Vic: Fire toll rises to 66: police

AAP General News (Australia)
02-08-2009
Vic: Fire toll rises to 66: police

MELBOURNE, Feb 8 AAP - The death toll from Victoria's bushfires has risen to 66, with
another …

Youku Selects Juniper Networks Switching Solutions

Wireless News
06-30-2011
Youku Selects Juniper Networks Switching Solutions
Type: News

Juniper Networks announced that Youku.com, a Chinese Internet television company, has deployed a new Juniper-based Ethernet switching infrastructure running on the Junos operating system in its data center and Content Delivery Network.

"Internet video is really taking off in China and we are determined to remain at the forefront of this market," said Jian Yao, chief technology officer of Youku, in a release.
"In assessing our options for new switching infrastructure, the Juniper Networks EX Series switches stood out for delivering wire- speed performance, tremendous scalability and excellent stability in a compact footprint. With a single operating system running all switches and the use of Virtual Chassis fabric technology, we can keep expanding the data center without having to expand our network management overhead."

The Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches with Virtual Chassis fabric technology make it possible for Youku to scale its data center and content distribution network to meet demand.

Within Youku's data center, the EX Series switches have enabled both internal and external networks to collapse multiple switching layers to create a simplified two-layer network architecture. The internal network uses Juniper Networks EX8216 modular switches which, through Virtual Chassis fabric technology, have been interconnected to create a single, logical device that forms a Layer 2 core domain. This is connected to EX3200 access switches using dual 10GbE uplinks configured into Redundant Trunk Groups. On the external network, EX4200 switches deployed in a Virtual Chassis configuration form the switching core, with multiple 10GbE links to service provider routers and redundant link-aggregated GbE connections to Juniper Networks EX2200 access switches.

At Youku's remote caching sites, Juniper Networks EX3200 switches have been deployed to support 10GbE uplinks to the service provider and GbE link aggregation groups connecting to EX2200 access switches.

"Projections are that video will account for 50 percent of all Internet traffic by 2014 so, as a streaming video service provider addressing the world's largest Internet-connected population, Youku needs reliable, highly-scalable network performance," said Alex Gray, general manager and senior vice president, campus and branch business unit, Juniper Networks.

"Our EX Series switches with Virtual Chassis fabric technology flatten the network to increase performance, reduce latency and make it possible for Youku to scale IT operations without increasing complexity."

Juniper Networks is a provider of software, silicon and systems.

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

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

VIC:Main stories on 3AW news

AAP General News (Australia)
12-06-2011
VIC:Main stories on 3AW news

MELBOURNE, Dec 6 AAP - Main stories on 1200 3AW news:

- A woman has walked away with minor injuries after her car was pushed 100m down a
Melbourne highway by a truck.

- Chadstone Shopping Centre is set for a $500m enlargement which will include a hotel.

- The case of a man charged with owning a dog that killed a little girl has been adjourned

- A woman is in a critical condition after being hit by a cyclist in East Melbourne.

- Public transport users are facing the biggest fare increases in nearly a decade.

- Mortgage holders look set for a festive season reprieve with rates to remain steady.

- The navy has intercepted an asylum seeker boat off the West Australian coast.

- A Muslim man accused of sending abusive letters to fallen Australian soldiers has
had his appeal against the charge rejected.

- Parents are being urged to check safety standards as they buy toys in the lead up to Christmas.

- Australian farmers are set to harvest their biggest ever winter crop.

- Harry Kewell will be given until the last minute to prove his fitness ahead of tonight's
friendly against the LA Galaxy.

- Victorian wicket keeper Matthew Wade has been included in the squad for the one day
match with Queensland.

- St Kilda player Nick Dal Santo has still reached peak fitness this pre-season despite
a broken hand.

- The Melbourne Stars have finalised their 18 man squad for the upcoming big bash league.

AAP jcr/mn

KEYWORD: MONITOR 1200 3AW

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

QLD:Shand jailed over Nuttall payment

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2011
QLD:Shand jailed over Nuttall payment

The Crime and Misconduct Commission says the 15-month jail term given to HAROLD SHAND
sends a warning to anyone in the business community who acts corruptly.

SHAND was sentenced today after being found guilty of paying former MP GORDON NUTTALL
60-thousand dollars as a secret commission in April 2002 .. when he was Minister for Industrial
Relations.

Commission Chair MARTIN MOYNIHAN said the conviction and sentence would have a ripple-effect
on the wider community and send a strong anti-corruption message.

SHAND's sentence will be suspended after four months.

AAP RTV cf/crh/nap

KEYWORD: SHAND (BRISBANE)

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

NSW:MyHospital figures wrong, NSW Libs

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2010
NSW:MyHospital figures wrong, NSW Libs

The New South Wales opposition says the MyHospital website will be of no use to the
state's patients .. because the figures provided by the state government are wrong.

The website is launched today .. and includes information on almost one thousand public
and private hospitals around the country.

State opposition health spokeswomen JILLIAN SKINNER says figures about waiting lists
provided by the Keneally government are deceptive.

She says a surgeon can't get a NSW patient onto the official waiting list .. unless
they can book them into theatre within one year.

Ms SKINNER says the government's also placed patients on the .. not ready for care
.. list because they were approaching their due date .. meaning they're no longer counted
on official waiting lists.

AAP RTV lxs/tr/tm

KEYWORD: HOSPITALS NSW (SYDNEY)

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

What the Papers Say

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2010
What the Papers Say

Main stories in today's papers:



THE AUSTRALIAN:

- The worst border clash in four years between Israel and Lebanon has erupted .. over
a tree!; four people are dead.

- A Newspoll indicates Queensland and NSW voters are turning on Labor.



THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

- Tony Abbott will tomorrow unveil a cash splash on older employees aged over 50, with
employers to get $3000 for workers engaged for six months.

- Welfare agencies had fears about the missing six-year-old girl at Mount Druitt in
Sydney's west, and also concerns about substance abuse in the home.

- The David Jones case is set to be a watershed in sexual harassment for corporations.



THE AGE:

- Business has criticised Tony Abbott's revamped parental leave scheme.

- Taxpayer-funded hospitals have hired lobby firms to try to attract extra funding.

- Alcohol-related ambulance attendances have tripled in 10 years.



THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

- Labor is facing growing antagonism from smaller mining companies to its revamped
mineral resources rent tax.

- The coalition is planning a mini-budget to implement its claimed $24bn in savings.

- Julia Gillard has tried to turn the government's past spending into a positive.

- David Jones' chairman has extended an olive branch to the woman, suing the company
for $37m, saying it's open to negotiations and hopes a settlement can be reached.



THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

- A woman's right to wear a burqa while giving evidence in a court case is being questioned,
in what could set an Australian precedent.

- A father of two has died, while reportedly trying to break up a workplace fight,
in a fall from a semi-trailer.



THE BRISBANE COURIER MAIL:

- Mount Isa parents are being advised to test their children for lead poisoning.

- Teenagers addicted to the internet are more than twice as likely to suffer depression,
according to a new study.



THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:

- The Clipsal 500 super car event has so far injected $285m into the South Australian economy.

- Deputy SA Opposition Leader Mitch Williams has cut short a visit to Darwin to return
to the tornado hit parts of his electorate.



THE HOBART MERCURY:

- Southern Tasmanian mayors are crying foul over the bulk of federal road funding over
25 years going to the state's north.

- The Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania is urging the government to stop petrol price
gouging by the major supermarkets.



THE CANBERRA TIMES:

- Canberra's arts landscape will be transformed if the ACT Government adopts recommendations
of a sweeping review.

- Canberra's economy is facing a timebomb, with close to half of the workforce approaching
retirement age.



THE NORTHERN TERRITORY NEWS:

- A long serving NT police officer has fallen to his death in the Andes.

- A well-endowed kangaroo is stalking women near Tennant Creek.



AAP RTV/ajw/

KEYWORD: MONITOR PAPERS (SYDNEY)

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

Fed: Christmas holiday road toll at 22

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2009
Fed: Christmas holiday road toll at 22

SYDNEY, Dec 21 AAP - After a horrific start to the Christmas holiday travel season,
there have been no fatalities reported on Australian roads on Monday, with the toll remaining
at 22.

Ten people have lost their lives on NSW roads, four in Victoria and three in Queensland.

Two people have been killed in Western Australia, while one person has died in each
of South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

The Australian Capital Territory remains fatality-free.



(EDS: National road toll figures are for the period 0001 December 18 to 2359 January
3. Some states and territories have different periods.)

AAP cdh

KEYWORD: TOLL NATIONAL (WITH FACTBOX)

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

Fed: Coalition will presents its amendments second time around

AAP General News (Australia)
08-12-2009
Fed: Coalition will presents its amendments second time around

Opposition leader MALCOLM TURNBULL has promised to give the government coalition amendments
to its emissions trading scheme .. when the legislation goes before parliament a second
time.

Non-government senators intend voting down bills setting up emissions trading tomorrow.

If that happens .. the legislation can't be reintroduced to parliament until November
.. when a second rejection would hand the government an early election trigger.

Mr TURNBULL says the coalition is working on amendments that'll be influenced by the
alternative ETS developed by Frontier Economics.

He's told ABC radio they'll be put forward during parliamentary debate .. second time around.

AAP RTV rl/jmt

KEYWORD: CLIMATE TURNBULL (CANBERRA)

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

Vic: Extra time granted in case against accused arsonist

AAP General News (Australia)
04-02-2009
Vic: Extra time granted in case against accused arsonist

MELBOURNE, April 2 AAP - Prosecutors have been granted more time to mount their case
against a man charged over a fatal Victorian bushfire.

Brendan Sokaluk, 39, has been charged over the Churchill fire in Victoria's southeast,
which claimed the lives of 11 people and destroyed at least 30 homes.

The accused arsonist had a brief hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday
but did not attend.

Prosecutors were granted until July 6 - an extra three months - to serve a brief of
evidence on Sokaluk's lawyers.

Magistrate Sarah Dawes remanded Sokaluk in custody to reappear in court for a committal
mention hearing on August 17.

He has made no application for bail.

Sokaluk is charged with single counts of arson causing death, intentionally lighting
a bushfire and possessing child pornography.

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

AAP mi/gfr/sn/mn

KEYWORD: SOKALUK

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

FED: Solariums ordered to post warning signs about cancer

AAP General News (Australia)
08-29-2008
FED: Solariums ordered to post warning signs about cancer

Solariums will have to display signs warning of the danger of skin cancer .. after
a Federal Court ruling today.

Tanning salon operators could be jailed for contempt of court if they don't post the
warnings .. including advising customers that solarium use has been linked to an increased
risk of skin cancer.

The rulings are a victory for the family and friends of Melbourne woman CLARE OLIVER
.. who died of skin cancer last year aged 26.

Ms OLIVER believed her cancer was caused by her visits to solariums and used her dying
months to warn against using them.

The ACCC took the Australian Tanning Association and two companies .. Body Bronze International
Pty Ltd and Tropical Sun Industries Pty Ltd .. to court for breaches of the Trade Practices
Act.

Justice RAY FINKELSTEIN's granted injunctions today .. restraining salons from making
false and misleading claims about the safety of tanning.

He's also ordered the ATA and tanning franchises to publish notices in salons and on
websites warning that tanning damages skin.

AAP RTV srj/mfh/tm/ibw

KEYWORD: SOLARIUM (CANBERRA)

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

Qld: Bashing ringleader walks free

AAP General News (Australia)
04-24-2008
Qld: Bashing ringleader walks free

GOLD COAST, April 24 AAP - A teenage girl accused of instigating a vicious beating
of an off-duty police officer and his girlfriend on the Gold Coast has walked free from
court.

Tiani Slockee, 18, had pleaded guilty to two counts of grievous bodily harm in the
attack on Constable Rawson James Armitage and Michelle Renee Dodge at Coolangatta in November
last year.

Slockee was the alleged ringleader of almost a dozen youths who kicked and punched
the couple, inflicting severe bruising and lacerations.

Southport District Court Judge John Newton today placed Slockee on two years' probation,
noting she had already spent 91 days in custody.

Slockee and Harley Lee Trindall, 18, along with seven other minors who cannot be named,
were all sentenced today after pleading guilty.

The harshest sentence was reserved for Trindall, who punched Constable Armitage.

He was sentenced to nine months in jail.

MORE ca/ac/pjo/sp

KEYWORD: TRINDALL (PIX AVAILABLE)

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

Fed: Cannabis users say friends, colleagues approve of habit

AAP General News (Australia)
12-20-2007
Fed: Cannabis users say friends, colleagues approve of habit

By Jane Bunce

CANBERRA, Dec 20 AAP - People who smoke marijuana overwhelmingly believe their friends,
siblings and co-workers would condone their drug use, a new study has found.

A study of Gold Coast university students found marijuana users had a generally positive
view of their drug-taking, and thought the benefits outweighed the potential dangers.

They believed cannabis would help them fit in with their friends, feel relaxed, forget
their worries and enjoy themselves.

Griffith University psychology researcher Dr Fran O'Callaghan said the most surprising
result was the belief that close friends, partners, siblings and work mates would approve
of their using cannabis.

"I think if you looked within their (social circle), there would be people who would
strongly disapprove - but their perception is that, overall, most people are OK with it,"

Dr O'Callaghan said.

Dr O'Callaghan said such feelings of acceptance meant that users were unlikely to seek help.

"One of the things that often leads people to seek help is because their partner or
someone else in their family are so concerned and so upset about the user's behaviour,"

she said.

In comparison, non-users generally responded that their social circle would be unlikely
to approve.

Dr O'Callaghan said the people surveyed were generally mild users who did not have
severe problems associated with their drug use.

The researchers asked almost 200 students aged 17 to 29 about their thoughts on cannabis,
and followed up two weeks later to find out if they had used the drug over the past fortnight.

Overall, about six in 10 students had used cannabis in their lifetime, and two-thirds
of these had used it in the past 12 months.

About one in five used cannabis in the two week period between surveys, but Dr O'Callaghan
said the result may underestimate the real use because regular users may be less likely
to attend their university classes.

Users and non-users both recognised the possible costs of cannabis, such as addiction,
health damage, financial cost and loss of self control.

But users believed benefits such as fitting in with their friends, enjoying themselves
and feeling relaxed were more likely.

The findings suggested that interventions and campaigns that highlighted negative aspects
of cannabis use would have little affect in changing users' behaviour, Dr O'Callaghan
said.

Instead, she said, positive programs such as community and sporting activities that
showed people it was possible to have fun without drugs were likely to have more effect.

Marijuana users also said that force of habit, feeling stressed and wanting to relax
and being around other users would encourage their use.

Dr O'Callaghan said the finding highlighted the importance of intervention before people
became compulsive users, and the need for people to learn other means of dealing with
stress.

The study has been published in the latest issue of the Journal of Applied Biobehavioural
Research.

AAP jb/sb/sp

KEYWORD: CANNABIS

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

Fed: Senator Heffernan should apologise to Pat Turner: ALC

AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2007
Fed: Senator Heffernan should apologise to Pat Turner: ALC

The Aboriginal Land Council wants Liberal senator BILL HEFFERNAN to apologise to indigenous
leader PAT TURNER .. for interrupting a news conference at Parliament House yesterday.

The outspoken senator interrupted a group of indigenous leaders speaking out against
the federal government's intervention in Northern Territory indigenous communities.

Standing among journalists .. Senator HEFFERNAN tried to question Ms TURNER about former
Labor national president WARREN MUNDINE .. who supports the intervention to tackle child
sex abuse.

The council's New South Wales chair .. BEV MANTON .. says Senator HEFFERNAN's attempts
to disrupt the news conference were beyond the pale.

Ms MANTON says she's spoken to a number of Aboriginal women who were offended by the
senator's behaviour.

AAP RTV sld/sb/ibw/bart

KEYWORD: INDIGENOUS HEFFERNAN (CANBERRA)

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

NSW: Hospitals meet emergency benchmarks for first time

AAP General News (Australia)
02-15-2007
NSW: Hospitals meet emergency benchmarks for first time

SYDNEY, Feb 15 AAP - Public hospitals in NSW are meeting national emergency department
benchmarks for the first time in the state's history, NSW Premier Morris Iemma says.

Despite an increase in emergency cases, the state's hospitals were treating emergency
patients inside the national benchmark times across all five triage categories, Mr Iemma
said today.

"There are individual variations with hospitals, some are well above, others below,
but the hospital system as a whole, for the first time in a very long time, has met all
five of the performance indicators," he told reporters.

"That simply means reduced waiting times for patients arriving in emergency departments."

The number of patients waiting more than 12 months for surgery have fallen by 98 per
cent in the 12 months from December 2005, the premier said, from 3,761 to 75.

The total waiting list fell 7.9 per cent to 51,779 over the same period, he said.

The achievements announced today were a result of "more resources, more nurses, more
health professionals and a better system of management", Mr Iemma said.

"If (Opposition Leader Peter) Debnam is elected on March 24, this is the kind of improvement
to services that will never happen because of his plan to cut 20,000 workers from the
very services that families rely on," he said.

AAP dmc/hn/imc/cdh

KEYWORD: POLLNSW HOSPITALS

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

NSW: Iemma challenges Debnam's performance as company director

AAP General News (Australia)
08-29-2006
NSW: Iemma challenges Debnam's performance as company director

NSW Premier MORRIS IEMMA has challenged Opposition Leader PETER DEBNAM's ability to
manage the state's finances .. citing his past performances as a company director.

During question time Mr IEMMA told parliament .. Mr DEBNAM had been a director of an
aquaculture and prawn research company between 1987 and 1992 .. where it had gone from
a net profit of 129 dollars when Mr DEBNAM joined to being liquidated.

Mr IEMMA also attacked Mr DEBNAM for the time he spent as director of stock and station
agents David Russell & co between 1990 and 1992 .. where profits also declined.

AAP RTV pj/was/es/bart

KEYWORD: DEBNAM (SYDNEY)

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

NA FIN US Wal Mart Consultants

The Associated Press
AP Worldstream
04-23-2006
A list of political players in the campaign over Wal-Mart:

FIGHTING WAL-MART:

Wal-Mart Watch:

_Jim Jordan, veteran Democratic strategist and campaign manager for 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. "What we're fighting over is the 2 or 3 or 4 percent of people who shop at Wal-Mart because it's convenient, but they don't feel good about it."

_Terry Holt, spokesman for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. "I think Republicans should be concerned that Wal-Mart may be the wrong business model."

_Andy Grossman, former executive director of the Democratic Senate campaign committee.

_Nu Wexler, former executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

WakeUpWalMart.com:

_Paul Blank, political director for Howard Dean's 2004 Democratic presidential campaign.

_Chris Kofinis, Democratic strategist who helped draft Wesley Clark into the 2004 race via the Internet. "What Wal-Mart is starting to learn is that the American consumer, just like voters, can make choices and one of the reasons people shop is values. Wal-Mart thinks the only reason to shop is for a good value. We say: 'No. It's values.'"

_Jeremy Bird, former Democratic National Committee field director.

_Buffy Wicks, Iowa field organizer for Dean.

___

DEFENDING WAL-MART:

_Company spokesman Bob McAdam, formerly a Republican aide on Capitol Hill and political strategist for the tobacco industry. "After a year at it, (the union-backed opponents) only have 212,000 people signed up. We have 138 million people a week who are shopping at our stores."

_Michael Deaver, deputy chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan.

_Terry Nelson, political director for President George W. Bush's re-election campaign.

_Leslie Dach, adviser to President Bill Clinton.

_Civil rights leader Andrew Young, a Democrat.

_Former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros, a Democrat.

_Republican speechwriter Robert Hoppin.

_Republican media consultant Bob McKernan.

_Jonathan Adashek, director of national delegate strategy for Kerry.

_David White, a veteran Republican strategist.

Copyright 2006, AP News All Rights Reserved

WA: Free spirits meet a lonely death in WA's vicious desert

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2005
WA: Free spirits meet a lonely death in WA's vicious desert

By Tim Clarke

PERTH, April 14 AAP - A free spirit and sometime bush poet, 21-year-old Mac Cody was
living his dream.

Travelling Australia with his uncle and best mate Brad Richards, 41, and their mongrel
dog VB, the pair worked where they could, labouring, fruit picking but mostly just enjoying
the countryside in their battered 1974 Land Rover.

After their arrival last August in Carnarvon, on Western Australian's Gascoyne coastline,
they remained in high spirits - in Mac's case sometimes a little too high.

With a court appearance on the horizon, the younger man was facing sentence for damaging
an ATM machine, disorderly conduct and resisting the local police.

With no ties to the town, Mac and his uncle decided to move on rather than face the
music, planning to head across the WA desert to Kununurra to pick up more work and avoid
Mac's probable fines.

The decision was to cost both men their lives.

Last Friday, a jackaroo from Wongawol Station was driving along the Talawana Track,
around 70 km east of Cotton Creek on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, when he came
across the dilapidated four-wheel drive.

On closer inspection, the station hand was confronted with the horrific site of both
men, and their dog, lying dead and decomposing underneath the useless vehicle.

They had lain there for at least a week.

Their fate illustrated again the dangers of travelling across some of the world's most
unforgiving terrain without proper planning.

Following the grim discovery, police revealed the pair had taken just 20 litres of
water between them, no extra fuel, no tools and no two-way radio.

Most importantly of all, they had no detailed map.

If they had, they would have known that just nine kilometres east of where they were
stranded was the Georgia Bore, a fully functioning water hole that would have kept them
alive until help arrived.

Instead, the two decided to retrace their steps west, trekking seven kilometres from
their stricken vehicle - and the water hole - before returning to the car, to die.

The lonely and helpless nature of their deaths is what Mac's family - particularly
his mother Jacqui and younger brother Cieron - say they will struggle most with.

Cieron, 20, who lives in the family's home town of Warilla near Wollongong in NSW,
said it was out of character for the pair not to be prepared for all eventualities.

"None of us can comprehend what has happened. We've been over and over it in our minds
trying to rationalise it," Cieron said this week.

"The way they passed away is probably going to be the most difficult thing for us to
come to terms with. It is just so surreal that people still die of thirst."

After the tragedy was made public, WA police said the circumstances of hot weather
and little planning was a "disaster waiting to happen".

"Without wanting to preempt enquiries on behalf of the coroner it appears these men
ventured into one of the most remote parts of WA in an unreliable vehicle without enough
fuel or water," WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said.

"And to make matters worse it seems they didn't tell anyone where they were going,
so no one knew they were overdue."

But Mrs Cody said that her son and her brother were well aware of the possible perils.

"They were well-experienced bushmen. They knew the dangers of the desert, they'd been
in 50C heat before," Mrs Cody told the Australian newspaper.

"It's not because they were idiots and went out there. It was just a terrible chain of events."

The WA police, who say they hear numerous stories of people stranding themselves in
the desert every year, have pleaded with outback adventurers to prepare before leaving
the bitumen.

"The key is for more education for people who go out there," Commissioner O'Callaghan said.

"It is vital travellers thoroughly research water and fuel sources, terrain and likely
weather patterns before setting off on outback trips.

"Our officers shake their heads all the time at the stupidity of some things."

Mr Richards' brother Guy said trying to understand why the men took the route they
did, with the sparse provisions they were found with, was going to be the hardest task.

"What possessed them to go where they've gone, the way they've gone, we can't second
guess. We're astounded and horrified - just shattered," Mr Richards said.

"Our family, we want to stress how important it is when travelling in these harsh areas
to check in with others about your whereabouts and to be properly prepared.

"Prepare yourselves for Australia ... (it) is a vicious place."

But rather than focus on the folly of their final journey, Mr Richards said the family
would remember the pair's liberated life, particularly the philosophy of Mac.

"Even as a little boy he (Cody) wanted to know were the road ended," Mr Richards said.

AAP tc/cjh/sp

KEYWORD: TRACK (AAP NEWSFEATURE - PIX AVAILABLE)

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

NSW: Christmas motoring set to became easier

AAP General News (Australia)
12-17-2004
NSW: Christmas motoring set to became easier

Motorists heading north from Sydney this Christmas should have an easier drive ahead
of them after the opening of extra lanes on the F3 freeway.

Work has finished on upgrading 10 kilometres of the freeway north of the Hawkesbury River.

Federal Roads Minister JIM LLOYD says the project cost $86 million.

The Roads and Traffic Authority has increased the speed limit on the upgraded section
of road from 90 to 110 kilometres per hour.

Mr LLOYD says the federal government also plans to upgrade the F3 south of the Hawkesbury
River and create a new link between the freeway and the New England Highway at Branxton.

AAP RTV dcr/kp/shh/lm

KEYWORD: LANES (SYDNEY)

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

traffic offences

traffic offences See offences relating to road traffic.

TITLE: BRIEFS

Naperville -- Nalco completes purchase of Chemco Water TechnologyNalco Chemical Co. said it has completed its previously announced agreement to acquire Chemco Water Technology Inc. of Vancouver, Wash. Terms and purchase price were not disclosed.

Chemco manufactures and markets boiler and cooling water treatment chemicals and services to steel, paper, cogeneration, chemical, petrochemical, food and beverage facilities across the nation.

It estimates 1997 sales will be more than $7 million.

Over the past 18 months, Nalco has added about $130 million in sales to its water treatment business, primarily in the middle market -- aerospace, food and beverage, universities, office buildings, hospitals, computer chip manufacturers and other medium- to light-industrial customers.

Nalco said it expects the middle market to grow at double-digit rates worldwide.

Aurora

Westell pact to provide city high-speed Internet access

The city of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, has signed a three-year contract for Asymmetrial Digital Subscriber Line service using Westell Technologies Inc.'s systems.

Terms were withheld.

City Tel, a local phone company owned by the city of Prince Rupert, made the deal possible by recently expanding to provide Internet access to the city through its ISP, CityLink.

The contract with Westell calls for about 1,000 initial lines in Prince Rupert.

Applications will include video, video-on- demand, distance learning and telemedicine.

Metro brief

Park Ridge

Consumers find stable turkey dinner prices easy to digest

The cost of the traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner edged higher this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

In its annual survey, the organization found the average cost of this year's holiday feast for 10 -- including turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings -- to be $31.75, compared with $31.66 a year earlier and $24.51 in 1987.

The largest increase was a 10-cent rise in the price of sweet potatoes, which averaged $1.92 per three-pound bag.

Quova and Visa International Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ --

Quova(SM), a leading provider of Internet intelligence services to online businesses, today announced a global strategic alliance with Visa International. The agreement is designed to address the growing need for Internet infrastructure intelligence services and geolocation solutions for e-commerce and risk management applications.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010508/QUOVALOGO )

As a supporter of Quova, Visa will look for opportunities to use Quova's GeoPoint service to benefit Visa and its member banks, partners and merchants. The relationship calls for the companies to work closely together to identify e-commerce, marketing and risk management applications throughout Visa where Quova's geolocation technology will be applied.

"Visa is constantly looking to identify new technologies that may benefit the payments and financial services industries," said Sarah Perry, senior vice president, Strategic Alliances and Investments at Visa International. "Quova's GeoPoint service is an excellent example of innovative technology that is of value not just to Visa but to our members and merchants worldwide."

Quova's GeoPoint service enables Web sites to identify in real-time the geographic location of its visitors -- with resolution levels from country down to city. GeoPoint is completely privacy-compliant, as it does not use cookies, profiles, registration data, or click-stream data to identify or track individuals. The service was designed from the ground up specifically to meet the needs of the busiest Web sites and the most demanding applications.

"We're very happy to be working with Visa," said Marie Alexander, Quova president and CEO. "Visa is a long-standing market leader and innovator in the financial services arena, and we're proud to be taking part in the company's current corporate initiatives."

About Quova

Founded in January 2000, Quova, Inc. provides Internet infrastructure intelligence services to online businesses. Quova's first service, GeoPoint, provides the geographic location of Web site visitors in real-time, enabling businesses to manage digital rights, target content, detect fraud, conduct site analysis and foster regulatory compliance. With over 45 industry-leading customers such as Amazon.com and CNET Networks, Quova is the geolocation market leader. A privately owned company with investments from VeriSign, SOFTBANK Venture Capital, IDG Ventures, Nexus Group, and Fidelity Ventures, Quova's main headquarters are located in Redwood City, California, with European headquarters located in Amsterdam. The company can be reached at 303 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 410, Redwood City, California, 94065, by phone at 650-508-0700, by fax at 650-508-0147, by email at info@quova.com, and on the Web at http://www.quova.com/.

About Visa International

Visa is the world's leading payments brand and the largest payments system worldwide. Visa-branded cards generate almost US $2 trillion in annual volume and are accepted at over 22 million locations around the world. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in advancing new payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce -- the ability to conduct commerce anytime, anywhere, over any type of device.

NOTE: Quova, the Quova logo and GeoPoint are service marks of Quova, Inc.

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Snoop's pups enlightened by Beckham.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

Snoop Dogg says David Beckham helped "enlighten" his three children. The singer asked David to teach his children Corde, Cordell and Cori how to play soccer, and he revealed: "David and I hang out a lot. I think he's cool. I asked him to teach my kids how to play soccer - and he invited them over to his academy.

"My eldest son Corde didn't even believe I knew him. He's the best in the game and he helped enlighten my kids on a different sport." Snoop also revealed he regularly studies dictionaries to expand his understanding of the English language. He added: "I have about three thesauruses. I bought them to enhance my train of thought so when I'm on TV, people will say, He is sharp and articulate. He is not just a thug.'"

[c] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

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