Episode 18: The Pursuit of Fairness

Well, well here I am again thrusting my opinions on the world. It's official now apparently, I'm a Law student with no more soul than a mosquito. However, despite this today I would like to talk to you all about justice and the concept of justice. Most dictionaries you look in will define justice with words like fairness or equality, for the sake of this post I'm going to define justice as the pursuit of fairness. In the Australian judicial branch of government justice is carried out in many ways, from the court system to the state and federal policing bodies. However, through some of my readings, my personal belief about justice has been challenged. To understand why we are in this pursuit of justice we need to look at what we define as just and fair, and that is fairly easy. We can look at the codified laws and rules that define us. Nonetheless, the closer we look at our laws the more we will find that the concept of justice is hard to define and even harder to carry out.

In Australia and the United Kingdom in the court system, justice is paying for the crimes you have committed in the for of a 'punishment' ie incarceration or the payment of a fine. For example; if Paul were to physically assault Kate, he could potentially be sent to prison because it's against the law to commit assault. Kate is seen as a witness to his crime and not a victim of a it. Paul has committed a crime against the state and not Kate, despite infringing on her human rights to not be assaulted. There is justice for Paul, however, Kate doesn't not get justice for the repercussions as a result of her being assaulted. Justice for Kate is not seen as being a priority because the crime was not against Kate but the state in the eyes of the law. Despite this, judges are not robots, they don't operate on 'automatic pilot' with immunity to the pressure of values. Their job is not solely 'complete and absolute legalism', otherwise we would not need them, they judge and mediate on a case by case basis. The Hon. Michael Kirby after a lifetime of service to the pursuit of justice and devotion to the rule of law, said that being a judge is not simply upholding the rule of law and maintaining legislative integrity but to judge with values and consideration to the situation. All parties in a crime should receive their justice, not just the perpetrator.

Justice and fairness are not ideas easily carried out, there will always be a degree of unfairness, however, the law should work hard to minimize this. As humans we pursue fairness, but fairness and justice are different from a vendetta.

Episode 17: Penis Envy

"I myself have never know what feminism is, all I know is that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat"

                                                                         ~ Rebecca West

Today I would like to talk about something that really ruffles my feathers and as you may have guessed, it's feminism. This post is a partial response to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIdB4wS4MVU

Long story short this girl ^ believes that feminism should be taught in schools or at least woven into the curriculum. I don't know about all of you but I firmly believe that feminism is a belief that should be explored by an individual, schools don't teach people to be fascists or communists so why should they teach people to be feminists. People's beliefs are a personal thing that should be explored and discovered by the individual, children should not be branded feminists in the same way they should not be branded with a religion.

People often complain that, school does not teach enough about influential things women have done, well once again i don't know about you all maybe I went to some special unique schools but I have been to catholic, Protestant, co-ed, same-sex, primary and secondary schools and at all of them I was taught about influential women in history. I was taught about Joan of Arc as well as Alexander the Great, Marie Curie and Thomas Edison. Feminists complain that not enough important women are acknowledged in school for their achievements but to be perfectly honest there are not many significant women to recognise. Women were not commonly, play writes, leaders of armies, religious figures, and these are the people that we highlight in history, but if you look where there was a woman that stands out like, Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, or Penelope (wife of Odysseus), she gets more than her share of recogniton.

Another point that many feminists get riled over is women in politics. In Australia as well as Britain and I'm sure other places, Member of Parliament are elected. As in chosen by the people, women run for these positions and sometimes they get them and sometimes they don't. To say that we need more women in Parliament is great, yes I am sure we do. How is it you propose to achieve that? Do you intend to go against the law and the people and appoint these women? The people chose the person they wish to represent their ideals and morals. If a woman does not hold those then she will not be elected, it's not because she is a woman. If you have read some of my other posts you will know that I am not a fan of Thatcher and her ideas but she had a massive following of people that supported her ideas, it wasn't because she was a woman.

Being a woman before now was a disadvantage but not anymore. There is no place for feminists!

Episode 16: Christianity vs. Islam

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.

                                                                                                         ~ Mark Twain

I was on 9gag and I stumbled upon this and as a Christian I was greatly enraged. Not because it was false but because it fails to encapsulate the whole truth.

To discuss this, much like other academic issues you need to define where you are coming from. This story starts hundreds of years ago, prior to the birth of Christ. In the beginning there was only Judaism. Abraham was a prophet and married to a woman named Sarah. Together they has a son named Isaac. Isaac was a blind old man before he was able to have sons. His first son was Esau, he was born of a slave girl. Esau was tall, hairy and stocky. Isaac also had a legitimate son with his wife, his name was Jacob, Jacob was the opposite of Esau. When the time came for Isaac to give his land to his son Esau, his wife tricked him by dressing Jacob in sheep’s skin and when Jacob gave Isaac his favourite meal and gave his land to Jacob. Esau was furious and then he left Jordan and went to the east. However Jacob stayed there and led the people of Palestine.

This was when Islam was created. Islam was created from Esau, but Jacob went on a Jew and went west to Egypt. Later down the Jacob’s line Moses appeared and he led the people back to the Promised Land. However, God gave Moses strict instructions that when he and the Israelites were to get there they were to kill everything; women, children, farms, cattle, everything. But they didn’t. Later on again in the time after Jesus was born; I am unsure how the story goes but in that time there was a divide between the Jew and some went on as Jews and others became Christians and the Muslims came back to Israel in the time of King David and there was a war between the Muslims and the Christians. The temple of King David was a monolithic structure and it was the centre of the Christian faith. This is where the Israelites are punished, because they did not kill everything when they entered the promised land, the Muslims that were living in Israel at the time revolted and destroyed the temple of King David. Today in Jerusalem the synagogue, the centre of Islamic religion sits on the land where King David’s temple stood. This is the reason for the war in Israel, the west thinks of the war as 200 years old, a childish agitation. NO, it is a war over 2000 years old because the Israelites went into the promised land and they did not follow God’s orders. The land was promised to them by God, that is what the war is about. So when I see a post like this I am enraged. You would not compare Stalin and Churchill or Stalin and JFK, nor would you compare the Dali Lama with Saddam Husain. So do not compare Jacob and Esau. Islam and Christianity are not the same religion by any means and I am sure that my feelings about this are shared with people of Islamic faith.

Episode 15: Above the sound of Ideologies clashing.

'When one voice rules the nation
Just because they're top of the pile
Doesn't mean their vision is the clearest
The voices of the people
Are falling on deaf ears
Our politicians all become careerists...'

                                  Ideology ~ Billy Bragg


Today I want to rant about wars and particularly the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Recently I was on tumblr (yes I’m that hipster) and I saw a post about 'veterans day' a day in the US where they acknowledge the people that have died in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The post said to go and remember the people that have died for our country and the fight for Democracy. Most Americans or people would look at that and feel sad and be fully supportive. It makes me angry and be rest assured I'll tell you why. It's because the people they are remembering were not 'fighting for their country' or 'fighting for democracy' they are there as a part of the Bush administration's revenge for 911. His vendetta against the middle-east and Muslims.

Now I just want to pause and reflect on what it is that I just said. I am aware that it is highly controversial and I probably now have the whole Fox News Network and numerous Americans hunting for my body now. BUT, we have days like Remembrance day and Veterans day for incidents that people have deliberately instigated themselves. It taints the reason for Remembrance Day, ie the ANZACs and the people who faught in the Dardanelles in WWI, not a government's vendetta. The Americans DID NOT NEED to go into Afghanistan, but they did. I do not intend to undermine the lives that were lost in the incidents of 911, it was a tragedy with no justification, but it is not reason to start a war and loose more lives. A body for a body is vengeance not justice.

Episode 14: Who needs an education anyway?

I recently watched this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PPgbdLKL4I on You Tube and I was greatly annoyed by the lack of understanding of how the political process works and how quickly they were to make incorrect assertions. Also please note that before I launch into this I am not a massively Left person. I am a liberal. However, I in no way support the current UK coalition government.

In Britain they have a representative democracy/constitutional monarchy, much like in many other 1st world countries like the US and  Australia. This system means that the people elected (key word) are the candidates that the people have chosen to represent their views and opinions. Which straight away debunks the theory that this boy has about people's opinions not being represented. This is a key element that he seems to have missed and basic knowledge that anyone prepared to comment on the due processes of the system should understand.

To my next point the Prime Minister's question time is an inaccurate view of the world of politics. The everyday business of governance is co-operative, this has to be the case, otherwise legislation and the everyday business of politics would never get done and there would be no point in having a government at all. Question time gives the view that politics is always contentious and nasty. That the politicians are children and are unable to co-operate. This is seen in question times all around the world. It is often seen in Australia, there are countless viral videos of Tony Abbott and his peers acting childish and disrespectful in question time.

My third point is that the questions addressed to the PM are often statements and attacks framed as questions in order to make the PM look bad, or in the case of Dorothy Dixes, make him look better. Yes there are constructive questions asked in question time and they are RARELY questions that can simply be answered yes or no. This is where people watching question time need to have a greater understanding of the world of politics to be able to understand what is going on and another reason why question time in an inaccurate forum to base all of your ideas about the world of politics on. It is not the whole picture!

Fourth point, the political parties are not fighting for the same things, this another inaccuracy that is reflected in question time. David Cameron is a Tory, which means that he is pro-privatization. The reason that Britain is falling further and further into the abyss. He means to increase the divide between the poorest and richest people in Britain, a theme that was reflected in the last Tory government (Thatcher and Major gov.). Prior to 1979, unemployment was on the decline and Britain was more prosperous than ever, until the Thatcher government destroyed the livelihood of at least half of the UK populace. Cameron also intends to get rid of the NHS which would prove to destroy the working-class further. This is a directly opposite view to that of the opposition leader Ed Miliband. How can they all 'team-up' if they have directly opposing views?

Fifth point. You are suggesting that these people are making issues overly complicated. This is true in some respects. However, overall these issues are complicated, they are not yes or no questions and there are many shades of grey. There is no one size fits all because of the massive divide between people in the UK and lack of empathy and entitled attitude of modern-day Britain. They are not arguing trivial issues, unlike the Australian government. Ed Miliband and the other opposing politicians are working to keep the government accountable and work to a more sustainable and equal Britain.

Sixth point, question time is NOT the designated time to be introducing legislation. There is other designated time where that is addressed. Question times is solely an opportunity for questions from MP's to the Prime Minister. Hence the name Prime Minister's Question Time.Question time is a debate and as for the people that are 'falling asleep' they need to show up to represent the views of their electorate/shire.

Seventh point, if you sir were leader, Britain would fall apart faster than it is now. Not to mention Britain does not have a democracy. They have a Constitutional Monarchy with a Representative Democracy! '10 of the best business minds', how do you intend to represent the views of over 60 Million people with 10 people. There are 645 MPs in the house of commons and they struggle to represent all the views of the people of Britain. You cannot possibly get a better result with 10."Alan Sugar and Richard Branson" represent 5% of the UK population.

In conclusion, get a civics education before you give people advice about politics and how it should be run.

Episode 13: Bring on the apocalypse! VOTE ROMNEY!

VOTE ROMNEY! Pass it on!
Now before you stop reading hear me out. Yes this statement was intended to be extremely provocative and no I do not believe that Romney should be president, well not really. I do however believe that there would be a great benefit to him serving a term and this is why.

Back in 2000 a series of mistakes led to the appointment of George W. Bush. When in power he made a series of further mistakes that led to things such as the US and others entering Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as certain perceptions of All Quaeda. However, these mistakes meant that global powers and the Americans were aware of the issues that stem from the US and they were able to act on that knowledge and vote in Barrack Obama.

Since the election of Obama into office he and the democrats have been working to patch up the US and the world after the mistakes of the last government. However the changes made are not as drastic as they should be due to the fact that Obama needs to maintain support with the public and public is less aware of the issues than they should be.

This is where Mitt Romney comes in. As many people know or should know, Romney is well, not the best character to be POTUS. However, I believe that if he was to be elected and make poor decision the public would become increasingly aware of the issues in the world and hence cause the public to reelect Obama and allow him to make big decisions without the level of critique that he is under at present.

And that's why everyone should VOTE ROMNEY!

Episode 11: Who Let the Games Out?

Since the last of few of my blogs have been in the rhelms of something I should yell from a soap box here is another of those, though this is about the gaming industry. What broken street dates will mean for the future of the gaming industry. 

The Australian gaming industry is at serious risk of collapsing, not because of an issue that they have caused themselves, but rather one that the consumer has made, and to most gamers, it isn’t an evident issue. It’s the problem of broken ‘street dates’. In business, a street date is the date a particular product is to be released for sale to the general public and retailers are breaking this date. 

Waiting for a game to be released is the most difficult thing in the life of a gamer. For months leading up to the release, we’re fed trailers and screen shots, getting us ready for the all-important street date. So when a game does break street date, you can guarantee that the last thing a gamer is going to be thinking about are the long-term effects this will have on the industry.  

The process of releasing a game is long and arduous. It all starts early into the development of a game and a release date is set. After the game is finished, a copy is sent to the distributers, who are required to make copies, organize shipping, and generally create more hype surrounding the game. The last stage is when the stores receive their copies of the game, usually two to four days before the release date. The stores are then trusted to sell on the release date. Recently the retailers have made trouble for themselves by deciding to sell before this date; this is what is causing a lot of controversy.  

‘If you think back to the Harry Potter releases, the hype around some of these books it was very rare that you heard of a store that was brave enough to do that.’ says Ingrid Just. This courtesy is not seen in the gaming industry, if the retailers can increase their profit margin, they will. Street dates are there to even out the field for the smaller retailers and they are an important part of the distribution machine that surrounds a massive release.  

It is a massive loss to the retailers that break the street date and to the gamers that buy the games before the release. Yann Suquet says ‘that [gamers’] don’t get that excitement of the first day and some events that we might have had... It would have been more fun if they waited coz they get more out of the launch of the game.’  

A market the size of this country, anywhere between 3-5% of the global market, is insignificant in comparison to some of the big European or US markets and if this becomes the norm and games like Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and Arkham City continually break street dates, then we are risking a delay put on Australian releases across the board. That’s something we don’t want and something consumers and retailers don’t want but that is the path that we’re going down.  

Last year, there was a lot of confusion surrounding Batman: Arkham City because they broke street date. The confusion stemmed from an issue with the Cat Woman DLC. People were complaining that their codes were not working, yet it hadn’t been activated globally yet as the game had not officially been released.

Despite the strict rules and guidelines that are given to retailers when they first receive the shipment from the distributors, anything from an indiscreet staff member to a really persistent customer can cause a game to leak. Once this happens all the other stores are forced to do so also or face huge losses. Expensive events like midnight openings and press events are now ruined. 

Retailers will do anything they can to be the first people selling a particular product. This competition is at a whole new level in the gaming industry. Russell Zimmerman, the executive director at the Australian Retailers Association, says if ‘there is anything wrong with the products going to be allowed to be sold say on a particular date, and that means 1 minute past midnight you start selling it. There is nothing wrong with that retailer opening their doors and selling it but for a retailer to go out a day or two days before the marketing date then yes, it’s ethically unreasonable…[it]  does make it difficult for the other retailers.’

 If it breaks street date and somebody hacks it and then there’s hundreds of torrents then nobody buys it. The producers have then made a terrible business decision, by making a great game and that’s depressing. ‘I want to care about making great games and then I want people to spend money on great games so that we have money to make the next great game. That’s what this cycle should be.’ – Seth Olshfki. 

The newest addition to the Star Wars gaming franchise, Star Wars: The Old Republic, broke street date but with a difference. When a global staggered release was set by EA (Electronic Arts, a game products company) for technical reasons, many Australian fans began grey importing, getting copies from overseas. This led some retailers to spurn local distributers, importing copies themselves and selling onto the public. If this trend continues distributers may try and prevent future breaks by online only sales. That in itself will bring more issues.  

This could all potentially come back to affect the Australian consumers. Stores may no longer accept pre-orders, they may stock lower quantities or not receive copies of the game right up until the very day of release. Australia is a big country and there are logistics in moving a shipment and products around. So that could mean that customers may not have it on the actual release day if you live in Alice Springs and it doesn’t get there in time.  

This issue needs to be addressed and though it is also the responsibility of the retailers to follow the guidelines of game release, it is also the responsibility of the gamers to maintain the integrity of the gaming industry. Don’t be the ‘feeder’ that everyone hates.