Wulf's Pawprints

Stalking my voice.

Thursday, June 30, 2005

TENSE: FUTURE PERFECT

Dateline: The 1st July 2025.

Salutations sisters and brothers.
This is Rainbow Salam with another hourly bulletin from the GBN the global blogg network. On the hour, every hour with the news you know you can trust.

Today marks an auspicious occasion. The European Union enlargement incorporating as full fledged members the republics of Latvia, Lithuania, Belorus and Ukraine. This marks the completion of the European unity with the entire continental Europe united.
The European union recevied a shaky start, with many questioning over twenty years ago the feasibiliy of such a union. The prosperity and economic growth convinced even the most ardent critics of the benefit of staying the course.

In other news, the space elevator in the Equtorial Congo is nearing completion. Funded in its entirety by African Union investors, the ACE (African Central Elevator) is the first of such installation to come online. Industry analysts predict that with the commisioning of the new orbital lift facility, space industry is going to boom.
Virgin Galactic shares have plummeted as the result of the predicted fall in space vehicle demand.

In related news, the Australian Space Agency is expected to purchase a fleet of Virgin Galactic liners with the view of upgrading the transportation system to its long neglected Outback colonies on the Moon. The Australian PM, Greens Mr. Brown was apologetic for the late upgrade saying only that with the decreased tax base and the burden on the reparations for the original landowners imposed by the UN, luxuries like regular bus connections to the outlying moon colonies needed to wait.
The Minorty liberal party leader Senator Colon immediately made the claim that this financial incompetence is so typical of the past ten years of Green government. He further went on to say that Australia had become a heaven for global cappucino drinking socialists and the true blue dinkum spirit is now dead. This view was largely dismissed by most moderates, with the leader of the New National party leader speaking from her algea farm in Mare Imbrum colony saying that the upgrade was a necessary to maintain the standard of living in the remote Australian areas. Further commenting that if neglected the colonists might start talk of independece.

Fears of Data storm has been put to rest with the introduction of a new data discriminators. For the past two years, media doyens have been predicting a catastrophic event in the data saturation degrading the usability of the net to pre 2010 levels. Such a performance hit was predicted to cause catastrophic economic failure of the information based economies of today. The new Data Discriminators feature self contained artificial intelligence software borne from the alliance of human technology with the nascent Californian Silicon Distributed Intelligence (CASSI). A result of the United Nations granting nation/person status to CASSI have pushed aside the last obstacles in utilising AI (aritifical intelligence) software in every day devices. Civil libertarians have already raised the spectre of exploitation but many commentators dissmiss such claims on the grounds that CASSI will evolve past our sphere of interaction. Certainly the latter analysis seems correct given that volume of new patents lodged by CASSI which is approaching asymptotic.

Student strikes in North American Union have been ended. The Strikes started when the Northam Union senate passed the long floundering bill mandating compulsory Univeristy Education. The leader of the conservative Republican party Senator Hassan Al Faruk was quated to say; 'In this day and age the Northam alliance can not afford the youth of today not to be educated if we are to maintain the competative edge against the CASSI and other mechanicals'.

Rumours persist of the Mars colony separatists gaining popular support. The Mars colony, established barely 15 years ago is booming with cream of the Earth industry, science and adventure seekers taking up the attractive incentives. Tsolkovski City, the Capital of Mars colony is a hive of activity with gross national product exceeding 200 billion Euros. Far in excess of the the combined industrial output of NAU and EU. Traditionaly stoic legislatures of NAU and EU have become uncharacteristically beligerent in their posture. If the Mars colony does indeed become independant as many see as fate accompli, the European and American unions will lose a sizable revenue base. The United Nations is expected to mitigate heavily the approaching dispute. Secretary General of UN, Sara Stanford has gone on record stating full UN involvement in the process at the same time assuring the public that UN inspectors found no evidence of Mars Space armaments as was alleged by some NAU comentators.

The leader of NAU terroris cell "The Alamo" has been arrested and is expected to be subjected to an extended councelling and therapy stay at the Guantanamo bay sanitorium. Guantanomo Bay sanitorium, build on the site of the infamous camp from the Terror wars by apologatic US public was due to be closed down due to a marked decrease in radical terrorist groups. Terrorism was largely pushed onto the back pages in the last decade by addressing the poverty, the root cause of discontent.
In addition the military industry profiting from perpetuating the conflict and fear has been refocused on the immensly more profitable space colonisation. In this changed landscape, the few remaining terrorist groups have been dying off due to lack of support.

In business news, shares of Ambrosia pharmaceuticals, the monopoly maker of life extending drug Ambrosia have split for the 10th time, making it the largest ever capitalised firm. Ambrosia, though expensive is purchased in bulk quantities by most governments after the Age abolition riots of the 2010.

The Macrosoft investement fund has once again been indicted on charges of tax evation, fraud and crimes against humanity. Though expected to be successful, the case is expected to drag on for ten years or so. Macrosoft is expected to use its previously successful method of long trials to mitigate the outcome in its favour.

Han Co., the global Chinese manufacturing megalith corporation has declared another successful year, riding on the back of another eco-upgrade to all household and transport appliances. The revenue is expected to be distributed to the shareholders, sparking financial markets fears of renewed global inflationary preassures.

Peace, Love, Profit and Happiness brothers and Sisters.

[Update]

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

ONCE A CONVICT, ALWAYS A CONVICT.

Our proud heritage in Australia is the fact that our forefathers were convicts. Prisoners of his/her majesty who were (inevitably) unjustly imprisoned. Forgivable crimes such as stealing bread from market stalls to feed the family. Naturaly, anyone stealing food from the multinational supermarket stalls today to feed the family is a filthy parasite that deserves all the jail time the judges righteously met out.

The notion that alienating offenders by placing them into a carefuly designed cauldron of barbarism, tribal hierarchy and forced brutal homosexual sex somehow makes the criminals more adjusted to living exemplary lives is something only a delusional mind can birth.
But hey, what do I care, we hide our garbage in big mountains and cover them with dirt out of our sight. Why should we treat the broken down people of our civilisation any differently. In short, if we hide it, the problem will go away.

This mentality of jailer and the jailed pervades our community still.

And so, some recent examples.

An Australian citizen, Shapelle Corby is jailed for drug smuggling.
Now, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the poor girl is innocent.
Here are my reasons why;

a) Security flaws in Australia airports.
A secret Australian Customs Service report, completed last September, found that some Sydney airport workers had been involved in drug smuggling. This has been widely publicised in Australian press. This also forms the basis of Corbys defence. That someone else (at the airport) placed the drugs in her bag, and forgot or missed taking them out on her last leg in Australia.

b) Flaw in flow direction.
No one, even a silly girl like Shapelle smuggles drugs INTO Indonesia.
At the same time 9 Australians are caught smuggling drugs OUT of Indonesia to Australia, she smuggles INTO Indonesia? For all the heavy penalties Indonesia seems to have more Drugs abvailable than Sydney's Kings Cross on a Saturday night.

c) Corruption.
Indonesia is at the very top of the corruption ladder in the world International anti-corruption organisation ranks Indonesia just past Haiti,Nigeria,Chad and Azerbajan who take the top billing.
Someone did not pay somebody enough. This is likely the reason why Shapelle is rotting in jail.

d) Judiciary.
The Indonesian kangaroo court judge proudly boasted that in 800 cases he tried not once did he judge the defendant innocent. In an imperfect civilised legal system like Australia, a small percentage of accused would be found innocent. Not so in Indonesia, the avatar of human rights and robust legal system (see point c).
Shapelle was found guilty long before a word was said in court by her defence.
Found guilty by the reputation of the judge who would rather see an innocent womans life ruined, than have his reputation as a hanging judge ruined. Shame.

e) Evidence and process.
Shapelle was found guilty of the drugs being in her luggage. As the commentators say, the court was not interested how they got there. There were no fingerprints taken off the plastic bag the drugs were in. The evidence was destroyed. Fundamental ommisions in collecting evidence. Apparently our aid to Indonesia stops at political counterinsurgency and does not extend to criminal investigation evidence collection.

What is the response of the Australian government to this abuse of its citizen?
Furious diplomatic protests? Flocks of government legal eagles rushing to her rescue? Threats of curtailing of the bullets shippments, sorry, 'military co-operation' Indonesia uses to stifle its separatist movements. Not so! The Australian government's solution is to negotiate a prisoner exchange scheme.
I am sure Shapelle will feel wonderful rotting in jail for 20 years on a joke charge. Serving time in the same jail with those on 4 year sentences for manslaughter.
God forbid in the future an Australian faces a death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Our governments solution will be to negotiate a supply of a sharper blade so that the Australian dies quickly and as painlessly as possible.

This abuse by the Indonesian so called justice (HA!) system is made even more painful after all the outpouring of aid after the tsunami. It is important point to consider. We send billions of dollars in aid when hundreds of thousands of its citizens were in need. When one of Australian citizens is in need, we get blowback, 'national pride' and distaint for basic human rights.

There is of course precedent for this disregard by our government of personal liberties.

Steven Hicks, an alleged 'enemy combatant' (Whatever the hell that means) being kept in a US concentration camp for over 3 years, without a trial, in clear violation of a number of international agreements. With the full consent and blessing of the Australian government. Hick, by all accounts would not have been able to be charged with any crime in Australia. Still, he rots in jail because being the US 'Pacific region Sheriff' is more important to the Australian government than personal freedom of some peasant citizen.

A series of 'detention centers' (qv prisons, qv concentration camps) are set up through out Australia where refugee (called here 'illegal immigrants') men, women and children are kept in idefinite custody. Yes folks, in Australia we keep babies in jail. The paradox is that most of them are from Afganistan, Iraq and Iran. The very same countries where we have military saving us from the terrorists. On one hand, they are here 'illegaly' and can return to their safe home. On the other, we fight bad people in their homeland. Solution to the paradox? Jail them (hide them out of the way) qv (Pacific Solution).

It is time for the people who purport to defend freedom of its people in this great country to actualy look up the definition of the world 'freedom'. Allowing its citizens to rot in foreign jails and allowing those who seek our protecition to rot in our jails for the sake of shallow diplomatic ends is a violation of the charter of human rights, common decency and it is certainly not fair dinkum.

It is time for our humanity to shatter the convict shackles that bind our Australian decency.