… because this could have turned out very differently if he was.

As it is, because he’s 14 people are fretting that he might have to be locked up in a jail with adult criminals because Indonesia does not have a juvenile detention system.

Indonesia juveniles in adult jails – Asia-Pacific – Al Jazeera English.

While a rabid mob is frothing at the mouth about boycotting Bali until Indonesia releases the boy.

Support grows for boycott over arrest of 14-year-old – Sydney Morning Herald

The boy even got a call from the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has spoken to a 14-year-old boy facing drugs charges in Bali | The Australian.

Make no mistake about it – if he was 18 years or older he would not be getting the same treatment. But the government is obligated to help especially when the person involved is a minor. I would expect the government to offer consular and legal assistance as well as arranging for a way for the parents to stay in touch with boy, all of which have been done. One would also expect the government to push for leniency and if jail time was required, to push for the kid to be housed in a better environment if there exists one.

However to expect the government to ask for his unconditional release is idiotic. We wouldn’t take kindly if the situation was reversed. We expect foreigners to respect our laws and culture when they come into this country so why the hypocrisy and double-standards? Our former foreign minister, Alexander Downer had wrote an excellent piece about this mentality before so I will just quote him on this:

After about 10 minutes as foreign minister I was a little surprised to learn I was “responsible” for miscreant Australians who got into trouble in foreign countries.

No, no, no, don’t get it wrong – drug traffickers, drunks, kleptomaniacs and fraudsters weren’t responsible for their own stupidity – I was.

It’s about time that great nanny in Canberra, the Federal Government, turned around and told people they are responsible for their own decisions.

…

Remember two things when you travel. First, there are no special laws for Australians overseas. Foreigners make the laws over there, not us. And secondly, foreigners do things differently and they’re entitled to.

Idiot Aussies: Grow up and take responsibility | Adelaide Now.

All this blame and finger-pointing going on about the evil Indonesian drug dealers and big bad Indonesian police but no one talks about the kid’s stupidity …

Bali teen ‘bragged about drugs before arrest’.

… or asks the question about why the parents didn’t educate the kid about the dangers of associating with drugs in South-East Asian countries?

But very luckily for him, due to his age even the Indonesian government might be looking to avoid a diplomatic incident and will be going easy on him.

Police have confirmed to AAP they are now more likely to deal with the boy under article 128 of Indonesia’s narcotics laws.

…

Bali Police drugs squad chief Mulyadi said that while the investigation was ongoing, he suggested it was now more likely the boy would avoid a jail term.

Hopes rise Bali teen can avoid prison | The Australian.

My take from all of this? It’s never too early to talk to your kids about drugs especially when you are taking them on holidays to places that enforce the death penalty for drug possession and trafficking. And that other places are precisely that: other places and not Australia.

That you would arrange for your new wife to be killed right after you marry her?

A businessman arranged his wife’s murder on their honeymoon six months after telling a friend he had been forced into marriage and “needed to find a way out of it”, a British court has heard.

Shrien Dewani, 31, allegedly said that his family would disown him unless he agreed to settle down with Anni Hindocha, 28.

Sydney Morning Herald – Honeymoon murder suspect was ‘desperate to escape marriage’.

I don’t see the logic in any of it. Would making her die make it unlikely that his family would make him re-marry, and thus allowing him to go back to his presumably freewheeling playboy ways? Why can’t he marry her and then still fool around anyway? If he was afraid of being found out and having his family disown him for that, I’m sure he could do it discreetly right?

If the reason that he’s afraid of being disowned is because of losing out on the money, he could have gotten married, start siphoning money from his family and stash it somewhere, fool around until he gets found out and still be laughing.

All of the above is better than killing a person and then getting caught for it right? All of that would have been better for the poor wife anyway. She didn’t even see it coming – snuffed out ultimately because the man she married thought that being disowned was worst than killing someone over it.

Shrien Dewani detained in secure mental health hospital | World news | guardian.co.uk.

So yeah there’s no logic in this. And although the possibility of his lawyer using mental illness as a defense seems like a ploy to get him acquitted or to reduce the severity of his punishment, he might just be that little bit mentally unhinged because he clearly wasn’t thinking straight.

I’m sadden by what I read and what I see on the TV screen. As the number of the dead rises exponentially – 1000 to 2000 to 10000 – as tragic and devastating as it is, one can’t help by feel numbed by it all. That’s when I started seeking out the relative comfort of scientific facts. If you have young children traumatised by it all, teaching them a bit of science can help. Here’s some good articles.

So, there’s no rhyme or reason to these things but there’s a how. The New York Times has a great graphic explaining how the tectonic plates underneath Japan rammed into each other, causing the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami.

How Shifting Plates Caused the Japan Earthquake – Interactive Feature – NYTimes.com.

The troubled nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi survived the big earthquake but they got swamped by the tsunami. The reactors shut down as the quake happened, but the nuclear rods still generated heat and still needed cooling, but the backup generators may have been damaged in the flood and the batteries ran out. That led to the water in the cooling tank boiling and turning into steam faster than it can be replaced.

That exposed the nuclear rods to air, generating gases in the tank which probably led to the explosions. They tried pumping in sea water but it’s a constant race against time before the water starts boiling and evaporating again.

Why doesn’t a nuclear generator power its own cooling system? Good question. This and more is explained in this article on MSNBC, and the comments within.

Cosmic Log – Clearing up nuclear questions.

The New York Times did something similar with a graphic and explains what would happen if the nuclear fuel rods melt down. Indications are that they will be contained but radioactive steam will be vented out for an extended period as they strive to control the heat build up.

The Crippled Japanese Nuclear Reactors – Interactive Feature – NYTimes.com.

And this last article does not have any science in it but it is a great collection of photos, which will surely put your petty problems into perspective.

Japan – Vast Devastation – The Big Picture – Boston.com.

Have you guys been reading about the Sydney neurosurgeon who’s accused in the murder of one prostitute and the manslaughter of another? The story is so gripping. It has sex, drugs, lots and lots of money, and one insanely depraved sex-fiend of a doctor.

There’s already a ton of news articles written about the ongoing trial but I will pick out some of the juicier tidbits. With regards to the manslaughter charge, on the night in February 2009 when Victoria McIntyre, 23 died of cocaine toxicity:

Anna Monaghan, the director of HM Escorts, the agency that hired Ms McIntyre, today told a committal hearing at Downing Centre Local Court that Mr Nair booked a total of “three or four women” over the course of February 14 and 15 in 2009.

…

The booking, which cost between $500 and $700 per hour, lasted overnight on February 14 and well into the next morning, Ms Monaghan told the court.

Sydney Morning Herald – Surgeon and prostitutes were ‘taking a lot of drugs’.

The testimony by two of the girls who were there that night was quite lurid.

Ms Eirlys said she arrived about 11pm on February 14 – Valentine’s Day – to find piles of a substance she believed was cocaine, dotted throughout Mr Nair’s apartment in plastic bags and on a dinner plate.

There were also “excessive amounts” of cash through the apartment, including a large pile of $50, $100 and $20 notes.

…

“He kept saying ‘Have you ever been really coked up, it’s incredibly fun to be really coked up,’” she told the court.

…

[Emily] discovered later that Mr Nair had also been pushing thumbnail-sized “rocks” of cocaine into her vagina and anus.

“He was putting his fingers in places,” Emily told the court.

“I just thought he was being weird but he was putting rocks [of cocaine] in me.”

…

Emily said she told Ms McIntyre when she arrived: “Be careful, he will try to push the drugs on you.”

…

She then saw Ms McIntyre do “a line of drugs that were on the dinner plate”.

At one point Mr Nair produced a rock of cocaine “the size of my fist”, Emily said.

…

Emily and the other escort were told later in the morning to go to pick up a prescription for Xanax – to “calm down” – and buy some sex toys.

…

When they returned about an hour later, Emily told the court Mr Nair would not answer the building’s intercom.

They waited a while and were told, when he finally came to the intercom, to “come back in 30 minutes”, which they complied with.

“We saw the police outside and the ambulance,” Emily told the court.

Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney neurosurgeon Suresh Nair had cash and cocaine, court told.

As for the night in November 2009 of the murder of another prostitute, Brazilian Suellen Domingues Zaupa, 22, he had ordered for two escorts:

The women were aware Mr Nair wanted “party girls”, which is industry-speak for escorts who are prepared to drink a lot, party hard and be open to taking drugs.

…

The trio took so much cocaine, at Mr Nair’s insistence, that Ms Cardona began cutting her lines “in half”, with the surgeon’s approval.

…

The women accepted Mr Nair’s offer of $20,000 each for sex with each other and with him, without a condom.

…

She took a short break but Mr Nair kept asking Ms Zaupa to take more cocaine. Ms Zaupa said “no” two or three times but ended up ingesting more drugs, Ms Cardona said.

…

Eventually Mr Nair called two men who arrived at the apartment a short time later, Ms Cardona said. The three men went into the bedroom while she waited in the living room.

Sydney Morning Herald – Surgeon took coke as woman died, says escort.

What drove him to be like that? The stress of his job? Or was it more the fact that his job and high income made it real easy and affordable for him to indulge in the crudest and most basic instincts that he always had in him? And how long has this been going on? Illegal drug use notwithstanding, I suppose it would have been ok, no matter how depraved, if no one had died and none of us would be the wiser.

Although after the death of one girl, one would have think that it’s not such a good idea to force such a large amount of drugs onto other girls. You think he would have learnt his lesson the first time back in February and would want to avoid causing another incident that might really put him in jail this time. But I guess the doctor is not as sane and responsible as one would hope.

Which brings us to this: the deaths happened 9 months apart and presumably he continued working before he was suspected of the crimes and was arrested. If you were one of his patients, wouldn’t you be glad right about now that he didn’t botch your operation and kill you? Actually, one or more of his patients could have died from “complications” but because people accept that brain surgery is high-risk, no one would have attributed it at the time to the mad coked-up doctor.

Which is kinda scary, if you think about it.

He’s the 28-year old vice-captain of the Australian cricket team. She’s a 22-year old model most famous for that widely-panned “Where The Bloody Hell Are You?” Australian tourism campaign (see above) and for cavorting with a married football player. They were engaged to be married.

Then a topless photo of her when she was 19 surfaced in the news, courtesy of Brendan Fevola, the married football player she was involved with at the time.

ABC Sport – Bingle sues Fevola over nude photo.

So in the midst of all this, Michael Clarke decided to leave the Australian cricket team which was due to play in New Zealand and flew back to Australia to deal with it. The engagement is now off.

SMH – Cracks showing long before Bingle debacle.

SMH – Innings over for Bingle and Clarke.

And here’s why he’s a dope. By up and leaving the Australian cricket team in a lurch, he’s basically shown to team management that he cannot be counted on to place the team as his top priority. He can kiss being captain of the team goodbye. Not to say that one should always place one’s career above family and relationships but it doesn’t exactly place confidence in his ability to focus on what he’s being paid a tremendous amount of money for.

So he’s jeapordised his career advancement for a woman whose problems are mostly brought on by herself. If it was an unfortunate accident or a family crisis which demanded that Michael be by Lara’s side then I’m sure most of us and Cricket Australia will understand. But this? Not so much. She’s a big distraction to him and the team.

If the Tiger Woods story did not hammer it down already, the fact is that as long as there’s rich and powerful men, there will always be women like Lara Bingle. If Michael Clarke likes the blonde leggy types, I’m sure there are a lot of them willing to throw themselves at him. Love? Please.

But the one thing that Michael Clarke is not a dope at is with protecting his assets. Although he’s bought her a $200,000 engagement ring and a $250,000 Aston Martin amongst other expensive gifts, his properties and financial assets are all in his own name.

Lara Bingle has ‘no claim’ on Michael Clarke’s millions – legal experts | Adelaide Now.

So Michael Clarke, for that you get a pass.

Is anyone really surprised that Tiger Woods cheated on his wife? Despite being a golfing prodigy and genius, and being very well paid for it, he’s still a guy. And there’s a universal truth about most guys and that is: if we think we can get away with it, the temptation of free, easy sex with a beautiful woman is very hard to resist.

This afternoon, Woods updated his website with a predictably emotionless non-response to the allegations that said only that he had “let his family down” and he “regrets those transgressions with all [his] heart.” Although it’s not the dictionary definition, ‘transgressions’ in this case means ‘banging random chicks’.

But is Woods really sorry? Absolutely. He’s sorry he got caught.

Tiger’s apology: A woman’s perspective – NBC Sports

What separates him from us mere mortals is that we don’t get approached by beautiful women all the time. Most of us would have to pay for that kind of attention and since we are not rich either, that reduces the opportunities and tempers down the temptation a lot.

Comedian Chris Rock undoubtedly put it best when he said, “A man is only as faithful as his options.” And few men have the sexual options of the most famous athletes in the world.

Some context on Tiger and his ‘transgressions’ is needed – washingtonpost.com

The line which Tiger Woods thought he wouldn’t cross? That probably became more and more blurry the more beautiful women that he interacts with, especially when these women are willing to sleep with him just like that. So, before he knows it he’s already crossed any kind of boundaries that he may have set for himself.

And this will continue to happen in general so long as there are women who are turned on by the mix of wealth, power and athleticism and who don’t care if the guy is already taken or not. But as long as the guy remains a good actor, or still hits a ball very well or remains effective as a politician, should we really be bothered? I think not, but it’s such good gossip, no?

You can’t make this shit up …

A would-be armed robber in Russia was attempting to rob a hairdresser but was overpowered by her Karate skills. She then hand-cuffed him to the storeroom radiator and was going to call the police but changed her mind. Instead, she fed him Viagra and raped him numerous times over the next four days.

When the hairdresser released him, he went to the hospital with a monster of a Viagra come-down (haha) and a torn frenelum – the part of the foreskin that connects to the head of the penis (OUCH!). He reported the matter to the police and when the hairdresser was also arrested,

“What a bastard,” Olga complained. “Yes, we had sex a couple of times. But I’ve bought him new jeans, gave him food and even gave him 1,000 roubles when he left.”

For his sake, I hope copious amounts of lubricant were used too. A torn penis is painful enough without the chafing.

Russian hairdresser turns stickup merchant into sex slave • The Register