With or Without You...

This is one of my favourite U2 songs of all time.

I am sure there are plenty of arguments as to what the lyrics mean. Yet, my take is that songs are intensely personal affairs that we find individual meaning in for ourselves. I am sure that the lyrics have a particular, and special, meaning for Bono. However, it does not really matter what that meaning is in the grand scheme of how each of us personalize the experience of the music and the lyrics.

This post is not about indulging my readers of the intensely personal meaning that the song has for me. To the contrary, the post is more of an opportunity to post a good version of the song along with a interesting video clip of it being performed live.

Peace!

Child Pornography and Artistic Merit...

It would seem that NSW is about to introduce legislation that removes artistic merit as a defense for images of children that are determined to be pornographic. The NSW Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, has said that a working group tasked with making recommendations on this matter has recommended that a defense of artistic merit must lapse once an image has been deemed to be pornographic.

Simply, whether the 'artist' in question produced the image as art or not becomes irrelevant with respect to the charge of producing, possessing, or distributing child porn material.

The question then becomes what about images that are not produced for artistic purposes, but rather are nothing more than personal family photos. For example, what if the Attorney-General had a happy snappy of one of his children or his grand children taking a bath. Is this producing or possessing child porn? What if in his apparent pride he shows the photograph to a colleague or places it on his computer as a screen saver and it is seen by members of his staff? Is this distributing child porn?

I am totally against child pornography. I find it objectionable in the extreme, abhorrent. I am certain that my views on this topic and subject have hardened since the birth of Will. The thought of him being exploited for child pornography is repugnant in the extreme. However, I really do not see what harm there is in either his mother, his grandparents, or his aunts and uncles having a picture of the little fella swimming but naked in the pool. I cannot fathom how I could be investigated, arrested, and prosecuted for producing, possessing, or distributing child pornography.

On the artistic front. I am not an artist and cannot make the arguments for artistic expression that an artist might need in producing images of children that may or may not push the boundaries of art and child porn. However, I do accept that artists have a right to that freedom of expression. An artist who takes a semi-naked picture of a child with the full consent of the parents of that child for the purposes of creating art that may later be exhibited should not lose the right to claim artistic merit as a defense because someone, probably a bureaucrat, has deemed the image to be child porn. The current recommendation would see a panel created to determine whether or not the image was a valid image of a child.

I am wondering whether in the common law there is a requirement for the commission of a crime to include not only the actus reus or the act, but also a requirement for mens rea, the intent. Before a crime can be proven is there not a need to determine the intent of the alleged offender to commit the crime charged?

It would seem to me that the removal of artistic merit as a defense removes a right to create art. Clearly, Bill Henson's work is not everyone's cuppa tea, but all the same neither is what Picasso or Rembrandt produced either.

Interestingly, many are arguing that this working group was set up in response to the furore surrounding Bill Henson and the closing down of an exhibition of his work. If this were true, then it seems a little silly considering his work was assessed by the relevant classification authorities in this area and determined to not breach any standards with respect to images involving children (including the photograph above).

There is certainly a need to tighten child pornography laws and to eliminate this scourge from the community. However, it seems that artists who produce images of children are the softest target available for the government on this front. The idea of removing the artistic merit defense for artists is evidence of the government's inability to deal appropriately and comprehensively with the scourge of child pornography.

There will undoubtedly be more to follow once the legislation is introduced to the NSW parliament.

Pornography -- By The Numbers...

Source: Online Education


This is the first of a couple of porn related posts. The second one will be about the NSW government's plan to introduce legislation that would in essence remove artistic merit as being an acceptable defense to the production of a pornographic image. The amended legislation is designed to ensure that images of child pornography never see the light of day under the guise of art. The amended legislation is supposedly in response to the Bill Henson shenanigans of last year.

However, this post can be found at Online Education (which bills itself as the place where you can learn "the stuff they don't teach you in college..."). It makes for interesting reading. For example, the disparity in income potential between male and female porn stars. Even more interesting is that Asia (in the guise of China, South Korea, and Japan) account for 3/4 of all porn revenue. And, that this revenue totals some USD 97 billion annually.

Considering that only 43% of all internet users search for porn and view it, then the market potential remains huge in this industry sector.

Oh well, gotta go...

Tiger Woods and Gay Sex...

It has been a spectacular fall from grace for the world's first billion dollar sportsperson. However, no matter how spectacular the fall, there is always an opportunity for redemption. The game now is whether Tiger Woods can trek that path to redemption.

In many respects the only way that things can go from here are up. There are probably some who might wonder how a professional golfer with a squeaky clean image can recover from one affair let alone fourteen or so of them over a relatively short period of time. Perhaps, therein lies the answer. Tiger Woods is the golfer of his generation, and perhaps overtime the greatest golfer of all time, and herein lies the opportunity for redemption. His name and reputation may be forever marked by this myriad of indiscretions, but the situation is not beyond repair in most facets of his existence.

That said, I would reckon the situation might be beyond repair on the marriage front, but being a divorced father is probably not the end of his world. I don't envy the man's task in having to tell or explain to his children how and why things went the way they did. Nevertheless, we are all human and we all make mistakes, the key is getting back up off the ground when we get knocked down, either by our own doing or by someone else's.

Tiger Woods will be back.

Considering the title of the post, I guess there should be a few words about the allegation that Tiger Woods has either indulged in, or had fantasies about, gay sex.

Now, one of the women Tiger is alleged to have been doing the deed with has decided to write a tell all book. The major selling point of the book seems to be not only Tiger's appetite for sex with women, but also with men. According to Loredana Jolie, she has seen Tiger having sex with men. Not sure that there are any photos floating around of these gay sex encounters, but if there were I am guessing that they would be selling for a pretty good price.

The idea is not outside the realm of possibility. It seems that Tiger had a bit of a fetish for threesomes and had a fantasy of being part of one with one of his other mistresses, Rachel Uchitel, and Derek Jeter or David Boreanaz. Derek Jeter is a New York Yankees legend and David Boreanaz is the star of the show Bones.

In any event, the timing of the recent Vanity Fair cover was particularly opportune, don't you think?

Hate Crime in Australia...

The murder of a 21-year-old Indian student, Nitin Garg, in a West Footscray park is a tragedy. The young man studying in Australia was on his way to work at a local Hungry Jacks when he was stabbed and killed. However, the murder is certainly testing the bilateral relationship between Australia and India, particularly so with the publication of the above cartoon.

The cartoon, published in Delhi's Mail Today, depicts an Australian police office in Ku Klux Klan garb. The suggestion being that Australian police are racist and not doing enough to solve the murder of Garg. The further suggestion is that Australia is a overtly racist country that is not only unwelcoming of foreigners but a country with a long history of racism towards the indigenous population (Australian Aborigines).

It is not like Australia is the only country in the world that has issues to deal with on the racism front or the treatment of its indigenous population. It is not all that difficult to find Australians who acknowledge as much. However, the majority of Australians are good people, welcoming, caring, understanding, and humble. There are those, though, that exhibit none of these redeeming features. The reality though is that this is true of all countries. India, for example, is not a place that is free from the scourge of racism or violence. The simple truth being that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

The murder of any person I find abhorrent. And, it is no different in this case.

However, to state that the murder of this young man was racially motivated is premature to say the least. It is premature because at this point in time there is not a suspect, at least not that is being publicly discussed. This murder may be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet, let the police do their job, and if it turns out that the crime is racially motivated, then that is something we as a community must address and deal with no matter what colour, religion, gender, or political persuasion we might have and irrespective of whether we be citizens, residents, tourists, or international students.

The cartoon is offensive. However, I personally do not feel that it goes beyond the line in the sand with respect to what constitutes free speech. The cartoonist is entitled to his opinion, which he has seemingly expressed through this cartoon. Nevertheless, offensive or not, the cold hard reality is that police still have a job to do, and that is everything that they can to find the young man's killer(s).

Perhaps rather than cartoons designed to inflame the situation further we should come together as a community and seek ways to address the concerns of racism and violence in our communities in constructive ways that will see us all creating a better community for our children and our children's children.

Innocent Explanations...

I am sure that this is not what it seems. There is undoubtedly an innocent explanation for a gestation period that is seemingly at least 12 months in duration.

Either that or daddy will undoubtedly have some questions that he might need answered.

The picture comes via The Huffington Post.

Expatriate Property Ownership -- Indonesia...

The idea that expatriates (expats) may one day be able to own property in Indonesia has been tossed around for years. But, as is usually the way, nothing has become of those ideas until now. However, it would seem that there is still some ways to go before the ideas become reality. Yet, it is interesting to see that the State Department of Public Housing is making rumblings to the effect that there are moves afoot to loosen the prohibitions on expats owning Indonesian property.

The current state of affairs permits expats to take 25-year extendable (once) leases on property. There are other ways that expats go about "owning" a property in Indonesia. The most common of these is a nominee structure that involves the property being purchased by an Indonesian and then used as collateral in a loan agreement with the expat. This type of structure is one that is frequently used in Bali.

The current discussion appears to suggest that cities and special economic zones are the most likely areas to see the prohibitions eased. Nevertheless, the talk also suggests that the ownership of property in city areas is likely to be restricted to apartments. This in essence would mean that there is still likely going to be high demand for the nominee structure to remain if expats are more interested in a house as opposed to an apartment.

Yet, this is definitely a move in the right direction.

I guess time will tell whether there will be a full liberalization of the real estate sector that would allow foreigners to own property, and as much of it as they can afford. Maybe if the rules do change I might even be tempted to get into the market myself.

Good Governance -- Indonesian Style?

I found the above on one of my recent internet surf trips. I figure it is worth posting here.

I find that it makes an interesting comment on the current state of play in Indonesia. Some might agree with the message it is advocating. Others might vehemently oppose the insinuations that it makes.

Who would have ever thought that SBY would be taking lessons from the former president, and now deceased, Soeharto.

In any event, it is worth a look.

Happy New Year!

May 2010 be all that each of you hope it to be.

May the coming year see all your hopes and dreams come to fruition.

So, Happy New Year to You and Yours from Me and Mine!

To ring in the new year, here are some images from last night's fireworks display in Sydney.