the rule of law

This seems to be a part time thing here in Australia. Certainly it is applied in ways which raise questions in the mind of anyone rational.

Take for instance this case of a well heeled driver (in a Ferrari) who crosses double white lines and causes grievous harm to a motorcycle rider:

Mr Hosemans' vertebrae, sternum and right femur were fractured and he suffered a collapsed lung and ruptured bowel.

He was rushed to The Alfred hospital where he was put into an induced coma while doctors tried to flush out the toxins flowing through his bloodstream from his ruptured bowel.
"My kids came in, saw me hooked up to all the machines and were told there was no certainty I going to make it," he said.

With the driver of the Ferrari gets to make no apology to the rider, does not loose his licence and is otherwise unpunished

sound fair?

Now if it had been some lowly citizen hitting a Ferrari I bet it would not be like this

Police as bullies

One of the things in Australia I don't get is why the people put up with the fact that many police are just bullies. Some go further than this and are plainly something else (as the cowardly shooting of a fellow armed with a butter knife in Armidale NSW demonstrates)

This morning on ABC radio I heard yet another reminder that Police are still following old habbits in Gold Coast.

A listener wrote in to report that he had been given a ticket for failing to stop at a red light while he was walking his bicycle across a pedestrian crossing. Further he was given a note reportedly saying "Happy Halloweeen" and warning him to "Don't consider taking this to court as there were three of us in the car".

While talking about this issue in the office one of my co-workers brought up this item, where Police forced a kid to let his tyres down and walk home for riding without a helmet.

The police response to this was:

Queensland police said officers used their discretion to deal with the situation in the manner they thought was most appropriate.

'By taking this course of action, rather than issuing an infringement notice and $100 penalty, they avoided a repetition of the offence, and possible injury to the juvenile,' police said in a statement.

classic ... so they have such pathetic imaginations that they could not consider any other options? Such as dropping him home to his parents house and cautioning him before his parents?

Instead they essentially stranded him.

I suppose they didn't beat him up, as happened on the Gold Coast back in the 90's ... so things are improving ...

Despite multiple investigations into Police behavior and (probably) a majority of Police doing the right thing, this soft of mess happens way way too often. The senior responsible people need to realise that public confidence in the Police is essential to our society. Police themselves are the only people who can instill this and maintain it.

This trust and confidence must be built and must be built on truth and openness ... not just propaganda campaigns.