HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-03-03, Page 5International Scene
y Raymond Canon
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 1993. PAGE 5.
You have to
wonder about
our legal system
The worse the society, the more law
there will be. In Hell, there will be
nothing but law, and due process will be
meticulously observed.
Grant Gilmore
The law is a ass, a idiot.
Charles Dickens
You have to wonder about our legal
system sometimes. Such as when it pops a
repeat sexual psychopath and convicted
child molester like Joseph Fredericks back
on the street, just in time for him to abduct,
rape, torture and strangle a 12-year-old boy.
Such as when it wastes several days of
court time and who knows how many
thousands of dollars examining a beer
spitting spat between an oafish 19-year-old
hockey player and a bar waitress.
Not that Canadian courts of law have a
corner on jurisprudential jerkishness. Just
cast your eyes on courtrooms south of the
border, where an arch thief like Michael
Milken can bilk the American people of
billions of dollars by peddling junk bonds.
He gets 10 years, but escapes with a 22-
month sentence and a few hundred hours of
'community work'.
The American legal system put
How safe
is
air travel?
I am forever hearing statements of the
likes of the assertion that, if God had meant
us to fly he would have given us wings. As
often as not, I am asked by the same people
making these assertions just how safe air
travel is, assuming, I presume, that I am an
infallible expert on this subject. Once they
have my assurances, they will immediately
rush to the nearest travel agent to buy a
ticket to Ouagadougou, Lumbumbashi or
some other exotic spot which caters to
tourists and has a hot climate precisely,
when the temperature here is dwelling in the
minus zero range.
Well, since you have been waiting for my
reassurances, here they are. There is a great
deal of truth in the statement that the most
dangerous part of any flight is the trip to the
airport. "You are jesting," you will say. Not
at all! The last time I looked, the safety
factor was six-fold. In short, you are six
times more likely to get into an accident
which will have your life come to an
untimely end when you are driving to and
from the airport than you will be flying in a
commercial jet.
What makes this seem a bit hard to believe
is that, when aircraft crash, they usually take
a lot of people with them. The crash is, to
put it mildly, spectacular and gets a great
deal of publicity in the media. Car accidents
are frequent and everywhere on the map;
many of them are not even reported
elsewhere than in the vicinity of the fatality.
However, when you add them up, they give
you the odds which I quoted above.
televangelical fraud Jimmy Bakker away for
45 years, four years go. Last month,
Bakker's lawyers said that he might be
eligible for parole next year.
Go figure.
And while you're at it, go figure the
treatment Terry Anderson's getting from the
U.S. legal system. You remember Terry
Anderson — the sad-eyed, bearded pawn in
the Middle East war, captured by Hezbollah
fanatics, beaten, chained to radiators,
threatened, held hostage for longer than
Mike Milken and Jimmy Bakker put
together?
Well Anderson's free now, trying to put
his life back together. He intends to write a
book about his experience as a hostage, so
he wrote to the U.S. government for
background information on the thugs who'd
held him captive.
No dice.
So far, Anderson's request has been turned
down by eight different U.S. federal
agencies — on the recommendation of their
legal advisors.
Why can't Terry Anderson get access to
information on the criminals who so grossly
and publicly violated his civil rights for so
long? Well, according to the U.S.
Department of Justice, that would be
violating the privacy rights of the terrorists.
Not that the Justice Department slams the
door entirely. Anderson's been informed that
they'll gladly provide the information he
seeks.
Safety on the airlines is even improving
over what it was. One of the main reasons
for this is due to the improved efficiency of
the engines. I make it my business to know
about this since the only time I had a forced
landing during my flying days was when my
engine quit on me. It was quite a shock to
realize that I was up in the sky with no
engine and, when it refused to start again,
my main task was to take all the proper
precautions and find a suitable field in which
to land. Fortunately for me, one presented
itself but you can believe that after that, I
paid special attention to the engine dials
when I was waiting to take off, not to
mention when I was in the air.
Jet engines have become so safe these
days you may have noticed commercial jets
are now allowed to fly over the Atlantic with
just two engines. It never used to be that
way; most planes had four but three was a
minimum. Now two-engined jets are the
norm and I can't remember the last time I
heard of one stopping.
There are also back-up systems which
mean, that if one system fails while the
aircraft is in flight, another is ready to make
over. Thus you do not have to worry about
the flaps refusing to work or the elevators
getting stuck. The safety rate is not 100 per
cent but it is close.
I recall that at one time, one safety feature
was introduced but somehow it frightened
passengers more than reassured them. The
plan in question was a British one which I
flew one time from London to Amsterdam.
It had the seats facing backward instead of
forward; in case of a crash you would be
protected better. The passengers did not look
at it that way; they reasoned that, if the seats
were faced that way, there must be
something inherently wrong with the plan
that the designers were not telling them and
so they stayed away from it in droves. It
Just as soon as he supplies notarized
personal privacy waivers signed by each of
the terrorists who held him prisoner,
including their full names and present
addresses.
Said Anderson: "I just find it kind of
strange that the U.S. Department of Justice
wants to protect the privacy of members of
the Hezbollah."
On the other side of the ledger, there is the
story of Dejon Dickson, an auto thief in
Palm Springs, California. Dickson was out
looking for work (i.e. parked cars with a key
in the ignition) when police officer Greg
Jackson cruised by. Jackson saw Dickson,
Dickson saw Jackson. Dickson took off
through a park on foot.
Small problem: Dejon Dickson was
young, lean and fast. Officer Jackson? Well,
after 16 years of squad cars and donuts he
was ... less lean and fast. He knew he'd never
catch the fleet-footed Dickson by running
after him.
Officer Jackson reached for the patrol car
speaker, flipped it on and boomed "STOP —
OR I'LL SEND THE DOG!"
And after a tasteful pause, Officer Jackson
added in his best basso-profundo: "WOOF!
WOOF! WOOF!"
Dejon Dickson skidded to a stop with his
hands in the air.
Ah, me. It's a good job they're still making
dumb crooks. It helps to make up for all the
smart ones who are laughing all the way to
the Half Way House.
wasn't long until all the seats were facing the
way they are today — forward.
One question I get asked is whether the
jumbo jets are as safe as the smaller ones.
Again the answer is yes. To be a bit more
specific, the Boeing 747, the largest version
of which can fly 13,200 kilometers (8,200
miles) non-stop, and seat up to 420
passengers, is as safe as anything in the sky.
I am told by pilots it is relatively easy to fly
compared with other jets. The question is
whether you can make a safe, big plane any
bigger without sacrificing some of its safety.
All indications are that it can be done.
There are construction methods which would
negate any threat of increased metal fatigue.
As I indicated above, engines are
increasingly more reliable and have long ago
passed the 50,000 lbs. thrust range without
any loss of reliability. The only problem
appears to be whether or not such an aircraft
can fit into today's airports. Right now the
answer is no.
But all this is in the realm of conjecture.
Some of you may be thinking more in the
present like whether to take your first flight.
For me the most disagreeable thing is not the
potential danger, it is the crowded conditions
which tend to prevail on the main air routes.
I have literally lost count of the number of
times I have flown the Atlantic but I cannot
forget the cramped feeling I have when
sitting next to a linebacker from some pro
football team or a sumo wrestler.
Letter to the editor
THE EDITOR,
I wish to commend the village workers for
the fine job that I feel they have done on
keeping the roads and sidewalks cleared of
snow this winter. I especially appreciate the
speedy removal of the snowbanks on the
main street after every heavy snowfall.
Thanks again.
Arlene Wood
Blyth Mini-Mart.
The
Short
of it
y Bonnie Gropp
Bye, Bye, Brian
If I hadn't known better I would have
sworn this past week the holidays were upon
us, and I don't mean summer ones either. For
all intents and purposes the feeling of the
festive season was around me.
Firstly, it looked like Christmas. The area
was transformed to a crisp clean white
wonderland with lights dancing under
clumps of sparkling snow. It was a picture
we anticipate with glee in late December
but one many of us would like to begin
erasing come late February.
Secondly, there were glad tidings when
Eric Clapton, whom I have known since the
latter part of the 60's is an incomparable
talent, was fmally recognized as such at the
Grammies, an academy which has in the past
had a tendency to overlook class acts for
groups more likely to have acted up in_class.
Season's greetings came by way of
Dunedin, Florida as talk of the Blue Jays
spring training took its spot in the sports
news, reminding us that the hazy days of
summer are on the horizon.
And finally, a gift with the resignation of
Brian Mulroney. Didn't you just love his
smooth as snake skin comment about how a
good leader knows when it's time to step
down? You don't suppose even someone as
arrogant as himself would see the likelihood
that he couldn't possibly lead his party
successfully through another election?
Therein lies the down side of this
otherwise promising occurrence, because at
the same time in which the country has
finally rid itself of the man who has pulled it
down to lows we could never have imagined
years ago, we will now be presented with a
new face at the helm of the party that
followed him, a party that, with perhaps a
few exceptions, failed to listen to the
concerns of the people, failed to see the
needs and most importantly failed to work
for us.
That we are well rid of the man is not the
question, but will we be rid of the party?
Faced with the alternate choices we have to
lead this country, the right face atop the
Tories may be all they need to guarantee our
memories are shortened. After all, it has
happened before. The right face can have the
ability of making you believe that this time
things will be different. The right face may
give us a hope we haven't felt in a long time.
The right face could make us believe in our
future and ourselves.
But let's remember that under the right
face will be many of the same "suits", which
is what will make the decision difficult for
Canadians come elections. Will we vote for
leaders we honestly do not have conviction
in, or be given a strong leader but be uneasy
about the party they front?
Personally, I'm inclined to believe that
fresh ideas and views are needed. It's time
for a new government to lead Canada, just as
the people of the United States recognized a
change was needed. I just wish we had the
option they were given.
What can you say about a country that
can't seem to come up with a confident
leader, yet one who also displays integrity
and compassion for the people they
represent? If we all voted none of the above,
what would happen?
It will be interesting to see whom the
Tories nominate. Will the person they
choose be strong enough to fix things, yet
charismatic enough to make us forgive past
sins? Will it be someone who can restore our
country's lost faith or just another body
following a party mandate with little thought
to what the people want?
Anyway, to Brian I say 'Good riddance'
and may the only thing you shovel now be
snow.
Arthur Black