You can donate to my Mo, through: Donate to Luke’s Mo

Many people don’t appreciate that close to 3,000 men die of prostate cancer each year in Australia and one in eight men will experience depression in their lifetime – many of whom don’t seek help.  It is facts like these, that have compelled me to get involved and I am hoping that you will support me.

To sponsor my Mo, you can either:

• Click this link http://au.movember.com/mospace/171563/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal
• Write a cheque payable to ‘Movember Foundation’, referencing my Registration Number 171563 and mailing it to: Movember Foundation, PO Box 292, Prahran, VIC, 3181

Remember, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

If you are interested in following the progress of my Mo, click here http://moblog.doherty.net.au

Thanks for your support.

These two unrelated cases had me thinking…   How does a court determine appropriate punishment in sentencing?

In the case of Nick D’Arcy, convicted of violently bashing in the face of his fellow teammate, and subsequently sentenced to a 14 month (non custodial) suspended jail term.
Marcus Einfeld, convicted of committing an act of perjury in lying to a court, was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Should a court consider the character of the individual in determining an appropriate punishment?
Of course a court needs to consider all the specific details of a particular case, although it would appear to me that in this particular case, the act of perjury should be a lesser crime than an act of violence against another individual.

When a court considers sentencing, should the social and community building efforts of the offender be considered in sentencing?   In my view, those aspects must be considered.  One has to wonder whether it is reasonable that an individual who has worked to eliminate social disadvantage, improve living conditions for Aboriginal Australians and establish standards of human rights in developing countries, should be gaoled when considered against the crime of an act of violence?

I find Marcus Einfeld’s crime exceptionally disappointing and as a judge he has undermined the very legal institutions he was supposed to stand for, although when considered against a violent crime, it would seem the sentence is out of balance.

Do we have yet another case of Australia showing greater appreciation for the efforts of those in a sporting arena, when compared to intellectual pursuits?

Which is the lesser of two evils?

 
Made a trip to The Great Wall (Mùtiányù section 慕田峪), Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, ate a baby goose, drank some great tea, etc

Photos from Beijing can be found in the Gallery here
and in the Moblog here

• Australians don’t speak with half a potato stuck in the back of their throat.

• The wizard of oz is American!  Was this a test of how many times “somewhere over the rainbow” can be regurgitated before vomiting?

• The use of Elgar, was a nice ‘tear jerking” touch, but too much.  Where was the Australian music??

• The CGI contained too many mistakes, was too obvious and crude. Similarly you could tell when shots were prepared in the studio, the colours were unmatched and bleeding obvious.

• Does anyone say Crikey so much?  In fact, does/did anyone ever say crikey?  
  (aside from that guy that played with sting-rays?)

Was this really a serious film about Australia? Or was it a piss-take?  If it was indeed a piss-take, then great, it was a good one and great for a laugh.   But if this is supposed to be ‘Australia’ one can assume Mr Luhrmann’s Australia exists in his imagination only.

It was a very enjoyable break, just laying under a tree sleeping, a bit of sailing, snorkelling, jetskiing and some good eating too!

You can find the photos here: Bintan Photos
And moblog shots here: Indonesia Moblog

Comments Welcome

You can find the photos here: Shanghai Photos
And moblog shots here: China Moblog

Appreciate any comments

Rules:
Post 8 things about yourself. 4 true things and 4 false things.
For a bit of fun, commenters on your post need to guess which items are true and which are false – don’t get offended if they guess wrong.
Tag 8 people by adding their name at the bottom of your post and notifying them telling them that they’ve been tagged.

So, my 8 items:
1. Asparagus and chocolate taste the same to me
2. I was physically restrained and searched by machine-gun toting agent for taking photographs of a bank
3. I’ve never had a car accident
4. I never ate Vegemite (yet)
5. As a child I intentionally electrocuted insects on my Scalextric set
6. I have 2 body piercings
7. I was once stuck under a car with a gearbox on my chest
8. I worked as a DJ for 4 years

So what is true and what is not? Your comments as the what’s true or false…

They set out with next to no sailing experience, which would appear somewhat foolish to say the least, but they seem to gain a rapid introduction to ocean sailing and poor weather in their first foray off the coast of Western Australia.

Its a good book, in particular because it deals with alot of the aspects of ocean sailing that you either would not have thought of, or if you had thought, didn’t know how that particular thing was done or dealt with so far from civilisation and solid land.  It’s a practical book in some ways, but far from ever being boring.

In fact their story is inspirational more than anything else.

I’m almost inspired to go sell my possessions, buy a yacht and set sail into the great wide ocean. (with great fear of the many frightening events that might occur as did in Slow Travel.)

It generally doesn’t make a lot of difference where the correspondent is posted, although strange, dangerous or remote lands seem to make a more frequent showing on my bookshelf than those that have been posted to say, London, Berlin or New York.

Hence it probably comes as little surprise to hear that I just finished reading Kapuściński’s book ”The Shadow of the Sun”

I had never heard of Kapuściński, until a neighbour showed me his book titled “The Soccer War“.  After reading half a chapter of that book, I realised I needed to find out more and read some more of this author.

The Shadow of the Sun is a loosely arranged but detailed collection of Kapuściński’s essays and notes from his time spent as a news correspondent posted to the continent of Africa.
Kapuściński gets in amongst the real Africa. Shunning life with the privileged whites, their servants and stately homes; he lives among the African people, gaining a deep understanding for the many African ways of life.  He shares those experiences in The Shadow of the Sun with detailed and colourful language that describes various African nation states at war, at peace and times of infinite despair.

Kapuściński’s intelligence and depth of knowledge, 30 years in Africa; shows in his writing as he details the characters he meets and associates with. You get a real sense that you begin to know the people he describes and understand their circumstances and thinking.
And he does this with all the associated risks and while barely staying alive.

The Shadow of the Sun is one of the best books on Africa that I’ve had the pleasure of reading.