The Australian media is calling them the 'Bali nine'. Nine young Australians are being held in Bali under suspicion for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg (or 11.25 kg depending on what you read) of heroin through Bali's airport. They were caught with the drugs allegedly strapped to their bodies while accomplices were apprehended at a nearby hotel. Most of the nine Australians are now cooperating with police enquiries even though they fear doing so will
further endanger the lives of their families (e.g. drug lords punishing them for talking). Don't get this latest case mistaken, however, with the other high-profile Australian drugs case in the Australian media right now. Beauty therapist Schapelle Corby, 27, is also being held in Bali for the
4.1 kg of top-notch marijuana found in her bodyboard bag some months ago. Prosecutors in that case
have asked for a life sentence to be handed down to Corby. She has supposedly escaped death by firing squad. Her legal team and family, though, say she was a victim of dodgy baggage handlers and an Australian interstate drug smuggling operation that uses unknowing interstate Australian travellers as drug mules.
Most Australians are worried about this, too. Of course, the strain of the case on Corby
is beginning to show.
But getting back to the 'Bali nine'. What will their fate be?
Another Australian was just given an execution order in Vietnam for also smuggling Heroin. It's all nasty stuff, hey. News reports indicate that
Australian officials will seek clemency for those involved in the latest Bali bust. Yeah, but how much good will that do? Indonesia is well known for enforcing strong anti-drug laws. And who can blame them?
posted by sjvilla79
on Apr 24, 2005 -
41 comments
In
Warburton, a town not too far from Melbourne, Australia, there's
allegedly something not quite right swimming around in a humble trout farmer's catchment. Is this
Australia's Nessie?
Some selected quotes from the linked articles.
A giant eel, believed to be around 13ft-long with a head the size of a football has been spotted at the trout farm at Warburton.
It is believed the eel washed into the farm's ponds during this month's record breaking storms.
"We hope to catch him alive and take him to the Melbourne Aquarium."
I reckon it's true. Might even go and throw a line in myself, hey. It's just a shame that there are no pictures or film evidence thus far.
Oh, this is my first front page post on MeFi. Hello world!
posted by sjvilla79
on Apr 7, 2005 -
12 comments
Some thought-provoking journalism from the Australian online journal Crikey, including a piece from the "DEBKA-net-newsletter, an expensive intelligence newsletter out of Israel" and an analysis of the Gordon Sinclair "Good Neighbour" editorial.
posted by chrisgregory
on Sep 18, 2001 -
2 comments
The Australian HMAS Manoora is taking hundreds of Afgan asylum seekers to the island of Nauru after they were rescued by a Norwegian freighter. Many Australian's supported the Government's move not to let them into the country but much of the rest of the world (and a few Australian do-gooders who took the Government to court and won) think we should
let these people in.
Today on the radio I heard the mother of one of the sailors on the Manoora saying that the majority of these "refugees" cheered and celebrated when they heard the news of the WTC and Pentagon attacks. And these are the people that the do-gooders want in our free country???
posted by Jase_B
on Sep 16, 2001 -
16 comments
