Not PC

I sent a comment to one of our papers and saw it printed this morning (I had a hot flush lol), anyway, this is what I said in response to an article that was written by some Uni Prof, and to this question:

With Schapelle Corby found guilty and sentenced to 20 years' jail in Indonesia, a commentator has said Australia's relationship with Indonesia has hit a low point. There have been reports of Australians wanting tourists to boycott Indonesia, that some charities are having trouble collecting money if it may be used to help Indonesia tsunami victims, and the Indonesian Embassy and businesses being subjected to abusive calls. Are you planning on taking some sort of action against Indonesia? Is it useful to punish the Indonesian people because of the outcome of the Schapelle Corby case?

My comment:

It has been said time and again by this commentator that the Indonesian legal system supports the 'innocent until proven guilty' procedure. The problem is we have not seen that put into action. Every witness, every testimony, every ounce of information for Schapelle has been deemed irrelevant right from the get-go.

This commentator does not give enough credit to the Australian public. I for one, am never 'seduced' by mainstream media or sensationalist headlines. I, like many, have made up my own mind based on the facts, details and circumstances.

Yes our relationship has hit a low. In any relationship there has to be give and take. Australia has given and given, and they have taken and taken. This case is so wrong on so many different levels and while it's sad that any action against Indonesia will hit the local Balinese first, the public cannot take action directly against the legal system or Government, but eventually the effect will work its way up. Therefore yes, I personally will not be buying any products from Indonesia, nor will I travel there.

There were many other comments of a similar vein but then others started coming out of the woodwork saying things like "get over it", "it's done now move on and forget about it", "people have to respect their legal system, accept their decision" etc, etc, etc.

Ok now my problem with that is this - respect is not always a given. Sometimes respect has to be earned.

Also, there are parts of the world where it is legal to stone a woman to death for having been raped ... just because it is legal in certain countries does that make it right? Should I just sit back and accept it? Should I respect that system?

No I should not.

And just as I will never be able to respect or accept something like that, I also cannot respect or accept a system which gives a bomber who killed hundreds of people 2.5 years and then gives someone like Schapelle 20 years.

Political correctness? Stuff it!

Gutted

This is not over, not by a long shot.

Defence team prepares to fight back
By Matthew Moore and Lindsay Murdoch
Denpasar
May 28, 2005

.

Schapelle Corby breaks down after her interpreter, Eka,

informs her of the guilty verdict and 20-year sentence.Photo: AP

Schapelle Corby's legal team says it wants the Bali High Court to order the reopening of her case on the grounds that the judges who made yesterday's ruling failed to consider the defence evidence.

Erwin Siregar said he had already appealed to the High Court against both the verdict and the 20-year jail sentence it imposed on Corby for smuggling marijuana.

The judges yesterday could not have been clearer: they simply did not believe Corby's emotional, tear-filled pleas of innocence. As they saw it, she deserved to be punished severely for bringing 4.1 kilograms of marijuana to Bali. "The defendant Schapelle Corby has been proven convincingly and legally guilty," Chief Judge Linton Sirait said as pandemonium broke out in the Denpasar District Court.

"The sentence for the defendant Schapelle Corby is 20 years and a fine of 100 million rupiah ($A13,900)."

Under Indonesian law, marijuana is a category one drug - along with cocaine and heroin - and drug smuggling is a capital offence. Corby could have been sentenced to death by firing squad.

Mr Siregar said the court should have considered the evidence of five witnesses from Australia, which the judges rejected. He said he hoped the Bali High Court would order the Denpasar Court to reopen the case, although such an event is rare in Indonesia. Normally, the High Court simply examines the files from a case and makes a decision without holding hearings.

The court rejected the evidence of Corby's brother James Kisina and two friends, who were all travelling with Corby to Bali last October and who all gave evidence that there was no marijuana in her bag when she packed it. But the judges rejected their evidence on the grounds that they were friends and relatives of the accused, and could not prove that Corby was not "the owner of the evidence".

Another of Corby's lawyers, Lily Lubis, said that "in criminal case you have to consider material facts that are brought to the court", and they had not done that.

The court also rejected testimony from a Queensland professor of criminology, Paul Wilson, who met Corby in Denpasar Prison, and later that day assured the court that Corby did not know the marijuana was in her bag. The judges described this evidence as being of "poor quality". Evidence from a baggage handler in Brisbane, Scott Speed, was also put aside because the testimony "did not support the explanation from the defendant" that baggage handlers had placed the marijuana in Corby's bag.

The court rejected evidence from a Victorian prisoner, John Ford, who told of a conversation he overheard between two prisoners claiming a third person had owned the marijuana.
His claim that he knew the name of the person who put the marijuana in Corby's luggage but could not reveal the name because he would be killed, was also rejected as being "based on stories", or information that could not be tested.

But Mr Siregar said yesterday's verdict would have been quite different had the evidence been taken into account.

- with AAP

Calmer

After the turmoil of the weekend (in which more happened that I haven't even touched on), I think it's best if I take a little break from posting for a while.

Obviously I have some issues and they need to be dealt with. I thought I had dealt with a lot but some things have come back to bite me on the ass again. So enough of the self-pitying bullshit, I'll be back when I've given myself a few hard kicks and got myself together again.

Yadayada

While playing 'email-tag' with Sj this morning, the convo evolved into Star signs and seeing I'm lacking inspiration and energy to write anything original, I'm posting this info I found from a link she sent me.

I find these things interesting, and it's funny but whenever I'm asked what I am (Gemini), I always make a point of letting people know I'm on the Cusp. I think it has something to do with the impression that Gemini's are flighty, flirty, kind of fickle people ... and I don't see myself like that lol ... soooo, here's a rundown:

Gemini/CancerJune 19 to June 23

Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac. Geminis examine the world through intellect. Cancer is the fourth sign of the zodiac. Cancers are emotional and traditional. Those born on the Gemini/Cancer cusp display great imagination and tend to be very expressive.

They are interested in heredity and ancestors, and this is reflected in their desire to care for relatives and propagate the family line. They love to learn, and their lives are generally centered around the home.

The astrological symbol of Gemini is the Twins. Like twins, Geminis often have a dual nature and are skilled at seeing both sides of a problem. The astrological symbol of Cancer is the Crab. Like the Crab, Cancerians go through life with a strong shell around them that is not easily broken.

Gemini/Cancers are the first to express emotion in any given situation -- the first to laugh and the first to tears. Gemini/Cancers tend to have many different interests that they study in great detail. Gemini exemplifies the mutable quality assigned to it by being adaptable and able to tackle multiple tasks simultaneously. Cancer exemplifies the cardinal quality assigned to it by being strong-willed, persistent and initiating.

Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury. In ancient Roman mythology, Mercury (and his Greek equivalent, Hermes) was the messenger god. He was associated with travel and transportation. He was a communicator, quick-witted and inventive. Cancer is ruled by the Moon. In ancient times, the Moon, which represents fertility and instinct, was perceived as the Great Mother, responsible for nurturing all life. The Moon controls the tides and all water on Earth, and it has a strong effect on human emotions. Gemini/Cancers tend to be more sensitive to the movement of the Moon, their moods changing with the Moon's passage. Their facility in adapting to new challenges may seem like opportunism, but it is really just a highly intuitive curiosity that leads them to the right people at the right time.

Generally domestic and peaceful, Gemini/Cancers often have many friends and acquaintances, and they won't sit still when loved ones are threatened. The element associated with Gemini is Air. The element associated with Cancer is Water. Gemini/Cancers are very intuitive, and their broad-minded outlook and capacity for abstract reasoning enables them to make strong contributions to projects. Emotion is a key part of their lives and is checked and balanced with logic and objectivity. Their awareness and intellectual approach to life is refreshing, and their emotional honesty is something to be admired.

Gemini/Cancers have close family ties with their brothers and sisters. They often remain youthful and lighthearted their whole lives. These people have a strong association with food and a willingness to always try something new; they often make excellent cooks. Their many interests make them entertaining and stimulating conversationalists who really love people. In their leisure time, Gemini/Cancers enjoy pairing up with a partner for recreation. They often enjoy team sports because of the family feeling a team often provides. Gemini/Cancers are more likely to be ambidextrous than other signs. Physical exercise and artistic endeavors, written or on canvas, allow them to channel their swirling emotions into productive output.

Their love for conversation and food ensures that leisurely dinners with friends are highly enjoyable for them, and their inquisitive and literary orientation means they enjoy mentally challenging pursuits as well.

In love relationships, Gemini/Cancers are caring, flirtatious, playful and romantic. The great strength of the Gemini/Cancer-born is in their blending of intellectual and conversational skills. They have the ability to understand the difficulties their loved ones must work through. Their affectionate nature makes them among the most caring characters of the zodiac.

So that's basically me, and now I'm off to have a very big, very strong coffee and a few dozen panadols.

Drunk

That's what I am. And that's all I'm going to say because I'm a very sad drunk tonight and if I say more I will blubber - and there's nothing worse than a blubbering drunk. Ok maybe a violent one is worse, but still ....

A bit of blah blah

I was going to do one of those list thingimajigs but I decided to add an About Me link instead 'cos I'm feeling lazy today and that info was already there.

On a different topic, isn't it funny how we become attached to certain things or people that we survived quite well without at one time.

What also comes with that attachment is a barrage of emotions. Dependence on some, simple curiosity about others, worry, care, etc.

A while back when I was browsing random blogs I came across a young pregnant girl whose post made my heart break for her. I won't go into too many details but she was relating (in broken English) about her family situation, unsupportive husband and pretty primitive living conditions.

Once I discovered her I popped in every now and then to see how it was all going. In her last post she was 36 weeks. That was five weeks ago now and there's been nothing since.

I'm worried about her. I feel like a mother hen. I hope the little chick is doing ok.

Almost That Time Again

The process has started again. What process? Ok I'll tell you.

Every so often I have the sudden thought "hmm, I should clean my keyboard".

Now, I call this a process because just because I think it, doesn't mean it happens. Not immediately, not even within a few hours or days. It may be weeks before it actually happens or it may not ... but the process has begun!

The process is usually triggered by a variety of things. This morning it began because of a sticky key. Sticky as in not bouncing up and down, not as in sticky tacky to touch (although that has also been known to trigger the process too ;) And also, it's starting to take more and more hits before my spacebar will ... well, 'space'!

"The Cleaning of the Keyboard" is a big deal in my house. When it happens, people come from far and wide to watch this rare, magical event uttering things like "Oh My God, she's CLEANING THE KEYBOARD".

I'm surprised they don't take photos or sell tickets to the neighbours.

When it does finally happen, the world be much better off too. You see, I have enough crumbs in there to feed Ethiopia for a year, and enough ash to cover the Amazon Rainforest and a few others ... ash is good for the soil ya know!

Anyway, I can't be sure when it will happen ... but just like the Pantene commercials say ... It won't happen overnight, but it will happen!

Point ... less

Once again things are whizzing around inside my head faster than I can get them onto the screen so when that happens I find it a little easier to do things in point form (and these are definitely not in order of priority).

* We won the footy :)

* Foggy mornings are the bane of my existence. Turn parkers on in the morning to drive kidlet to school and if I haven't been out again during the day, you can be sure when I go to hop in the car to pick him up I will have a flat battery.

It doesn't matter how many times I repeat the mantra to myself on the way home "must remember to turn lights off, must remember to turn lights off, must remember to turn lights off", I will undoubtedly forget to turn the bloody lights off.

Then I have to make a zillion panicky phone calls to let the school know and try to get hold of someone to get him for me. Not an easy task when they're all too busy gossiping in the car park to answer their mobiles.

Anyway this happened AGAIN on Friday. This morning it was foggy and I drove without the lights on. No way was I going to trust myself this morning.


* I haven't been able to mention this one till now because when you're knee-deep in shit it's hard to put into words ... for me it is anyway.

It's been WW3 around here for the past 1-2 weeks. Those who know me, know that one of the worst things anyone can do is break a promise. If it's a major promise I class it as a crime and your head will be on the chopping block.

Well, not only was a major promise broken, but three were. All spinoffs from eachother. Each with its own severity level.

The pain that has come from this has been almost unbearable. The feeling of betrayal is so overwhelming at the moment. I haven't been eating, I haven't been sleeping, my eyes are so sore from crying that some days I've worn my sunglasses inside the house.

I know it will pass eventually. I just hope it's soon.

* Because I don't have sleeping tablets or anything like that, and I haven't slept for what feels like forever, I went scrounging last night and found a really old bottle of an antihistamine/sedative I had to get for one of the kids when they were younger (I can't remember what was wrong with them now) and let me tell you people ... a double dose of that stuff knocked me out for five hours (that's good for me btw).

Ok stop shaking your heads at me. I know it's bad but desperate measures for desperate times.

Actually, my head still feels a little cloudy.

* Points over and out for now.

Pissed Off!

So the Judges in the Corby case have deemed John Howard's letter as irrelevant. Well surprise, surfuckingprise.

What made anyone think it would be otherwise? Half the evidence of her innocence has been irrelevant according to them so a piss-weak letter from Little Johnny would have bugger-all impact.

Way too little, too late Mr. JohnLet'sBeDiplomatic&SuckUpOtherCountries'AssesHoward!

And what about you Mr. OppositionMyAssBeazley? When Schapelle is sentenced to whatever unjust punishment those Judges in their corrupt system feel like imposing, you'll be the first to jump up and down and accuse the Government of not doing enough and you'll be damn right, but where the fuck are you? What are you doing? Scratching your fat ass, that's what!

Apathy ...

... is the root of all evil!

Don't think little ol you can't make a difference because you can!

Sign the Schapelle Corby petition here

and register your support to boycott Bali here

There is also growing support in Australia (and after surfing to a lot of other sites, it's also catching on among expat communities in a number of other countries) of the Yellow Ribbon Campaign to show our support for Schapelle. So please, get those ribbons out and tie them everywhere, trees, cars, fences, even tie yourself up in a big yellow bow lol.

That's all for now. Sorry, but I'm pretty obssessed with this issue at the moment and I'm off now to finish emailing all the overseas Indonesian consulates.

The ICantThinkOfATitle Title

Ahhh, Friday again. The weeks seem to be slipping by so quickly these days. For me anyway, because I'm old! (For anyone my age or older, no I don't consider you old, only me) ... and no I'm not going to tell you just how old ~ so there! :p

Alright, alright, maybe I'm not that old but I feel old.

Hmmm, I'm finding this a bit strange because this isn't what I had in mind for my post at all, anyway ...

TGIF!

Actually that 'almost weekend' feeling starts on Thursday nights for me. Knowing there's only one more day and settling down in front of the TV to watch my all-time favourite ER. Yes, there you have it. ER time is a sacred hour in our house. You will not talk to me! You will not even breathe near me! If you're dying, do it quietly and ask me to call an ambulance after the credits tyvm!

Then we have 'The Footy Show'. The leadup to the weekend's footy matches and all the goss behind the scenes.

This weekend is a huge one for my boys. Our coach is celebrating 25 years as coach of the Essendon Bombers. We love him, oh yes we do :) Most fans, me included, already have our cardboard Kevin Sheedy masks for the big day. I can't go because I have to be a taxi for the kids but I will be sitting in front of the TV wearing it hehe.

Also on the agenda? To get "The Teenager" to upload some pics for me (the cam program is on the other computer and I don't have time to fiddle around with both).

Hmmm, what else, what else ... not sure yet but definitely more petition signing and letter writing for Schapelle Corby. Her verdict date has been set for the 27th.

So, that's all for now, toodleoo.

Aaaaargh

This is driving me nuts lately. Why is my sidebar thingie alllllllll the wayyyyyyy downnnnn there at the bottom of the page?

I haven't changed anything that would do that and to be honest, I'm all coded out at the moment so that all I really see when I look at the template is ~~!@#{***_*)(_)(_{}} mumbo jumbo.

Anyway, Mama Mia was good, although not as good as I thought it would be and I decided to leave the hairbrush in my bag ;)

Update ~ Ok this is what I found:

Why does my sidebar shift to the bottom of the page?

On occasion, one column (often the sidebar) will shift when the content contained within a side-menu or a post extends a column beyond its designated width. This behavior varies across browsers so the issue will not always occur when a visitor views your page. To resolve the problem we recommend reviewing the content in both columns to identify items that may be causing column expansion. In most cases, long links and wide images are the cause of the problem.

So! It's going in the too-hard basket for the time being.

Test ...

Damncat
Originally uploaded by Mushster.

...icle!

I'm only posting this pic because blogger is down and I'm seeing if a post will work from here.

Btw, see that fat, furry belly? I bury my hands in it on cold days and she keeps me warm lol.

Although I've been busy this morning there's not much to report. The Treaurer, Peter Costello, announced the budget last night and I got on my high horse about a few issues so I've emailed lots of people (him and the PM inlcluded) about those things.

I'm not really a very political creature but certain things do get up my nose and when I get on my soapbox, mannnnnnnnn look out!

Other than that, I'm off to see Mama Mia tonight so now I have to go and decide whether to take my hairbrush or wooden spoon to use as my microphone :D

A quickie ...

Fireeeee!
Originally uploaded by Mushster.

... no not that kind of quickie :p

This sudden cold snap has turned me into an eating machine and trust me - I do not need to store any more fat for winter than I already have!

I sooooo hate the cold. I feel it a lot too, just call me lizard woman! I have the ducted heating whooshing away at the moment and it's still not doing it for me so after this I'm going to light the fire as well and get a fix of Dr Phil while warming up enough to actually do something productive and get some work done.

(I'm just having a little play with flickr too so bare (bear?) with me).

Yawwwwwwwn

It was a huge weekend. I ate too much, I drank too much, I slept too little. Now I'm so tired I can barely string two words together but wooooohooooo, I got tickets to see Mama Mia on Wednesday night ... yes I'm coming out of the closet as an Abba fan :)

And now? I'm going back to bed for a snooze (yes, in the middle of the day) lol.

Ta ta

You Know You're Pissed When:

Fuck!

Hmmm, ok first one is: you start a post with fuck!

2. You go and pee a thousand times

3. When you go and pee a thousand times you leave the door open

4. When you leave the door open while peeing, you think to yourself that if someone walked in you wouldn't give a shit

5. Half an hour before posting this you had at least a dozen + points but all of a sudden you've forgotten more than half!

6. You know you're gonna regret this post in the morning but post it anyway

7. You tell someone you consider a 'new friend' I love you .... I love you Fly :D hehehe

Gag

Today's entertainment news headline:

Baby on the way for Bec and Lleyton

You can read the story here if you feel like it but if you'll excuse me I'm going now to turn off all media related objects in the house so I don't spend the weekend vomitting over these two.

Backtracking a bit ...

Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself and because we in Australia have been following the Corby case so fervently, I forget that not everyone hears about some things so for those who haven't heard about Shapelle, here's a little background.

Schapelle Corby: Schapelle Corby, a 27-year-old Australian, faces a maximum punishment of death by firing squad after 4.1 kg of cannabis were found inside her unlocked bodyboard bag at Bali airport last October. Schapelle is believed to have been an innocent victim in an Australian domestic drug smuggling racket between Sydney and Brisbane. The criminals however, did not remove the drugs in Brisbane according to the plan and Schapelle, unbeknown to her, arrived in Bali with drugs that had been planted in her bag along the way.

Schapelle Corby is due to have a verdict in mid-May. If found guilty in Indonesia of drug trafficking, she will most likely face the Indonesian firing squad a short time afterwards.

According to The Age "Corby's lawyers revealed an unidentified man had come forward and signed a statement naming three baggage handlers he says planted the drugs in Corby's unlocked boogie board bag.

Chief lawyer Lely Sri Rahaya Lubis said the three baggage handlers had since been jailed in Australia, while the man who made the statement was also in prison. Go here for more.

How can you help? Go here and sign the petition.

Some People!

I have just spend the last 30 minutes deleting a whole heap of crap from my discussion board because some random fucktard didn't like me saying Shapelle Corby is innocent so guess what!!!

Shapelle Corby is innocent

Shapelle Corby is innocent

Shapelle Corby is innocent


x 100

:D

Running Into the Light or Away from the Dark?

I wish I had something to say, something of interest I mean, but I don't.

For the past few days I've been an activities maniac. Keeping myself busy with a variety of things that leave no time for the things I usually do.

Sunday I weeded for hours in the freezing cold so that all I could think about for days every time I moved was "oh my God, the painnnnnnnnnnn, the painnnnnnnnnnnn".

I've given myself major headaches making a few graphics and fixing little things online that I'd put off because, well, basically coding bores the crap out of me and the errors weren't big enough to warrant urgency.

I've confused myself by looking at so many paint swatches that the loungeroom may end up orange and purple simply because I can't remember what I decided on or even if I did decide.

And last night I finished the book I was reading (Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks) and cried like a baby, not only because of the story itself but a paragraph in particular:

Adrienne smiled wistfully. "I took things one day at a time. Isn't that what they tell you to do? I know it sounds trite, but I used to wake up in the mornings and tell myself that I only had to be strong for one day. Just one day. I did that over and over."

Maybe that's what I've been doing with my frantic activity, or maybe I'm running away, but either way for a while it keeps me one step ahead of my thoughts - and that's a good thing at the moment.