SBY To Make A State Visit To Vietnam...

I wonder if there are any RMS people in Vietnam who are willing and able to lodge a petition for SBY's arrest for crimes perpetrated against the people of South Maluku?

Hmmm...

RMS being the Republik Maluku Selatan or the Republic of South Maluku. Another band of separatists advocating their right to be free and independent.

Self-Portrait...

I was going through some old photos as I was looking for a photo of George Mason and the quote of the previous post, and I came across this one.

I am an amateur photographer, and I use the term amateur loosely, and I have a little point and shoot Casio Ex-P700 camera.

I have always found the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC to be one of the most powerful, thought-provoking, and inspiring memorials I have visited, even as an Australian. I know that others have widely divergent opinions of the memorial to mine. I think that the power comes from the ability to see ourselves reflected back at us, and for me this gives me pause for a little introspection on a great many things. This happens for me at a great many war memorials, including Australian, wondering what drove these brave young men and women to sacrifice so much.

I am forever grateful for the freedoms that they secured for me so many years ago, and also to the young men and women of today who continue to sacrifice so much in the defense and maintenance of those things that I, we, hold dear.

With a bit of luck, the family and I will be heading to Gallipoli in 2015 for the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landing.

Judicial Reform in Indonesia

A recent survey by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd (PERC) has ranked Indonesia as the worst of the 12 Asian countries surveyed. The survey by PERC suggests that the Indonesian judiciary is the weakest and perhaps most controversial of Indonesia’s institutions. This is in essence the crystallization of public opinion on the idea that law enforcement in Indonesia is the number one problem faced by the country. According to PERC some of the decisions made by the courts have been “so controversial that they have seriously hurt confidence of foreign companies”, however PERC did not provide any specific examples with regards to which cases it considered controversial or sapping of foreign confidence in the system.

PERC is a Hong Kong-based consultancy. The survey asked 1,537 corporate executives working in Asia to rate the judicial systems in the countries where they reside. The basic variables used included: the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), corruption, transparency, enforcement of laws, freedom from political interference, and the experience and educational standards of lawyers and judges were also considered.

“Year after year, our perception surveys show close correlation between how expatriates rate judicial systems and how they rate openness of a particular economy,” PERC said. “Better judicial systems are associated with better IPR protection, lower corruption and wealthier economies.” explain PERC.

Interestingly, a survey by a Hong Kong-based consultancy has found that Hong Kong rates the best with a score of 1.45 on a scale 0-10. In this survey a score of 0 is the highest possible score and 10 is the worst possible score. Hong Kong was followed by Singapore (1.92), and then Japan (3.50). Indonesia ranked last with the lowest score of 8.26. Vietnam came in slightly higher than Indonesia with a score of 8.10 and China (7.25) was almost a point better than Vietnam.

The PERC survey would seem to confirm the results obtained in Transparency International Indonesia’s (TII) survey of December 2007. The TII survey also ranked Indonesia’s judiciary as one of the most corrupt institutions of State considered in the survey. The most corrupt in the TII survey were the police. Similarly, a recent survey by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) also had the Indonesian Court system as the second most corrupt institution in the State. The only difference being that the KPK had the Office of the Public Prosecutor as the most corrupt.

Aria Suyudi, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Policy (PSHK), said of the TII survey, that the results reflect the public’s perception of the courts. Aria went on to explain that the perception is different perhaps from the reality because most of those surveyed were not familiar with the legal and judicial reforms going on at the Supreme Court. Therefore, there was also little surprise from Aria that the PERC survey also found the Indonesian judiciary to be wanting and the worst in Asia as the results seem to be based on questions relating to perception of the system rather than the reforms taking place. Simply, those surveyed, whether they be corporate executives or investors, are just not sufficiently well-informed of the reforms taking place in the judicial system, according to Aria.

Furthermore, Aria highlighted that the perception is an old one and fails to take into account the progress made by the court system as a whole and more specifically the Supreme Court. Aria cited the example of the Supreme Court decision database. The Supreme Court decision database is an online database of Supreme Court decisions that can be accessed by the public.

Hasril Hertanto, Secretary General of Masyarakat Pemantau Peradilan Indonesia (Indonesian Judicial Watch Society / MAPPI), had a similar opinion to that of Aria, and stated that the system in Indonesia is not the worst. It must be noted that Hasril acknowledged that the system was not excellent either but just OK. For Hasril it was not so much the system that is inadequate but rather the inadequacies lie with those who are tasked with running the system. According to Hasril it is the human resources that are not sufficiently prepared and as such do not have the capacity to run the judicial system. This lack of preparedness has meant that corruption has not been completely eradicated and as such the mistrust remains as do the negative perceptions of the system.

Australians, Vietnam, and Drugs -- A Deadly Mix!

I like to think my fellow Australians are smart but sometimes I have to wonder! It seems that every other week I am reading about an Australian somewhere in the world being arrested for drug related offences or trafficking. A lot of these places look a lot more harshly on drug offences than does the Australian legal system.

However, the issue for me here is the Australian Federal Police's involvement in providing intelligence to States were the death penalty applies and then allowing Australian citizens to be arrested in States where they might be subject to the ultimate penalty. If you break the law you should be punished. Therefore, this is not an issue of law and order but rather a personal opinion and concern about the severity of the punishment. Furthermore, it bothers me that the Australian Federal Police are playing a role in the killing of young Australians overseas.

I am ready for any flak on this issue and the position I have adopted. I am unashamedly anti-death penalty and even more vehemently opposed to it where a similar offence in Australia would attract the legal equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

This aside, my point is, if you know that you are putting yourself in the position where the ultimate penalty may be applied can you blame anyone else but yourself for your own stupidity? This should not be construed as the ramblings of a conflicted soul, as I am not conflicted!

Anyways, a couple of Australian women, Trang Bich Hong and Lam Mong Chinh were detained in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) after heroin (photo and with the chemical formula C21H23NO5) was found in their hotel room. Another unidentified woman was arrested at the airport carrying 250 grams of heroin. It seems that the AFP had been monitoring the three and tipped off their Vietnamese counterparts of the three women's role in a drug trafficking operation. I think that the AFP must be prevented from sharing any intelligence with States that impose the death penalty. If the AFP knows of a trafficking operation then they should take it down once it arrives in Australia, at least as far as Australian citizens are concerned.

After intense lobbying by the Australian government the Vietnamese government has not executed any Australians for drug trafficking despite a growing list of convictions. Nevertheless, Vietnam has some of the toughest drug laws in the world. Just 600 grams of heroin can see you sentenced to death.

My question is when will Australians learn that, sooner or later, if you continue to play with fire you will get burned?

American Gangster

American Gangster is definitely not a Christmas movie but worth the time needed to watch it!

The plot is an interesting one, particularly for those that are not familiar with the African-American mobsters of the 1960s and 1970s. This is a time when political correctness had not really kicked in and these gangsters were black gangsters. However, based on a true story, and as with most films it probably has a few dramatic embellishments, yet it does convey a message. The message might not always be the one we hope for as the film does provide an element of glamour to the bad guy. So, perhaps some impressionable minds might turn to crime. But generally the film is about the corruption driven by greed and the scourge of drugs.

It really does plot good against evil. The good guy being Ritchie Roberts, played by Russell Crowe, against the cold, calculating and deadly evil Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington. With the ultimate outcome never in doubt for any history buff familiar with the story, it is still possible to feel empathy for the bad guy even when you do not want to or know that it is misplaced. The reality is that Frank Lucas may in fact be a self-made man but he was so on the misery and suffering of those people that consumed his product, heroin.

But, there is more to this film in that it highlights the absolute brazen nature of the crimes being committed alongside the creativity and genius being employed to pull them off. Frank Lucas created a business model that cut out the middle man in the supply and distribution routes increasing profits. Yet, it was the importing of the heroin in the coffins of US soldiers being repatriated from Vietnam. Uncle Sam may not have realized it at the time but is was the middle man in a transportation sense from the Southeast Asian based-supplier to the chop factories in the US.

The film highlights the almost wild west nature of the late 60s and early 70s where lawlessness abounds with police on the take and criminals seeking celebrity and what's more getting it.

Crime may pay over the short term but the long term is never so secure.