoid in the gadget jungle ; For cellphones, cameras and TVs, watch out for features you won't need

SAM GROBART
International Herald Tribune
05-12-2011
What to avoid in the gadget jungle ; For cellphones, cameras and TVs, watch out for features you won't need
Byline: SAM GROBART
Type: News

The reality is that most of us are usually dealing with a finite amount of money to spend, and that means making trade-offs.

Buying gadgets can sometimes be like buying a car; it requires sorting through options. Do you go for the navigation package or the rear-seat entertainment system? The faster processor or more memory?
The easy answer is "both." But the reality is that most of us are usually dealing with a finite amount of money to spend, and that means making trade-offs. We want to get the most bang for our buck, not to be lured into paying for features and options that are not worth the money.

Below is some guidance about what is worth paying for, and what can be left unchecked on the options list.

PAY FOR MEMORY, NOT SPEED When buying and configuring a new computer, companies often give the option of upgrading the processor and adding more memory, or RAM. If it is an either/or proposition, go for the RAM. Processors are usually fast enough for most people; it is the RAM that can be the bottleneck.

Here's a side note on RAM: Do not buy it from your manufacturer. RAM purchased from online retailers is just as good and considerably less expensive. Check out retailers like Crucial for Windows machines and Smalldog for Macs. Each will tell you what kind of RAM you need for your machine, and they often sell it for more than half off the manufacturer's retail price.

PAY FOR TEXT MESSAGING, NOT MINUTES Admittedly, this advice applies best to a certain type of cellphone user who has a Monday- to-Friday, 9-to-5 office job. If this describes you, you are probably not using your cellphone much on weekdays. That leaves you with nights and weekends, when minutes are free on many U.S. plans. Look at your last bill and see how many minutes you used. You may be surprised to find that you are using fewer minutes than you are paying for.

And what cellphone carriers charge for text messages is ridiculous. If you have no bundled plan, each text sent or received can cost you as much as 20 cents. For an extra $5 or $10 a month, you can get hundreds or even thousands of texts included in your package. It is a far better price than going a la carte.

PAY FOR COMPONENTS, NOT CABLES Buy the finest displays, speakers and components you can afford for your media center. Be dazzled by a crisp, bright display. Feel as if you are in the middle of the action with the most powerful surround-sound systems. But when a salesperson starts pushing the A/V cables for $1,000 (this price is not an exaggeration; such cables exist at this price), walk away.

Many connections today, like HDMI or optical audio, are digital, which means there is little to no signal degradation along the length of the cable. Small exceptions can be made if you are connecting components across long distances. Even with analog connections, it is highly likely that you will not be able to hear the difference between an inexpensive cable and an expensive one.

PAY FOR SENSOR SIZE, NOT MEGAPIXELS David Pogue, who writes the State of the Art column for The Times, has made this a rallying cry for years. But it bears repeating because the industry still promotes one now-useless specification and obfuscates a far more important one. Almost all cameras have enough megapixels now; it is the size of the image sensor that largely determines the quality of an image. Sensor size is confusing, because manufacturers use different formats. In response to a blog post from Mr. Pogue, someone created Sensor-Size, a Web site that converts sensor measurements for an easy comparison.

PAY FOR SPEED, NOT PREMIUM CHANNELS Most cable operators offer tiers of Internet service, usually a broadband version of coach, business class and first class. The top tier is usually more than most people will ever need, but the base package may groan under the weight of heavy video streaming. Better to move up a tier, which should add about $10 to your monthly bill.

That way, you can cancel most of your movie channels and go with services like Netflix, Hulu Plus or Amazon Instant. Their costs are considerably less -- either pay-per-video or less than $10 a month - - than what you pay for Cinemax, TMC, Starz, Encore and other movie channels. You may want to keep HBO or Showtime if you like those channels' original programming, because those shows will probably not be available anywhere else.

If you have a recent TV or Blu-ray player, you may already have access to Netflix and the other providers as built-in "widgets" that will connect through your home's Internet connection. If not, $99 in the United States will get you a Roku box or an Apple TV, which will do the same thing. Over the course of a year, the cost of the hardware and services will be far less than the monthly fees you were paying the cable company.

PAY FOR APPLECARE, NOT MOBILEME Apparently, Apple makes some products that people really like. But MobileMe, the company's suite of cloud-based services, does not have same draw. Maybe it is because most of what MobileMe can do is available free from other companies. Web e-mail? Gmail. Photo storage? Flickr. Cloud storage? Dropbox. There used to be one killer app on MobileMe -- Find My iPhone. But now that is available free to all iPhone users, so that is one less reason to pay $99 a year for the service.

But saving on MobileMe frees up some cash for something more valuable, and that is AppleCare, Apple's extended hardware coverage and phone support. If you buy an Apple product without AppleCare, you get 90 days of free phone support and one year of hardware coverage, except that accidents like spills, drops and other mishaps are never covered; only malfunctioning equipment is. If something goes wrong after that, you must pay for any phone support or repair work, and the prices are high -- from $30 to $50. But purchase AppleCare, which costs from $29 for an Apple TV to $349 for larger MacBook Pros, and you get three years of phone support and repair coverage.

While other tech companies offer similar plans, most are to be avoided, as calling them for help often results in "did you try restarting your computer?" Apple's technicians are helpful and persistent and, since the company makes both the operating system and the hardware, they have the added benefit of actually knowing what they are talking about.

PAY FOR SIZE, NOT REFRESH RATE As Matt Buchanan pointed out in a post on the technology blog Gizmodo a year and a half ago, every television manufacturer has a sweet spot when it comes to price and size. Going to 50 inches from 42, Mr. Buchanan explains, may cost you $200, but going to 54 inches from 50 could cost $400 more, so 50 inches is where you would get the most for your dollar. Every manufacturer has its own sweet spot, so it pays to look at the lineup and see where it is.

But one thing you do not have to spend much time looking up is a television's refresh rate, measured in hertz. That tells you how many times per second the TV refreshes the image on its display. A 60-hertz television refreshes its image 60 times a second; 120- hertz does it 120 times a second. Many -- if not most -- TVs now have a refresh rate of 120 hertz, and more expensive models are faster than that, refreshing the image 240 times per second. And while twice as fast is theoretically better, your eyes would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Copyright International Herald Tribune May 12, 2011

VIC:Bikie gangs 'planning fightback over laws'

AAP General News (Australia)
08-30-2011
VIC:Bikie gangs 'planning fightback over laws'

MELBOURNE, Aug 29 AAP - Bikie gangs, including Hells Angels, Bandidos and the Comancheros,
have been meeting in secret to plan a fightback against new laws and police raids in Victoria.

The Herald Sun says the coalition of bikie gangs are hoping to recruit law-abiding
clubs such as the God Squad and Vietnam Veterans to lend it legitimacy.

Finks bikie club enforcer Mick MacPherson is touted to become the official spokesman
for the newly created United Motorcycle Council Victoria (UMCV), which will represent
most of the 28 motorcycle clubs across the state.

The newspaper says MacPherson and members from other clubs are meeting fortnightly
and reporting to other bikies around the nation.

AAP jxt/rs

KEYWORD: BIKIES

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Safeguard Scientifics Deploys $5 Million in Series B Financing for ThingWorx

Wireless News
02-21-2011
Safeguard Scientifics Deploys $5 Million in Series B Financing for ThingWorx
Type: News

Safeguard Scientifics, a holding company for growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, announced that it has deployed $5 million in a Series B financing round for ThingWorx, a platform designed to accelerate the development of applications connecting people, systems and devices.

According to a release, proceeds from the financing will be used to ramp product development as well as sales and marketing.
"On the heels of two well-timed exits last year, Safeguard is now in a position of financial strength and flexibility to deploy capital into new, high-growth, high-value companies," said Peter Boni, President and CEO of Safeguard Scientifics. "Safeguard has a robust pipeline of opportunities that we continue to evaluate and our diligent research and analysis of those opportunities is ongoing. We are excited about our positive momentum and will continue to work to drive value for our shareholders."

ThingWorx provides services and functionality required to build and deploy secure, high-performance, connected applications.

"An Internet primarily composed of people is giving way to an 'Internet of Things' where every device and every system is connected," said Russell Fadel, CEO and co-founder of ThingWorx. "Because of this, applications will have to change from a hierarchical, pull-driven model dominated by people to an event- driven, peer-to-peer approach with more flexible collection and storage schemas than anything enterprise software offers today. And that's exactly what we've set out to do at ThingWorx. Our application development platform is tailor-made for this new paradigm, in which systems, devices and people are fluidly connected and their interactions are exposed in a searchable and semantic model. The capital from Safeguard Scientifics, along with the team's domain expertise and operational support, will enable us to execute our vision and realize the value of this disruptive technology."

"More and more intelligent devices are being connected to the Internet every day," said Erik Rasmussen, Vice President and Managing Director of the Technology Group at Safeguard Scientifics, who will join ThingWorx's Board of Directors. "ThingWorx's platform is able to take advantage of this trend and capitalize on its ability to interconnect devices and sensors with computing intelligence, enabling decision makers to make informed decisions based on that 'smart' data. We are pleased to welcome ThingWorx to the Safeguard family."

Safeguard Scientifics provides growth capital for life sciences and technology companies.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Copyright 2011 Close-Up Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
n/a

NSW:Man carjacked at gunpoint in Sydney

AAP General News (Australia)
12-03-2010
NSW:Man carjacked at gunpoint in Sydney

SYDNEY, Dec 3 AAP - A trio of armed robbers has carjacked a 68-year-old driver in broad
daylight in Sydney's northwest.

The man was getting into his silver Mitsubishi Magna about 4pm (AEDT) on Thursday at
Kings Langley when a black Mitsubishi Lancer with three men inside stopped nearby.

Two of the men, one armed with a handgun, approached the Magna and pulled the 68-year-old
from his car.

They drove off in his vehicle, followed by the Lancer.

The two men are described as being in their 20s, of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance
and wearing hooded jumpers.

The victim suffered some minor bruising to his arm during the attack but was otherwise unharmed.

AAP vpm/wjf/nb

KEYWORD: CARJACK

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed:Producer prices rising at fastest pace in over a year

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2010
Fed:Producer prices rising at fastest pace in over a year

CANBERRA, April 27 AAP - Business costs for materials increased at their fastest pace
in over a year in the first three months of 2010, raising the risk of higher consumer
prices in coming months.

The producer price index (PPI) at the final stage of production rose 1.0 per cent in
the March quarter, Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Tuesday showed.

This left the annual rate showing a 0.1 per cent decline in the year to end-March,
reflecting the weakness of previous quarters.

Economists' forecasts had centred on a 0.6 per cent for the March quarter with the
annual rate falling by 0.7 per cent.

The March quarter consumer price index (CPI) is released on Wednesday

While economists say there is no direct correlation between the PPI and CPI, the recovery
in prices across all stages of production could put upward pressure on consumer prices
in coming quarters should business pass on their increased costs.

AAP cb/sb/maur/

KEYWORD: ECONOMY

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Cash on the way for devastated towns

AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-2009
Vic: Cash on the way for devastated towns

MELBOURNE, Dec 14 AAP - Communities razed by the Black Saturday bushfires can expect
an injection of cash before Christmas and in the lead-up to the first anniversary of the
disaster.

The Herald Sun newspaper said the Bushfire Appeal Fund would offer $870,000 to help
fire victims through the toughest days since February 7 and almost $600,000 to help towns
pay for memorial and commemorative events - up to $30,000 per devastated town.

Another $290,000 will be used for summer events to entertain locals and attract visitors
to towns doing it tough since the February 7 fire, which killed 173 people.

Bushfire Appeal Fund chair Pat McNamara said bushfire victims still faced tough times,
especially as the first anniversary of the disaster looms.

"We understand that the Christmas and summer period is going to be a particularly challenging
time. The fund wanted to be able to support them to take time out and spend time with
their family, friends and communities," he said.

Each fire-affected community will receive up to $30,000 to hold commemorative events.

AAP jrd/rs

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRE BLACK CASH

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED: Turnbull worked 'hand in glove' with Grech: Emerson

AAP General News (Australia)
08-05-2009
FED: Turnbull worked 'hand in glove' with Grech: Emerson

CANBERRA, Aug 5 AAP - The Rudd government is expected to keep up its attack on Opposition
Leader Malcolm Turnbull over the Ozcar affair on Wednesday, with suggestions he could
have treated the Senate with contempt.

Labor has flagged it will push for an investigation by the upper house privileges committee
into evidence given by treasury official Godwin Grech to a Senate inquiry in June.

Government minister Craig Emerson says Mr Turnbull worked "hand in glove" with Mr Grech
by coaching him and "scripting" evidence which suggested special assistance was given
to the prime minister's mate, car dealer John Grant.

"He collaborated with Mr Grech, he created the impression that the evidence ... was
spontaneous ... but he was involved with Mr Grech in working out the questions that would
be asked and the answers that would be given," Dr Emerson told ABC TV.

Mr Turnbull's credibility was now "smashed" because he'd deliberately misled the Australian
people by engaging in a "sham Senate inquiry", the Labor minister said.

AAP jcd/jl

KEYWORD: DEALERS AM UPDATE

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Soldiers continue grisly task of searching for bushfire victims

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2009
Fed: Soldiers continue grisly task of searching for bushfire victims

CANBERRA, Feb 10 AAP - Australian soldiers are continuing the grisly task of combing
rubble across fire-ravaged central Victoria in search of victims, with one reservist having
discovered six bodies.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said some 460 Australian Defence Force personnel were
assisting in the relief operation, with more arriving all the time.

Among them are 140 reservists who had been training to deploy to the Solomon Islands.

"In addition to that we have got another 170 who are playing a search role, very sadly,"

he told Sky News on Tuesday.

"They face the task of finding dead bodies and that's happening on a regular basis."

Authorities say that at least 173 people have been killed in the inferno, with the
toll expected to rise.

Mr Fitzgibbon said the size of the force engaged in the search for victims was an indication
of the scale of the disaster.

"One of those reservists came across six bodies last evening," he said.

"This is really challenging work for our reservists.

"These are civilian volunteers and it's a reminder to the broader community of the
important role our reservists play in the Australian Defence Force."

Another 100 soldiers in an engineering group were using bulldozers to create fire containment
lines and to reopen roads and fire trails.

Mr Fitzgibbon said the presence of uniformed personnel provided a sense of security
and confidence to others involved in the relief mission.

"They are doing real and meaningful work and it is appreciated by the other authorities
that they are supporting," he said.

AAP mb/kms/maur

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC DEFENCE

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Ath: Hooker says gold medal win yet to sink in

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-2008
Ath: Hooker says gold medal win yet to sink in

A sleepless STEVE HOOKER says becoming the first Australian male to win an Olympic
track and field gold medal in 40 years still hasn't sunk in.

The 26-year-old won the pole vault at the Beijing Games late last night .. setting
an Olympic record of 5.96 metres in the process.

For HOOKER .. it's all been a blur since his remarkable triumph in which he faced do-or-die
jumps four times to stay in the event.

He says he's still the same guy he was yesterday .. but he hasn't been to bed yet and
he may feel differently when he wakes up.





(Eds: Repeating to correct record jump to 5.96m)

AAP RTV sl/jmt

KEYWORD: OLY08 ATH HOOKER (BEIJING)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Private sector welcome proposal

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2008
Fed: Private sector welcome proposal

The private childcare sector is welcoming Prime Minister KEVIN RUDD'S proposal to introduce
universal childcare.

Mr RUDD has said the private sector can play a key role in one-stop shop childcare
for children up to five years old.

Community childcare groups have slammed the proposal saying commercialising the sector
doesn't work.

But Childcare Associations Australia says the plan encourages and supports key stakeholders
to work together in the interest of young children.

The proposal will be discussed at the 2020 Summit in Canberra this weekend.

AAP RTV sld/rl/jec/bart

KEYWORD: SUMMIT CENTRES CAA (CANBERRA)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: The passing parade - Australians farewelled in 2007

AAP General News (Australia)
12-13-2007
Fed: The passing parade - Australians farewelled in 2007

AAP Senior Correspondent Doug Conway farewells prominent Australians who died in 2007:



Jan 12 - Former Liberal minister Sir James Killen, 81, who saved the Menzies government
in 1961 by winning his Brisbane seat with a majority after preferences of a mere 130 votes.



Feb 9 - Kayaker Andrew McAuley, 39, lost at sea while trying a record trans-Tasman
crossing. His kayak capsizes just 65 km from Milford Sound.



Feb 13 - Author Elizabeth Jolley, 83, whose works included The Well and Lovesong, was
acclaimed for her novels on themes of loneliness and alienation.



Feb 28 - Billy Thorpe, a rock legend from the age of 16, when Poison Ivy gave him a
national hit with the Aztecs, suffers a heart attack, aged 60.



March 7 - Five Australians are among the 21 people killed in a Garuda crash in Yogyakarta,
Indonesia. They are: Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish, 36; diplomat
Liz O'Neill, 37; AFP agents Brice Steele, 37, and Mark Scott, 41; and AusAid Indonesia
head Allison Sudradjat, 41.



March 28 - Brisbane skater Morgan Innes, 14, is one of four people drowned when a private
boat and a HarbourCat ferry collide under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Eight others are
injured including Morgan's coach, Olympian Liz Cain, who loses part of a leg.



April 1 - Liberal senator Jeannie Ferris, 66, from ovarian cancer. Four days later
her ex-husband, with whom she had remained close friends, dies in a car crash.



April 2 - Dr John Billings, 89, founder of one of the world's best known natural contraception
systems.



April 20 - ACT Police Assistant Commissioner Audrey Fagan, 44, is found dead in her
Queensland holiday apartment. She had been receiving counselling for stress over attacks
alleging poor police media management.



April 22 - Stephanie Gestier and Jodie Gater, both 16, found hanging from trees in
the Dandenong Ranges, east of Melbourne, after making a suicide pact.



May 14 - Aaron McMillan, 30, from bone cancer, six years after becoming the youngest
concert pianist to perform at Sydney's Opera House.



May 21 - Melbourne lawyer Peter Hayes, 54, dies in an Adelaide hospital after being
found naked and unconscious in a hotel bedroom by a client and former bikie gang member.



June 4 - Former Queensland deputy premier Tom Burns, 75, who as ALP federal president
was credited with modernising the party in the lead-up to Gough Whitlam's 1972 election
victory.



July 12 - Radio 2UE presenter and former Beauty And The Beast TV host Stan Zemanek,
60, from a brain tumour.



July 31 - Self-made aviation millionaire Steve Nott, 50, of Cairns, in a light plane
crash north of Melbourne.



Sept 13 - Anti-solarium campaigner Clare Oliver, 26, who blamed her fatal melanoma
on her use of solariums.



Sept 21 - Former Labor senator and minister Bob Collins, 61, succumbs to bowel cancer
before child sex allegations against him can be resolved. His family accepts prime minister
Howard's call to forgo a state funeral.



Sept 24 - "It's long enough, it's high enough and it's straight between the posts,"

was the catchcry of rugby league player and commentator Frank Hyde, 91.



Oct 1 - Chris Mainwaring, 41, who won two AFL premierships with the West Coast Eagles,
collapses at his Perth home.



Oct 8 - Trooper David Pearce, 41, becomes the first Australian soldier killed by direct
enemy action in the current deployments to Afghanistan or Iraq.



Oct 12 - Kim Beazley senior, 90, former Whitlam government minister and father of former
Labor leader Kim Beazley.



Oct 23 - "Crazy" John Ilhan, 42, a Turkish immigrant success story who built a $300
million mobile phone empire, dies of a heart attack on a morning walk.



Oct 25 - Special Air Service Regiment soldier Matthew Locke, 33, shot dead by Taliban
extremists while on patrol in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province.



Nov 2 - Network Ten newsreader Charmaine Dragun, 29, found dead at suicide spot The
Gap in Sydney's east.



Nov 3 - Former federal MP Peter Andren, 61, from pancreatic cancer. Called a man of
rare integrity, he represented the central NSW seat of Calare for 11 years.



Nov 6 - Australian soldier Private Ashley Baker, 19, dies of gunshot wound in East
Timor barracks, believed to be suicide.



Nov 23 - Luke Worsley, 26, Special Operations Task Group soldier, shot and killed during
an attempt to take a heavily defended Taliban position in Afghanistan.



Nov 25 - Journalist Matt Price, 46, The Australian's political Sketch columnist, dies
of brain tumours hours after votes are cast in an election he had planned to cover.



Nov 27 - Asbestos campaigner Bernie Banton, 61, from mesothelioma. He was hailed as
a great Australian hero by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at a state funeral.



Dec 4 - James Kemsley, 59, the artist behind Ginger Meggs, the most syndicated Australian
comic strip, dies of motor neurone disease.



Dec 10 - Gordon Samuels, 84, the former NSW Governor who made headlines when he decided
to continue living at home rather than in Government House.



AAP dc/sp/mn

KEYWORD: YEARENDER OBITS

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Young girls worst hit by stress after Larry: Study

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-2007
Fed: Young girls worst hit by stress after Larry: Study

Cyclone Larry took a severe toll on the mental health of local children in North Queensland
.. with new research revealing more than one in ten are still suffering trauma .. more
than a year later.

A study of three thousand school students found 11 per cent of primary-aged kids met
the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Adolescents were more resilient .. with four per cent reporting psychological symptoms of stress.

The study found girls were three times more likely than boys to suffer from post traumatic
stress disorder .. typically characterised by flashbacks .. nightmares .. anxiety .. clinginess
and bed-wetting.

The research has been released at a national psychiatry conference on the Gold Coast today.

AAP RTV tam/wf/bart

KEYWORD: LARRY STRESS (SYDNEY)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Eastern Sydney hotel robbed with sledgehammers, gun

AAP General News (Australia)
12-31-2006
NSW: Eastern Sydney hotel robbed with sledgehammers, gun

SYDNEY, Dec 31 AAP - Three men armed with two sledgehammers and a gun robbed an eastern
Sydney hotel today, police say.

The three men forced their way into the premises on New South Head Road, Rose Bay,
just after midnight (AEDT), threatening staff before taking a sum of cash.

Police said the men were last seen fleeing in a 2006-model silver BMW M3 sedan.

Anyone with information is urged to contact authorities.

AAP nr/cat

KEYWORD: HOTEL

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Accused discussed various ways of killing wife, court hears

AAP General News (Australia)
08-22-2006
Vic: Accused discussed various ways of killing wife, court hears

MELBOURNE, Aug 22 AAP - A Melbourne pharmacist had discussed killing his wife by pushing
her from a Gold Coast high-rise apartment or staging a hit-run accident before settling
on a plan to drop a car on her, a Supreme Court jury heard today.

Ronald William Crawford allegedly paid a hitman $10,000 to kill his wife Anne in 1988
after she threatened to divorce him.

The court heard Crawford had wanted sole custody of his children and a financial benefit
from her death.

It also heard he had conducted three extra-marital affairs in the years leading up
to his wife's murder.

The hitman, whose identity has been suppressed and is referred to in court as PS, said
he'd had several conversations with Mr Crawford about killing his wife.

He told the court Mr Crawford devised a plan to place Mrs Crawford under her car while
it was jacked up and for the vehicle to then be bumped off the jack and onto her head.

PS said he went to the Crawford home in Strathmore Heights, forced his way into the
lounge room and knocked Mrs Crawford out with a punch to the jaw.

He then took her outside and placed her head under the car.

"The intention was to push the car off the jack ... to crush her head," PS told the court.

"That's what I was being paid to do.

"The car came off ... squashed her head.

"Once the pool of blood came, I left."

The original police investigation into the incident came to the conclusion the death
was an accident that occurred while Mrs Crawford was changing a wheel.

But a new investigation resulted in PS and Crawford being charged.

PS is serving a prison sentence after pleading guilty to Mrs Crawford's murder.

The murder trial before Justice Tim Smith continues.

AAP mh/gfr/goc/ks/sd

KEYWORD: CRAWFORD

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Warragamba Dam expanded by 40 billion litres a year

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2006
NSW: Warragamba Dam expanded by 40 billion litres a year

Sydney's Warragamba Dam has had its storage levels increased by an extra 40 billion
litres of water a year thanks to a deep water engineering project.

A team of international saturation divers who usually work on offshore oil rigs have
spent the past two weeks removing a 17 tonne block from the base of the dam wall.

The divers have cut a two metre hole through the wall to allow water at the bottom
of the dam to be pumped into the Warragamba pipeline.

New South Wales Premier MORRIS IEMMA says the final stage of the deep water project
has been completed as part of the government's 120 million dollar deep water access program.

AAP RTV nr/wz

KEYWORD: DAM (SYDNEY)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Diary for Saturday, December 17, 2005

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2005
Diary for Saturday, December 17, 2005
EVENTS LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER AND LOCAL TIME UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED:

ADELAIDE
No items listed.

BRISBANE
No items listed.

CANBERRA
No items listed.

MELBOURNE
No time given - Campaign by Women's Reproductive Rights (CWRR) campaigners to defend fertility
clinic from anti-choice protesters. Fertility Control Clinic, 118 Wellington Parade, East
Melbourne. Contact: Debbie Brennan 9664 4805.

PERTH
No items listed.

SYDNEY
1015 - National Servicemen's Association honours the Waratah March. Commencing at Hyde
Park North and travelling south through the park, crossing Park Street and on to the ANZAC
Memorial in Hyde Park South. Contact: Ron Brown 0428 615 201, John Moore 0425 272 507.

1230 - Motorola Mobile Devices holds Australia's first silent disco, with music distributed
to dancers via headphones. Manly Beach, adjacent to Manly Pacific Hotel, Manly. Contact:
Leila Sabbagh 0403 306 327.

2030 - Carols In The Domain, featuring Christine Anu, The Wiggles, Shannon Noll, David
Hasselhoff and more. The Domain, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney.

SPORT
BASKETBALL - NBL 2005 championship -
Round 16 - to December 18 -
2040 (AEDT) - Cairns v West Sydney, Cairns Entertainment Centre
2030 (AEDT) - Adelaide v Hunter, Distinctive Homes Dome, Adelaide
1940 - Melbourne v Sydney, State Netball & Hockey Centre
2240 (AEDT) - Perth v Wollongong, Challenge Stadium
BASKETBALL (women's) - WNBL 2005 championship -
Round 12 - to December 18
1900 - AIS v Sydney Uni, AIS Training Hall, ACT
1930 - Bulleen v Canberra, Knox Basketball Stadium, Vic
CRICKET - Pura Cup
Round 5 - to December 20
QLD v WA, Gabba
CRICKET - International test series -
1st test - to December 20 -
Australia v Sth Africa, WACA, Perth
GOLF - South African Airways Open - to December 18
Fancourt GC, South Africa
SURFING - 2005 Foster's Mens World Championship Tour -
Rip Curl Pipeline Masters, Banzai Pipeline, Oahu-Hawaii - to December 20
SURFING - 2005 World Championship Tour - Womens -
Billabong Pro, Honolua Bay, Maui-Hawaii - to December 19
GALLOPS -
Randwick
Flemington
Eagle Farm
Victoria Park
Newcastle
Gold Coast
Ascot
Toowoomba
Ballina
Colac
New Zealand
Hong Kong
TROTS -
Newcastle
Moonee Valley
Albion Park
Globe Derby
Gloucester Park
GREYHOUNDS -
Wentworth Park
The Meadows
Canberra
Cannington



AAP RTV dmc/wz/jv

KEYWORD: DIARY SATURDAY DEC 17, 2005

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Health Care In New Jersey Ranked Among The Nation's Worst.

Business Editors

TRENTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2003

Latest Study Ranks the State #43, Worse Than Its Ranking in 2000,

Costs Continue to Rise

New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute Launches Campaign -- Goal

of Improving Health Care Delivery Ranking by 2005

The quality of New Jersey's health care delivery system continues to rank among the worst in the nation, according to the latest Jencks Study, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Judged against 52 districts (the 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico), New Jersey has slipped from #41 to #43 since the last Jencks report in 2000, and last among our neighboring states. Yet, our state's health care costs remain among the highest in the nation.

The Jencks Study tabulates rankings based on care delivered to fee-for-service (non-HMO) Medicare patients. It measures how often patients are given care judged to be best-practices (e.g. aspirin/beta-blocker drugs for heart attack patients, vision/foot exams for diabetics) and then compares that to the care provided in other states.

"Despite the significant advantages of an affluent, well educated population, New Jersey's health care delivery system is broken," said David Knowlton, Chairman of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute. "Nationwide, more than 98,000 citizens die from preventable medical errors every year. Here in New Jersey we lose 11 of our neighbors each day to preventable medical errors. Overall quality is poor, information needed to make informed decisions is limited and in some cases restricted, and the cost of health care in the state is increasing at double-digit levels with no end in sight. Dr. Jencks' study 2 years ago was a call for action. Here we are, more than two years later, and New Jersey's performance is worse. Clearly, the current system needs to be fixed, and fixed now! -- New Jersey cannot accept less."

NJHCQI plans an aggressive education campaign to build consumer and health care purchaser awareness of the variables in the Jencks' Study. "We all need to take charge of our own care if we are to change the level of care provided in our state, " Knowlton said. The Institute's goal is to improve the quality of the state's health care and bring New Jersey's ranking up in time for the next Jencks Study in 2005. NJHCQI will seek to work with the state's corporate leaders (significant health care purchasers), health care providers and policy makers to enhance state residents' quality of life.

NJHCQI also announced that it will convene a Summit on Health Care Quality with the following goals:

1. Reduction of medical errors achieved through purchaser and

consumer collaboration and with financial and non-financial

incentives for those providers that endorse and implement

current standards of The LEAPFROG Program.

2. Improvement of New Jersey's ranking among the 50 states on the

Jencks measures to a ranking of not more than 20th by the end

of 2004 accomplished by collaborative efforts among physicians,

nurses, health facilities, senior groups, purchasing

coalitions, health plans and government.

3. Implementation of web access to information called for in

Senate Bill 571 along with a variety of additional health care

quality information which is accurate, helpful, and user

friendly

4. Get the story out -- to leaders in every stakeholder

organization in the state. They need to know the size, scope,

depth and insidious nature of the problem and, more

importantly, the direct relationship between quality and cost.

"The consumer and purchaser empowerment initiatives that we urge will significantly improve the quality of care delivered while also helping to reduce the overall cost of delivering that care," said Knowlton. "New Jersey is an innovator in high-tech, pharmaceuticals and other industries. There is no reason why we should not have the best health care in the country. Getting all stakeholders to find our current state of health care quality unacceptable will form a solid basis upon which we can work to improve our ranking."

Founded in 1997, the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (NJHCQI) is a foundation affiliated with the Health Care Payers Coalition of New Jersey. NJHCQI seeks to educate consumers, through objective research and comparative data on providers, to allow them to make informed decisions on the merits of various health care programs, treatments and services. The organization seeks to accomplish several objectives, including:

 -- Empower health care payers and consumers  -- Enhance the accountability of health care delivery systems and services  -- Establish a clearinghouse of information on the Internet 

Additional information on NJHCQI, the Jencks study and The LEAPFROG Project can be found by visiting: www.hcpc.org

ChannelWave Raises $26.5 Million In Capital.

Business Editors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2001

Major Investment From SOFTBANK Venture Capital, ABS Capital

Partners, Lazard Technology Partners and Ironside Ventures

Demonstrates Strong Support for Partner Relationship Management

Leader

ChannelWave Software, Inc., the leader in Partner Relationship Management (PRM) solutions, today announced that it closed a $26.5 million round in venture financing. Led by SOFTBANK Venture Capital (SBVC), this most recent round includes increased investments from ABS Capital Partners, Lazard Technology Partners (LTP) and Ironside Ventures LLC. Capital raised in this round brings total ChannelWave financing to $59 million.

ChannelWave will use the new capital to bolster its sales and marketing programs, increase customer service and support, broaden its product line and strengthen product development efforts for its market-leading PRM solutions, and bring the company to profitability in 2002.

"Raising this amount of capital in today's economic environment is a great testament to ChannelWave's ability to deliver powerful and mission-critical solutions to our customers," said Chris Heidelberger, president and CEO of ChannelWave. "These blue chip investors have talked to our customers and conducted a tremendous amount of due diligence and have validated ChannelWave's capacity to help companies increase revenues and reduce costs by optimizing the performance of their indirect sales channels. This additional financing enables us to accelerate our market penetration and expand the capabilities offered through our proven enterprise software solution."

"ChannelWave has made great strides in helping enterprises realize the revenue potential that exists through effective channel management," said Bradley Feld, principal managing director, SBVC. "Because over 60 percent of revenue flows through indirect channels in many industries, even small percentage increases in performance can deliver an enormous impact on a company's bottom line. ChannelWave has established itself as the leading provider of Partner Relationship Management solutions, with a seasoned executive team, and we are very confident in the company's long-term success."

ChannelWave's Web-based PRM solution allows enterprises to reduce costs and increase revenues by optimizing their business partnerships. By automating and scaling best practices among vendors, partners and customers and enabling highly collaborative and complex partnerships, ChannelWave helps organizations to dramatically improve the effectiveness of their indirect sales channel to gain competitive advantage.

Technology and financial analysts have recognized PRM as a fast-growing software category. According to Gartner Group's Partner Relationship Management: MQ Evaluation Criteria, PRM market investments grew 43 percent in 2000. The Yankee Group recently forecast channel management solutions as a $1.25 billion market by 2004.

"Channelwave extends traditional PRM capabilities by enabling highly collaborative, many-to-many relationships among vendors, partners and customers to improve communication, sales performance and visibility across the demand chain," said Sheryl Kingstone, program manager, The Yankee Group. "This significant financial investment supports the Yankee Group's belief that PRM technology from companies like ChannelWave will be widely recognized as a mission-critical solution for organizations that sell through multiple channels."

Major Financial Investors

Financial investors participating in this funding round include:

SOFTBANK Venture Capital works with the best entrepreneurs to create the most powerful companies of the Internet economy. SBVC has $2.5 billion under its management, over 150 leading Internet companies in its portfolio, and an unparalleled investment team of former CEOs and entrepreneurs, technology pioneers, senior executives from major technology corporations, and leaders from the investment banking community. Companies in its portfolio include Art Technology Group, ChannelWave, E*TRADE, Interliant, iPrint.com, Net2Phone, PeoplePC, Preview Systems, Support.com and TeraBeam Networks. For more information, please visit www.sbvc.com.

ABS Capital Partners (www.abscapital.com) was founded in 1990 to invest in mid- to later- stage companies with scalable, sustainable business models that create long-term value. The firm's investment strategy focuses on companies providing software, services and infrastructure to Global 2000 corporations, healthcare enterprises and media/communications companies. ABS Capital leverages over 100 years of combined experience among its partners, and considers a range of investment structures, including expansion financings, management buyouts and recapitalizations for growth companies. ABS Capital's extensive knowledge of equity capital markets allows them to provide strategic guidance to companies and establish them as significant market leaders. With $1.4B under management, ABS has seven investing partners and offices in Baltimore, San Francisco and Northern Virginia. Over the past ten years, ABS Capital has invested in over 60 portfolio companies.

Lazard Technology Partners (LTP) is a venture capital fund dedicated to providing investors with superior returns through early-stage investments in information technology. LTP is managed by principals who collectively have over 80 years of experience in the information technology industry. This team brings together a combination of successful venture capital investment experience, CEO-level operating experience and in-depth knowledge and long-standing relationships in the technology industry. As an affiliate of Lazard Freres & Co. LLC, LTP takes advantage of the relationships and expertise of Lazard's worldwide network of advisory and capital markets services. For more information about LTP, please visit www.lazardtp.com.

Ironside Ventures LLC is a Boston-based venture capital firm making multi-stage equity investments in rapidly growing companies participating in the communications infrastructure and information technology industries. Ironside currently has approximately $150 million in assets under management The firm is managed by a core team of highly experienced professionals who have strong backgrounds in developing, underwriting and distributing private equity investments and structured finance products. For more information, please visit www.ironsideventures.com.

About ChannelWave

Founded in 1997, ChannelWave develops market-leading Partner Relationship Management (PRM) solutions that help organizations to reduce costs and increase sales revenues and profits by improving the loyalty and effectiveness of their business partnerships. By automating and scaling business processes between vendors and selling partners, ChannelWave enables businesses to effectively manage multiple sales channels and foster collaboration among partners to better market, sell and service end-customers. Backed by leading venture capital firms including ABS Capital Partners, Blue Rock Capital, Lazard Technology Partners, Ironside Ventures and SOFTBANK, ChannelWave's growing customer roster includes 3Com, AT&T, BEA, Hewlett Packard, Honeywell, Motorola, Nortel Networks, PTC, Toshiba and Qwest. ChannelWave is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, and has offices in San Jose, CA and Toronto, Canada. More information is available at www.channelwave.com or by calling (800) 862-5596.

ChannelWave is a registered trademark and Partner Loyalty System is a trademark of ChannelWave Software, Inc. All other logos, company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Harvard #1 This Year? Vault.com Offering Prize for US News College Predictions.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 30, 2000

As college applicants, students, and alumni eagerly await the release of US News & World Report's annual ranking of the nation's top colleges (announced this Friday on the US News site) Vault.com is inviting its audience to predict this year's rankings for a chance to win $100 or a limited edition Vault.com t-shirt.

By visiting http://www.Vault.com/links/Ranking, users can forecast the outcome of the rankings for a chance to win $100. Participants will submit their top 10 prediction to Vault.com and will be notified if their selection earns the top prize or a consolation prize.

In last year's US News Best Colleges ranking, Cal Tech trumped traditional favorites like Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton to claim the #1 spot. The US News rankings, an annual source of debate among college applicants, alumni, and administrators, has already created a stir on Vault.com's College and Internship message boards (http://www.Vault.com/links/College).

Last year's US News top 10 ranking of national universities is as follows:

  1  California Institute of Technology 2  Harvard University (MA) 3  Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4  Princeton University (NJ) 4  Yale University (CT) 6  Stanford University (CA) 7  Duke University (NC) 7  Johns Hopkins University (MD) 7  University of Pennsylvania 10 Columbia University (NY) (Source US News & World Report, 2000 rankings of national universities) 

US News & World Report is not affiliated with nor endorses Vault.com's college ranking contest. Click here for contest rules: http://www.Vault.com/links/Ranking

In addition to providing one of the most robust virtual communities on the web, Vault.com is well known for its award-winning "insider" company and industry profiles on companies such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), AT&T (NYSE: T), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), and AOL (NYSE: AOL).

About Vault.com

The Internet's leading new media company focused on careers and human resources,Vault.com provides "insider" information on over 3,000 companies and 70 industries. It also offers the much-praised Electronic WaterCooler(TM), the Internet's first-ever network of expert-moderated message boards for professionals. The company also publishes a series of award-winning guidebooks, available in bookstores nationwide. For HR managers and recruiters, Vault.com provides the HR Vault, a comprehensive online resource featuring top-quality HR content, robust networking opportunities, a free job board, and a one-click job posting service that allows the ease of posting on multiple job boards with one account. Vault.com was founded in 1997 by Samer Hamadeh, Mark Oldman, and H.S. Hamadeh, together recently named to the "Silicon Alley 100: New York's 100 Most Influential Internet Executives."