Crown Ambassador Reserve -- Luxury Beer

How much is a beer worth? I guess that depends on who you are asking. A beer is worth whatever a willing customer is prepared to pay for it. Foster's is expecting that its contribution to the luxury beer market will enjoy similar success to what it has in the past.

The Crown Ambassador Reserve is supposed to retail at a recommended AUD 70 per bottle. However, even in these depressed financial times, the demand was high, in fact so high, that it was common to see the recommended retail price being ignored and a bottle selling for as much as AUD 120.

Furthermore, it is expected that this year's 6000 bottles will be snapped up by beer connoisseurs within weeks of it being released onto the market. If the 2008 edition is anything to go by all 5000 bottles disappeared just about as quickly as they made it onto shelves.

Do you get bang for the buck. Once again, it depends on what you expect in a beer. The Crown Ambassador Reserve is a dark beer with an alcohol volume of 10.2%. Each of the bottles is individually numbered. The Queen always gets the bottle numbered with the number 1.

So, if expensive dark beer is your thing, then keep an eye out for the Crown Ambassador Reserve. I, myself, will be taking a pass at AD 70 for a single bottle.

Blasphemy In Indonesia...

The Indonesian Criminal Code defines blasphemy in Article 156. The article is often used to control "deviant" sects and cults. Generally, deviant is any practices that do not conform to an accepted norm. Some of these sects or cults are just plain bizarre, but the more interesting part is probably that they attract followers or believers.

One such cult is the Satria Piningit Weteng Buwono or the Chosen Warriors from the Belly of the Earth. Agus Noro (aka Agus Imam Solihin) was found guilty of blasphemy by the South Jakarta District Court. The gist of the charges set out that the Noro led sermons in his underwear and required all his followers to participate in orgies. Noro had managed to gather some 35 people as followers of his faith.

However, the blasphemy charges related to his blaspheming of Islam. It seems that the biggest crime that Noro committed was to instruct his Muslim followers not to fast and pray at the times required under the tenets of the Islamic faith.

Ultimately, Noro was sentenced to two years and six months in jail. The presiding judge in the case, Judge Haryanto, said that the sentence was less than the five years demanded by public prosecutors because Noro had retracted his statement that he was the incarnation of God (or refused to accept the charge as laid out by the public prosecutors). This knowledge, or spiritual guidance, allegedly came to him in a dream. The dream or vision was provided by Indonesia's first president, Soekarno, back in 1999.

A meagre 35 followers hardly seems like a threat to the established base of Islam in Indonesia. The fact that in one of the world's largest democracies that people are still being jailed for their beliefs and the manner in which they believe in their god or gods shows that Indonesia still has some way to go. The expectation is not perfection, there are no states in the world that are perfect in this regard. However, considering the myriad of other problems afflicting Indonesia, it just seems that the resources dedicated to putting Noro in jail could be better used elsewhere.

Where the religious practices of organizing orgies and allowing minors to either participate or watch are breaches of the law, then it would have been possible to arrest, prosecute, and ultimately, jail, Noro without having to resort to the blasphemy card.

Interestingly, Noro chose to represent himself and without the assistance of counsel.

The ISA in Malaysia -- Protests, Tear Gas, and Water Cannons

The Internal Security Act, or ISA, is a law that allows police in Malaysia to detain people without trial in certain circumstances. The primary concern for most is that the ISA does not recognize some basic human rights with respect to the idea of a right to a speedy and fair trial. The ISA is designed, according to its supporters, to ensure that Malaysia's domestic security is protected from all threats. In essence, the ISA gives the authorities the right to undertake pre-emptive or preventive detention.

As this as a backdrop, some 15,000 Malaysians seeking to have the ISA removed from the statute books took to the streets (photo courtesy of Reuters). If I was Malaysian, and perhaps even if I wasn't but just there, I would have taken to the streets too. Human rights are human rights. These basic human rights, no matter what the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahatir, says, are not based on western or eastern / Asian values. Human rights are human values, simple.

In Kuala Lumpur the 5,000 police on hand were seemingly outnumbered by protesters. Nevertheless, police had at their disposal water cannons and tear gas, both of which they were prepared to use, and did so.

At least 175 people have been arrested in this heavy-handed assault on a peaceful demonstration. According to Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister and one-time jail inmate, the police action was not only unwarranted but unnecessarily brutal.

The current Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has called the protest unnecessary as he has already agreed to review the ISA. However, it would seem that at least 15,000 Malaysians do not believe him and are prepared to make their lack of faith in the PM known.

Indian Students Studying In NSW -- Numbers Dropping

New South Wales can ill afford to be potentially losing some AUD 300 million in revenue from Indian students who choose to study in NSW's institutes of learning and education. However, this is the prospect facing the current Rees government in view of their total inability to reassure potential students coming from the sub-continent about their safety should they choose to come and study here in NSW.

Sad really.

Australia, as most countries in the world, have elements that are not welcoming of those different from themselves. And, in this regard NSW has its share of this element as well. The recent violent conflicts that have given rise to this potential loss are racial conflicts between Indian students and some Australian youths of Lebanese ancestry.

The local media portrayed the conflicts as seething tensions between Indian students and Lebanese youths. This is always the way, when the Australian multicultural community does things that are considered to promote the Australian way of life or they make a contribution that makes all Australians proud, then they are Australians. However, in contrast when they do something which causes shame or embarrassment, then the media and a great majority of the rest of us resort to referring to them based on their ancestral homes. This is irrespective of whether these youths are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation Australians.

Sad really.

However, it is worth noting that racism in Australia is not only Anglo-Australians against the rest. Racism is not limited to one group or another. If it exists, then it is fair to say that it exists across the board. Growing up I always remember visiting my grandmother in Punchbowl, and even as a kid I could notice the changing demographic as one group moved out as another moved in, and this cycle repeated itself. My Nan, I think, she just like living their, and besides she had always lived there, so there it was.

Back to the main point. The bad publicity like the Harris Park stand-off and the subsequent overload of bad press in India has meant that Indians have developed the idea that Australia, and NSW in particular are racist places. This is not true. However, once a perception takes hold it is always difficult to undo. This growing negative view has resulted in new student enquiries about studying in NSW dropping some 50% in next to no time at all.

Generally, there are anywhere up to 20,000 Indian students studying in NSW alone at any one time. On average international students contribute about AUD 29,000 to the Australian economy. The basic math here would suggest that Indian students alone are making quite a significant contribution to the NSW economy.

The response of sending the Minister of Education out to reassure potential students that it is OK is probably a little on the short side. Maybe NSW needs to invest a little to protect the market and be a lot more pro-active in promoting the fact that these incidents, like the Harris Park one, are isolated. The NSW Government needs to recruit prominent members of the Indian community to be part of the campaign to highlight that NSW is not a racist place and in fact it is a welcoming place, and a great place to study and gain an excellent education.

One For the Lawyers...

A lawyer, instead of saying that two plus two make four, would say:

"If by that particular arithmetical rule known as addition, we desired to arrive at the sum of two integers added to two integers, we should find - and I assert this boldly, ans without fear of successful contradiction - we, I repeat, should find by the particular arithmetical formula before mentioned - and I hold myself perfectly responsible for the assertion that I am about to make - we should find that the sum of the two integers added to the two other integers would be four."

from Jokes, Quotes, and One Liners - Volume 2 by Herbert V Prochnow and Herbert V Prochnow Jr.

Keyser Trad, A Racist?

This particular post might be of more interest to my Australian readership and those that have an interest in race relations and defamation in Australia.

Keysar Trad, founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia and spokesperson for Sheik Taj El-Din Hilaly, had sued Harbour Radio, the owners of 2GB, for the comments of Jason Morrison on air. In essence, Morrison said that Trad was gutless, trouble, disgraceful, and dangerous, and also an individual who incites violence, hatred, and racism. These comments were made in 2007 just after the Cronulla riots.

Just on the Sheik, this is the same Sheik that said the following in response to a rape:

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat? The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred."

Trad went onto sue and won a jury trial. However, Harbour Radio appealed on the grounds that what was said, although defamatory, was true. In the appeal at the NSW Supreme Court, Chief Judge Peter McClellan agreed with Harbour Radio. McClellan J was unequivocal in stating that the comments made by Trad were "offensive", "racist", and "condoned violence".

In dismissing the claim and ordering that Trad pay Harbour Radio's costs, McClellan J said, "There is little doubt that many of the plaintiff's remarks are offensive to Jewish persons and homosexuals". He then went on to say, "I'm satisfied the plaintiff does hold views which can properly be described as racist."

It is of little surprise that Trad plans to appeal. It will be interesting to see where the Supreme Court has erred in its application of the law in order for the appeal to go forward.

A Short History: Islam

I have just finished reading this book titled, A Short History: Islam. The book is by William Montgomery Watt. Watt passed in 2006. The blurb says that Watt was a bit of a legend in the field. The book was an easy read. It was really concise and left me wondering that there is probably a lot more that one would need to read in order to get a grip on all of the bits and pieces that were introduced throughout.

However, I would tend to agree with the reviews contained in the book that it is an easy to navigate introduction to Islam. I learned a lot by taking the time to read it. I read it in three sittings. That is not to suggest that it is not a page turner, interesting, or worthy. To the contrary, the three sittings were the result of the time available in between feeding, changing nappies, and bathing little Will.

However, the purpose of this post is not a detailed review of the book, but rather to throw up a couple of points that Watt makes for discussion with respect to the problems facing Islam today.

1. "The basic legal ideas of Islam are sound, but they need to be adapted to the changed circumstances of today."

2. "... it is unreasonable to suppose that a return to the Islam of Muhammad and the rightly guided caliphs is literally possible."

3. "Was the period of the rightly guided caliphs really an ideal period?"

4. "For Islam to take its proper place in a multireligious world, it is important that Muslims should admit that there is at least a large measure of truth in other religions."

Just some food for thought for my small but loyal readership.

Trivial Stuff -- More Factoids

Here are a few more factoids for the "did you know" file.

1. In the course of an average lifetime you will, while sleeping, eat 70 assorted insects and 10 spiders;

2. From the age of thirty, humans gradually begin to shrink (I am already nine years into my shrink -- and I am not sure that I can afford to shrink);

3. The juice inside a young coconut can be used as a substitute for blood plasma;

4. The youngest pope was eleven years old; and,

5. The largest cell in the human body is the female reproductive cell, the ovum. The smallest is the male sperm (this is why women will ultimately dominate the world :D).

Prita Mulyasari -- Defamation -- To Be Retried...

This is unfortunately one of those cases where one just knows what is going to happen before it actually happens. It would also seem that the Banten High Court reads The RAB Experience, but this would not seem to be the case for Prita and her legal team.

The Banten High Court has ordered the Tangerang District Court to retry the defamation case against Prita Mulyasari. This may have come as a surprise to some, but the reality was that in a strict legal sense the decision could not have been any other way. Simply, the Tangerang District Court erred in the manner in which it dismissed the indictment against Mulyasari (news).

The Banten High Court held in its decision to send the case back to Tangerang for trial was that the decision of the Tangerang District Court was unlawful. In essence, this means that the legal reasoning provided to justify the dismissal of the case in the first instance was wrong. The Chief Judge of the Banten High Court, Sumarno, was unequivocal in stating that the Tangerang District Court erred in its judgment.

The debate on the legal reasoning can probably be found in lots of places. However, I wrote about it here and here. However, although the earlier comment about the judges of the Banten High Court reading The RAB Experience was somewhat tongue in cheek, the legal reasoning of the panel of Banten High Court judges explicitly stated that the error of the Tangerang District Court judges was the belief that the Information and Electronic Transactions Law does not come into force until 2010.

The lawyer for Prita Mulyasari, Slamet Yuwono, might be keen to test the defamation provisions himself, as he went on the record to say that, "... I just hope that the high court judges were not compelled by anything other than legal considerations." Ah, Slamet, compelled by what exactly? A small fee from the Office of the Public Prosecutors or the Omni International Hospital? Unfortunately, Slamet, refused to elaborate on what the suggestion was.

The Information and Electronic Transaction Law is contentious. It is contentious not because of the date the law comes into force. It is not contentious as to whether the definition of defamation is clear or not. It is not contentious because the Law provides a two-year window for subordinate or subsidiary legislation to be put into place to give effect to or clarify certain articles. However, it is contentious for the simple reason that Indonesians are currently engaged in a debate about the validity and usefulness of criminal defamation provisions in any law.

The contentious nature of the Law is whether criminal defamation is a means to an end. That is, is the Law a means of stifling legitimate free speech and expression? Further, and perhaps even more important to some, is whether this case highlights the way in which big business can bury consumer complaints about the services received by the consumers themselves?

A quick read of the Letters to the Editor pages of most Indonesian newspapers will see Indonesians writing letters of complaint about one thing or another. Usually about the notoriously bad service provided by banks and financial institutions, and quite often this is to do with credit cards. What the Mulyasari case has shown to date is that big business no longer need to respond to complaints but rather use their vast financial reserves to bankrupt their customers or at least use the threat of doing so.

Going forward. The Tangerang District Court now has no choice but to revisit the Mulyasari case and hear the arguments from both sides. The only way that Mulyasari is victorious here is if her legal team can prove that what was written was not defamation in the manner in which defamation is defined in the Information and Electronic Transactions Law. If they can then the Court can once again dismiss the case and Mulyasari will be free to go on about her life.

Nevertheless, and at the risk of raining on the parade, this is a test case and no matter what the outcome of the retrial, it seems clear that both sides would be likely to appeal if they are on the wrong side of the verdict. This is a case that is going to be tied up in litigation for a good while longer yet.

That said, the only way this would end quickly is if Mulyasari gets the verdict and the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Tangerang declines to appeal the verdict. Judging the performance of prosecutors to date, it would seem that they are intent on seeing this one through to the bitter end. They want a conviction or they are going to die trying.