Bali Trio Finally Executed
Imam Samudra and brothers Amrozi and Mukhlas were shot to death by separate firing squads in the early hours of the Indonesian morning, six years after the Kuta nightclub explosions that killed 202 people.
Australia’s official policy on such matters is to oppose the use of the death penalty but only to intervene if Australian citizens are involved. Amnesty says this is hypocritical and endangers the lives of Australians on death row.
Many people that i have spoken to are confused about the executions. Has it merely elevated the trio to martyrdom status or has it finally enabled the grieving families to accept closure? Are those in favour of capital punishment uncivilised folk or is life without parole a more inhumane punishment than a painless instant death?
Personally, i have no emotional hang-ups about killing murderous psycopaths who indiscriminately kill (many Muslims also died in the bombing, which was carried out in the name of Allah). I don’t view this as an uncivilised or barbaric standpoint – but pragmatic. However i do accept the martydom argument.
The reactions of the parents of those killed in the bombings are as diverse as the rest of the population.
David Stewart, whose son Anthony died in the nightclub attacks, has said he would be happy to pull the trigger on the firing squad rifle, adding that ”I’d check the rifle to make sure I wasn’t given the blank.”
However, former Adelaide magistrate Brian Deegan, who lost his son Josh in the Bali bombings, says he’s full of trepidation about future reprisals after the executions of three bombers.
Though i can’t even begin to imagine what losing a child must be like, i can sympathise with Mr. Stewart. I just cannot understand the latter viewpoint. Fear mustn’t prevent us from removing this cancer from our societies. We have to stand up to bullies, even though there will be consequences.
They killed 202 people. They weren’t sorry. Now they too are dead. Good.
Achmed The Dead Terrorist
This is now one of the most watched videos ever on YouTube (behind the absolutely brilliant ‘Evolution of Dance’) .
“I’ve skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech.”
Texan ventriloquist and comedian, Jeff Dunham.
Comedy is not only one of the last forms of free speech but one of the most powerful. It’s far more effective to ridicule religious psycopaths like OBL than to fear them, or worse, to try and understand them and their ’causes’.
Three cheers for Jeff and Achmed.
nb – if you are at all offended by jokes at the expense of Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Michael Jackson then exercise your right not to watch this video.
Enjoy.
Judge Colin O’Connor – NSW’s Most Useless Public Servant?
Sebastien and Christian Whitbread drank 20 schooners of beer, arrived drunk at Gosford station and refused to pay for a ticket, verbally abusing staff who challenged their attempt to catch a train without tickets. Senior transit officer, Andrew Schofield, then stepped in when the brothers refused to leave the station. A scuffle ensued, resulting in one of the brothers receiving a bloody lip.
The pair – described by judge Colin O’Connor as “heavily intoxicated, belligerent and abusive” – were still so aggressive when police arrived that one was threatened with the use of capsicum spray. The brothers then sued Railcorp, Mr Schofield and several other transit officers for assault and false imprisonment.
The judge, in his infinite wisdom, awarded damages of $12,000 to Christian, and $10,000 to Sebastian.
Judge Colin O’Connor has form.
i) He awarded $700,000 to a Qantas baggage handler who hurt his back lifting a windscreen that had not been labelled as heavy.
ii) He awared $21,000 to a student who hurt his thumb on a statue at the St. George TAFE, even though he acknowledged that some students had probably moved it.
iii) He sentenced Paul Butcher to a whopping five years imprisonment for paying a hitman $5,000 to drown his wife in a lake.
Read the comments section for an outpouring of emotion directed at the good judge.
Update – according to Andrew Bolt, it appears that Judge O’Connor’s days are numbered. He and his ilk are to be replaced by, err, my eight year-old son and his mates.
Socialism Is Back
A long weekend. I think these are most of the major developments;
1. Kevin Rudd has guaranteed the deposits in all of Australia’s banks for the next three years. Initial talk of a $20,000 ceiling has been shelved. There is now no cap on the guarantee. He has also applied a government guarantee to the banks’ wholesale funding.
2. The G7 have decided that there are to be ‘no more Lehmans’ - i.e. all ‘strategically important’ financial institutions will be bailed out.
3. The EU goverments revealed the pompously-named ‘Declaration on a concerted European action plan of the Euro Area‘. This includes ; helping banks raise wholesale funding by guaranteeing senior (but not subordinated) debt, buying stakes in troubled banks via preferred equity, guaranteeing deposits, and bailing out troubled institutions.
4. Britain is due to implement this plan almost immediately when it will nationalise at least two of its largest banks – RBS and HBOS – via the issuance of new preferred shares.
5. ‘One cannot talk of nationalisation’ cried German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, as she announced a $500bn nationalisation, bail out, rescue package for German financial institutions.
Key thing to watch today – the fate of Morgan Stanley.
The Rise of Patriarchy in Britain
Women have enjoyed equal rights with men for about, say, 20 years, in the history of our species (and only in certain countries). If recent developments in Britain are anything to go by, then their day in the sun may already be ending.
Watch the incomparable Pat Condell (listen out for the ‘letterbox ladies’ story) on the Saudi-inspired misogyny of the new British Sharia Courts.
Somewhat scarily, YouTube had previously blocked this video in response to …err, well, you can guess. Happily, it has been reinstated. Womens’ Rights trump Patriarchal Religious Bigots’ Rights…for now.
RBA Cuts Rates By 1%
Wow! Biggest cut since May 1992.
No one saw this coming. The stock market is up over 200 points from the lows of this morning and the Aussie $$ has been smashed. Do they know something we don’t?
Statement from the Reserve Bank is here.
Meanwhile the various European governments are squabbling like schoolchildren about individual countries breaking ranks and guaranteeing depositors. And last night some major commodity producers lost up to 25% of their market capitalisation in one session. Opportunities for the brave……
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