Tuesday, February 28, 2006
"Guilty Even If Not Proven Guilty": Ruddock
I was listening to AM yesterday on the drive to work, as is my wont, and I heard a quote from Phillip Ruddock yesterday that simply astonished me. He was referring to a guy called Jack Thomas, who was found innocent of two serious terrorist charges, but guilty of two more minor ones, of receiving funds from a terrorist organisation and of making fraudulent changes to his passport.
Seems that even though a man has been proven guilty, he's hinting that it's only because our legal system is too stringent, and he's guilty as sin.
Judge for yourself:
"The fact (is) that in relation to our legal system there is a very high burden of proof that has to be satisfied to achieve convictions and sometimes, even though people have been committed for trial on the basis that there is sufficient evidence to convict, juries find that on the balance, that they have to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that they wouldn't convict."
and
"But… and the important point to understand in the context of our law is that people aren't put to their trial unless a magistrate - in this case a magistrate did judge that there was sufficient evidence to convict of all of the offences.
"And the fact that a jury comes to review that on the test that has to be satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that they don't convict, ought not to be seen as some form of victory. This isn't a victory issue. This is an issue of protecting the Australian community, and terrorist offences are very serious offences."
WTF?
Seems that even though a man has been proven guilty, he's hinting that it's only because our legal system is too stringent, and he's guilty as sin.
Judge for yourself:
"The fact (is) that in relation to our legal system there is a very high burden of proof that has to be satisfied to achieve convictions and sometimes, even though people have been committed for trial on the basis that there is sufficient evidence to convict, juries find that on the balance, that they have to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that they wouldn't convict."
and
"But… and the important point to understand in the context of our law is that people aren't put to their trial unless a magistrate - in this case a magistrate did judge that there was sufficient evidence to convict of all of the offences.
"And the fact that a jury comes to review that on the test that has to be satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that they don't convict, ought not to be seen as some form of victory. This isn't a victory issue. This is an issue of protecting the Australian community, and terrorist offences are very serious offences."
WTF?
Well, Here I Am...
Morton told me last week I never update my blog anymore. *Jubal Early voice* Well, here I am ...
Being home from work during the week is far less fun when you have a cold. The coughing, the runny nose (went through an entire box of tissues in less than 48 hours), the back and head pain... blah. Hate it. But I am back at work now, still coughing a bit but nowhere as bad as I was last week. Seems that since the bout of pneumonia, I am more susceptible to lung stuff. How is that fair?
Not much other news. Work is work. My main character on World of Warcraft, the Night Elf Druid (shape changer), is level 38 and I am desperately trying to get the gold together so that when I hit 40 I can buy a mount (night elves get these really cool overgrown white sabre tooth cats). There are websites where you can actually buy (IRL) gold (in the game) - Morton did that for me and M when we first started playing, bless his socks! But I don't really want to do that.
My friends would mock me if I did. :|
I think my sister has decided she's less interested in roleplaying - she doesn't like supernatural movies and stuff very much. Not sure if they scare her or what it is, but when I told her the game we play is vampires, she cringed. Maybe it's just the geek factor putting her off! ;) I think if she did take up roleplaying it'd have to be a D20 Modern style thing - more real world. That's the sort of stuff she prefers.
We were going to go to the Canberra Show last weekend, but what with the sick and the expensive, we didn't end up doing it. Am a bit jealous of Capital Mum's cool flourescent hair extensions, which she got there, but I can live! :)
Latest Photoshop effort:
(Larger version here.)
Being home from work during the week is far less fun when you have a cold. The coughing, the runny nose (went through an entire box of tissues in less than 48 hours), the back and head pain... blah. Hate it. But I am back at work now, still coughing a bit but nowhere as bad as I was last week. Seems that since the bout of pneumonia, I am more susceptible to lung stuff. How is that fair?
Not much other news. Work is work. My main character on World of Warcraft, the Night Elf Druid (shape changer), is level 38 and I am desperately trying to get the gold together so that when I hit 40 I can buy a mount (night elves get these really cool overgrown white sabre tooth cats). There are websites where you can actually buy (IRL) gold (in the game) - Morton did that for me and M when we first started playing, bless his socks! But I don't really want to do that.
My friends would mock me if I did. :|
I think my sister has decided she's less interested in roleplaying - she doesn't like supernatural movies and stuff very much. Not sure if they scare her or what it is, but when I told her the game we play is vampires, she cringed. Maybe it's just the geek factor putting her off! ;) I think if she did take up roleplaying it'd have to be a D20 Modern style thing - more real world. That's the sort of stuff she prefers.
We were going to go to the Canberra Show last weekend, but what with the sick and the expensive, we didn't end up doing it. Am a bit jealous of Capital Mum's cool flourescent hair extensions, which she got there, but I can live! :)
Latest Photoshop effort:
(Larger version here.)
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
(I can't claim credit for writing these.)
Mal: Because the other side of the road was the only place it could live life on its own terms, without being meddled with.
Zoë: Because that's where the job was, Sir.
Wash: It followed a really hot girl chicken that could kill it with its pinky. Do chickens have pinkies? No? Well, I don’t know then.
Jayne: The money was better over there. (mutters) Lousy seven percent...
Kaylee: To meet shiny new chickens and see the sights.
Simon: That's where the Alliance was hiding its sister.
River: To get to the other side.
Inara: It just suddenly, for no apparent reason, decided to pick up and abandon the luxurious life it had on this side of the road. That's not odd, is it?
Book: It was a pilgrimage. Wracked with guilt over the atrocities it had committed, the chicken decided to devote the remainder of its life to God in a desperate search for redemption. Just a guess.
Jubal: That ain't no chicken.
YoSafBrige: Because you were over there, sweetie.
The Operative: The chicken's motivations are not my concern. Getting it across the road is.
Mal: Because the other side of the road was the only place it could live life on its own terms, without being meddled with.
Zoë: Because that's where the job was, Sir.
Wash: It followed a really hot girl chicken that could kill it with its pinky. Do chickens have pinkies? No? Well, I don’t know then.
Jayne: The money was better over there. (mutters) Lousy seven percent...
Kaylee: To meet shiny new chickens and see the sights.
Simon: That's where the Alliance was hiding its sister.
River: To get to the other side.
Inara: It just suddenly, for no apparent reason, decided to pick up and abandon the luxurious life it had on this side of the road. That's not odd, is it?
Book: It was a pilgrimage. Wracked with guilt over the atrocities it had committed, the chicken decided to devote the remainder of its life to God in a desperate search for redemption. Just a guess.
Jubal: That ain't no chicken.
YoSafBrige: Because you were over there, sweetie.
The Operative: The chicken's motivations are not my concern. Getting it across the road is.
The Weirdness...
I forgot to add. My sister (who still lives with my parents) has started showing an interest in understanding what this whole roleplaying business I've been into for ten years is all about. I am probably going to go visit her next weekend with some White Wolf books for her to have a look at.
Given my love-hate relationship with White Wolf products and the Camarilla in general (I am a burned out and bitter old Cammie who still enjoys the games but hates the crap that goes with them), this fills me with a mixture of dread and ... something less than dread but not on the positive side of the ledger.
But K (lil sis) is painfully shy; she only ever really vaguely socialised with the people she worked with, and doesn't seem to have any really good friends in Canberra (she has lots of email and pen friends though). So if I could actually get her to come to games and get into it, it'd be good for her; I found I really came out of my shell once I started to do drama at school and then LARP, and it'd be good to increase her social circle too.
The only other worry I have (other than her thinking it's all too weird and changing her mind) is that she's a good looking young woman (she's 28) - definitely more physically attractive than me, curse her! - and given some of the desperates that come to Cam sessions, I might have to beat them off her with a stick!
Given my love-hate relationship with White Wolf products and the Camarilla in general (I am a burned out and bitter old Cammie who still enjoys the games but hates the crap that goes with them), this fills me with a mixture of dread and ... something less than dread but not on the positive side of the ledger.
But K (lil sis) is painfully shy; she only ever really vaguely socialised with the people she worked with, and doesn't seem to have any really good friends in Canberra (she has lots of email and pen friends though). So if I could actually get her to come to games and get into it, it'd be good for her; I found I really came out of my shell once I started to do drama at school and then LARP, and it'd be good to increase her social circle too.
The only other worry I have (other than her thinking it's all too weird and changing her mind) is that she's a good looking young woman (she's 28) - definitely more physically attractive than me, curse her! - and given some of the desperates that come to Cam sessions, I might have to beat them off her with a stick!
Update
I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks (more?) since I posted on this thing. A lot of that is the fault of work - it's been crazy-busy lately - and most of the rest is the fault of World of Warcraft. The Camarilla (live action roleplaying club) and a small amount of Photoshop (I have only done one pic) are most of the rest.
I agree with TechnoHorror - there'd be much more time to do stuff I like if it weren't for work. *sniffles*
Here's a dot point list of recent events:
Australia Day: It was M's birthday on Australia Day (that's 26th January for you non-Aussies). He got a public holiday. Inkling and TechnoHorror were kind enough to host a BBQ for lunch because we don't own one. It was tops - public holiday, sunshine, food, the Hottest 100 and yummy Transformers cake. I got M some sheepskin carseat covers for his car, as well as a Lego Ferrari. Got many brownie points for the latter, slightly less but still approval of the former! :)
Cancon: We had a nerd-fest roleplaying convention on the long weekend after Australia Day (which was a public holiday). I went to three different Camarilla sessions, one each day. M. actually ran all three so he was buggered by the end of it.
I did buy the "Serenity" RPG book while I was there, which brings me to my next point...
Serenity RPG: A very interesting read, and now I am thinking of running a game for my friends. I've got six people expressing an interest to play, with varying amounts of enthusiasm. (One person has already done multiple sheets, I'm told!) I am a bit intimidated by the idea of running a game because it's been almost 10 years since I last ran tabletop (and about 3 since I ran LARP). Anyone who isn't Mikey, Inkling or TechnoHorror who has ideas for cool plots should let me know! :)
World of Warcraft: Last weekend we played World of Warcraft all weekend. *blush* Damn addictive game! My characters are:
Server - Windrunner
Character - Tauren Hunter "Nightpelt", level 14 (I think)
Server - Proudmoore
Character - Night Elf Druid "Swiftspring", level 28
Character - Gnome Warrior "Cynnamon", level 15
Job stuff: As far as the new job offer goes, the current boss and the boss of the area that want to steal me have agreed that I can go over there for six weeks to fill a higher level position, and that before that, for an unspecified amount of time there will be a "transition period". Don't know what that will involve. As far as moving over there permanently, the boss here hasn't agreed to that yet. He thinks I should hold out for them to offer me more money (as opposed to the same money). Unfortunately, he can actually block me from moving over there if it's the same money, and I don't want to burn my bridges... :( I will have to just wait and see.
On the bright side I made a joke to him about the guys here offering me more money to stay, and his response was, "It's not out of the realms of possibility." That'd be sweet! :)
Work itself has been crappy. Very busy, lots of stress because of jobs where I have a deadline set by others, but need info from others who seem to think that deadlines are flexible.
Photoshop: My muse may not have left me but she's certainly on go-slow mode, sitting in the sun on a beach somewhere and drinking cocktails with umbrellas in them. I am getting frustrated at the limitations using a mouse inflicts on me as far as digital painting goes. I told M he should look at getting me a graphics tablet for my birthday, but it really depends how expensive they are.
I'd also love a digita SLR camera, but I know that ain't gonna happen.
If you're curious the pic I did is this one:
(Larger version here.)
Politics: Better add in something informed about current debate. I find the current rift between the Libs and the Nationals to be hilarious, and the horrified denials about AWB from the government to be extremely suspicious (what's that expression that covers a person who instructs someone not to tell them something, so they can deny that they knew about it later? Mental blank).
And Tony Abbott (Health Minister) shouldn't be talking about his own personal morals when dealing with what should be a scientific issue concerning whether a drug is safe or not.
I agree with TechnoHorror - there'd be much more time to do stuff I like if it weren't for work. *sniffles*
Here's a dot point list of recent events:
Australia Day: It was M's birthday on Australia Day (that's 26th January for you non-Aussies). He got a public holiday. Inkling and TechnoHorror were kind enough to host a BBQ for lunch because we don't own one. It was tops - public holiday, sunshine, food, the Hottest 100 and yummy Transformers cake. I got M some sheepskin carseat covers for his car, as well as a Lego Ferrari. Got many brownie points for the latter, slightly less but still approval of the former! :)
Cancon: We had a nerd-fest roleplaying convention on the long weekend after Australia Day (which was a public holiday). I went to three different Camarilla sessions, one each day. M. actually ran all three so he was buggered by the end of it.
I did buy the "Serenity" RPG book while I was there, which brings me to my next point...
Serenity RPG: A very interesting read, and now I am thinking of running a game for my friends. I've got six people expressing an interest to play, with varying amounts of enthusiasm. (One person has already done multiple sheets, I'm told!) I am a bit intimidated by the idea of running a game because it's been almost 10 years since I last ran tabletop (and about 3 since I ran LARP). Anyone who isn't Mikey, Inkling or TechnoHorror who has ideas for cool plots should let me know! :)
World of Warcraft: Last weekend we played World of Warcraft all weekend. *blush* Damn addictive game! My characters are:
Server - Windrunner
Character - Tauren Hunter "Nightpelt", level 14 (I think)
Server - Proudmoore
Character - Night Elf Druid "Swiftspring", level 28
Character - Gnome Warrior "Cynnamon", level 15
Job stuff: As far as the new job offer goes, the current boss and the boss of the area that want to steal me have agreed that I can go over there for six weeks to fill a higher level position, and that before that, for an unspecified amount of time there will be a "transition period". Don't know what that will involve. As far as moving over there permanently, the boss here hasn't agreed to that yet. He thinks I should hold out for them to offer me more money (as opposed to the same money). Unfortunately, he can actually block me from moving over there if it's the same money, and I don't want to burn my bridges... :( I will have to just wait and see.
On the bright side I made a joke to him about the guys here offering me more money to stay, and his response was, "It's not out of the realms of possibility." That'd be sweet! :)
Work itself has been crappy. Very busy, lots of stress because of jobs where I have a deadline set by others, but need info from others who seem to think that deadlines are flexible.
Photoshop: My muse may not have left me but she's certainly on go-slow mode, sitting in the sun on a beach somewhere and drinking cocktails with umbrellas in them. I am getting frustrated at the limitations using a mouse inflicts on me as far as digital painting goes. I told M he should look at getting me a graphics tablet for my birthday, but it really depends how expensive they are.
I'd also love a digita SLR camera, but I know that ain't gonna happen.
If you're curious the pic I did is this one:
(Larger version here.)
Politics: Better add in something informed about current debate. I find the current rift between the Libs and the Nationals to be hilarious, and the horrified denials about AWB from the government to be extremely suspicious (what's that expression that covers a person who instructs someone not to tell them something, so they can deny that they knew about it later? Mental blank).
And Tony Abbott (Health Minister) shouldn't be talking about his own personal morals when dealing with what should be a scientific issue concerning whether a drug is safe or not.
