Queensland Anti-Bikie Laws are Challenged

The Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, is carrying out a "pet" policy that appears to be solely his own. Remember, John Howard and Kevin Rudd were shown the door by voters for pushing out pet policies, ignoring advice from cabinet. Campbell Newman thinks voters will thank him at the next state poll for clamping down on the freedom of bikies.

Under the new rules police are hounding bikes out of the state. This is forcing police in those states to take action as well. It is certainly contagious. Freedom of association has clearly been limited and the laws don't make any sense. If each of two brothers belong to two different bikie clubs they cannot associate socially. This is a restriction of human rights.

The government is interfering in the freedom of the judicial system. Judges have criticized the new laws. Severe language is used in the legislation. An Offence are named "Vicious Lawless Association". Furthermore, a "defendant" has to prove his innocence, not be proven guilty.

The government has written the laws so a minister can expand a law at his own whim. This is very bad government, dictatorial even. Vicious Lawless Association carries a mandatory penalty of 10 years in prison. Members of bikie clubs in other states have been arrested and charged while on vacation in Queensland. The legislation can be expanded to cover workplace, sporting and recreational clubs, including political parties that a government wants to suppress.

Stefan Kuczborski a member of Hells Angels had lodged a High Court challenge against the freedom of association restriction.  A woman has been arrested for going with her husband because she was dressed in bikie gear. The main target of the legal challenge is that the government has broken the constitutional code of separation of powers by making judges bring down mandatory sentences.

In Australia constitutional challenges are won and lost by the political bias of judges on the panel who are appointed by changing federal governments. Decisions tend to be very close with split outcomes possible. The fear is that the legislation is implicitly supported by both leading political parties and this will sway the decision of High Court judges.
Politics by Ty Buchanan

Dog in Human World

"This is how humans see the world."
Funny Animal Photos by Ty Buchanan
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Give that Kat His Codeine Man!

People are throwing tantrums about being refused addictive pills from pharmacists. This comes at a time when the federal government is setting up a system of "policing" morphine based medications. If patients are frustrated by over the counter tablets what are they going to do when refused prescriptions?

Codeine is the drug of choice for most. Because it is freely available and not officially restricted one can understand the frustration when a sale is refused. It is not much use for pharmacists to call police. Giving people police records is going to make them more antisocial.

Telling people not to use Nurofen Plus for a headache is stupid. The public thinks, "Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot take?" - and rightly so! Pharmacists are not trained to deal with the public. They only learn chemistry, mostly irrelevant at that in today's prepacked world.

Monitoring purchases is a silly idea. It is another layer of costly bureaucracy that the public must pay for. If they are that serious then have it prescribed by a doctor, who now write scripts for extra strength, forte, codeine. That will take the pressure off pharmacists and put it on the doctor. GPs will not thank pharmacists for that.

Pharmacists know that having all codeine put on prescription will reduce sales so they are not calling for this. They want more talk. Yes, talk always helps - if you really want a solution that will reduce sales.

At the moment chemists are judging codeine buyers by the way they are dressed. Put on a suit and you can have as many codeine tablets as you want. I always thought pharmacist are a bit "thick". This confirms it.
Health by Ty Buchanan

Dog Pose

"How long do I have to stay like this?"
Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan
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A New Mineral Called Putnisite is Found in Australia

Minerals are classified into species like animals. You would think that all minerals had been identified by scientists. This is not the case. A completely new mineral has been found in Australia at Polar Bear peninsula, Southern Lake Cowan. It is named after the two scientists who discovered it, Christine and Andrew Putnis based at the University of Münster in Germany.

Putnisite is now among the 4,000 known minerals. It was found on the surface of Lake Cowan in Western Australia. The mineral is composed of tiny 0.5 mm diameter crystals in volcanic rock. Its crystals are square and in a range of colors: white, pink, purple and dark green. The mineral is composed of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, sulphur, calcium, strontium and chromium. It glistens as light can penetrate the substance.

Unlike other minerals which belong to families similar in structure, putnisite is unique. Nature joins things together to form minerals. Scientist did not believe a blend of these bases could be joined together as a unit. Researchers are clearly not as clever as nature itself.
Mineralogy by Ty Buchanan
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