The real value of human life
A major news item in today's press has been the sentence meted out to Jamiya Islamia 'spiritual leader' Abu Bakar Bashir. Alexander Downer said Australia was disappointed with the length of the sentence and would press Indonesia for a longer jail term. Let's ignore for the moment the fact that
The current condemnation of the Indonesian court decision highlights the real weight placed on human life. You might recall that a few years ago
Terrorism is a dreadful thing, but surely the magnitude of the killing in East Timor (we're talking about 100,000s of people), and the fact that it was genocide, should give those atrocities far greater weight than the trial of someone who wasn't directly implicated in the Bali bombings, but was implicated as a 'spiritual leader', or inspiration of sorts, for those who committed the bombings? You can safely assume that's a rhetorical question.
What was the Australian response to the ad hoc Court set up in
It's very easy to say that this can all be explained away by human nature. Australians, like all people, will care more for their own than for other nationals. That may or may not be true. I'm not certain that automatically follows in fact (cf the response to the Asian tsunami). What can be said for certain is that if media coverage is close to zero, then no one in this country will know about it. And then you can definitely count on people being 'apathetic' to the lack of justice for those who were directly responsible for mass killings in
Not long ago,
There's another connection, something equally appalling, which should be of some concern to anyone who believes in the basic principle that all human life carries the same value. Systematic violence and murder still continues in
Within the comfortable surrounds of my
Local officials in Kuluptang village in Jharkhand said the "kukur vibaha" or dogs' marriages, were organised on the last day of a local tribal festival, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
One of the tribeswomen, 54-year-old Sonamuni, who blessed the marriage of her three-year-old grand-daughter Priya, said the wedding was no less important than other such ceremonies and all customs normally associated with marriage were followed. <--- EWW!
The mother of "groom" Durga, aged one, said if the first tooth of a baby came out in the upper jaw it was considered "inauspicious" for the child as well as the family and dog marriages had to be performed.
After a bath in a nearby river, the children are taken to a place of worship in a procession accompanied by a band.
Neighbours and relatives of the four children danced to music performed by the band before the marriages were solemnised with puppies of the opposite sex, the report said.
Can you imagine being their psychiatrist in later life?!?
Patient: It all started when I was three, when I married a dog...
Doctor: Patient, that's a dreadful way to talk about your wife!
Patient: I know, I know. But she really was a dog. Even slobbered all over me as a sign of affection.
Doctor: Sounds like it wasn't all that bad then, eh? (nudges patient with a rye smile on his face)
Patient: Doof! (punches doctor)
Taming of the shrew
The last time I had my hair cut Sir Robert Menzies was debating in parliament the efficacy of having communists outlawed. My grandfather was in his mid-twenties. Dwight D Eisenhower was sending American troops to the Korean Peninsula. Such is the bewildering array of curly hairs on my head, that it takes a team of five civil engineers several moments, each morning, to tame my wild strands with the use of a collection of cranes, pulleys and adehsives. Indeed, just yesterday I was biten on my hand by a small jungle snake as I ventured to scratch my scalp. Whilst I'm in desperate need of a haircut, I haven't had one in months. Unfortunately, I believe I have developed a mild phobia for hairdressing salons. No, correction. I've always had a mild phobia for hairdressing salons. Only in Sydney, I could safely venture into the numerous dodgy barbers' shops that littered the Sydney landscape the way overweight public servants litter the edge of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra. Another problem is the fact that (to me at least) every attempt to leave one's house requires a significant journey by car or bike. Given my recent weekend waking hours, I've found it very difficult to get to a hairsalon before it closes. And, just for the record, I refuse to go to Just Cuts. That place should be called 'Just Cuts, No Dignity'. Big words, I know, especially considering that I have a '$2 off' voucher to the joint. Alas, such is a (small) man's pride!
