Blog Updates

Apologies for this rather slow burning blog: over 4 months since the last post. Contrary to the impression this creates, I have in fact been extremely busy.

Some of this work manifests itself in the development of this website. Recent additions include:

The Schapelle Corby FAQ: This is intended to be an easy to follow overview for those new to the case

People for Schapelle: December saw the organization of the global protest, and January saw the introduction of this section, intended as a showcase for people from across the world to demonstrate their support for Schapelle

Kerobokan, Schapelle's Conditions: This is being put together to show the world the squalor Schapelle has to survive in, on a daily basis. I am currently working on an initiative to illustrate this more graphically, although it is emotionally draining and hence is very slow work

The most time consuming project though has been a section I have called: "Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth" (PDF: right click and 'save as' to download). This essentially explores the various propositions with respect to the source of the marijuana itself. I have detailed the facts, the relationships between the relevant parties in both countries, and the impossible coincidences which we are supposed to believe. Importantly, I have externally referenced the contents throughout, to demonstrate the objectivity of the exercise. The outcome was exactly what I expected: the notion that Schapelle Corby had anything to do with drugs is absolutely ridiculous, particularly when viewed alongside the other possibilities.

Hopefully the wait for the next blog post won't be quite as long. Having said that, the list of projects seems to be growing almost on a daily basis.

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Celebrity Culture

As stated in an earlier post, one of the missions of this website is to raise awareness and recruit support. One channel for this will be via those with a highly visible public profile.

In modern society, celebrities are uniquely positioned. They can publicize and influence. By virtue of their position, they can make themselves into a significant force for change. However, they are also human, and as such are just as likely to be disturbed by the Schapelle Corby story as everyone else.

Over the coming months we will therefore be attempting to engender the support of a number of celebrities. I used the word 'attempt' because this is not straight forward. Celebs tend to be remote and inaccessible, and by necessity place barriers between themselves and the public. Letters do not get through to them, and when they do, they can easily be discarded simply through the sheer volume of correspondence they receive. Actually getting them to read a website such as this (for example) and think about a situation, is very very difficult.

Notwithstanding these issues, this is one of many channels which we will attempt to use. We will keep you posted!

Schapelle.Net is Born

Online media may be geeky and boring, but it does mean that creating a website is second nature. Hence, my first and most obvious step to support Schapelle was to create Schapelle.net.

The objectives of the site were clear enough from the start:
- Help take the story to others who might be prepared and positioned to help
- Arm visitors with some resources to help them to help her
- Present the information in a suitable manner for international visitors, rather than just Australians, most of whom have previously encountered the info via other means
- Ultimatey, to help others apply pressure upon all parties positioned to actually do something concrete to help get Schapelle home.

INDEPENDENCE
One aspect of the development which I was clear on from the start was independence. If the site is seen in any way to be connected to Schapelle, or her family or friends, it can, in theory at least, be used against her by the forces of evil.

For this reason, the site makes it absolutely clear that it is run from here in the UK, by someone who has never even met or spoken to those in Australia who are associated with Schapelle herself.

Those in Indonesia (or elsewhere) who don't like what I am doing will therefore need to come to terms with the facts:
- The site reflects reality: that is the show trial and the appalling cruelty of what they are doing to Schapelle
- If my research (which has been precise and diligent) leads me to feel strongly about this, the same will apply to a hell of a lot of other people too. People across the whole world will continue to view them in the same way as I do.
- The site itself is fundamentally a product of THEIR OWN actions: it would not exist if there wasn't a massive problem. If they don't like it therefore, they need to address the problem itself, and not seek to blame those like me, who simply react to it.

EVOLUTION
As with many websites, this one will not remain static. It will continue to be built as new resources become available for the campaign, and as it continues to be promoted. It is also not going to go away (unless something happens to me of course).

The next stage though is visibility. A website is useless unless it is seen. I will therefore be working to address this, and to ensure that the facts outlined within the site are exposed to as many people as possible.