Winterr's words
Sunday, May 29, 2005
What Alan Jones had to say
I enjoy listening to Alan Jones opinions on the "Today" morning show. I get up pretty early every morning and have to have some quiet coffee before the day begins!
I think what he said on the Today show pretty much sums up what I think about this whole Schapelle Corby ordeal going on at the moment, I copied his statement from http://2gb.com/
By Alan Jones:
Well, there has been a lot of humbug since Schapelle Corby was given 20 years in jail for allegedly smuggling cannabis.
Indeed, in strident and vindictive tones, Judge Sirait said, "The accused Schapelle Leigh Corby has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing the crime without right and against the law, of importing type 1 narcotics."
In reaching this conclusion, the judges disregarded every piece of evidence presented by Schapelle Corby.
They took no heed of the fact the drugs bag had not been finger-printed.
They ignored evidence from her brother and friends who traveled with her on the ill-fated flight.
And the chief judge proudly boasted on more than one occasion before the judgment was handed down that no accused had been spared by him from over 500 who had appeared before him.
Obviously Schapelle Corby has a fight on her hands.
So too, I might add, has the Australian government because people are legitimately saying why are we giving a billion dollars in tsunami aid, and why have 9 of our helicopter pilots giving their lives for a country which so transparently cares little about the humanity of individuals.
The spectacle of a judgment being spat out with such vitriol and at such speed that even translators couldn't make sense of it, raises serious questions about who our international friends are and what they really stand for.
Matthew Moore writes for the Sydney Morning Herald.
He is not a dunce, nor is he a bleeding heart.
But writing from Indonesia on Saturday, amongst other things, he said, "Every current and former prisoner you speak to complains about spending tens of thousands of dollars just to get a sentence cut to something manageable."
He wrote, "One European prisoner said he had paid $35,000 to get his sentence brought down from 12 years to 5."
Moore wrote, "A further cut to just 18 months was on offer when he appealed to the Supreme Court, but he could not raise the extra $25,000 asking price."
He writes, "Frenchwoman, Helene Le Touzey moved to Bali five years ago to support her son Michael Blanc after he was caught at the airport importing 3.8 kgs of hashish into Denpassar."
He writes, "A French government representative told her it would cost between $200,000 and $250,000 in bribes to have a chance of securing a sentence of about 15 years. No money was paid and her son got life."
No money was paid in the Corby case either.
Matthew Moore writes, "As one former prisoner explained, you can get remissions for up to six months, but only for very good behaviour and a very good supply of money."
Well, now to the humbug.
From one end of the country to the other, political leaders allegedly accountable to their electorate which is outraged, keep telling us we have to respect the decision of the courts.
And that so-called relations between Australian and Indonesia are more important than Schapelle Corby's fate.
Not only couldn't she determine what her bags weighed when she checked them in in Brisbane compared to when they arrived in Bali:
Not only was she refused a forensic test on the drugs:
Not only was the baggage contaminated at Denpassar airport and therefore the principal instrument of her defense, in the process, destroyed:
And not only did she have to make her plea to the judges in her own defence and in her own written statement while they apparently had no translation and didn't understand a word she was saying.
Now we have this spectacle and the so-called "result" on Friday.
And the Australian electorate are being told to respect the judgement.
By all means we should build international bridges with international countries.
But there have to be some standards in return.
And, quite frankly, at no point has the Indonesian process come anywhere near meeting those standards.
I think what he said on the Today show pretty much sums up what I think about this whole Schapelle Corby ordeal going on at the moment, I copied his statement from http://2gb.com/
By Alan Jones:
Well, there has been a lot of humbug since Schapelle Corby was given 20 years in jail for allegedly smuggling cannabis.
Indeed, in strident and vindictive tones, Judge Sirait said, "The accused Schapelle Leigh Corby has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing the crime without right and against the law, of importing type 1 narcotics."
In reaching this conclusion, the judges disregarded every piece of evidence presented by Schapelle Corby.
They took no heed of the fact the drugs bag had not been finger-printed.
They ignored evidence from her brother and friends who traveled with her on the ill-fated flight.
And the chief judge proudly boasted on more than one occasion before the judgment was handed down that no accused had been spared by him from over 500 who had appeared before him.
Obviously Schapelle Corby has a fight on her hands.
So too, I might add, has the Australian government because people are legitimately saying why are we giving a billion dollars in tsunami aid, and why have 9 of our helicopter pilots giving their lives for a country which so transparently cares little about the humanity of individuals.
The spectacle of a judgment being spat out with such vitriol and at such speed that even translators couldn't make sense of it, raises serious questions about who our international friends are and what they really stand for.
Matthew Moore writes for the Sydney Morning Herald.
He is not a dunce, nor is he a bleeding heart.
But writing from Indonesia on Saturday, amongst other things, he said, "Every current and former prisoner you speak to complains about spending tens of thousands of dollars just to get a sentence cut to something manageable."
He wrote, "One European prisoner said he had paid $35,000 to get his sentence brought down from 12 years to 5."
Moore wrote, "A further cut to just 18 months was on offer when he appealed to the Supreme Court, but he could not raise the extra $25,000 asking price."
He writes, "Frenchwoman, Helene Le Touzey moved to Bali five years ago to support her son Michael Blanc after he was caught at the airport importing 3.8 kgs of hashish into Denpassar."
He writes, "A French government representative told her it would cost between $200,000 and $250,000 in bribes to have a chance of securing a sentence of about 15 years. No money was paid and her son got life."
No money was paid in the Corby case either.
Matthew Moore writes, "As one former prisoner explained, you can get remissions for up to six months, but only for very good behaviour and a very good supply of money."
Well, now to the humbug.
From one end of the country to the other, political leaders allegedly accountable to their electorate which is outraged, keep telling us we have to respect the decision of the courts.
And that so-called relations between Australian and Indonesia are more important than Schapelle Corby's fate.
Not only couldn't she determine what her bags weighed when she checked them in in Brisbane compared to when they arrived in Bali:
Not only was she refused a forensic test on the drugs:
Not only was the baggage contaminated at Denpassar airport and therefore the principal instrument of her defense, in the process, destroyed:
And not only did she have to make her plea to the judges in her own defence and in her own written statement while they apparently had no translation and didn't understand a word she was saying.
Now we have this spectacle and the so-called "result" on Friday.
And the Australian electorate are being told to respect the judgement.
By all means we should build international bridges with international countries.
But there have to be some standards in return.
And, quite frankly, at no point has the Indonesian process come anywhere near meeting those standards.
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