The Lord gives everyone a second chance. I struggled with writing about this, as I too would give pause to the fact that my emotions would be different if it were my family member. But that written, I don't think "an eye for an eye" is the best response.
I also wonder if this case was really well researched. In other words, what is the evidence that can show he's guilty? There were no fingerprints that could be attached to him, according to this article in the "Final Call."
If this case is reopened and he's found to be innocent, then a number of people, including the Governor, should step down from their positions.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Sydney Riot: Wake up Australia, racism is a problem
This link to an article on The Darren Lehmann case reveals a side of Austrialia not know to most Americans. It was written in 2003, and so serves as more evidence of the kind of society that would give rise to the racist riot the World saw over the weekend.
Sydney Riot: White Australia Policy - Immigration Restriction Act
Apparently this law -- click on the title link -- has been on the Austrialian books for 100 years and not repealed. As the rate of immigration has increased, some white Aussies have called for a return to the "White Austrialia Policy." Well, I'll not be visiting Sydney soon.
This is totallly sick. It's also a look into the cultural underpinnings of the rationale for the behavior of the white youths who went on their racist rampage a few days ago. Undoubtedly, their parents were the source of racist hate. Terrible.
This is totallly sick. It's also a look into the cultural underpinnings of the rationale for the behavior of the white youths who went on their racist rampage a few days ago. Undoubtedly, their parents were the source of racist hate. Terrible.
Sydney Riot: Sydney's racist mob violence spreads - news account uses word "people" but doesn't report that they're white; why?
Read this carefully. It's from a Melbourne, Austrialia newspaper called "The Age." We know that the victims are Middle Eastern, but we don't know that the attackers are white. Video accounts reveal that all of the 5,000 rioters. Why cover up that they're white?
A day of race-fuelled violence at Cronulla spread through other beachside suburbs in Sydney's south on Sunday night, with one man stabbed and at least 10 arrested.
About 5,000 people descended on Cronulla beach as mobs yelling racist chants chased down and bashed people of Middle Eastern appearance.
Police and an ambulance crew were also assaulted as racial tensions peaked.
Hopes that the violence had subsided by nightfall were dashed when, in an apparent retaliatory strike, a 23-year-old man was stabbed in the back outside a golf club at nearby Woolooware.
Two cars carrying a group of males, described by police as being of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance, approached the man at about 10.25pm (AEDT) Sunday night.
Following a short conversation he was stabbed in the back, and was taken to hospital in a serious condition.
At about the same time, up to 50 carloads of youths smashed more than 100 cars with baseball bats and other weapons in the beach suburb of Maroubra.
A day of race-fuelled violence at Cronulla spread through other beachside suburbs in Sydney's south on Sunday night, with one man stabbed and at least 10 arrested.
About 5,000 people descended on Cronulla beach as mobs yelling racist chants chased down and bashed people of Middle Eastern appearance.
Police and an ambulance crew were also assaulted as racial tensions peaked.
Hopes that the violence had subsided by nightfall were dashed when, in an apparent retaliatory strike, a 23-year-old man was stabbed in the back outside a golf club at nearby Woolooware.
Two cars carrying a group of males, described by police as being of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance, approached the man at about 10.25pm (AEDT) Sunday night.
Following a short conversation he was stabbed in the back, and was taken to hospital in a serious condition.
At about the same time, up to 50 carloads of youths smashed more than 100 cars with baseball bats and other weapons in the beach suburb of Maroubra.
Chris Rock not hosting 2006 Academy Awards - apparently pissed off Jude Law
Chris Rock not hosting Oscars
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Chris Rock won't be back cracking wise as the host of next year's Oscars telecast.
"He is not hosting the Academy Awards," the comedian's publicist, Matt Labov, said Friday in a brief statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. He did not elaborate.
Labov told The New York Times that Rock didn't want to do the show "in perpetuity" but would "like to do it again down the road."
The 2005 telecast was Rock's first as host. He drew younger viewers, but his barbs skewering stars like Jude Law, Tobey Maguire and others alienated some members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In one bit, Rock suggested filmmakers should wait for better talent instead of rushing bad movies into theaters.
"You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law. Wait," Rock joked. "You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait. 'Alexander' is not 'Gladiator.' "
He also poked fun at himself.
"You want Denzel (Washington) and all you can get is me? Wait," he joked.
Rock's comments prompted Sean Penn, when he took the stage later, to defend Law as "one of our finest actors."
Rock is currently producing and narrating "Everybody Hates Chris," a sitcom on UPN based on his life.
A spokesman for the Academy declined to comment about the hosting duties. Longtime Academy Awards producer Gil Cates is expected to announce his selection in the next few weeks.
Frequently mentioned candidates include four-time host Whoopi Goldberg, two-time host Steve Martin and late-night hosts Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien.
The 78th annual Academy Awards will air March 5 on ABC from Hollywood.
Some of Rock's quotes:
"It's a great night tonight. We have four black nominees. tonight. It's kinda like Def Oscar Jam tonight."
"Black movies don't have real names, they have names like Barbershop. That's not a name, that's just a location."
"Our next presenter is the first woman to ever breast-feed an Apple - Gwyneth Paltrow."
"The only acting you ever see at the Oscars is when people act like they're not mad they lost. Nicole Kidman was smiling so wide (the year Halle Berry beat her to best actress), she should have won an Emmy at the Oscars for her great performance. I was like, 'If you'd done that in the movie, you'd have won an Oscar, girl!'"
"You want Denzel and all you can get is me...wait. Denzel's a fine actor. He woulda never made Pootie Tang. Clint Eastwood's a star, OK? Tobey Maguire's just a boy in tights. You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait! You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell, wait! Alexander is not Gladiator."
Apartments unaffordable for many - Is the US headed for a depression?
It makes you wonder, considering this news.
Cost of rental housing increased faster than wages
Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Posted: 7:12 p.m. EST (00:12 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The cost of rental housing has increased faster than wages, making it increasingly difficult for low-income families to afford even modest apartments, an advocacy group said Tuesday.
"The picture is similar to past years, but it's getting worse," said Danilo Pelletiere, research director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The coalition, which advocates for more affordable housing, issues a report each year tracking rental costs in every state, county and metropolitan area in the country.
It says families should spend no more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing and utilities, a standard recognized by many housing experts. Under that standard, the coalition said it could not find a single county in the United States where a full-time worker making minimum wage could afford a one-bedroom apartment.
In reality, the report found, many low-income families spend a far larger share of their incomes on housing.
Plus, more and more jobs are being lost to the movement of production offshore, or simply eliminated due to technology. Meanwhile, some Americans allow themselves to be tricked into thinking that the problem is related to illegal immigrants, when nothing could be further from the truth.
Cost of rental housing increased faster than wages
Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Posted: 7:12 p.m. EST (00:12 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The cost of rental housing has increased faster than wages, making it increasingly difficult for low-income families to afford even modest apartments, an advocacy group said Tuesday.
"The picture is similar to past years, but it's getting worse," said Danilo Pelletiere, research director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The coalition, which advocates for more affordable housing, issues a report each year tracking rental costs in every state, county and metropolitan area in the country.
It says families should spend no more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing and utilities, a standard recognized by many housing experts. Under that standard, the coalition said it could not find a single county in the United States where a full-time worker making minimum wage could afford a one-bedroom apartment.
In reality, the report found, many low-income families spend a far larger share of their incomes on housing.
Plus, more and more jobs are being lost to the movement of production offshore, or simply eliminated due to technology. Meanwhile, some Americans allow themselves to be tricked into thinking that the problem is related to illegal immigrants, when nothing could be further from the truth.
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