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Friday, July 3rd, 2009

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Suburbanites beware: Here comes teh gas tax?
B.C. carbon tax boosts prices at gas pump () While this culd be beneficial to urbanites since they generally use less gas anyway, so they'd just bask in lower income taxes, these same lower income taxes will likely pale in comparison to a big tax hike for suburbanites who work downtown. You're for or against a gas tax. for me, I'm for it, but then again, I'm not a big tax guzzler either, so in that respect it's just like cigarette or alcohol taxes; the higher the better, since all I notice from it is lower income tax. What about you? I'd imagine that 'ruralites' might not like it too much except perhaps for the few who live and work in town centres. Food prices might increase in the downtown cores of big cities like toronto I'd imagine, but not much in small towns, so I suppose that would be an advantage there, shifting most of the tax burden onto suburbanites overall?
Hong Kongers gamble $155 mn in one day
*Hong Kongers gamble $155 mn in one day* China National News Wednesday 1st July, 2009 (IANS) Hong Kong gamblers sent out a positive note about the state of the city's economy by staking more than $155 million on the last racing day of the season, officials said Thursday. More than 63,000 people placed the bets Wednesday's races at the city's Sha Tin race course, recording the second highest amount staked in a single day for the past year, according to the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The club is waiting for a government decision on whether it can stage five extra race days next year to try to bring in more revenue after seeing takings slip over the past year because of the global economic downturn. Despite the success of Wednesday's race day, total betting turnover for the 78 race meetings held this season was down slightly by around $110 million to $8.6 billion, Race organisers also want tax on betting reduced to combat internet gambling and to try to lure hard-up racing fans back to the courses. Despite its image as a gambling-mad city, bets on horse racing are the only form of legal gambling in Hong Kong apart from limited soccer betting and a weekly, government-run lottery. What a city , what a country .....
Pictured: The battered and bruised face of a burglar beaten up by a pensioner
*According to the famous saying:" An Englishman's home is his castle" and, like anyone in a castle facing an external enemy, he will defend it by any means possible.* *But nobody told that to burglar Gregory McCalium.* *McCalium decided to break into his neighbour Frank Corti's home in Oxford during a long-running dispute over noise between the two.* *Mr Corti is an old man of 72, so McCalium, aged 24 and armed with a knife, probably thought that Mr Corti stood no chance.* *But what McCalium didn't know is that Mr Corti is a retired boxing champion who served in the British Army with the Royal Engineers.* *So unfortunate McCalium was left with a black eye and a split lip.* *To add insult to injury, McCalium was also sentenced to four-and-a-half years in gaol after the judge told him he got what he deserved.* *Pictured: The battered and bruised face of a burglar who got on the wrong side of a 72-year-old former boxer* By Daily Mail Reporter (+Mail+Reporter) 30th June 2009 Daily Mail A knife-wielding burglar had a shock when he attacked a pensioner in his home - and discovered his victim was a retired boxer. Senior citizen Frank Corti, 72, a former junior boxing champion is still a bit handy with his dukes. And when he spotted the aforementioned intruder, Gregory McCalium, 24, in his hallway he sprang into action and delivered two right hooks. Enlarge Image: ()Image: Battered and caught out: Gregory McCalium before his encounter with Frank Corti and after, looking ever-so-slightly the worse-for-wear Image: Reluctant hero: Frank Corti, pictured here with his boxing trophies, is pleased with the sentence and has insisted that 'most people would have acted the same way' The blows were so powerful that McCalium, who had just lunged at Mr Corti with the knife, was left looking like he had been in 'a car accident'. The pensioner then restrained him until police arrived. He was jailed for four and a half years yesterday after a judge told him he had 'got what he deserved'. Image: Glory days: Mr Corti pictured outside the Baliol Boys Club at the age of 16 After sentencing, Mr Corti said: 'I was scared when he first drew the knife but most people would have acted in the same way. If you can't defend what's yours, where are we at?' Oxford Crown Court heard the break-in was the culmination of a long-running dispute over noise between the neighbours, who live in Botley, Oxford. McCalium, a barman, was having a rowdy party at his house on August 18 last year when police turned up after a complaint from a neighbour. McCalium assumed it had been made by Mr Corti - who won the National Association of Boys' Clubs Championship in Birmingham when he was 16 - and broke into his neighbour's home at 8am the following day. Mr Corti, who was with his wife Margaret at the time, dodged out of the way of his attacker's lunge and punched him, giving him a black eye and a split lip, before subduing him. McCalium was found guilty of aggravated burglary at a trial in March, during which he had claimed he could not remember the incident. John Simmons, defending, said Mr Corti, who served with the Royal Engineers in North Africa from 1956-58, had received minor injuries during the confrontation. He added: ' Photographs of the defendant showed what looked like a car accident and photos of the scene looked more like a murder scene.' Recorder Angela Morris said: 'Luckily, Mr Corti was an able-bodied 72-year-old who was able to defend himself. 'The jury might well have concluded you got what you deserved when you entered that property and took a swipe at him with that weapon. 'The elderly and vulnerable people are entitled to demand the protection of courts from people like you who decide to take matters into your own hands and enter a property with a weapon.' Mr Corti, a retired car worker, added: 'If needed to, I would do it again.' During sentencing at Oxford Crown Court, Brian Payne, prosecuting, said: 'There was a struggle and it was clear Mr McCalium was intoxicated because his reactions were slow. 'It seems Mr McCalium ended up with far more serious injuries.' Image: Jailed: McCalium pictured partying on his Facebook page After the sentencing, Detective Constable Jon Shaw said: 'Fortunately no-one was more injured in this incident but this was still a terrifying situation and McCalium must now pay for his actions. 'I hope that the victim, and his wife, might now be able to put this ordeal behind them and get on with their lives.' During the trial, Mr Corti described how he had been woken during the night by noise from next door for several months before the incident. Enlarge Image: () Gregory McCalium had become involved in a long-running dispute with Mr Corti about noise He told the court: 'They would slam the doors, then they would start partying. You could hear shouting, screaming and music.' Mr Corti said he called police when he found McCalium banging on the front door of his house at about 6.30am. Two hours later, he said, he came downstairs and saw bar worker McCalium in his hallway. Mr Corti said: 'The accused produced a knife. It was no ordinary knife, it was more like a six-bladed knuckle duster. 'He made a slashing movement at me. I stepped back. He missed me, fortunately.' Mr Corti said that while McCalium was off balance, he grabbed both of his wrists and managed to pin his arms against the wall. He added he asked McCalium to drop the knife but he wouldn’t. Mr Corti said: 'I shouted to my wife to ring the police. 'I was absolutely petrified. 'As I saw it, it was a matter of do or die so I let his wrists go. Fortunately the element of surprise was with me, so I adjusted my position and hit him with my right hand. It was just below the eye. 'I did not knock him out, but he was stunned. I heard the knife drop. We grappled. I was trying to drag him out of the back door. We both fell to the floor. I had to subdue him by punching him, which I did not take a great deal of pleasure in.” The jury heard he then lay on top of McCalium until the police arrived. dailymail.co.uk
Britain refuses to grant parole to Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs
*The Great Train Robbery of 1963 is one of the most famous crimes in history.* *On 8th August 1963, the Glasgow to London travelling post office was robbed at Bridego Railway Bridge at Ledburn, near Mentmore, Buckinghamshire.* *A 15-strong gang, led by Bruce Reynolds and which included Ronnie Biggs, boarded the train and unloaded the money sacks.* *£2.6 million was stolen - equivalent to £38 million today (or US$56 million).* *It was the largest robbery by value in British history, until the Baker Street robbery of 1971.* *Ronnie Biggs escaped from gaol on 8th July 1965 and fled abroad, living in Australia and Brazil.* *Biggs returned to Britain in 2001, after suffering three strokes. * *Biggs' son said he didn't return just to receive health care. Biggs's stated desire was to "walk into a Margate pub as an Englishman and buy a pint of bitter".* *Instead, on his return to Britain, Biggs was re-arrested and told to serve the rest of his sentence, despite being elderly.* *The 79-year-old was widely expected to be released from prison this week following a recommendation from the parole board.* *But parole has been refused. Justice Secretary Jack Straw said the Great Train Robber was 'wholly unrepentant.'* *After all, he would have been released in the early 1990s if he served his sentence - 30 years - the first time rather than serving a year, so has still to be punished properly. So he still has many years left to serve.* *Jack Straw TURNS DOWN train robber Ronnie Biggs for parole because he's 'wholly unrepentant' * By Daily Mail Reporter (+Mail+Reporter) 01st July 2009 Daily Mail Image: Ronnie Biggs leaves Chiswick Police Station after being arrested on his return to Britain in 2001 Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs was refused parole today by Justice Secretary Jack Straw, who said the Great Train Robber was 'wholly unrepentant.' The frail 79-year-old was widely expected to be released from prison this week following a recommendation from the parole board. But Mr Straw went against the board's recommendation and said Biggs would have been a free man many years ago had he adhered to the sentence he was given. The news will come as a massive blow to his family who were hoping he would be home in time for his birthday in August. Image: Justice Secretary Jack Straw Mr Straw was widely expected to sign the 79-year-old's parole papers, which would have allowed him to be released into the care of a nursing home as early as this week. He said it was 'unacceptable' that Biggs had chosen not to obey the law and tried to avoid the consequences of his decision. Mr Straw said: 'I have informed Mr Ronald Biggs today of my decision regarding his parole. 'Mr Biggs chose to serve only one year of a 30 year sentence before he took the personal decision to commit another offence and escape from prison, avoiding capture by travelling abroad for 35 years whilst outrageously courting the media. 'I am refusing the Parole Board's recommendation for parole. Biggs chose not to obey the law and respect the punishments given to him - the legal system in this country deserves more respect than this. 'It was Mr Biggs's own choice to offend and he now appears to want to avoid the consequences of his decision. I do not think this is acceptable. Image: Image: Biggs' son, Michael, and the robber after he was arrested in 1963 'Mr Biggs is wholly unrepentant and the Parole Board found his propensity to breach trust a very significant factor. He has not undertaken risk-related work and does not regret his offending.' Biggs is currently recovering in Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital after fracturing his pelvis in a fall at the weekend. His legal adviser, Giovanni Di Stefano, said his client was 'seriously ill' and would remain in hospital for the next two to six weeks. Biggs has suffered a series of strokes and is fed through a tube. He communicates using gestures or by pointing at letters on a card. Biggs was a member of a 15-strong gang which attacked the Glasgow to London mail train at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, in August 1963, and made off off with £2.6 million in used banknotes. He was given a 30-year sentence but after 15 months he escaped from Wandsworth prison in south-west London by climbing a 30ft wall and fleeing in a furniture van. He was on the run for more than 30 years, living in Spain, Australia and Brazil, before returning to the UK voluntarily in 2001. Earlier this month, a parole board recommended Biggs be released, despite acknowledging that he had no regrets about what he had done. Enlarge Image: () The Royal Mail train from which £2.6million - the equivalent of £38 million today - was stolen in 1963. Biggs was part of the 15-man gang that carried out the robbery Image: Biggs was taken to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital at the weekend after fracturing his pelvis Theresa Villiers, the Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet, said his round-the-clock care he would need on release was likely to cost tens of thousands of pounds for tax payers. She said in a statement on her website: 'Ronnie Biggs has never expressed remorse for his crime. 'Barnet residents struggling to meet the cost of their own care will deeply resent their taxes going to support Mr Biggs. 'Not content with robbing trains, he is now set on hitting the taxpayer with a big bill. 'People who have worked hard and saved all their lives will be worse off than a convicted criminal who spent 35 years evading British justice.' Mark Leech, editor of the Prisons Handbook and a campaigner for Biggs's release, said earlier today Biggs's release was 'long overdue'. He said: 'It's time the Government recognised they have had their pound of flesh. It's time to let him go.' dailymail.co.uk