Pardon sought for Breaker Morant

A federal parliamentary committee is discussing a petition that seeks a pardon from the Queen for Harry “Breaker” Morant.

Breaker Morant and another man were executed by British Courts Martial in 1902 for murdering 12 Boer prisoners of war.

The former Navy lawyer who prepared the petition, Commander James Unkles, says his execution is an unjust stain on Australia’s history.

Commander Unkles told the parliamentary committee the legal process was unfair, even by the standards of the time. He says an official pardon will make an enormous difference to the men’s surviving relatives and to all Australians.

“There are a lot of relatives here today and it makes a lot of difference to them personally,” he said.

“They have carried this burden throughout their family histories for many decades and it’s been handed from one generation to the next.

“What is it to the nation? It’s got everything to do with demonstrating to the public that due process and fairness are hallmarks of our democratic system.”

The House of Representatives Petitions Committee will decide on what action to take on the matter.

The Attorney-General has already forwarded the petition to the British secretary of state for defence.

Breaker Morant joined the army in 1899. He had a reputation as a horseman, drinker and womaniser and wrote poetry for the Bulletin under the name The Breaker.

Breaker Morant was immortalised in the 1980s film bearing his name. In one of the film’s best known lines, Morant describes the justice meted out during the Boer War.

“We applied rule .303. We caught them and we shot them under rule .303,” the character says, referring to the calibre of the standard issue army rifle of the time.

Historian Craig Wilcox, who has written extensively about Morant, says an attempt to have him pardoned is a futile exercise.

He says it would represent an injustice for the people they killed.

“We’re talking about people who were not battlefield prisoners, they’re generally civilians, in effect,” he said.

“For some reason that we still haven’t unearthed, Morant and colleagues started randomly killing these people.

“We really don’t know why, but it’s incontrovertible that that’s what they did. And then they started killing others to stop the story getting out.”

Shocking tapes reveal what MJ really thought about his family

London, September 20 (ANI): Michael Jackson had launched a string of verbal attacks on his family in secret taped interviews, it has emerged.

The King of Pop lashed out at his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon in the Jackson 5, calling them lazy moaners and dubbing them, one by one, as dull, a copycat, a womaniser and argumentative.

The singer then went on to criticize sisters La Toya and Janet, and even called mum Katherine “disappointing” in the tapes recorded with the ghost writer of his autobiography Moonwalk, reports News of the World.

And after realising that he may have gone too far in his rants, Jackson snapped: “You can’t print that.”

He reportedly said: “The brothers didn’t give me support. We’d be working on a TV show or video and they’d be sitting around moaning and groaning but I’d be watching and learning. It takes a talent, but some people are lazy and don’t want to develop anything.”

On Tito: “Tito is into the anatomy of how a car is built. He is a grease monkey. He still goes to the hobby shop and buys airplanes and flys them. He loves putting them together – they’re on these plastic things and you glue them. That is so boring.”

On Marlon: “People used to call him ugly and make fun of him – and people would say, ‘Which brother is that one?’. He constantly imitates me on stage. Whatever I do he’ll do right after me. I hate when that happens because he looks too “doo woppy” and so old-fashioned.”

On Jermaine: “Jermaine would be either be looking for girls or going along with the jokes.”

On Jackie: “He approaches everything with so much negativity and doubting.”

On Randy: “He doesn’t listen and is real hard-headed. You say it’s dark – he’ll say it’s daylight. And he has to be macho. I’ll never forget the day we had a meeting with our producer who said you’ve got to stand up on your own. Randy stood up and said: “I’m a man’ – we are all started laughing.”

On his mum, whom he always insisted as “the closest person in his life, a great mother and provider”, he said: “She disappointed me. She did an interview (about him). I don’t like her to talk. It’s none of those people’s business.”

He added, “She wished she would have had all boys. She told my sisters that – and they agreed! That’s how my sisters are – they are prejudiced against other girls.”

On La Toya: “To me she is Mrs Nice and Nasty. I come in her room (and she says), ‘You can’t sit on her couch, sit on the bed or walk on the carpet’, She wants to keep everything fresh.

“If you cough at the table she covers her plate. If you sneeze forget it, she’s in another room. If you clear your throat, you can’t do that while she is eating. And forget about going to the movies. She doesn’t understand what I see in Star Wars, Close Encounters or Jaws.”

On Janet: “Janet is a tomboy. That is why it kills me to see her off and married. We did everything together and were just alike. We write a whole schedule for the day and follow it. It’s a terrible loss.”

On dad Joe: “I would suffer if I had to spend a whole day with him. He is a very jealous father. He isn’t gonna show you love, but anybody that gets closer to us than him he would tell them, ‘Leave my boys alone!’.”

“To tell you the truth, I never have felt close to him. He has always been like a mystery man.” (ANI)

Jordan’s ex-fianci once accused her of cheating with the rape-claim celeb

London, Sept 18 (ANI): Jordan’s ex-fianci Warren Furman is now guilt ridden because he fears he had once accused the glamour girl of cheating on him with the man who she now claims raped her.

Furman who played Ace in the British TV show Gladiator had been mad at Jordan (real name Katie Price) when he had found the man’s number on her cell phone.he 36-year-old Furman confesses that he had shouted at Jordan and accused him of sleeping with the “notorious” womaniser celeb.

He had even and threatened to phone the man.

Furman says that Price had turned white as she lay sobbing.

While back then he had taken this as a sign of Price’s guilt, he now fears that “the man” must have been the one to rape her.

The Sun quoted Furman as saying: “Seeing his name was like a red rag to a bull.

“He had a notorious reputation in showbiz for being a serious player, a serial sh***er. I screamed at her and walked out.

“But now, after hearing about her rape claim, I’m haunted by the fear that she reacted like that because of what that man had done to her.” (ANI)

New biography projects Paul Newman as alcoholic, womanizer

New York, Apr 19 (ANI): A new biography of Paul Newman describes the Oscar-winner as a hot-headed alcoholic and a womaniser- a side of his personality not many are aware of.

Shawn Levy’s ‘Paul Newman: A Life’, has revealed that Newman once used to wear a bottle opener on a chain around his neck, and gulped down “beer after beer after beer, a case or more a day,” and then went on to have the hard stuff, usually scotch.

Many onlookers have said Newman was seen “drinking beers on the set, in his office, at parties, during interviews, watching TV, getting ready for TV and relaxing after dinner,” the New York Post quoted the book as saying.

Levy’s tome further said: “Mort Sahl recalled him filling a brandy snifter with ice and scotch and sipping it in a steam room. Newman himself joked about drinking even in bed.”

In fact, while working on his role as the famous detective in ‘Harper’, Newman once bragged: “I just got drunk.”

The actor was reputed as Hollywood’s most faithful husband, but Levy’s biography questions his fidelity.

The book has revealed that on the set of ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’, Newman had a one and a half year affair with a journalist writing an article on the movie.

“‘I finally said to myself, ‘I can do better than this’. I told him, ‘You’re always drunk, and you can’t even make love.’ I ended it,” said the journalist.

The biography will be out next month from Harmony Books. (ANI)

Britney’s Oz fans to pay $150 to see her mime on stage

Melbourne, Mar 27 (ANI): Britney Spears’ Australian fans might have to dish out 150 dollars each just to watch the star, who will only mime her popular numbers on stage.

Promoters in Australia are still in talks to lure Britney to perform in the country before the end of the year.

According to reports, Spears is requesting one million dollars per show for her first Australian tour.

And thus, Spears’ high fee and expensive production costs, along with the poor exchange rate, which means that tickets could start at around 120 dollars for the basic seats, and up to 200 dollars for premium seats.

But, according to insiders in music industry, the ‘Womaniser’ singer’s miming act might enrage Australian audiences, who are not used to singers who don’t actually sing.

YouTube video of Spears’ American gigs show that the singer display no signs of being out of breath, when she embarks on dance routines while singing.

“Australians don’t like paying to watch people mime,” News.com.au quoted a music industry source as saying.

The source added: “It’s meant to be a spectacular show with lots of dancing and choreography, but Justin Timberlake and Pink manage to dance and also sing live. Australian audiences have never really embraced acts who can’t cut it live.” (ANI)

Britney ‘indulges in 9-minute bathroom romp with Circus tour dancer’

Melbourne, Mar 25 (ANI): Britney Spears reportedly shared a seven-to-nine minute bathroom romp with a dancer on her Circus tour at an after party in Montreal.

According to reports by x17online, as soon as the ‘Womaniser’ singer’s show was over, she and her crew headed to an after-party and one fan saw her kissing and sharing some intimate bathroom moments with one of her dancers.

“I went to brits show the other night and totally amazed at how well put it was. So I went to this afterparty at this club called Tribe. Paid 200 bucks to get in and hang in VIP. Brit was in the house. Her and her crew of about ten were in a corner booth. It was really crowded. Brit got up and danced when the DJ played ‘Slave 4 U,’” The Daily Telegraph quoted the fan as saying.

The fan further added: “When she got ready to sit back down there were no seats so she sat on this cute dancers lap. After a while of whispering back and forth they kissed a little.

“About 20 min after that they went to the bathroom..together…2 big guys stood by the door and wouldn’t let anybody in. Then all of a sudden 7 or 9 minutes later brit and the guy came out. Crazy!!!” (ANI)

Ronaldo’s mum: My son is no womanizer

London, Mar 10 (ANI): Renowned footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s mother Dolores Aveiro has blasted claims stating that he’s a womanizer.

According to Aveiro, the hunky sportsman has been wrongly portrayed by the media.

The affectionate mother said that Ronaldo has only introduced two of his girlfriends to her till date.

“My son has only introduced two girlfriends to me – Merche Romero and Nereida Gallardo,” The Mirror quoted Ronaldo’s mother, as saying.

“If I believed what other people say, he has been with more than 100 and he is a womaniser. But I know that it is not true. When he likes a girl and the relationship is serious, he presents her to his family,” she added.

However, only recently Ronaldo, 24, was spotted with Brazilian actress Karina Bacchi, 32, whom he dated in summer 2007.

The soccer star has also dated Spanish model Nereida after he met her in Majorca, and was also linked to Portuguese TV girl Merche and Brazilian gym instructor called Gabi. (ANI)

Britney meets sick children in Miami

Washington, Mar 9 (ANI): Pop princess Britney Spears met 40 sick children at Miami Children’s Hospital on Saturday, while she was on her ‘Circus Tour’ in the city.

“She took pictures with the kids and gave them autographed pictures,” People magazine quoted hospital spokesperson Cristene Martinez as saying.

She added: “The kids were so excited to meet Britney, and having her here was a great distraction for them.”

The ‘Womaniser’ star also made a donation to the hospital’s Big Apple Circus Clown Care program.

The program features clowns who have medical training, visit the young patients on a regular basis, and attend special events at the hospital.

The 27-year-old superstar stayed about a half hour with the kids, before leaving with her bodyguard to prepare for her show at the America Airlines Arena. (ANI)

K-Fed bans sons from watching Britney’s risque Circus show

London, Mar 6 (ANI): Britney Spears’ ex-hubby Kevin Federline has banned their two sons from watching their mother’s risque Circus show, because he feels some parts of it are too raunchy for kids.

K-Fed, 30, saw the ‘Womaniser’ hitmaker in action during rehearsals and decided Sean Preston, three, and Jayden James, two, were a little too young for the saucy parts.

Thus, the 27-year-old star treated her sons to a kiddie-friendly run-through of her 90-minute show at the New Orleans Arena.

And after the show, Britney bid a tearful adieu to the boys, who later returned to K-Fed.

“It was great for Brit to have the children around,” The Mirror quoted a source as saying.

The source added: “There is so much riding on the tour that she had worked herself up and her nerves were getting to her.

“Seeing the boys before her big night helped to relax her. She let them see most of her numbers in rehearsals, but the really sexy ones she left until the late-night run throughs when they had gone home.” (ANI)

Britney to be sawed in half on Circus tour

Washington, Feb 25 (ANI): Britney Spears is leaving no stone unturned to make her ‘Circus’ tour a real entertainment treat for audience, and she will have herself sliced in half for one of the stunts during her shows.

According to reports, the pop sensation will be doing a number with illusionist-comedian Ed Alonzo, known as “the Misfit of Magic”, at each performance. Right away, she got into the boxes and into the magic contraptions to learn the stuff, and she’s so excited about this tour and all the elements that are in it,” Us magazine quoted Alonzo as saying.

He added: “We’re going to be doing the classics of magic but a little high-tech. We’ll be doing a little dissection, transposition, a vanish, an appearance.

The ‘Womaniser’ hitmaker will be playing Alonzo’s assistant during the bit, and will be part of many of his tricks.

“If I do a trick, she doesn’t just hold the props, she’s actually getting inside the big boxes or I am slicing her up,” Alonzo said.

“(I) made (the tricks) really easy for her, but there are some complicated things that she is doing that you would think a contortionist would have to do, or a trained magician’s assistant. But because she’s a dancer, it really makes sense to put her in the magic, and it works and she’s really, really good at it,” Alonzo added.

Although Alonzo did not reveal which of the Spears’ song would go with their joint performance, but revealed the three-ring circus set helps them get into character.

“It’s like watching a big Cirque du Soleil high-tech circus, but with a really focused star in the middle of all of this. It’s going to be an amazing concert for people to watch,” he said. (ANI)