SELF DEFENCE

It's a shame Tim Blair isn't in Oz right now, he really should be the one commenting on this little piece of idiocy:

Two peace activists claim a jury should have been told they had acted in self defence when they painted an anti-war slogan on the Sydney Opera House, a court was told today.

David Burgess, 33, and Will Saunders, 42 - convicted of malicious damage last year - today appealed their convictions and sentences in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.

The men were sentenced to nine months' periodic detention after painting 'No War' on the tallest sail of the Sydney Opera House on March 18 last year as Australia prepared to invade Iraq. ...

During the trial, but in the absence of the jury, lawyers for Burgess and Saunders argued the men painted the slogan on the Opera House in order to defend the lives of those who would die in the war in Iraq.

The judge hasn't ruled yet, and I can't see any reasonable judge accepting a 'self defence' plea.

For those who can't spot the stupidity of this, the protestors were:
(a) worried about those who would die in Iraq
(b) living safely in Sydney