I thought I would add this video to my blog as it is a very good explanation of Liberty.
Sunday 31 May 2009
Thursday 21 May 2009
Daniel Hannan
Well Dimbleby just annonced that Daniel Hannon will be on Question Time next week! I don't think my blog post can take all the credit for that
I would like to encourage people to recommend Mr Daniel Hannan as speaker on Question Time. We need to hear something resembling common sense on that program, you can do that by clicking here.
I can't believe I missed this speech by Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan. I don't often bother to watch the House of Commons debates (if you can even call it that) or worse EU Parliamentary speeches. However, what Mr Hannan had the guts to say is what a lot of the UK and undoubtedly the world population was thinking. Imagine that a politician representing the public!
I can't believe I missed this speech by Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan. I don't often bother to watch the House of Commons debates (if you can even call it that) or worse EU Parliamentary speeches. However, what Mr Hannan had the guts to say is what a lot of the UK and undoubtedly the world population was thinking. Imagine that a politician representing the public!
Friday 15 May 2009
Non-aggression / Non-violence
It amazes me how the people who claim to care for others the most, are often also the most willing to use force against their neighbour. They will claim for example that free health care is a human right, but then when you highlight the inherent force required to create such a system they will turn off the logical part of their mind. A person that I admire greatly is Gandhi; not least for his belief in the principles of non-violence. However, unlike Gandhi I am not a pacifist I just believe in not aggressing against others to get your way, and not getting the government to aggress against others on my behalf. However, self-defence when people are using force on you is in my opinion acceptable. This is often reffered to as the golden rule - 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. This is perfect for everyone except masochists! Despite this difference in our beliefs I found some quotes by Gandhi, which I think perfectly convey the hypocrisy of those individuals that believe using force to achieve political gain is acceptable.
-"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."
-"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"
-"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
-"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."
-"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."
-"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"
-"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
-"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."
Wednesday 6 May 2009
If you have nothing to hide
The presumption of innocence is the greatest of all legal rights. It is the very foundation of the British legal system, yet it is under threat - not by foreign enemies ('terrorists') but from those within our borders, namely the government. How is this being done? by passing evermore laws and creating evermore layers of bureaucracy. If you needed more proof that Britain is on the slippery slope of tyranny and quickly approaching, if not already arrived at, a police state. Ask yourself what has to happen before you are convinced of this?
There will be those who say that these laws only effect criminals, and there is no chance of me ever becoming entangled in such affairs. This of course would be wishful thinking. Take for example the case of Moazzam Begg who was held for two years in Guantanamo without charge or trial. Now, he was released without charge, but frankly I don't know whether he was innocent or not, but the problem is that we never will know. If he was guilty he should have stood trial for our good and his own. This case like many others proves that Habeas Corpus has been destroyed in this country. Just in case your wondering the government can now detain us for up to 28 days without charge!
The ability to detain an individual without charge is one sign of a police state, but another one would be the invasion of the individuals privacy. An example of this would be the government's proposal of a National Database which will contain the personal details of everyone in the country. Apart from being a sever infringement on personal privacy it will also lead to more identity theft, as the government have proved on numerous occasions that it is incapable of keeping even the most sensitive of data protected. The cost of ID cards is rising rapidly, recent figures suggesting somewhere in the region of £5.3 billion. But it benefits national security - I hear you say. Even the National Database's/ ID card's biggest advocates cannot honestly think that this will be a very effective tool against terrorism? The July 7th bombers were all British so they would have had an ID card, so a bit of plastic is not going to keep us safe. Oh Osama if you can hear me your ID card is in the post.
Perhaps the most chilling signs of a police state is the torturing of individuals that the state deems as a threat. Now to be fair we outsource our torturing to different countries and we only act as a refueling stop for American torture flights, which has come to be known as extraordinary rendition .
I'm always amazed by people's ability to ignore the facts if they interfere with their own world view. I can give example after example but it won't matter if your not willing to critically examine what I have wrote and your own beliefs. This blog is becoming more iconoclastic, but sometimes that's the only way to get through to people.
There will be those who say that these laws only effect criminals, and there is no chance of me ever becoming entangled in such affairs. This of course would be wishful thinking. Take for example the case of Moazzam Begg who was held for two years in Guantanamo without charge or trial. Now, he was released without charge, but frankly I don't know whether he was innocent or not, but the problem is that we never will know. If he was guilty he should have stood trial for our good and his own. This case like many others proves that Habeas Corpus has been destroyed in this country. Just in case your wondering the government can now detain us for up to 28 days without charge!
The ability to detain an individual without charge is one sign of a police state, but another one would be the invasion of the individuals privacy. An example of this would be the government's proposal of a National Database which will contain the personal details of everyone in the country. Apart from being a sever infringement on personal privacy it will also lead to more identity theft, as the government have proved on numerous occasions that it is incapable of keeping even the most sensitive of data protected. The cost of ID cards is rising rapidly, recent figures suggesting somewhere in the region of £5.3 billion. But it benefits national security - I hear you say. Even the National Database's/ ID card's biggest advocates cannot honestly think that this will be a very effective tool against terrorism? The July 7th bombers were all British so they would have had an ID card, so a bit of plastic is not going to keep us safe. Oh Osama if you can hear me your ID card is in the post.
Perhaps the most chilling signs of a police state is the torturing of individuals that the state deems as a threat. Now to be fair we outsource our torturing to different countries and we only act as a refueling stop for American torture flights, which has come to be known as extraordinary rendition .
I'm always amazed by people's ability to ignore the facts if they interfere with their own world view. I can give example after example but it won't matter if your not willing to critically examine what I have wrote and your own beliefs. This blog is becoming more iconoclastic, but sometimes that's the only way to get through to people.
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