Another letter to the TNT

Schapelle Corby's trial in Bali has just finished and there should be a verdict in a couple of weeks. I've been following the case in the papers for a while, and despite the fact that I am the least sympathetic person I know, I actually feel sorry for her. Some of it born out of irritation for the Indonesians as I know they're not too fond of Aussies, and the last pictures I saw of a Denpasar court were during the trial of the defiant Bali Bombers. Some Indonesians have a lot of resentment towards Australians and it seems to me that they just want to put her down. They have given her no opportunity to gather any evidence to prove her innocence, and standard procedures that you would have expected to be followed by sensible authorities have simply been ignored. The girl is clearly innocent, anyone can see that. The prosecution don't seem to care though, but then again, their job is to prosecute, not to care. But I am so irritated by the case they have put against her, and their blind flipancy of any evidence and common sense to the contrary.

So again, another letter from me to the TNT. I've taken a dig at the Indos, I hope it gets printed:

Schapelle Corby has made her last plea of innocence to a Denpasar court. Her whole trial has exposed the complete farce the Indonesian judicial system is. The prosecution and the authorities have ignored every scrap of evidence that may have proven Schapelle’s innocence; even refusing to have the bag of marijuana she was allegedly carrying finger-printed. Had this incident occurred in a civilised country, she would not have even stood trial. Her fate is in the hands of the three trial judges, I think most of Australia hopes they will see some sense and find her not guilty.

Victor Hugo Morales

I really haven't been in the mood for posting in the past week. Rest assured though I will pick up again shortly. In the mean time I am going to post this.

...la va a tocar para Diego, aqui la tiene Maradona, lo marcan dos, pisa la pelota Maradona, arranca por la derecha el genio del futbol mundial, y deja el tercero y va a tocar para Burruchaga... Siempre Maradona! Genio! Genio! Genio! ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta... y Goooooool... Gooooool...

Espectacular! Viva el fútbol! Golazo! Diego! Maradona! Estoy emocionado perdonenme ustedes... Maradona, en una corrida memorable, en la jugada de todos los tiempos... barrilete cósmico... de que planeta veniste? Para dejar el camino tan simple, para que el país con el puño apretado, gritando por Argentina.... Argentina 2 - Inglaterra 0... Diego!, Diego!, Diego Armando Maradona... Gracias Dios, por el fútbol, por Maradona, por estas lágrimas, por este Argentina 2 - Inglaterra 0...

Weekend at Bernie's II

Now that the hype surrounding the Pope’s death has died down a little, it is no longer too soon to speak ill of the dead. So before they get around to electing someone to take his place, it’s time to slag off Pope John Paul II.

Karol Jozef Wojtyla was an ultra conservative. As leader of 1.1 billion Catholics he failed utterly to move the church forward with the modern world. Instead clinging to antiquated ideas that are becoming increasingly out of place in today’s world.

Chief amongst these ideas is the issue of contraception; quite simply, it’s a no-no. What idiocy! Not only had the Pope’s church condemned the use of contraception, but actively took steps to prevent its use in third world countries. Countries where poverty is rife and is only increased as a result of more children being born. How many times have we seen aid groups advertising on television for donations, giving us a sob story about some poor guy who can’t afford to feed his 14 children? Let us also not forget how his church has condemned condom use in a world where there are 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS and a further 15 million children who have been orphaned by it. How many people has Pope John Paul II condemned to death for not allowing the use of a piece of latex? What purpose does it serve to oppose condom use anyway?

So you can’t use a condom and now you’re up the duff. According to the Pope, tough. You sure as hell aren’t going to have an abortion, that would be akin to murder, extermination, on the whole it’s pretty much full scale genocide! This time, our old friend Karol reckons it’s the same thing as the Holocaust. Although it seems to me that it’s a little easier to dispose of a few foetuses than it is 6 million fully grown human beings. Even for a pregnancy as a consequence of rape, even if it were a child whom the pregnancy would more than likely kill, no abortion under any circumstance. Why so much protection for a miniscule collection of cells?

It is possible for the church to move with the times, however slowly they may chose to. They’re not burning people at the stake any more for not believing what they say (although you can never be sure.) Galileo was right when he said the solar system was heliocentric, the Catholic Church said he was wrong and threatened to kill him if he didn’t renounce his claims. I’m pretty sure they agree with him now (although you can never be sure.) So as the world moves forward, we all realise that the things we used to be sure were right, weren’t actually at all. The Catholic Church seems less willing to do this and still insist that the meanings of a book written thousands of years ago be taken on face value.

What is probably most appalling about the moral authority with which the Pope wielded with his ideology, was his continuing failure to act against Priests around the world who have sexually abused small boys. Not only was no action taken within the church to prevent the continuance of this behaviour, but steps were taken to actively cover the whole thing up. Instead of Priests being shame and ex-communicated from the church, they were promoted to higher positions, or simply left to continue destroying the lives of children and their families with whom then were entrusted. The Pope turned a blind eye to horrific crimes against God, all the while condemning homosexuality as evil.

The most ridiculous thing about all this is the concept of Papal infallibility. Needless to say John Paul II was a staunch advocate and heavy promoter of this. Wouldn’t you too if you were the head of an organisation that insisted that whatever you said was correct and un-opposable by anyone, ever! What an utterly ridiculous and preposterous notion. Hmmm, now where else in the world would we find this kind of leadership structure, oh I know, North Korea. It sounds to me like the Vatican City is a dictatorship! Come on George W, let’s see you bring your democracy bandwagon into this town!

As I write this the conclave are in the process of electing a new Pope. The big question is whether the ultra conservatives will get their way and elect someone to keep the church in the dark ages; or will the cardinals see sense and elect a reformer to bring the church into the 21st century.

Stupido Commentatori

Football commentators piss me off. Actually nearly everything about football pisses me off, including the fact that I can't stop paying attention to it.
Anyway, when the Milan derby game was abandoned last night, the ITV commentators were really giving it some. This is how the minute by minute match reporter on Guardian Unlimited commented on it:

ITV2 commentators Peter Drury and Jim Beglin are on the verge of exploding with pompous, sanctimonious wailing and righteous indignation at the outrage that is unfolding before them: "But what about the children?"
Where's Bono when you need him?

I bloody agree, and it's not as though we haven't seen this kind of thing before, and it's not as though we haven't seen far worse from this from the English. Not that I condone what goes on, in fact I think it's rather silly, but let's have far less sanctimony from English football commentators especially.

The Guardian goes on to say:

Anyway, it's only several thousand plastic bottles and a big cloud of smoke - hardly an unprecedented event at a Milan derby. Far be it from me to condone this kind of guff, but Inter's fans do have every right to be upset, as their side has been robbed by referee Markus Merk tonight. He failed to send off Andriy Shevchenko for a blatant headbutt before the Ukrainian scored, he denied Inter a penalty and then disallowed a perfectly legitimate goal by Esteban Cambiasso. Is it any wonder they've got the hump?

Hmmm yes, well I've said my piece about referees before

If only to prevent us being subjected to more of this idiocy, let's hope there is no trouble tonight at the Stadio Delle Alpi

The Darwin Awards

Two men and their dog were found dead in a remote part of the Australian Great Sandy Desert the other day. These men had set off in a 31 year old Land Rover along a particularly unforgiving track, without enough water or petrol to even reach the next filling station. They had not told anyone where they were going or how long they would be gone. They did not take any maps, nor was their vehicle equipped with a 2 way radio. They had only a mobile phone with them and I doubt whether Telstra has service in that area.

Now, without going as far as saying these men deserved to die, the gene pool is surely better off with them removed.


Moving on to another person the gene pool could do without; Clive Woodward has announced his 44 man Lions squad for their annihilation at the hands of the All Blacks in a couple of months time. This number may increase to 45, 46, or 47 depending on whether a number of England has beens, who haven't played in ages, can prove they are fit enough to sit in the stands with a red blazer on. It is also worth noting the Woodward's entourage includes no less than 26 coaches.

The headlines yesterday were of course devoted to Jonny Wilkinson, in so much as the fact he has been left out of the squad, but has he? Well basically no. If he can prove his fitness between now and then, he will be included, the other fly halves though have been told that they will not be automatically looked over if Wilko is fit. I have written about whether it is a good idea for Jonny to play or not before and my opinion is still the same.

There has been some dissent from the other home nations that Woodward has favoured his home country. Despite the fact that England are no longer a very good rugby side, 20 of the squad are English, 11 Irish, 10 from the Grand Slam winning Welsh side, and 3 Scotsmen making up the 42nd, 43rd and 44th members of the tour. There are more players in the squad from Sale Sharks as there are from Scotland, leading some people to suggest a bias towards Zurich Premiership teams. These people did obviously not watch any of Scotland's 6 nations tests this year.

It is easy to see where Woodward is going with his selections; he is trying to get a mix of youth and flair that the Welsh have shown us this year, and combine it with the experience of his England buddies who know what it takes to win. He is going with a tried and tested formula, he thinks that experience is what he needs to win a third test decider in the biting wind and rain in Auckland.

I think though that Woodward is still clinging too much to 2003. His England team no longer exist. There are still a number of those players included in the squad, but many of them have not been playing for England, or have not been playing regularly at all. The squad may have a core of players who have experience and know what it takes to win, but at the same time, the inclusion of these players can also create a team that the All Blacks will know how to beat. With many experienced players in the side, the All Blacks could well be thinking better the devil you know than the one you don't.

I can only consider that there were not more Welsh players in the side because Graham Henry knows many of the players from his time as Welsh national coach, and would therefore know their weaknesses. All the same though, Woodward's squad does not surprise me but I honestly think he is off the mark.

Verdict: clean sweep to the All Blacks

It doesn't matter if you're black or white

A friend of mine is having a little trouble with some of the things his colleagues are saying at work. He is a white Anglo-Saxon, born and raised in Australia; both of his parents were born in Britain, where he is now living. Generally as Australians living in London, we are subjected to some anti-Australian banter here and there from the natives. Most of the time it’s pretty friendly and we give as good as we get. I get the impression though that in my friend’s case, it has risen to a level above what can be construed as friendly banter. On a number of occasions my friend has expressed his distress to me at being continually subject to snide remarks and sly comments about his nationality.
Most Australians are more than happy to make jokes about themselves and their own country; it’s one of the things that make Aussies generally laid back and friendly people. What are being said to my friend however, are not jokes and are certainly not funny. Psychologically I believe the reason for these comments, mostly from one or two individuals, as an attempt to exclude my friend as they regard him as a threat to their status and as a result of themselves harbouring feelings of inadequacy.

So far, my friend has not drawn attention to the fact that he is upset about this. He does not want to cause any trouble and it is obviously not worth his while to start putting people in the office offside. What would happen though if he did report the matter to senior management? Perhaps the parties involved would be told quietly that they should give it a rest for a while. I imagine that would be the extent of it.

Pretty much everything that has been said to him could have equally been said to someone of any nationality in the exact same context. He is being victimised purely on the basis of his nationality and it is causing him distress and discomfort in the workplace. What would happen though, if my friend were black, and he were not from Australia, but an immigrant from the Caribbean? I can tell you that the shit would hit the fan! There would be massive repercussions for the company and those involved. The offenders would be sacked in an instant; my friend could resign stating he could no longer work in an environment where he was being racially vilified. He could then take the company to court because of this and more than likely win his case and receive a large amount of compensation. The case would be reported in the press and the good name of the company would be sullied. The whole experience would cause not only financial damage, but also long term damage to the company’s good will.

So what’s the difference? There is none. The treatment that my friend is subject to is no different at all to treatment that would be labelled racist and totally unacceptable were the colour of his skin different. Racism and discrimination is such a highly sensitive issue in modern society, minor indiscretions are zealously reacted to. The treatment my friend is subjected to is totally unacceptable. Whether it is racist, culturalist, nationalist, call it what you will it is all the same thing: discrimination and vilification based on something the victim has never had any control over.

Just quickly...

With the General Election coming up in less than a month, my vote will be swayed by whichever party can promise to enter more five pound notes into circulation. It is an increasingly common occurrence to pay for something and expect a fiver change, only to be told they have no five pound notes; thus ending up with a pocket full of one pound coins. This is bloody irritating and something must be done about it. I encourage everyone to write, call, email the Bank of England to ensure they put an end to this travesty!



I have just finished reading the final book of Dave Pelzer’s autobiography. A very compelling read, the three books cover Dave’s life from when he was a small boy and brutally abused by his mother, through to his successful life as an adult. As with a lot of books, there are a couple of pages at the end of the book devoted to ‘About the Author.’ I thought this was a little strange in this case because I had just finished reading an AUTOBIOGRAPHY! Was not the entire story About the Author? Needless to say, it did not contain any information that I hadn’t already read.

Weekend at Bernie's

Ok well it had to be mentioned eventually; The Pope has died. It was in the morning on April 2 that the Vatican announced his death. For a while there I thought they were going to tell us all on April 1; then tell us all it was an April fool and in fact the Pope had died quite some time ago and, Weekend at Bernie’s style, had been puppetted about via an elaborate system of wires and pulleys.

I am told also that the Pope was catholic, in spite of this though he didn’t seem like such a bad dude. He was a voice of opposition to war and used his position of power to promote the cause of peace. He also played football, ice hockey and rugby in his native Poland, and that’s all right with me!

During his last days, one particularly poignant statement he made was “Do not weep for me,” and rightly so. The mourning thus far has been relatively sensible, the guy was clearly suffering throughout the last few years of his life, and if you believe like many people do, he has clearly gone to a better place. Needless to say though, many women in small South American villages will wail uncontrollably at the feet of Virgin Mary statues for some time to come. This leads me to suggest that in general, Christian society does not deal with death particularly well. Obviously it is painful to lose a loved one, but for so many people who say they believe in God and heaven, it really shouldn’t be that difficult. Surely if heaven really is the wonderful paradise that it’s claimed to be, then we should be happy for the dead, and our grieving is purely a selfish feeling because our friends or family aren’t around to keep us company any more.

Here in of course lies the purpose for religion. What would so many millions have to hold on to were it not for faith? The concept of an omniscient god and an afterlife, gives people a purpose for their lives when perhaps they would otherwise have none. Belief gives people comfort and gives people a reason for their existence. It is, as our old friend Karl Marx (who may or may not have also been Santa Claus) said; ‘the opium for the masses.’ Perhaps somewhat more critically he also said; ‘Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand.’

So is religion a product of evolution? As the human mind evolved over time, so did more questions arise and so were more answers required. How many billions of people could not live their life without purpose and without the comfort that they were loved unconditionally by a higher power? Is this belief required for the human species to evolve successfully? Regardless of whether a god exists or not, it is worthwhile noting that religion was not created by a god, religion was created by humans.

Normal Service Resumed

It's Monday again, normal service has been resumed. Deciding that it was merely an April fool's joke, I cancelled my trip to Sudan and got pissed instead. The problem with Sunday sessions is having to get up for work the next day. It does however give a perfectly good excuse to usher out the door the girl who slept in your bed last night; who you swear looked a lot more attractive yesterday after 8 pints of lager. This concept should no longer surprise me.
In any case, I was fine today, just not really on the ball. That was really the case with everyone else too. I was stoked on Friday night when I got home and found the Waratahs game was actually going to be shown on tele in the morning, not so stoked about the result, but not too worry there were still some positives to come out of the game. I personally blame Mat Rogers for the loss; his presence was really needed this week and he let the team down by not being fit for the match, he's soft.

There's plenty to be said about the important events over the weekend, but I'll do that tomorrow.

The End of the Line

After only a couple of months of discursive therapy, this blog is closing down. Today will be my last posting. I would like to thank the few of you who have read my ranting and raving over the past couple of months, this blog has been an enjoyment for me as well as an outlet for some of my energies.

Next week I will be flying to Sudan where I will take up a post with the Red Cross in the Darfur region of the country. Many hundreds of thousands of people have been slaughtered through government sponsored genocide. Many many more have fled the area as refugees leading to one of the worst humanitarian crises of recent times. I will be assisting to deliver food and aid packages to those refugees.
Something must be done to help these people and I can no longer stand idle while the rest of the world ignores.

I hope to blog again in the near future and hopefully recount my experiences in Sudan. Needless to say I will not have the time nor access to the resources to continue this blog in the way I have enjoyed doing so over the last couple of months.

So it is today, April 1, that I bid you all a fond farewell. I hope my writings can be a part of your readings again some time in the future.

Good luck and God bless