for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (NIV)
Arthur Allan Thomas should not have received government compensation
I’ve been thinking about the Bain case and whether David should receive government compensation or not and I had to conclude that even Arthur Allan Thomas (why all three names?) should not have received any government compensation.
Arthur lost ten (ish) years of his life, his loss was an injustice and the compensation he received was less than the damage he suffered – still, he should not have received any government compensation because he wasn’t wronged by the government. And the public, the owners of government money, are not responsible for the injustice that happened to Arthur.
The people responsible for Arthur’s unjust loss were the individuals that planted the evidence against him. Compensation should come have from them and they should go to prison for the same length of time that they intended for Arthur Allan Thomas.
Deuteronomy 19:15-21
A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.
If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days.
The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother.
Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.
Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
(This principle of equal punishment for false witnesses is sorely lacking from our justice system where even the police are willing to make stuff up to get the result they want.)
Regarding David Bain I’m still questioning whether he should be compensated; and if so, who should pay his compensation? Was he wronged by someone?
It’s not a big ask
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (NIV)
My report on Fisher’s Report on Binnie’s Report on the David Bain case
Judith Collins would have you believe that clever lawyers, like herself and Fisher, can see fundamental flaws in the Binnie Report.
From what I’ve read so far Fisher doesn’t demonstrate any flaws other than his own.
Here’s Fisher’s explanation of one alleged flaw and an example of the alleged flaw…
84. Differently expressed, there is an assumption throughout the Binnie Report that an item of evidence should be disregarded entirely unless it is established that on the balance of probabilities, that item of evidence would be incriminating in itself. That is the ultimate effect of his approach. No room is allowed for the possibility that something which is consistent with innocence in isolation might nevertheless increase the odds in favour of guilt.
85. Take David’s fingerprints in blood on the rifle. It is common ground that whoever he was, the murderer was engaged in a struggle with Stephen, that much blood was spilt, that some of that blood is likely to have finished up on the murderer, and that the murders were carried out with a particular rifle. Most people would think that in those circumstances evidence that David’s fingerprints were found in unidentified blood on the very rifle in question would increase the odds that David was the culprit. Yet Binnie J dismissed that item from further consideration. His explanation for his dismissal is that “[o]n a balance of probabilities I conclude that the prints are not in human blood and that David Bain is entitled to succeed on this issue as well”
And here are relevant excerpts from the Binne Report…
293. Dr Geursen, the defence expert, tested part of the blood sample obtained by Dr Harbison’s laboratory and concluded that “the only reasonable explanation is that the DNA extracted from the fingerprint on the rifle is not of human origin.” The Crown says Dr Geursen was inadvertently provided with contaminated material and therefore his tests were not valid.
…
299. The 2009 jury eventually heard all the evidence, as envisaged by the Privy Council, including cross‐examinations. An acquittal followed. I agree with the Court of Appeal’s observation that David Bain’s fingerprints – if they had been shown to be in human blood – would have been highly probative of David’s guilt. However, the DNA testing is inconsistent with that conclusion.
…
302. I find it inexplicable that the defence expert Dr Geursen was provided with a contaminated sample on which to do his work. We will never know what Dr Geursen’s test would have shown had he received an uncontaminated sample.
303. The evidence of Dr Harbison and the Victoria Forensic Science Centre is the best we have. Despite its frailties, Dr Harbison’s work in particular, holds that no human DNA was detected in the actual fingerprint blood. The fact her second test was compromised is not David Bain’s fault. I must rely on the best evidence I have. On a balance of probabilities, I conclude that the prints are not in human blood and that David Bain is entitled to succeed on this issue as well.
How stupid is Fisher?
Binnie had to decide what this gun blood print evidence actually is “on a balance of probabilities” because according to the Crown’s own testimony this evidence was handled incompetently by the Crown.
Furthermore, Binnie’s argument is very different from Fisher’s claim that “there is an assumption throughout the Binnie Report that an item of evidence should be disregarded entirely unless it is established that on the balance of probabilities, that item of evidence would be incriminating in itself.”
I think you will find the fundamental flaws are in Fisher’s formulations – elaborately knitted together like a bad Bain Jersey.
But don’t take my word for it. Read the reports. Binnie’s report is well written, it’s long (193 pages) but it’s straight forward. Fisher’s report is also long (80 pages) but it is not straight forward – you will need to check the context of his quotations.
My challenge for you, the reader, is to find one serious flaw that Fisher identifies in Binnie’s Report.
The End?
Ok Atheists.
Lets say the Mayans are right, and a giant Comet is about to slam into the Earth.
Your Richard Branson, and have your own private spaceship.
May I ask what is your rationale?
Where do you intend going?
Earth is Unique.
… For all it’s massiveness, the Universe is Hostile, Dead, and empty.
Would the loss of the world awake you from your stupor?
Would you appreciate what divine blessings you took for granted… once they have been destroyed?
Your Spaceship is a Prison…. your Coffin.
Why not simply open the pressure hatch… and Die?
What is the point of the Atheist life?
You are Lost, and dead already
There is No Salvation for Atheists.
You must be a Self Deluded and Famous Biologist to not-understand that Atheism = Nihilism.
Is there anything so pathetic as an Atheist insisting they stand at the pinnacle of reality and maintain ‘ a sense of life’???
What’s the Point?
The average Teen is intelligent enough to know the difference between a theistic and Atheistic reality as a the distinction between Morality and Real value… from Amorality and worthlessness, sadly many are decieved into believing the Nihilistic veiw of reality.
Jim Morrison’s ‘The End’ is a Poem to the Atheist apprehension and value of Human Life.
“The Doors-The End
This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surpise the End. Ill never look into your eyes again….”
Jim Morison.
An Intelligent young Teenage friend of mine Austin Carter is busy contemplating his place in the Universe…
He is asking all the right Questions… yet is confronted by all the chaos and confusion that Mankind has propagated to sway souls towards and away from the light.
Austin ponders… “Life is just a journey…”
“…Terrible things in this world happen constantly, we only hear a mere fraction of whats reality. Ignorance is bliss…”
“Logically thinking, being religious is an opinion. Not everyone agrees on opinions, nor religions, you think you are right even when you may not be and no opinion is right, it’s just an opinion. Everyone has there own views and beliefs, that’s why there are so many choices. It’s what it means to the individual, not the populous…”
“Life is an elaborate dream.”
“ There are more questions than answers. Remember that…”
“ We are all just sacks of meat and organs, a living thing, with no purpose in the world other than reproduction of our species and whatever else we make of ourselves. If I were to die right now, it would affect a small group of people, but would it change the world or send a message? No. Of course not, I am just one insignificant person as all of you are, but what if we made something of ourselves? What if we stood up and decided to make our lives worth something, mean something. To stand for something is a powerful tool to the human spirit but together we can make everyone’s life worth something. Do you just want to live a normal, mundane lifestyle doing as everyone does, a life of a sheep? “
********************************************************************************************
Nothing that Ayn Rand or the Dick Dawkin’s can say can imbue Atheist reality with value or meaning.
They are Liars… and the average teenager knows it.
… and yet millions of Decieved People still follow them!
Why?
Because they seek to hide from moral duty and accountability… and that is the Primary Psychological underpinning of Atheism… This is the gospel for the Amoral and Lawless.
Can there be any question as to how corrosive… how Fatal such a world view is to a human being?
And worst of all …it’s false!
Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away”.
… Jesus Christ.
The Atheist Mockers have been silenced.
Modern science has caught up with Theistic Revelation.
The Universe/ Matter is not Eternal.
…
Now Everybody knows That one day this world will end, It’s just a question of when?
And consider this… The world and universe do not have to implode for it to be the ‘End of your world’.
For 150 000 souls 20-12-12 will be the end.
How many will step through the door and Meet their Gracious Savior?
How many of these thousands will instead step into a Courtroom and face THE JUDGE. ?
There is a greater reality than this Temporal plain!
Our Existence is not mere chance… but purposed.
Our Lives and actions do have moral weight.
God loves us and sent Christ to save us from Sin and death, and it is from God that our lives have real value.
Life is indeed a journey.
The World did not end 20-12-12.
We Christians Never believed it would.
And so the need to carry on blogging, and keeping busy with Christian Evangelism, and Libertarian activism, is still urgent…. to share this message of Hope to questioning souls like my young friend…
Without the preaching of Christian Libertarians , the lost will remain deceived by the Militantly Antichrist Atheists into thinking Religion is foolish and wrong.
They will dwell in the despair of the Black Meaningless finality of Atheist Nihilism.
In Futility will they attempt to find happiness, in meaningless, pointless, Cold and suffering Universe.
Thus in the New Year, I plan to continue to Preach The Gospel of God’s grace towards sinners, and to Defend our God given rights from A Moral Tyranny… believing this is what God has purposed for me to do…
I believe it is my God given purpose in life to Hold up the Tourch… To shine a light in the dark… to combat the Satanic lies which Damn Mankind… and when I myself stand at the Door, I will be trusting in Christ… in the Mercy and grace of God, and will be Happy that I used my time well…
Austin asks: … “Why do we create our own answers? How can we know we are right?
Knowledge = Fear
Ignorance = Fear
Acceptance = Enlightenment…”
My Retort: “Knowledge of God’s love brings Peace. Knowledge of God’s Holiness brings a sence of Right and wrong. Knowledge of God’s purpose in creating you brings a sence of Value and meaning.”
Austin has begun his Pilgrimage… his quest for the truth.
“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Jesus Christ.
No Future
I had a look around YouTube to find some suitably apocalyptic death metal to mark the end of the world Mayan calendar. Spoilt for choice! But here’s my pick, Russian death metallers Fetal Decay with No Future from their second album You Have No Choice. (Sorry about that, runners up. The judge’s decision is final!)
(No future? You have no choice? Wrong! When the world really ends, you do have a future—if you make the right choice now. Take heed of what Tim said. The Judge’s decision is final!)
Art is art
What is art? I spent the best part of a decade studying philosophy, so I had plenty of opportunity to find out, but I avoided the philosophy of art (aesthetics) religiously. “I don’t know anything about art, but I know what I like,” was, and pretty much still is, my answer to the question.
Music is art. I don’t know much about music, but I know what I like. Heavy metal is my favourite musical genre, and Slayer is the greatest heavy metal band of all time. It really is that simple.
But not if you’re an Objectivist. Lindsay Perigo is an Objectivist, and he thinks that Slayer is indescribable filth. Why does he think this? Is it because he is in thrall to Ayn Rand’s batty aesthetics as given in The Romantic Manifesto?
Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist’s metaphysical value-judgments.
Art … concretizes man’s fundamental view of himself and of existence.
The emotion involved in art is not an emotion in the ordinary meaning of the term. It is experienced more as a “sense” or a “feel,” but it has two characteristics pertaining to emotions: it is automatically immediate and it has an intense, profoundly personal (yet undefined) value-meaning to the individual experiencing it. The value involved is life, and the words naming the emotion are: “This is what life means to me.”
Art is man’s metaphysical mirror; what a rational man seeks to see in that mirror is a salute; what an irrational man seeks to see is a justification—even if only a justification of his depravity, as a last convulsion of his betrayed self-esteem.
What utter bullshit. I don’t know much about art, but I know that Rand is wrong and that Tom Araya, Slayer’s vocalist and bass player, is right. Art represents. Art reflects. Araya says that Slayer’s music is “dark reflections” of society. Here’s some snippets of an interview with Tom Araya.
And here’s the same interview, lovingly transcribed by me. First up, wicked guitarist Kerry King.
Kerry King: I like to take potshots at religion because I think it’s the …. the biggest brainwashing thing that is totally acceptable in America and probably most every place else in the world. Um, I just … I think it’s a load of shit.
Thanks for that, Kerry, you atheist douche-bag. Moving right along …
Interviewer: Tom, another well-tread path with you is your Christian background …
Tom Araya: Yeah.
Interviewer: … and the juxtaposition with your music.
Tom Araya: Catholic!
Interviewer: What place do your personal beliefs have in Slayer?
Tom Araya: I guess that what we do is art. Right? And it’s, it’s … art can be a reflection of society. And I mean … and … we’re picking up the dark reflections [laughs] … and, you know, that’s what we’re reflecting. But, evil’s everywhere, man, everybody’s got it. It sits really deep in everybody. Some people can’t control it as much as others, I think it’s … it’s … it’s there. Regardless of whatever fucking religion you believe in and whatever it is you feel is right, everybody knows what’s wrong. Everybody knows that there’s … there’s wrong things, there are just things you DO NOT DO. And the people that don’t understand that or don’t believe that, then they’re really … they’re not really connected with themselves, spiritually. It doesn’t matter what the fuck you believe.
Interviewer: But God Hates Us All, I can’t help but come back, I mean … how does it fit in?
Tom Araya: How does it fit in?
Interviewer: To the …
Tom Araya: He doesn’t …
Interviewer: To the …
Tom Araya: He doesn’t… he doesn’t … God doesn’t hate. It’s a great fucking title. When we wanted to make that an album title, I was, like, goddamn, it’s fucking really good. I think it will fucking piss a lot of people off.
Metalhead: The bands that want to be the biggest badasses pick the most badass subjects. It’s not that these people believe in this stuff. It’s just … you know, it’s … it’s a cool imagery that goes along with the music and, you know … some people believe in it, you know, I’m not going to deny that the … that the Norwegian bands are real, I mean, they’ve proven they’re real by their actions.
Interviewer: OK. So Venom and Slayer aren’t real.
(One day I’ll post about “the Norwegian bands.” Black metal. EVIL stuff. Google ‘Varg Vikernes’, if you must.)
Below are two pictures, one of Tom Araya who writes songs about serial killers, and one of Heath Ledger who played the part of psychopathic uber-villain The Joker in the Batman movie The Dark Knight.
Tom Araya writes songs about indescribable filth. He is not himself indescribable filth. Heath Ledger played the part of indescribable filth. He was not himself indescribable filth.
Heath Ledger got an RIP from Perigo, and his death was cause for a rewatching of Brokeback Mountain. Yet Slayer deserve to be branded “indescribable filth”? What’s the difference?
The difference is this. Tom Araya’s taking on the role of a serial killer – getting into the mindset of the psychopath, such as in the song Killing Fields – has harmed no one. Heath Ledger’s taking on the role of The Joker – getting into the mindset of the psychopath – has killed people, including, arguably, Ledger himself.
On Friday, 23 January 2009, in Dendermonde, Belgium, a 20 year old named Kim De Gelder, dressed as the Joker, conned his way into a day care centre and attacked babies and infants with a knife, stabbing them repeatedly in their heads and neck, killing 2 babies and a daycare provider and leaving numerous infants injured. (Wikipedia)
On Friday, 20 July 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside of a Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. A gunman, dressed in tactical clothing, set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. The sole suspect is James Eagan Holmes, who was arrested outside the cinema minutes later. … According to two federal officials, he had dyed his hair red and called himself “the Joker” … Seventy-one people were shot or otherwise wounded, reported by mainstream news as the most victims of any mass shooting in United States history. (Wikipedia)
“He’s a psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.” — Heath Ledger on his portrayal of the Joker in the Dark Knight film. (source)
“Well,” Nicholson told reporters in London early Wednesday, “I warned him.” — Jack Nicholson, who had played the Joker in an earlier Batman movie series, commenting on the dangers of playing the Joker after Heath Ledger’s death. (source)
Rotorua District Council is Stealing Land (Update)
Update to: Rotorua District Council is Stealing Land
I did decide to do some investigation… I’ve spent a couple of hours on the phone with Council staff but I still haven’t figured out precisely how Council intends to take away existing property rights from land owners. My questions probably seemed stupid to Council staff but everyone I spoke with was pleasant and helpful.
I figured out enough to put a question in writing so, I sent this email on Monday…
Hello
I have spoken with several Council representatives concerning the Proposed District Plan – in particular I have been enquiring about the proposed rural road designations.
Most recently I was advised by Council that the statutory authority being relied upon was the RMA (sections 166 to 186) and that Council will be seeking the designations in its capacity as a network utility operator under the Act.
This explanation doesn’t make sense and it contradicts an earlier explanation I was given by Council. The earlier explanation I was given was that Council was seeking to correct rural road (or road reserve) widths; that Council considered some roads too narrow and was seeking to widen roads (or road reserves) from 15m to 20m as part of the District Plan.
Can you please clarify the following points…
1. Is the Council proposing these designations in its capacity as a local authority or in its capacity as a network utility operator?
2. For what purpose is the Council proposing these designations?
3. What statutory authority is the Council relying on to propose these designations?Regards
Reed Robinson
At this point I am trying to establish if there is an unjust law that allows Council to take away land owners rights or whether the Council is acting illegally.
As I understand the law (corrections welcome), for the Council’s (or any government agent’s) actions to be legal they must :-
1. have a law (statutory authority) that explicitly enables the action; and,
2. act according to the intention of the law.
I suspect there is no law that is intended to allow councils to widen road reserves in this manner. If my suspicion is correct (that the Council is acting illegally) then Council recognising the illegality should be sufficient to stop the Council from proceeding.
Buggin out. Mayan Apocalypse.
Buggin Out to secret bunker for Mayan Apocalypse…awaiting Rapture of The Saints.
The Final Sands of Time are passing through the Orifice!
Can you look back on your life and say your are proud of how you lived?
Have you found Peace and forgiveness with God your Creator?
The Good news according to St Paul…
“…God Commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Christ’s Triumph over sin and Death was proven by his Resurection.
“Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be Saved.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvT_V_oReS4
The outlook for Friday
