Illya blog

Australian guilty of throwing daughter off bridge

Australian child protection officials Tuesday called for an urgent review of custody dispute protocols after a father was found guilty of throwing his daughter off a bridge "like a rag doll".

Victoria's Child Safety Commissioner Bernie Geary said he had examined the case and wanted a review of the rules between courts and officials where there were concerns about the safety of a child.

"We just need to maintain vigilance and this case reminds us of the importance of the best interests of the child," Geary said.

On Monday, the Victorian Supreme Court convicted father-of-three Arthur Freeman, 37, of murdering daughter Darcey by tossing her like "a rag doll" over the railing of Melbourne's West Gate Bridge on January 29, 2009.

The four-year-old plunged 58 metres (190 feet), sustaining massive internal injuries and ultimately drowning in a case that shocked the city.

Minutes before he killed Darcey, Freeman telephoned his former partner Peta Barnes, who had been waiting at the school where their daughter was to due to start the day, and told her: "Say goodbye to your children".

He then parked on the bridge, left his two sons aged two and six in the car and picked up the little girl and threw her to her death.

The court heard that Darcey's six-year-old brother Ben told police his sister "didn't even scream" in her fall.

"I said 'go back and get her. Darcey can't swim'. But he kept on driving. He didn't go back and get her," he said in a taped interview played to the court.

Freeman drove to the Federal Law Courts complex in Melbourne where he started sobbing uncontrollably and was arrested.

His lawyer argued that Freeman was mentally impaired at the time, but the prosecution said it was a simple case of spousal revenge after an acrimonious break-up of his seven-year marriage.

The jury, who had been asked to decide whether Freeman was "mad or bad", late Monday found him guilty, some members sobbing as the decision was read out.

Geary said in Darcey's case child protection authorities had not been informed the little girl's family held fears for her safety and that of her two brothers.

"I don't want to be blaming people," he said.

"I think that there's too many people grieving here now, obviously, but I just do think that this is an opportunity for the community and professional cohorts to look at ways in which we can better protect children."

Freeman will be sentenced at a later date.

Earnings-Tax Elections Loom in St. Louis, Kansas City

treasuries as they've done before. Should a majority of voters come out against the measure, the earnings tax will be phased out over a period of 10 years?

City leaders in both urban areas approached the new law with trepidation. Earnings taxes have been a part of both cities for nearly 50 years.would mean finding other funding solutions which may also require the approval of voters. Raising property taxes, sales taxes or other taxes may be needed or both places would face steep budget cuts.

Thereports the earnings tax is responsible for 40 percent of the city's budget. Yet each person only pays one percent. One thing to consider for residents of both cities who get to vote on the proposal is that much of the earnings taxwho commute to the city but work within city limits. Those people don't get a chance to vote on the proposal yet they pay taxes for the privilege ofor Kansas City.

It's a lot like New York: Visitors to the city pay tolls on every thoroughfare to get there via bridges or tunnels. In the same way, Missouri's two largest urban areas also benefit from those who live outside the city limits and commute to work.

As a former resident of St. Louis myself, I see the need for better city services for everyone involved. Better police officers, fire fighting capabilities, paved roads and clean drinking water are all necessary for the proper functioning of a large city.

Every municipality needs a way to get income. In New York City, the answer is collecting a toll to cross bridges and tunnels into the city. When cars drive either direction on the Lincoln Tunnel or George Washington Bridge, those tolls go towards better living in New York City. If voters remove that income, the largest city in the United States would suffer.

Other cities rely on sales taxes such as Springfield in southwest Missouri. Other services such as schools and libraries have property taxes levied upon residents. St. Louis already has high property taxes so residents probably won't go for increasing how much they pay in order to own a house or car. Kansas City is similar in scope.

Taxation is a thorny issue in any part of America. Missourians get what we pay for, and hopefully they will take this into account when voters go to polls April 5 on both sides of the state.

William Browning, a lifelong Missouri resident, writes about local and state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Born in St. Louis, Browning earned his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Missouri. He currently resides in Branson.

A.R. Gurney's play 'Black Tie' is well tailored

NEW YORK – Sometimes, your dad's old hand-me-down suits need altering to fit just right. Sometimes, his advice does, too.

Such is the premise of A.R. Gurney's very enjoyable new play "Black Tie," which made its world premiere at Primary Stages' 59E59 Theaters on Thursday night. A comedy about how values change from generation to generation, the play benefits from some excellent acting and writing.

It takes place on the eve of a wedding in a hotel in the Adirondacks. The groom's family has arrived to prepare for the rehearsal dinner downstairs and the father, Curtis (a fine Gregg Edelman), is slipping on his late father's tuxedo, which he has had tailored for the occasion to honor tradition.

That's when a familiar spirit appears: It's Curtis' charming father, who has been aroused from The Great Beyond by his loving son to help write his wedding speech and for advice. Dressed in an impeccable tuxedo of his own, the silver-haired father cannot be seen or heard by anyone but Curtis.

The father, played deliciously by Daniel Davis, is hardly mute: He's a font of old-school elegance, quipping relentlessly, advising on the "proper" way things should be and liberally quoting from Joseph Conrad and Lord Byron.

He believes in continuity, in dinner jackets, that "pants" should be called "trousers." When he says he's "very fond" of someone, he really means the opposite. And he's revealed to be a snob, as when he discovers the bride's father manages a supermarket in Utica, an upstate New York city that is far from glamorous.

"Do we know anyone in Utica?" he asks Curtis.

"I don't know, Dad," Curtis answers.

"I'm not sure we do. I'm not sure we should," he replies.

Curtis' preparations for the rehearsal dinner do not go smoothly. His wife (a delightfully flinty Carolyn McCormick, of "Law & Order" fame), never really much liked Curtis' dad and thinks the old tuxedo makes him overdressed. The two lovingly bicker like a comfortable married couple.

More bad news: Their daughter (Elvy Yost) soon reports that the youthful guests are messing with the carefully constructed seating arrangements and that an unwanted guest has arrived. And the groom himself (Ari Brand) is having second thoughts. Plus, the bride's parents may resent the WASPy-ness of the groom's parents. Even the decision to wear black tie may be sending the wrong message.

Curtis — and especially his ghostly father — have a hard time with each new revelation. Davis, who played the butler Niles in "The Nanny," does a superb job of slowly unspooling his character's horror at modern life: unembarrassed divorcees, interracial marriages, the lost art of sparkling after-dinner speeches and, perhaps most shockingly, wedding receptions held in a place as tacky as the hotel's Ticonderoga Room.

"Life is a long, incoherent, ungrammatical sentence, and all I can do is try to provide some basic punctuation," the ghost says at one point, in one of Gurney's best lines.

Director Mark Lamos has handled several of Gurney's plays and keeps the rhythm of the new one at a happy pace, juggling five characters who pop in and out — including an apparition, who, naturally, knows how to make a grand exit when the time is right.

As for "Black Tie," the makings of a very sad commentary on life actually ends up fine in the end: Some of the old ways may not work now, but some of the new ways lack a certain pizazz. Gurney has tailored a fine piece of work to joke about both.

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Nokia and Windows Phone 7: Could Two Wrongs Make a Right?

Speculation has been running rampant about potential steps Nokia may take to stem its losses in the smartphone arena, fueled at least in part bymade by CEO Stephen Elop to analysts in January.

This week, however, that speculation has reached a fever pitch as observers focused on the possibility of a partnership with Microsoft in particular.

Buoyed by anin the Financial Times by Berenberg Bank analyst Adnaan Ahmad, the prospect of a deal with Microsoft has actually boosted Nokia's shares every day so far this week, adding up to a 4 percent increase since Monday, The New York Times.

Android is "a no-go for now," Ahmad wrote in his letter to Elop and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "You will never be able to catch up with Samsung, which should rule the Android show midterm given its economies of scale, product breadth (TVs, PCs, phones and tablets), as well as its captive component base. And more significantly, how is anyone going to differentiate on Android long-term?"

An exclusive deal with Microsoft, on the other hand, is Ahmad's suggestion.

The Biggest Joke in the Tech Industry'

Such a deal would give Nokia access to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 intellectual property "scot-free," he wrote, as well as access to the U.S. market, which has been problematic for the company. It would also cut Nokia's "bloated" R&D handset business budget by at least 30 percent, he suggested.

Meanwhile, Nokia should also abandon the , Ahmad advised: "It's the biggest joke in the tech industry right now and will put you even further behind Apple and Google."

Instead, Nokia should focus its high-end portfolio around Windows Phone 7, Ahmad asserted, moving its Symbian solutions into the low to mid-range smartphone market quickly so as to defend against lowering costs on the Android side.

As for Microsoft, "two million units shipped in the last quarter is not really much to write home about, given $500m in marketing programmes (ouch), but with Nokia on-side, you get access to a potential 20-25 percent global share over time--and exclusivity," Ahmad explained. "You need to tie yourself to a high-volume player to be relevant."

A Losing Combination

Though not everyone agrees that Nokia needs to switch to one of the other existing operating environments to survive--it could also innovate a new one, at least in theory--I can ctainly see that that might be the easiest route, at least for its short-term health. What I can't see, however, is how Windows Phone 7 could possibly be the right choice, given its ownin the market.

Microsoft and mobile just don't seem to be a successful mix; why would a world leader like Nokia want to attach itself to that generally losing combination?would be a far better choice.

I also disagree with Ahmad's assertion that Nokia would be unable to differentiate itself in the Android arena. It may not be a leader in the United States, but Nokia has incredibly strong brand recognition around the world, and its low-priced handsets are still doing well in many developing economies. In fact, Nokia is actually on the rise in China--one of the most vast markets on the planet--with sales climbing 24 percent in the last quarter, according to .

A Compelling Mix

I believe Ahmad is grossly underestimating Nokia's brand potential and its ability to stand out among a crowd of Android competitors. Personally, I think an Android phone with the Nokia name would be an incredibly compelling combination, and could stand far above its competitors, even in the United States.

Which way will Nokia go--if, indeed, in either of these directions? Presumably we'll find out on Feb. 11, when the company is expected to deliver its next strategy and financial briefing. In the meantime, I'm hoping that Nokia doesn't take Ahmad's arguments too seriously.

Follow Katherine Noyes on Twitter: .

Arizona CPA and Financial Planner Robert F. Hockensmith Has Launched His New Website

Robert F. Hockensmith, PC Caters to Those Looking for Assistance with Any Accounting, Tax, Business, Payroll, Personal, Legal Document Planning or Financial Planning Issues.

Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) January 26, 2011

Unlike many financial and accounting firms who focus solely on one facet of the industry, Robert F. Hockensmith, PC can assist clients in any issues in the areas of accounting, taxes, payroll, business and personal finances, legal document planning and any financial planning needs. During these challenging economic times, it is important to have someone you can trust when it comes to financial planning and management.

The highly qualified staff at Robert F. Hockensmith, PC works with their clients’ personal and business needs. Personalized tax and financial planning can help to minimize the burdens brought on by taxes and increase financial gain. The new website outlines the general areas that the firm focuses on. The main areas of tax and accounting services, financial services, business services, payroll services, IRS auditing, and legal document services are all explained in detail. New clients can easily contact Hockensmith and former clients can log in and view their information directly on the website.

To obtain such an organized, professional site, Hockensmith worked with local Scottsdale web design and marketing firm Zenuity. Zenuity worked closely with the financial firm, creating a site that is aesthetically pleasing, professional and search engine-friendly. In addition to designing a fresh site for the company, Zenuity also worked with Hockensmith to increase website traffic with more efficient SEO and marketing strategies. “I am hoping that Zenuity will help me with branding of the name, so people will relate Robert F. Hockensmith, PC as someone to trust and rely on for their financial service needs,” states Hockensmith. In times like these, trust and reliability are vital when choosing someone to work with you and your finances. Taxquest.com is a new tool for anyone looking for help with taxes, finances and more.

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Robert HockensmithRobert F. Hockensmith, PC602-264-9331Email Information