The time is fast approaching when the convicted Bali Bombers — Mukhlas, Amrozi and Imam Samudra will be executed by firing Squad.

These 3 men commited a horrific crime.  In 2002 their attacks killed 202 people, including 88 Australians at a Bali night club.

Even though they have been imprisoned and exhausted their right of appeal, they still hold celebrity status. Holding media conferrences, interviews etc.  Tauting their beliefs with no regret at what they have done, the pain they have caused and stating they would do it again.

Through their faith they believe, they will become martyrs, and live on in heaven.

However even with all this, even with their lack of remorse and lack of respect regardling others right to live with dignity,

I am still in 2 minds regarding their execution.

I hold no sympathy at all for them, they are the lowest forms of life on earth, however I am thinking they are getting out of this quite easily.  Yes death is the easy way out and for them it is a reward not a punishment, given what they believe they will gain by it.

I have always been against the death penalty, not seeing any benefit for society in killing another human being and quite frankly there is plenty of things in this world far worse than death.

One thing which has bothered me; ‘is why the media continue to report the tripe emminating from these sick individuals mouths?’ It is to say the least perpetuating their celebrity status amongst their peers, spreading an ideolgy which is of no benefit to any person on this planet and results in their becoming role models for other sick individuals.

If they were placed in a prison cell such as The Bay, with no access to any human contact for the rest of their lives, surely this would be a far greater punishment than death. If they were forced to suffer in their cells, and endure a lifetime of mundane boredom, with no contact, no entertainment, no human rights at all this would be far worse than death and would rather than send them to an eliteness amongst their peers, be a shameful reminder of what awaits people who commit such disgusting crimes on others.

I fear their death will only elevate them to a level of martyr and continue the myth of this is how you get there.

I wonder if God which ever faith she is had this in mind when she gave Religion to the masses.  I seriously think not.

There are not to many things which will have me sitting in front on the Television for the majority of the day.  However Yesterday was my one day of the year in which my bum remains firmly planted on the lounge and I move for no man.

Yes it was the 2008 Bathurst V8 Supercars. 161 laps around a mountain on a street road, not a race track.  I have driven this road and I tell you parts are not for the faint hearted. Starting at 10.30 am and finishing around 5pm, a full days viewing, but the weekend is full with celebrity races, time trials, practise sessons and all things racing.

Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup won, with this win being the third consecutive for Lowndes…and dare I say FORD…

The standard Holden / Ford rivalry is still as strong as ever. Although I never really got it and still dont, it is fun to watch, as the fans attempt to out do each other as soon as the camera was on them. I guess there is a Showman in all of us, or maybe it was beer….

Every Year I watch, I plant myself on the lounge with coffee in hand, a smoke close by and wait for start, and was not disappointed as Garth Tanders car stalled on the start line, then he was hit with a 10 sec penalty for jumping the start… well his race is over.  Cars going everywhere to avoid a collision and thankfully all was fine. The first 70 laps which followed were boardering on boring, if it hadnt of been for the dog fights in lower placing one could have been forgiven for thinking all was done, no safety car, no crashes, no nothing, everything was going extremely nicely with vehicles entering and exiting pit lane, no mahem just a nice smooth race.

And then it happened around lap number 75, a minor crash, then the tyres began to delaminate, break up, cut etc… something on the track or a bad batch no one is too sure what, but the rate of tyre loss was amazing.

The smashes, fuel issues, all soon followed and what had begun as a almost mundane race suddenly had some excitement.

No one likes to see any drivers get hurt, the cars are built to such standards that they thankfully rarely are, but I reckon the majority of fans watch for the smashes.

The sales of the DVD Bathurst greatest crashes should be testimony to that fact….

For a hint of why we love our V8 Supercars and why this race holds such prestige, check out the Videos below. The first the Start of the great Race and the Second is one of the worst crashes in a few years at the mountain.  Thankfully both drivers at this stage will be fine.

Next year try and join in the fun, but do you lvoe these adrenalin sports or is all a bit much for you?

Do tell!

 

 Bathrust 2008 - Start: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Paul Weel Vs Chris Pither Crash at Bathrust 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If your skin is a peachy white, pale and probably full of freckles like mine, you possibly would look at those tan, bronzed lucky folks out there whose skin is beautifully tanned, whom can go outside with minimum fuss and bother and just turn a bright shade of green.

Personally I go outside on a hot sunny day look at the sun, and bingo I start to burn. Turning from white to pink to red and everyshade inbetween with extreme ease, only to not realise how burnt I am as I weed the garden, or even somedays just hang out the washing, God forbid I have a day at the beach and then suffer for days afterwards, only to revert back to my original white pastie colouring with no sign of tan anywhere. These days to spend anytime out of doors I must wear long sleeved shirts and long pants, I burn that easily. It really isnt worth the bother.

Something which many people have been take advantage of, is Solarium Tanning Beds. Believing them to be much safer than sunbathing to achieve that tan look.  The problem is not the tan itself it is how a tan is made,and the UV used to achieve it. The fact is to acheive a tan, your skin needs to be cooked. Yes that is right you are cooking yourself, your bodies largest organ is being cooked, baked to a crisp. HMM YUM CRACKLING!

A recent study has been released following the death from skin cancer of a young 26 year old woman Clare Oliver in Sydney and her campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of tanning beds.

from  ABC News:

‘The Cancer Council says new research suggesting tanning beds might be linked to 43 deaths in Australia every year, backs up the case for tougher regulation of the industry.

A team at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research has used a British mathematical model to estimate the number of skin cancers that are linked to the use of sun beds.

It found there were 281 cases a year, with 43 melanoma-related deaths attributed to tanning beds.

Cancer Council chief Ian Olver says it is time for national regulations that ban or strictly limit access to tanning beds, especially for people under 18 and those with fair skin.

“These are the people that should be warned that it’s particularly dangerously and they’re the people that should be stopped using them,” he said.”

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These things have been around for many years, I saw my first tanning bed as a young child and found them intriguing, but a little scary. Thankfully I have never been tempted to the dark side and made use of them.  I seriously doubt it would be doing my skin any favours.

Given the latest research and the number of deaths attributed too the use of Tanning Beds, I am wondering why their use is not either regulated, strict warnings on their use put in place or totally banned from use.

Skin cancer kills so many people not just in Australia but on a global front and given the rise in natural cases from exposure to the sun, do we really need these added factors.

Perhaps it is more about changing our perception of what looks good, what is a healthy glow and what is a sexy look or maybe it is time to be happy in our skin and stop putting so much importance on our outward appearance in this regard?