The Net and nothing but the Net

HOMICIDE detectives have ruled that the mother of two children killed in Mooroopna on the weekend had no involvement in their deaths.

HOMICIDE detectives have ruled that the mother of two children killed in Mooroopna on the weekend had no involvement in their deaths.

Police say tests conducted yesterday by an Energy Safe Victoria inspector have led police to believe that their deaths were likely caused by a faulty appliance, possibly a heater.

Further testing is still to be conducted as part of the investigation and police are also awaiting the outcome of toxicology reports.

The brothers, Tyler and Chase Robinson, were found dead in their home in Mooroopna in Victoria’s north on Sunday night. The boys, aged seven and nine, had no signs of injury.

Their mother, Vanessa Robinson, 29, had been arrested and was flown to hospital in Melbourne on Monday in a serious but stable condition.

Read more…Faulty appliance blamed for deaths of Tyler and Chase Robinson | News.com.au

DENNIS Hopper, whose 50-year film
career spanned such classics as Rebel Without a Cause, Easy Rider,
Apocalypse Now and Blue Velvet, has died aged 74.

Hopper had been suffering prostate cancer and died at his in Venice, California, from complications related to the disease.

The
unconventional, enigmatic actor played villains, counterculture heroes
and even a young Napoleon Bonaparte with equal aplomb.

He began acting in television in the 1950s, and by 1955 was appearing with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause.

However, his acting career languished as he developed a reputation for throwing tantrums and abusing alcohol and drugs.

On the set of True Grit, Hopper so angered John Wayne that the star reportedly chased Hopper with a loaded gun.

Read more…Easy Rider Dennis Hopper dead at age 74 | News.com.au

THEY may not feature on the latest list of Australia’s richest people but federal politicians are doing very, very nicely.

Analysis by BRW magazine of the pecuniary interests of the 150 MPs in the House of Representatives showed the average wealth of Liberal MPs was $4.9 million – almost three times that of Labor MPs, at $1.7 million.

Compiling the latest BRW Rich 200 list, magazine editor-in-chief Sean Aylmer said the figures were slightly misleading because once the fortunes of former merchant banker Malcolm Turnbull and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd were removed from calculations, wealth averages plummeted.

Mr Turnbull made the list for the second year in a row, scraping in at number 197 with a “conservatively” estimated $186 million fortune – up from $178 million in 2009.

The cut-off for the new list was $185 million, and so Mr Rudd’s $56 million fortune – thanks largely to his wife Therese Rein’s successful business
ventures – didn’t make it.

When he was removed from calculations, Labor MPs were worth, on average, $1 million. When Mr Turnbull’s wealth was discounted, the average of Liberals fell to $1.6 million.

Mr Aylmer said wealth estimates were “conservative” because the magazine tended to “underestimate”, but added: “Generally speaking we don’t have a bunch of rich politicians.”

Victorian Labor MP Mark Dreyfus’ fortune was valued at $4.2 million, while NSW Liberal and treasury spokesman Joe Hockey – who owns a raft of properties – is estimated to be worth $4.4 million.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard may be touted as a rival for Mr Rudd but her wealth – valued at $1.5 million – is no match for her boss.

Read more…Revealed: Australia’s cashed-up politicians | News.com.au

AN impoverished father has tied his eight-year-old boy to a post and tried to auction him off to the highest bidder in China.

Yong Tsui attempted to entice passers-by into making an offer with assurances that his son, Fai, was a hard worker, The Daily Mail reports.

However, the auction came to a violent end after onlookers heard bidders asking how little they would have to feed the boy.

Several people attacked Mr Yong, with one putting him in a headlock until police arrived.

Mr Yong told officers in Wuhan, central China, that his wife had died
three years ago and that he could no longer afford to take care of the
boy.

“He has no job, no home and no money. He says he wasn’t
interested in the money, just finding a home for the boy,” said police,
who have put boy into care.

Read more…Boy, 8, chained up by father and sold on the street | News.com.au

POLICE are hunting a gang of killers after the ruthless slaughter of more than 100 kangaroos and wallabies at one of Hobart’s most popular parks.

Tolosa Park ranger Barry Hosking made the grisly discovery earlier this week, The Mercury reported.

“I open the gate and the crows alert me to where the carcasses are,” Mr Hosking said.

“Whoever is killing the animals is doing their business under the cover of darkness. It is sick.

“There are hundreds of kangaroos in the bush here at night. But why would you want to kill them just for the sake of it?”

Glenorchy police inspector John Arnold yesterday said they were closing in on whoever has killed the marsupials near the Glenorchy tip and within Tolosa Park over the past few weeks.

“We are not ruling out the use of firearms but it is also apparent that dogs are being used to entrap the animals,” Insp Arnold said.

Read more…‘Sick’ gang kills hundreds of kangaroos, wallabies in Tolosa Park | News.com.au