Yeah I do remember Frontline. Thats why I say at the end of most of these reports:Hmmm... Martin Di Stasio with that report!Molly ">http://mollyzine.blogspot.com
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"Lesson here: when on drug charges in Indonesia, the best thing to do is just anything at all, as long as you stay in the news."Sorry if I'm being thick, but is this meant to be sarcastic too? Being in the news when on drug charges in Indonesia is absolutely disastrous. The best thing to do is absolutely nothing that might attract media interest. Australian Christopher Packer faced the death penalty there earlier this year for "arms smuggling", but got the Indonesian police to drop the charges & is back here now. Packer hasn't bothered to deny paying a bribe. He's kept a very low profile.Christopher Currell, another Australian, was arrested in Bali in 2004, for "planning to export 70,000 ephedrine tablets, a base ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine, to Australia in 2004 as well as ephedrine tablets that had been ground into powder.Currell (get this) was found guilty of the minor charge of acting as an unlicensed pharmacist [!], and given a six month sentence. Sentence commuted to time already served."These are only two of many, many obscure cases there have been before the Indonesian courts that show how misguided most people are about typical sentencing laws there. Because the Australian media trump up the "death by firing squad" angle, a great many people are still convinced Schapelle Corby "got off lightly" with 20 years. It's completely untrue. Her sentence was harsh enough to shock some of the Indonesian media. "Personally, I think it's fantastic that we are offloading these Australians to Balinese prisons. It's the Balinese I feel sorry for."Why? What's your reasoning? You think Balinese people don't take drugs too? Four other people were busted with drugs along with Michelle Leslie at that party. All of them were young Balinese guys. Don't get me wrong. I'm no "Boycott Bali" racist (far from it), but why "feel sorry" for the Balinese for something they have in common with Australians? (A percentage of people who use illegal drugs.) They aren't "noble savages" unlike we evil, decadent Westerners. They're just the same as "us". Some good, some bad, some merely stupid.
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There was definate sarcasm intended. The general point that I was trying to get across was two-fold. Firstly, that to take drugs into Bali, or obtain drugs over there is a stupid thing to do and that if there haven't been enough high-profile cases recently to illustrate the point, then I'm questioning the capacities of those continuing to do so.Secondly, I'm criticising the media (in this case Channel 7) for the same reasons I think you responded to the post. The hype that they inject into cases like these can blow everything out of proportion. You make a good point regarding this about Currell's sentence being quietly commuted while Corby apparently (and loudly) 'got off lightly'. Cases like Corby's, The Nine's and Leslie's offer the Balinese judicial system the opportunity to make a widely-heard statement to Australia and other countries about bringing drugs into Bali. While I would like to think that this would not influence a case, the Packer case raises the question of their dedication to the cause. Therefore, I have to agree: Having a publicised case is potentially dangerous.The 'offloading Australians' comment was a rather flippant reference a more Darwinian attitude. By removing people with the inability to see that drugs in Bali are a bad idea, then the average intelligence of the country must by rising. This isn't a Bali-specific statement though, feel free to send the majority of people who watch Today Tonight for the weight-loss tips and 'Australia's biggest dole bludger' stories wherever you like. I have no problem admitting this is an extremely arrogant frame of mind. I just get easily frustrated these days.And I whole-heartedly agree with your final statement. I am not necessarily pro- nor anti-Bali, but I do feel bad for the pasting their country has taken recently. They have their own issues to deal with and I think that the Australian media chasing people away by hyping stories like we have been discussing is not helping at all.In short, my issue is with Australians severly lacking common sense and those in the media who potentially do more harm than good in their chase for a controvesial story. While I do not 'pity' the Balinese (I am not that arrogant), I do regret the affect that these two groups have on their country.I realise sarcasm is not the best way to get a point across on the internet, but it was great to read your considered comment, thanks.
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"Secondly, I'm criticising the media (in this case Channel 7) for the same reasons I think you responded to the post. The hype that they inject into cases like these can blow everything out of proportion. You make a good point regarding this about Currell's sentence being quietly commuted while Corby apparently (and loudly) 'got off lightly'. Cases like Corby's, The Nine's and Leslie's offer the Balinese judicial system the opportunity to make a widely-heard statement to Australia and other countries about bringing drugs into Bali. While I would like to think that this would not influence a case, the Packer case raises the question of their dedication to the cause. Therefore, I have to agree: Having a publicised case is potentially dangerous.The 'offloading Australians' comment was a rather flippant reference a more Darwinian attitude. By removing people with the inability to see that drugs in Bali are a bad idea, then the average intelligence of the country must by rising. This isn't a Bali-specific statement though, feel free to send the majority of people who watch Today Tonight for the weight-loss tips and 'Australia's biggest dole bludger' stories wherever you like. I have no problem admitting this is an extremely arrogant frame of mind. I just get easily frustrated these days.And I whole-heartedly agree with your final statement. I am not necessarily pro- nor anti-Bali, but I do feel bad for the pasting their country has taken recently. They have their own issues to deal with and I think that the Australian media chasing people away by hyping stories like we have been discussing is not helping at all.In short, my issue is with Australians severly lacking common sense and those in the media who potentially do more harm than good in their chase for a controvesial story. While I do not 'pity' the Balinese (I am not that arrogant), I do regret the affect that these two groups have on their country.I realise sarcasm is not the best way to get a point across on the internet, but it was great to read your considered comment, thanks."Thank you. I want to apologize for leaving you that strident, humourless comment in the first place. It embarrasses me now, having reread what you wrote. I really appreciate your kind of flippant/glib "take" on Australians-in-trouble-in-Bali according-to-the-media-gaze.I think I understand the spirit in which you were writing and I found what you wrote very witty and funny, in a nice subtle, understated kind of way too. Mwah.
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No need to apologise at all. It's always nice to read and talk about issues like these. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. By the way, do you keep your own blog or site at all?