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The persecution of Marcus Einfeld
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When Jack Thomas did an interview with Four Corners in late 2006, the zealous Commonwealth security agencies and prosecutors used footage from it to justify a retrial of Thomas on charges of receiving funds from a terrorist organisation — charges which had originally been thrown out by an appeal court in Victoria in 2006. Thomas won the retrial and remains an innocent man. Fast-forward to 2009, and when another high profile criminal defendant, Marcus Einfeld, does an interview with Four Corners — the police look at the tape to see if he has committed a crime of not wearing a seat belt! Has the New South Wales Police go nothing better to do? Apparently they are justifying what, whichever way you look at it, is a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money on their part, by saying the media asked them to look at footage of Einfeld sitting in the back of a hire car during Monday night’s Four Corners program. Who in the media is so petty, so nasty, and so childishly vindictive that they would bother with such a triviality? The prosecution of Einfeld has now been turned into a persecution, driven by that awful Australian trait to kick a man or women when they are down, particularly if they are someone with a high profile. Einfeld has made a mistake and he is paying for it with a three-year jail term — a sentence that appears to be either at the top end of the scale or excessive. But of course the moralists in the media cannot let him alone. Andrew Bolt in today’s Herald Sun, who hates Einfeld because of his commitment to human rights, has penned a self-righteous spray about lying and the lack of morality in our society. (Answer this Andrew — can you swear on a Bible, or take an affirmation, and declare you have never told a lie that wasn’t simply a little white one? If you can, then could I ask the Catholic Church to begin the process of your canonisation immediately). Bolt’s column includes this bizarre statement:
Is this just Bolt’s idea of rhetorical flourish, or is this a serious proposition? Would he like to identify which part of which of the hundreds of judgments handed down by Einfeld in his long career as a distinguished member of the Federal Court should be now revisited on the grounds that it is suspect? We await with interest the fruit of your researches. It is time to leave Marcus Einfeld alone. And the New South Wales Police should not jump to the sound of a rapacious media baying for the blood of a man who is down and almost out. |
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12 Comments
Ah, I see you don’t like Andrew Bolt. Perhaps I should take the Hun or read his blog since he usually makes sense when someone sends me what he has written. You take yourself too serously Greg and don’t seem to have much of a feel for human reality. Nothing could be more natural than for a journalist to invite the police to look at the tape record of Einfeld buckling up or not, largely to see how the police handle it. And if the police have a matter drawn to their attention do you really want Mr. Plod to exercise too much instant discretion to disregard what might at first sight (and then again on later viewing) seem relatively trivial. How often do we hear that “the police weren’t interested” in big crime stories (or beatups)? First rule for police on being told something: take anything the public tell you with the actual or implied assertion that it matters or might be important as worth examining thoroughly enough to put it in the right box. If I had been a police person told by a journo that Marcus Einfeld had apparently committed another offence viewable on TV I would be conscious that the journo might be setting me up for something…
BTW the Four Corners program was unusually good at telling a story, allowing Einfeld to make one very uneasy about his character (described by a former senior employee in the organisation he chaired as a bully and unwilling to listen) and therefore open to the sort of comments Bolt made, primitive as they might be in terms of true psychological insight into lying and the ability to detect lies and exposition of the complexities. But then who would want to rely on any judge to read minds with high probability of accuracy? And, a jury of one’s peers? Peers? Where do you find them in today’s complex multi-everything society. All the more reason for people not to assume they are clever enough to get away with lies or to make a practice of telling them as Einfeld clearly did. Three priors of the same kind. Chance?
Bolt proves yet again what an a..e ole he is.
marcus einfeld has belief in the jewish faith and holds israeli citizenship he should have thought of the consequences of lying and he was a high profile jew and judge of the high court and he keeps $200000 a year he perpetuated the lie THE FACTS ARE HE LIED TO THE POLICE AND LED THEM TO BANGLADESH LOOKING FOR A BRENNAN WOMAN IF YOU MAKE A MONKEY OUT OF THE JUDICUARY THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS EVERY TIME
The article is absolutely spot-on, I really do wonder if the NSW constabulary have anything better to do (maybe they could stop bikies from beating each other to death in public). All we now know is that Marcus Einfeld is a typical human being and is as flawed as the rest of us. A little bit of human compassion and Christian charity would go a long way here. I have no trouble forgiving Mr Einfeld and I think that the revolting Bolt should go back to reading Mein Kampf or whatever anti-social trash he is into these days.
It’s interesting that the press are not calling for the driver of Einfeld’s car to be pinged for driving with an unrestrained passenger!
There is no such thing as a perfect person. We all make mistakes. I am surprised as the hatred felt for this man, even among those who know nothing about him. I do not see why it is right to judge a man by one mistake he made in his old age and jettison every good thing he did during his working life. What he did is hard to understand. He has been sentence and is paying the price for what only can be his stupidity. He in this case has not hurt anyone and any further charges do not make any sense and is costly. The problem is that he appears to be paying the price for fighting causes some do not like. Causes for the needy and indigenous people.
marcus einfeld has belief in the jewish faith and holds israeli citizenship he should have thought of the consequences of lying and he was a high profile jew and judge of the high court and he keeps $200000 a year he perpetuated the lie THE FACTS ARE HE LIED TO THE POLICE AND LED THEM TO BANGLADESH LOOKING FOR A BRENNAN WOMAN IF YOU MAKE A MONKEY OUT OF THE JUDICUARY THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS EVERY TIME
Marcus problem was not that he did not hurt anyone it was that he contnually made one lie up after another to the police judges and investigators even to the media and took the court system as a bunch of fools and monkeys while it was high profile in the public eye and then telling all he had bi-polar disorder and not bringing up when he was actively judging people in courts another lie and now in jail and still saying he didnt know why he lied Its obvious why he lied he thought everyone was stupid cows
The deal is admit it early if yu know the police and everyone else knows or shut up an cop the lesser
Marcus may even not believe he is actually in jail
The problem I have, Greg, is Marcus Einfeld is neither down nor out. He is nothing like Jack Thomas, or David Hicks, or Dr Haneef. He is 1. white; 2. rich; 3. an expert in the legal system; and 4. guilty.
His sentence was at the high end but deserved for one in his position. Think of all the people who believed he was one of the good guys all this time. I, for one, feel nothing but anger and contempt for a man of this talent, vision and drive to have betrayed those who admired him. His human rights record was an aggravating factor not a mitigation of his criminal behaviour.
As for Bolt, why are we even reading that man’s drivel? He’s the Alan Jones of print journalism and should be given the same respect and time.
I didn’t watch Four Corners but my daughter who is a stickler for wearing seatbelts says she kept waiting for him to put it on but, at the same time, she swears the car wasn’t moving! I am glad someone is pointing out the unfortunate Australian trait of - not the tall poppy syndrome but rather its opposite - putting the boot in to someone who is down and preferably unable to defend themselves. This cowardly moralising self-righteousnous is a very ugly aspect of our national character.
Einfeld made a mistake?
Come on…let’s be real here… he lied to get out of a petty fine, sent our judicial system on a wild goose chase involving deceased persons and got caught. He deserves every second of three years!
However, I agree that the police have better things to do than issue him with another fine for failing to wear a seat belt during a TV interview.
What is it about Australia. Both the News Media and the general population seem to have very few human feelings. Marcus Einfeld is down and out yet we bay for more blood whilst we stick in the boot. It is so easy to slide down that slimy slide, let’s have some compassion.
Einfield should have been charged with stupidity. The sentence -$100,000 donation to his favourite charity. He and Wheatley can now lay cliam to be sentenced to a total of 5 years jail where no member of the public was harmed in any way.
Meanwhile Murderers , rapists, child molesters get light sentences.
Yesterday kids chucked rocks at cars and trucks on the Warrego Highway. One trucker who had his windshield busted said the kids should be charged with attempted murder. Bet they get a slap on the wrist and then go and have a good laugh with their mates.