I know rioters are roundly criticised for making judgements against the poor criminals (or those accused of criminal behaviour) but here is a follow up in the Canberra Times on my earlier post about the wisdom of letting a man accused of producing/using/disseminating child pornography out on bail.
My point? Some crimes should require a [...]

This is an interesting decision.
I know we are all about innocence until proven guilty but they found pictures of this guy with his daughter, presumably sufficiently dodgy as to warrant a mention. And the reason for bail is that his business will fail if he isn’t released.
Mr Lawton said [...]

Firstly, cat haters should stop reading now. You can hate cats on your own time – this is not a post which requires your attention or input.
I have tried to engage the RSPCA on this issue with no luck, despite an offer to pay the costs involved. So I am opening up [...]

The child molestation case against a local alleged kiddy-fiddler has been adjourned according to the Canberra Times.
I note the accused is out on bail.  
Can one of the legally informed hive minds provide any insight as to what kind of conditions allow a person facing more than 20 charges of molestation to be let out [...]

The Canberra Times reports that a Canberra woman has been fined $1,750 in relation to animal cruelty and neglect. 
Over a period of time the RSPCA sought to assist the woman to care for the animal appropriately, ultimately leading to a decision to take the dog from her. 
Seeing the pictures of the animal, its condition is [...]

The sentencing of the voracious viewer of child pornography Daniel Julian to periodic detention seems like a very light approach to letting the punishment fit the crime.
I am no expert in what contributes to recidivism for criminals and look forward to your thoughts on whether periodic detention is a deterrence or not?

A recent posting at the Supreme Court website makes for disturbing reading.
Apart from the horror of the case itself, a series of particularly brutal, incestuous sexual assaults, I was appalled by the transcripts of the cross examination of the brave victim.
The lawyer defending the perpetrator of these crimes accuses the young [...]

The Canberra Times reports of Canberra’s own Romeo and Juliet passing like ships in the night through our “justice” system.
I am not sure if readers are meant to thrill with the excitement at the idea of these star crossed lovers perhaps stealing an embrace before being brutally torn apart or whether we are meant to groan [...]

I understand one of the DIAC Deputy Secretary’s has left in rather a hurry.  
The cynic in me wonders if it is linked to the detainee protests and DIAC’s typical failure to manage the issue with minimal fuss but perhaps it represents an unusual “starting from the top” cut back in staffing?

Does anyone have any information on the planned swimming pool to be located at Majura? 
Interested to know if it will be a swimming pool for swimmers (ie: lap lanes) or more of a swimming “complex” with slides, whirlpools and the like. 
Also, if there is any information out there on when we can expect it [...]

The Productivity Commission recently released its draft reporton their Inquiry into a Long-term Disability Care and Support Scheme. 
Having now waded through the document, I was pleased to see the recognition that current disability funding (including in the ACT) is inadequate, inconsistently applied and in desperate need of reform. 
The proposed solution is a national [...]

On reading of the sacking of a federal public servant as a result of inappropriate use of departmental IT to view porn, I was intrigued that the search word of choice for one such incident was “knockers”.  
I am not (no, really – I’m not)  an on-line porn afficionado, but I reckon if I wanted [...]

One of my cats decided to improve my leather two seater couch by adding a generous puddle of urine to its bouquet. 
Cat wiss is notoriously difficult to remove so I am cutting my losses and using this as an excuse to get a new lounge. 
I’m having a bit of trouble finding someone who will come and [...]

Mitchell is not where you might expect to find heaven in a waffle cone, but that is exactly where I found it.
Pure Gelato is tucked away in this area of Canberra which the uninformed south siders (myself included) may consider a faux-Fyshwick.
As well as a dozen or so flavours available to [...]

At the risk of opening up the debate about whether cats are good or evil, I would like to thank the ACT firies who came out and got a puny little kitten out of the drain.  I was at a loss as to who to call on when I heard the kitten crying, so was [...]

If I am reading R. v. MALIZANI correctly, a young man guilty of an extremely nasty assault has been “sentenced” to six months imprisonment (suspended, of course). Not too surprising an outcome in Canberra, from what I can see.
In a case of violent assault, where the victim requires ongoing medical treatment and/or counselling to deal [...]

I was at the RSPCA yesterday to collect the latest addition to the family and saw that the development across the road from the centre is well underway.  I also noticed it is really, really close to the RSPCA. 
Don’t get me wrong – I love the RSPCA and support their work – but I don’t [...]

I was walking The Stafford last evening when I came across a group of Youths.  For some reason, their idea of How To Spend A Sunday Night was to gather at the local high school tennis courts in sub-zero temperatures, glued to a single glowing i-phone screen as the digits of one of the party flew across [...]

I love it when a charity makes eating too much sugary food a good thing.  
Registrations have opened for my favourite RSPCA fund raiser of all – Cupcake Day on 16 August 2010.  Rioters interested in registering can go to http://www.rspcacupcakeday.com.au/ to find out more. 
I will be spending the next few months perfecting my pupcake recipes and [...]

[ 1 June, 2010; ] Free coffee, free biscuits and snacks, free showbags, free pens, free notebooks, free plants, free keyring torches…  You get the idea.  There will be heaps of free samples and giveaways at the Australian Disability Enterprises Purchasing with Purpose Expo at the National Convention Centre from 10am to 4pm on Tuesday 1 June.

In addition to getting [...]

[ 1 June, 2010; ] From 10am to 4pm on 1 June, National Disability Services will be hosting a Trade Fair / Expo for Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) to showcase their goods and services.  The event is designed to raise awareness of how purchasing choices can improve employment opportunities for people with disability.  Some 600 ADEs employ more than 20,000 people with [...]

[ 18 June, 2010; 7:00 pm; ] A young Canberran with multiple disabilities is seeking to achieve a successful career in the sport of figure skating.  To help raise funds to support this dream, a Quiz Night will be held at the Phillip Canberra Southern Cross Club from 7.00pm on 18 June.

Joshua Gordon has risen above the challenges which he faces as [...]

I have developed an addiction. 
Something about the Hughes Bakery keeps me going back far more times than is really good for my waistline or my cholesterol levels.  I am prepared to run the gauntlet of lycra clad cyclists in order to reach the counter and place an order. 
I am even willing to weave my [...]

The Canberra Chronicle this week reported as news the euthanasia of a cat by the RSPCA.  Why was this considered newsworthy? 
Because a woman claimed she had wanted the cat.  She had taken the cat to the RSPCA and said that she wished to take the cat if the owner was not found.  Whether this [...]

BFF and I were entering the Belco Mall car park, pausing to collect a ticket, when we encountered the most serious case of road-overreaction I have ever experienced.  BFF paused for maybe one second to place the ticket in the sun visor, causing the driver of the car behind us to honk his horn and scream [...]

I popped in to the RSPCA today to get some medication for the kittens I am fostering.  While I was there I was surprised to see a kitten from a previous litter there.  I asked if he had not yet been adopted and the staff told me the person who adopted him had brought him [...]

The RSPCA reports another year of high numbers of cats and kittens being brought to them for care.  This happens every year and every year many of us wonder why people fail to have their pets de-sexed.   Cats are great pets but, if left to roam, they can and do kill native wildlife.  If a [...]

The Canberra Times reports yet another example of a local academic being done for “grooming” a child for sex.
The man in question is a pal of the girl’s father and apparently has already lost his own wife and son through his actions.  Kudos to the father for reporting this to the police rather than [...]

Is it just me, or are there more flies and less Christmas beetles and grasshoppers than there used to be?  If this is the case, why is it so?

I was disappointed to see yet another piss-weak “sentence” in relation to a conviction for animal cruelty. 
The CT reports (here: man-deserved-harsher-penalty-rspca) that Saron Youn has got off with community service and a good behaviour bond for neglecting his two dogs to a point where they were attempting to eat dirt in order to survive.  
Mr [...]

[Ed] Now with photos from the morning, but I had to leave early.

Here’s hoping the weather will improve for the annual RSPCA Pet’s Party which their website advises will be on this Saturday:
“On Saturday 31 October, RSPCA ACT will be hosting their annual party for pets.
Join us at 12 Kirkpatrick Street Weston from 11am [...]

I was at the Hughes shops this morning waiting for a shop to open and perusing the notice board as I did so.  Someone had pinned up a print-out of a person’s profile from an internet dating site, helpfully amending some of the particulars (eg: adding a few years to the age provided).  It made [...]