The Schapelle Verdict

I haven't posted for a while, so I'm rather stunned to see my stats have been soaring. Hello, everyone! So -- what do you think of the verdict?

I must admit I'm surprised that the sentence wasn't higher. Throughout the trial I'd been hopeful she would be freed, even, at some points, pretty certain that would happen, but these feelings came from me seeing the case with my eyes, from my perspective as an Australian, and as a supporter of justice. Unfortunately, as we all know now, the all-important eyes that were presiding in this case were not Australian, and they rate justice on an entirely different scale.

It seemed crystal clear from the witness testimonies and evidence presented by the defence team that there was (a.) a definite possibility of interference from a third party with Schapelle's luggage, (b.) nothing in Schapelle's past or present life to link her with any sort of drug smuggling activity, (c.) massive, glaring holes in the prosecution's case, and (d.) absolutely nothing to corroborate the Indonesian customs guy's story. Amongst other things.

Yet -- the judges threw out every single bit of evidence. Every bit! And they disregarded every single bit of testimony. They believed customs officer Winata's word against Corby's because he was the authority, they said.

Ooooo-ooo, I shook and cried with Schapelle (and most of the rest of the nation) as Chief Judge Sirait worked himself into a frenzy delivering the three judges' unanimous decision. How could they? Do these people have no heart?

But in Bali there are many who think she is guilty. The Ganja Queen, they call her.

Oh poor, poor Schapelle.

User-un-friendly Blogger

I have an unconscious habit of pressing Control-S often when I'm typing -- legacy of hating auto-save features whilst still nursing a healthy fear of losing my work -- and I often accidentally hit the keyboard shortcut on web pages, especially those with forms required me to type something.

Now, if you press Control-S in a browser you get an option to save the page, which you can cancel. No problem.

If you press Control-S in Blogger, however, it publishes your post. Just like that, no questions asked.

Gets me every time.

Got Money?

Nah, neither do I.

I am about to go and save my ass from the real estate fires -- two months behind on my rent, and I've just managed to scrape it together through, quite honestly, a true miracle.

Why is it that everyone decides to not pay at the same time? And why is it that this time, in which people start lagging with payments, is always the same time that banks and other such institutions decide to get nasty?

I hate dealing with money. Loathe it. Therefore, I'm a terrible debt collector, and a shocking accounts keeper. Do not put me in charge of managing your funds!

However... if you need help with spending it, then I am your woman.

Indonesia's Unlawful Legal System

Wow, I'm back, and so much has been going on since I last posted.

Firstly, I've had some heartfelt messages of support posted in the comments here for Schapelle Corby, probably summed up best by this post. As we all know by now, the prosecution in her case has asked for a life sentence, and one of the three presiding judges has announced in a media interview this week that Schapelle didn't do enough to prove her innocence. Outrageous.

Also recently, Chief Judge Linton Siriat highlighted just how ridiculous the Indonesian legal system is, confirming he can still order the accused to the firing squad, ignoring the prosecution's recommendations, if he so wishes. Ah. Well, then, let's hope he liked what she was wearing in court. Seems it makes about as much of an impact as facts do.

There is an interesting transcript online of an interview from ABC's The World Today radio program, in which Eleanor Hall discusses this very issue -- of Indonesia's questionable legal system -- with Indonesia analyst Damien Kingsbury, from Deakin University's School of International Political Studies. Kingsbury points out some serious flaws with their judiciary process in relation to consideration of evidence, professional training, and the basic assumption of guilt that their legal system is founded on.

And then, this past weekend, to top it all off -- Indonesian guards at the jail Schapelle is in are caught red-handed selling heroin to inmates. [I can't find anything online about this, but it was featured on the TV news here last night. Why are there no online reports?]

What a joke this whole sodden mess is. And at the centre, the 27-year old Gold Coast woman who forgot to lock her boogie bag.

It's A Small World in Google Maps

Have you checked this out yet? Another of Google's prodigious beta tools: Google Maps.

As an Australian, my first urge is to find my home country. So I click away from the States, left a bit, then down a bit, left a little more, then some more again... and soon realise that there is simply not that much ocean on planet Earth. We've been excluded from the first round, as usual.

So, for the interim, let's try getting directions to "pizza", as the Google Maps home page suggests.

My first attempt gave no results, so I reloaded the web app. by clicking on the Google Maps logo. This time, I find that there are multiple hits for "pizza", the first being "Casey's Carry Out Pizza" in Coffeyville, Kansas, 2.1 miles south-east of where I am apparently standing.

Ah, so Google have put Coffeyville as the default dead centre of the United States, and all hits until you move the map, are listed by the distance from this point. This is quite cool indeed. More info on Casey's Carry Out Pizza is given in a pop up, including the ability to get directions to Casey's from your nominated address, and vice versa.

It's easy to see this is already rather useful. Better yet will be when this is available in a low-res format via handheld devices.

And closer still, we all come together, huh.

2005's Best April Fools Joke

The Mac Observer noted this year that Apple was going to license Microsoft's Windows Media platform for its iTunes and iPod players. The article accompanying this announcement was so seriously good that apparently even respected business institution Forbes was duped.

Here's a taste:

Sources close to the company admitted [to TMO] that Microsoft had also hit Apple where it hurt with its Six Tips for Buying an MP3 Player with Flash Memory tip sheet for consumers.

"That was just genius," said one source, who requested anonymity. "You'll notice that they didn't even mention the iPod once. Once a potential customer sees that, they're sold on an iRiver, a Dell DJ, or whatever. We couldn't compete with that, but thankfully Microsoft was willing to help us out."

Installation - Make Your Own 3D Playground

Wow. Amazing. Virtual blobby things, drawn with a pen into the air through a "window". You need to go and check this out.

Actually, I'm a bit behind the times here. Simon Greenwold at MIT Media Labs debuted Installation way back in 2001 and won a few awards with it in 2002, including a bronze in the 2002 I.D. Magazine Interactive Media Design Review. He was also personally invited to demonstrate the system to Intel for the Intel Corporate Research Fair of that year.

Apart from Installation, Mr. Greenwold has been amassing a fascinating collection of experiments and developments in spatial and graphical areas of human-computer interaction for the last 15 years or so. Does that sound wordy? Well, man, take a look -- he's just way cool.

You'd Think I'd Learn

...after the first time. But no. I did it again. And worse in the second round.

*sigh*

Brad and Jen Split Over Politics?

Could it have been Brad's political ambitions that pushed the couple apart?

The Swift Report seems to think so, quoting "sources close to the couple" [aren't they all?] who say Mr. Pitt hasn't yet determined how big he'll make his political empire, but he is interested in running for an office of some sort.

The World's Strongest Man [that's Arnie, duh] vs. The World's Sexiest Man. Wonder who'd get the votes?

AFP Investigating Interstate Drug Smuggling Claims

Eleanor Hall from The World Today, a national ABC radio program, today interviewed Federal Justice Minister, Senator Chris Ellison, who basically said not very much about Schapelle's case as he believes it would be inappropriate, but did confirm that the Australian Federal Police are looking into the claims of drug smuggling rings operating within Australia via airport baggage handlers.

Transcript of the interview is online, where you can read Ellison repeating his lines about it not being right to comment on the Corby case due to it being in progress now, etc, etc, respecting their courts, blah blah yada blah.

Look, sure, I understand the ethics involved in bringing in media, talking about the case, observing foreign social and legal customs, and so on. However, it is just such an awful, frightening situation going on over there -- Schapelle is required to prove her innocence in order to save her own life. This is not the Australian courts, in which the prosecutor would be needing to prove her guilt. This is Bali, place of widespread poverty and ongoing religious war on one side, and politicians lapping up their privileges and paying off their enemies on the other.

I disagree with you Ellison; we should be using the media. As much as we can. It wasn't until Bakir stepped in that anyone from the Aus. government even commented on what was going on.

What if this were someone else's daughter? Your own? Would you be wanting us all to be silent then too?