Wed, Apr 11, 2001
The Good Doctor: Professor Overton, who originally put himself through medical school by working as a plumber's mate, is described as a cross between Patch Adams and George Clooney. His last day on the wards was seen by patients and staff as the end of an era. My Life as a Dog: Martin McKenna is a dog trainer whose mission in life is to save as many animals as he can from being abandoned, dumped and euthanased. He has made regular appearances on ABC Radio dispensing advice to pet owners. But his motives and background are unusual to say the least. Martin grew up us a one of a set of triplets born to abusive parents in Ireland. He claims that at the age of ten, he ran away from home and ended up living wild on the streets with a pack of stray dogs for four years. "I became a dog. I absolutely believed that's what I was." As a young adult, he moved to Australia, married and had three children of his own, and now lives on an old farm in Northern NSW. But helping dogs to be better understood by humans remains his life's work. "I'm going to be a protector for any dog that I can help anywhere in the world" he says. Martin has written a book about his experiences and his training theories, which is soon to be published.
Sat, Feb 24, 2001
Former members of the East Timorese resistance have revealed a secret plan to bust their leader Xanana Gusmao from his Jakarta prison cell in the 1990s. Jose Ramos Horta, now East Timor's Foreign Minister, says he planned a commando raid on the prison, using British special forces veterans, when it appeared Gusmao was unlikely to be released. Interviewed for the ABC's Australian Story program, Mr Horta said he had never spoken publicly about the plan, which would also have used veterans from the war in Bosnia. The program profiles Xanana Gusmao's Australian-born wife Kirsty Sword, at the time an undercover agent for the Timorese resistance, and the conduit for the plan to raid the prison. Kirsty Sword spent four years in Jakarta secretly helping the campaign for East Timor's independence, while working for an Australian aid agency and teaching English. She first met Gusmao at Jakarta's Cipinang prison in 1994, and the pair married in Dili after his release in 1999. With Xanana Gusmao tipped to become East Timor's first President after elections in April, Kirsty Sword Gusmao will be First Lady of the newly independent country.