Brown gets his way...

[jumpy]

on the 42 day detention vote. For now.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7449268.stm

Can't say I agree with this and I don't believe that the 'amendments' being wrangled over recently will be of any real benefit; either way we have a new and dangerous precedent. So far as I know it, no other country in the world has a 'detention without charge' law as long as this.
Ignoring all that stuff about non combatant detainees at guantanamo bay, I'm sure I heard correctly that america can only detain an individual/citizen for 1 day without charge, no matter what the offence. The next closest to the UK now is germany, I think, with 8 days.


XXIX. NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_carta#cite_note-UKStatute-0) http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?activeTextDocId=1517519

So much for that then. Bye bye 700 years of rights to not be imprisoned by the state without charge or trial.
Score!

:nope:


I know they say 'don't worry, everything will be all right, you can trust us...' well sorry guys, I wouldn't trust any of you as far as I can throw that overweight, aggressive lump of common lard john prescott.

So far we've had local councils using anti terror legislation to spy on citizens to check they are in the right school catchment area. Various other legal rights to demonstrate, generally stamped on with section 44 of the anti terror bill; bandied about by beat officers who are mistakenly suggesting that people must conform to a rule only designed to deal with serious crime and fundamentalist attacks and not for use as a means of coercion for the general populace to jump into line over.


With all of this much needed commons debate, ministers seem to have lost sight of the real troubling issues we have today:
like loosing top secret documents...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7449255.stm
or addressing the amount of violence in the country and sentencing appropriate to such action...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7449775.stm

How many years did we have to live with an allied nation funded bombings on the mainland, perpetrated by the IRA? We seemed to cope well enough for more than 30 years without the need to take such large and irreversible steps to change the law.
What has changed since dealing with the IRA then and facing fundamentalist islamic terrorism now? The confidence of the people in the government? Or the governments confidence in itself?

With any luck the house of lords will bin this bad idea along with many others... which reminds me; wasn't it one of tonys ideas to remove the house of lords as a block to parliamentary changes of certain legislature? Or was that got around by a 'majority of sympathetic seats' in the lords - what I really mean is a seat in the house of lords for cash - that was discussed a while back?

This pissant parliament just keeps rolling out the muck for as long as it can doesn't it?

[Tchocky]

Funny you mention the IRA, seeing as how the DUP were the only reason this thing passed. :p

Grr, makes me mad it does.

[jumpy]

Even more funny was the DUP chap this morning saying how in the future decisions their 9 votes would be 'crucial' to the government.
Evidently he has failed to see that this current accord is a fair-weather exchange gordon used to get his way, by the slimmest of margins.

Huh, crucial indeed, I think those fellows over rate their own importance in this and any future dealings with this shady operation of a government.

[STEED]

Funny you mention the IRA, seeing as how the DUP were the only reason this thing passed. :p

Grr, makes me mad it does.

Gordon Brown to the pensioners, "Sorry we have no cash to spare."

Indeed he was right, as that cash was needed for the DUP 9 votes that won the day. :shifty:

Gordon (Big Brother) Brown is the real threat to us in the UK. :yep:

[Platapus]

This is just nuts,

Why would it take 42 days just to levy a charge? It is just a charge, not a trial, does not even have to be a complete list of charges, does not require the presentation of evidence to a court.

If there was probable cause enough to be arrested, why would it take six weeks to lay one charge...... unless the probable cause was weak.

I guess you can't really charge someone with "looking like a Muslim" huh?

The police should be able to start charging you within a few hours otherwise why did they arrest you in the first place?

This sounds suspiciously like a plan to arrest first and then find probable cause.

Mr. Platapus you are under arrest

What's the charge officer?

Uh, don't know (crap, that's right, we need a reason to arrest someone). I am sure we can find something in the next six weeks. Uh, anything you want to confess to now... just to help us out?

Uh no officer. Nothing to confess to.

Ok then we will get a search warrant to seize your property. Pretty sure there will be something amiss (at least there will be by the time we get your stuff to the police station).

Excuse me officer, don't you need probable cause to get a search warrant?

Mr. Platapus, we do have probable cause. You were arrested. That is probable cause enough for a search warrant.

But officer, you don't have a charge to justify my arrest.

Mr. Platapus, are you resisting arrest?

Uh no, officer, I guess not.