Dr Haneef: Political Plaything

It just gets better for Mohammed Haneef. He wins bail, walks out of the court… into the arms of the Immigration department. His 457 visa has been revoked and he will now be put into a detention centre for illegal immigrants. Ironically, he was trying to leave the country when he was arrested.

The reason? Section 501 of the visa. With a special proviso.

What’s that, you say? Guilty, by association, until proven Innocent, you might say:

Under section 501 of the [Migration] act, a “character test” applies to people seeking visas to enter the country.

A person fails the character test if, among other things, he or she has an association with another person or group whom the minister suspects is involved in criminal conduct.

Lemme say that again, with emphasis:

he or she has an association with another person or group whom the minister suspects is involved in criminal conduct

They were his cousins! How could he not have an association with them? Mr Andrews said he had considered information provided by the Australian Federal Police. But he doesn’t have to wait for a judgement on these people; no, no, no, as long as the minister suspects, the guy fails the test and is locked up.

What’s that? The minister is an elected official and so should be trusted? Oh, that’s alright then.

Oh but wait! You can challenge a conviction or decision, can’t you?

Haneef has two avenues of appeal … But his chances under both of those avenues are made harder because Mr Andrews has invoked a special “national interest” element of the section 501 visa cancellation process.

Ah, the Get Into Jail Free Of Conscience Clause. Cry foul my friends, because this is injustice in motion.

Ed: Senator Andrew Bartlett (Dem., QLD) gets my vote. (What? So what if I can’t vote for him?)

Ed 2: I just want to quote more – see this and this and this. And more and more. With editorials here and here. News Ltd paper The Daily Telegraph sees nothing wrong, as usual, proving themselves to be the lapdogs of the Liberals. Which is not to say Labor’s any better with their “in-principle” agreement, which disgusts me.

Alright alright

So it seems like tis the season to be redesigning your site. I’ll get on to it, I’ve got a good one in mind (finally). Just someone tell me, what is it with all the darker designs this time around?

Dr Haneef: Inadvertently Criminal

Dr Mohamed Haneef, the “Australian connection” in the recent terror scare in the UK, is to be charged with “recklessly supporting terrorism by supplying the SIM card to his second cousin, Sabeel Ahmed”, and therefore he had “supplied the alleged terrorists with a usable alternative identity.” He faces up to 15 years in prison for giving his mobile SIM card to his cousin.

Un-frickin-believable.

If this case had any real basis, the prosecution would have to demonstrate that he actively knew that his cousins would engage in a terrorist act, and that the SIM card could be a way for authorities to monitor and track his cousins. When clearly, they had no bloody idea that anything was going to happen, and the ‘alternative identity’ apparently provided by the SIM card had no role to play in the terrorist act.

If this man is prosecuted, I have major doubts about how serious the authorities are in pursuing real perpetrators as opposed to chasing down the easy ones to provide visible ‘victories’ against terrorism.

More opinion here and here.

Movie Review: Ocean’s Thirteen

There are times when you want sequels to break from the format of the original – when the series is supposed to be a cohesive single plot effectively and each “sequel” is actually more like a volume of a epic, a self-contained story in each that is different, but the key plot points tying it together keep it a single story overall. This is the Bourne movies, the Pirates, what the Matrix series aspired to be. (Star Wars or LotR don’t count because they’re effectively one movie cut up for convenience)

And at times, you want sequels to be munch-on-popcorn formulaic because you know what you’re in for and you know why and you’re just there to enjoy the ride, be it the Lethal Weapon or Die Hard style, or indeed the Police Academy series. These are the sequels that don’t need to sell themselves as requiring a knowledge of the original, but that knowledge helps to get you in the door.

(Warning: there may be spoilers ahead. click through at your own risk)

Continue reading “Movie Review: Ocean’s Thirteen

I needn’t even mention

There’s no point me even pointing out how crap the weather is now; even the locals are whinging.

(have a cold/sore throat type thing so not exactly in the mood to do anything, really.)

New 7 Wonders looking a little shaky already

07/07/07 was a cute date to pick to release a list of the “New 7 Wonders”, to update the list from the wonders of the Ancient (Greecian) World, as voted by an internet poll (can you say “donkey vote”?). The List is:

  • Great Wall of China
  • Taj Mahal
  • The ruins of Petra in Jordan
  • The Colosseum in Rome
  • The statue of Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro
  • The Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru
  • The ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico

Point the first: The “ancient” Mayan city? Should that not disqualify it immediately?!

Point the second: The “ruins” of Petra and Machu Picchu?! Oh, I’m suuuuuuuure they’re all well and good, pretty places that were once-upon-a-time wonders, but that doesn’t exactly qualify as a “wonder” now. Oh look, here is where they sacrificed virgins to their gods. Just imagine it, don’t mind the fact that it’s a pile of rubble now.

For what it’s worth, here’s the list I always grew up thinking was the list of wonders around now:

  • Eiffel Tower (late 19th century)
  • Statue of Liberty (mid 19th century)
  • Leaning Tower of Pisa (middle ages)
  • Taj Mahal (middle ages)
  • The Pyramids & the Sphinx (yes ok ancient)
  • Great Wall of China (early-middle ages)

Err… I’ll be honest. I couldn’t ever name the last one in the list, so my 7 were always incomplete – I always thought it was just out of the corner of my eye, metaphorically speaking, and that the 8th should/would be the Sydney Opera House (even on a world scale, it is gorgeous like you wouldn’t believe). So, what’s the 7th shortlist? I thought…

  • The Colosseum (yes ok ancient)
  • Stonehenge (yes ok ancient, very)
  • Big Ben? (19th century?)
  • Golden Gate Bridge? (20th century?)
  • Hoover Dam? (20th century)

Your suggestions?