Journalists, Lawyer Confused

Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews tries to explain to the media how the law works, lest their confusion continue:

Mr Andrews said it was important to remember much less evidence was required to cancel a work visa than to make terrorism charges stick. "The test I have had to apply as Minister for Immigration pursuant to the Migration legislation is a different test," Mr Andrews said. "It goes to the formation of a reasonable suspicion of association with a person or persons engaged or having been engaged in criminal conduct."

Dr Haneef in his record of interview has already admitted his cousin is Sabeel Ahmed, who has been charged under the Terrorism Act in Britain in connection with the failed bomb plots. This raises the possibility that the cancellation of the visa might remain in place.

See, Journalists, com-pli-cat-ed.

Not.

Meanwhile, terror suspect Haneef's increasingly pugnacious lawyer admits he's similarly confused:

Dr Haneef's solicitor Peter Russo last night said his client should have had his visa restored immediately. "It's frustrating that the minister can't seem to be able to make a decision that everybody else in Australia has been able to come to," Mr Russo said. "It's just a bit confusing."

Russo is a partner in 'Australia's Largest Criminal Law Firm', Brisbane's Ryan and Bosscher Lawyers which absorbed Russo Lawyers in 2005. Their (not updated since 2005) About Us web page currently yells:

"CRIMINAL LAW IS ALL WE KNOW …."

Ah, this being a matter of immigration law, that explains Russo's confusion.

But, of course, Russo isn't really confused. Used to manipulating a mere 12 dumb members of the public while defending bikies, drug pushers, gangsters, killers and rapists in court, he has stepped skilfully to the plate to defend Haneef in front of the entire nation.

His suggestion that Andrews should simply acquiesce to the mood of the mob is a ploy to make his opponant look weak and apparently vindicate his client should the Immigration Minister, having taken advice, restore Haneef's visa.

Russo and his partners should do very well, thank you, out of this case, win or lose.

Still, criminal lawyers always do do well, don't they? As the joke goes, one's clients are innocent until proven broke.

-- Nick

Postscript: One was going to suggest that surely Ryan and Bosscher Lawyers could afford to pay to update their web pages more often until noticing in the URL of their About Us page that they use the SnapCMS content management system that permits in-house updating.

Their clients must be relieved that R&L are more efficient at criminal law than seeing to web updates. Perhaps the partners could get one of the secretaries to read the SnapCMS manual and refresh their content.

While they're at it, they could also spring for a copy of Photoshop and a half-day course for the junior tasked with the job of maintaining the site.

The profile page photo of Russo is a 4Mb, 300dpi, 2100 pixel by 3150 pixel file, probably straight out of the Nikon D70 that shot it back in 2005. Don't bother clicking on the link unless you're willing to wait over a minute for the picture to download even on broadband.

Yet it's the work of only a minute to resample and crop the photo to the intended display size of 137px wide by 240px high at 96dpi and reduce the file size to a slim 27.77Kb with a download speed of a mere 11 seconds even on 28.8Kbps dial-up.

After all, viewing their website is free; it's not like they're charging by the minute.

And, speaking of 'slim', one notes that the coded display size of the photo (137px x 240px) is, in fact, disproportionate compared to the source file. It should be 137px x 206px.

Increasing the display height has the effect of thinning the portly Pete of 2005, thus making a photo manipulation program a weight loss program too.

Accidental? I think not, M'Lud...

/webgeek