Jerry_Atrick

Don't have to go insulting whores and hookers...

Thge Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) doesn't actually define the crime of murder, so it must be the common law definition, of which the mens rea (guilty mind, in modern times, the fault element) is intention to kill, intention to commit grievous bodily harm, or with reckless indifference to human life. Reckless indifference to human life is subjective (i.e. what was in the mind of the defendant, and not what a reasonable or normal person would think). And basically it means that she knew that her actions were likely/probably going to kill, she knew they were likely to kill, but she went ahead with her actions without necessarily the desire to kill them. I am no lawyer, let alone a prosecutor, but my guess is the prosecution provied beyond reasonable doubt to the jury that a) She had formed the intent either by the time she served the food, or by allowing it to continue to be eaten, during them eating the food (although that could be an interesting ground for appeal); or that she knew the mushrooms were death cap mushrooms and that she intended to serve the mushrooms to those members of the family she killed/attempted to kill, knowing they were likely to cause death, even though, say, she only wanted it to be the most delicious beef wellington they ever tasted. The jury, after examining the evidence would have to form the conclusion beyond reasonable doubt, that either of the two fault elements existed. I read there was an assertion she served herself and others of her family at the dinner a differently made beef wellington, and if that was true, that may well be some of the evindence that she intended to kill or was at least reckless to their lives. Also, remember, that any od the defences that she has available to her, only have to be proved on the balance of probabilities. In some of the NSW criminal cases we looked at, there were very lengthy directions to the jury, augmented with writeen directions. This may work in the defence's favour, because in such a long summation/direction, can result is some mistakes creeping in. If they are big enough, a mistrial will be delcared and the thing has to happen all over again. The facts of this case, from what I have read, would make it a complex case to prove, more than weakness of evidence per se. There appears to be little doubt of the act itself; the problem would be proving the requisite mens rea/guilty mind/fault element because of the subjective nature that is defined for murder.

In fact, I will ge priority boarding as they want me out of the UK ASAP wearing that stuff.

I wasn't referring to Joe. In fact, I hadn't been to the US during Joe's administration.. The US immigration has always had a bad reputation and have many times turned people back over the years for minor concerns, sometimes political. If you were white South African before the dismantling of apartheid, it was a lottery whether you would get in or not (that wasn't limited to the USA, though, in fairness).

If they have attributed it to me form my phone, doubtful.. But I wonder if that wouldn't be the case previously? The difference is I may just get turnd around and put on the next flight to whence I came, rather than a prison sonmewhere.

That is the key.. Most of the sensationalistic press will cause a furey when some seemingly guilty person gets off, and blame the weak or liberal judiciary. However, for most indictable offences, it is the jury - 12 ordinary people - that decide. In terms of appeals, it is rare, but not unheard of that an appeals court will overrule a jury, unless the conclusion they came to was mainfestly perverse. It is usually only limited to an application of the law itself by the judge, in which case an acquital may be provided by the appeals court if the verdict was guitly. If the prosecution brought the appeal on a misapplication of the law, or the appeal was brought on a judges misdirection to the jury and the appeal is successful, a mistrial will be declared and the accused will normally be re-tried, unless the prosecution consider it a waste of time.

This doesn't deserve a thread on its own, so plonking it there. Erin Patterson has been found guilty of all charges relating to meuder/attempted murder with the deat-cap mushroom-laced beef wellington. The Age though has writen she reacted emotionless, but they have a video showing her reacting quite emotionally: https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_1.575%2C$multiply_0.6058%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_auto:eco%2Cf_mp4/fc021d72c05eed7324d99f3f0b69a4e584bfa7d8e0e39cfc6dfd195f5b8dbfdb No doubt, sentencing will be a month or so away, but I can't see her coming out too soon.

What an incredible fella! RIP

In my first 5 years hee, I reckon I had spent at least half of it in the USA, working as a "consultant". I wasn't an illegal immigrant as I came back to the UK at least every three months - often shorter periods. But about half of the work I was assigned to was in the USA. It is obviously now different to what it was, but I think the core is the same. Lots of guns, huge disparoty between the haves and the have nots. I don't have the numbers, but I would say the middle class has probably contracted in terms of standard of living and more are in the struggling, if not lower socio-economic class. Despite all the guns and all the mass shootings, etc. I genuinely didn't feel more threatened than in some parts of Australia. I remember stopping at Goondiwindi and thinking better of going out for a walk in the town on a Saturday night. I have been chased for no apparent reason down Chapel Street, Prahran. Melbourne has its fair share of organised crime murders, and sadly, it would seem it is heading the same way as the US in terms of the mental instability and criminal behaviour (tobacco wars, machetes, etc). The areas I stayed for consulting or visiting our local offices were Bismarck, North Daktota (great place - could move there); Philadelphia PA (that was not a nice place - unlike every other city I have been to, there were no real safe areas); Pittsburgh, PA (very safe); Three Mile Island, PA (stayed in Harrisburgh - quite literally the most boring place on earth - sucked the air out one's lungs; then visited Hershey of Hersey Chocolates.. second most boring place on earth); New York; Omaha NB; San Francsico, CA; San Diego CA; Portland, OR; and Dallas TX. Of those, I have flown GA from Dallas, Mandan (sister town of Bismarck); and Palo Alto. I have taken long drives in the US - from Las Vegas (never ever will I go there again) to San Francisco; From Buffalo NY to New Yorlk via Boston. Although it was clear there were problem areas, with the exception of Pholadelphia, it was similar to Australia in that you could see where to and where not to go, and you steered clear from trouble. Of course, it is on a magnitude higher than Aus, but the point is I didn't have a problem walking aroung Times Square at all hours - I even broke up a fight in a bar at some ungodly hour - and I am 5'7" and then weighed about 65kg.. Also, the Americans at home, are generally really nice people and not the loud mouth tourist stereotype. They are very friendly, warm and welcoming; they are generous (when they can be), and show a genuine interest in what is utlimately alien to them. If the percentage of nutters is roughly the same as Australia, yeah, there are more nutters, but they are also spread out over a much larger inhabitable area than Aus. But, I have a firend in the USA who has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. I want to go and visit him, but I have to be honest, although I am not too worried about the possibility of being locked up, I can't be arsed dealing with the elevated nastiness, which was already a trait of the US immgration service. He is currently at early stages so no rush at the moment, but he has been hassling me to comr over for a few years.. I should have taken the opportunity before Chump was elected. The USA is such an enignma at all levels.. I do love going there.. far better than many other parts of the world..

And I thought it was the wedding annversary the (don't like to) celebrate for the same reason.

Yes, one not from the shop of W o l f i e 😉 His cheap wines are quaffable, but his other cheap stuff....

Ahh.. so that is how they solved the feral cat problem.

Sh, Nev.. you forgot Sh... :-)

About a year or so before COVID locldowns, my Beagle was diagnosed with stomach cancer.. I was very attached to him, and we ensured his remaining days were as comfortable as they could be. Little fella never ate so well.. I knew it was time to come when he struggled to get up and peed his own bed. You could see the indignat look in his eyes. So, I took him to the vet.. We talked through the options as it was very distressing. In the end, I asked him if the dog was his, what would he do. He basically said the dog was in pain, not eating, and not really mobile. It is a day that I wish I never had to live, but at the same time, he gave us all 13 years of joy and unbelievable loyalty. We got a workign cocker spaniel during COVID lockdown. I didn't want another dog at the time, as the memory of the beagle was still raw. He was going to the my partner's dog, and she did a great job of training him. Butm he has bonded with me and won't leave my side when I am at home. Looks like another English immigrant will be winging its way to Australia.

Care to name the offender.. there was a lot of disinformation about the key players in the saga I am thinking about.. The Aussie Human Rights Commission basically said nothing to answer to.. Despite this, the club decided to pay up anyway

Sorry mate.. that's all I can say

Jeepers. that is a bit dark.. did he cause grief in your life?

I saw an article that Chump's approval rating had improved significantly afte the Iran bombings, but can't find it. Most say it is the same, improved a little but still negative. Personally, I think he is doing a better job than he was.. not because of the middle east, and definitely not because of Ukraine, nor really, any of what he is doing. But any president who drops the F Bomb like he did rises, in this case, only very slightly, in my estimation. Still quite low, but, he was talking about Carlton, after all..

Yep.. Same with large/mega projects around the world - both public and privately run. Just looik at Hinkly Point C, which is run by EDF: https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/hinkley-point-c-could-go-28bn-over-budget-as-edf-predicts-further-delays/ That is a private company, too, although majority owned by the French government. There are big winners in those projects and big losers - the losers are the taxpayer/consumer.

I have had to do something I haven't had to do for a long time.. water our outdoor pot plants.. One I think was too thirsty for too long; the others were looking wilty, but OK... I can't recall the last time I watered an outdoor pot plant - with no losses to pot plants yet.

When I moved from nuclear/energy to banking, I got a contract in wholesale credit risk projects. On my induction, the global head of credit, who had a balance sheet bigger than Australia's GDP, said that they don't want to lend to those who need it and bust a gut to lend to those that don't. And yes, when they have large exposures to a corporation that turns sour, it is their problem, not the corporations. And their recovery team works hard to see their teetering client can stay afloat well before drawing the curtains on them.

'Twas a tongue in cheek comment (hence the emoji). I have spent a lot of time in Europe on client sites at nuclear facilities, so they tend not to be in the glitzy, glamorous part of town. And like you, especially when working, I mix with the locals. And over both Western and central/Eastern European countries, apart from the old buildings, many of which are designed for their climate pre-heating/airconditioning times, and therefore are more environmentally friendly. I don't recall much more dog poop than in streets of Melbourne. Europe not cheap? Are you having a laugh? Maybe for the Aussue $ it isn't. but Australia is definitely not cheap, either. Last time I was in Aus (2018), I was aghast at the prices.. $4 for a loaf of bread (Tip Top's the one). Warbutons (equivalent main brand) was, at the time, about £1. 500ml soft drink at the servo was about $5, whereas here it was about $1.30 at the time. I am telling my family that they had better get used to less material things and treats on the move to Aus. And Europe in general is cheaper than the UK.. however, you can't generalise. Nordic countries are a lot more expensive, at least on food and drink. And western European countries are generally more expensive than Eastern European countries within the EU, let alone those outside the EU, with Solvenia being the notable exception. So, it depends on where in Europe you are. As to cleanliness, I find that also depends as well. You would be surprised at how clean some of the Eastern and Central European places are. Our family holidays tend to be in Cyrprus, and yeah, they do have a problem with their rubbish in that it is just piled in these massive wheelie bins and in holiday season at holiday hotspots is often overflowing.

While the west argues about whether or not to adopt EVs, often with the facts distorted by those with vested interests, China just gets on with it with few problems and a vision. We say the US dynasty is in its dying throes, but I can't help it is the western cultural and political system that is.

You are kiddign me.. Got a link?