The Inconvenience of a Just Legal System

The Chief Justice of Sri Lanka used to be Shirani Bandaranayake but she was impeached recently and removed from office. The International Bar Association’ s Human Rights Institute was going to send four lawyers from its Human Rights Institute to investigate the removal of the former Chief Justice, because there were concerns that the impeachment was irregular and motivated by political reasons rather than proper legal reasons.

Democracy at home does not prevent a nation from being tyrannical abroad.

I see that North Korea has tested a small nuclear bomb underground. We can measure the device quite accurately and it is of some concern that a small nation that can barely feed its people wishes to divert its scarce and precious resources into developing nuclear weapons.

Many countries that cannot feed all their people have nuclear weapons. It seems to be a feature of humanity that we fail to understand what is important and what is not important. perhaps the North Koreans are distrustful of the Western democracies; perhaps they have good cause for such distrust. The experience of the people of Iraq does not inspire people of other nations to have much confidence in the Western democracies. Democracy at home does not prevent a nation from being tyrannical abroad.

We must remember that.

We have to make politicians less important in democracies

We have to make politicians in democracies less important than they are at present and make the democratic process more important. Of course the democratic will is just as capable of making errors of judgement as politicians.

A Simple Choice: whether to hold a Referendum on the EU

The United Kingdom is getting very excited about the possibility of a referendum to be held some time in the future on whether it should stay in the European Union or leave it. 

Politics Starts Up Again

The Olympic Games has ended, and the Para- Olympics will end soon, and we will now enter the Para-Normal events of politics. Elections for a new President of the United States will take place in November. Mr Obama has not fulfilled his promise or our expectations. he speaks a good speech but in terms of achievement has produced not great vision for the world. By his own measurement of the game, he has failed to come up to scratch. He will now try to convince Americans that he deserves another term of office while his opponent will try to convince them of exactly the opposite. the prize is leadership of the world’s most powerful nation, with power over the life an death of many people. Like Mr Fezziwig he has the power to make people happy or miserable, and uses his power of life and death when he arranges for drones to kill those he deems to be terrorists, which designation includes all people close to the person he deems terrorists.

I have no vote in the American elections; deciding how to exercise my vote in the United Kingdom is hard enough, as one has to usually make choices between the least incompetent, that that kind of choice is very hard to make rationally. perhaps it is better to make an irrational choice going by feelings prejudice and instinct.

There are no UK elections of any significance planned. The next German General Election will take place in 2013, the next UK General election is due to be held in two and a half years’ time.  General Elections may take place all over Europe much much sooner if the euro crisis deepens. The European Union leaders do not yet send out drones to kill people, but they have the power to make people rich or poor, happy or miserable by their actions and decisions and frequently exercise that power. Usually, whether consciously or not, they exercise that power in favour of those they know, those who are or who have become their friends, either because they believe that friendship with such people may help their political career.

A few years ago David Cameron was a big friend of Rebekah Brooks. Was such friendship based on anything but a mutual ability to use each other to help in their respective careers? I doubt it. This is and has become a normal part of the political process; manifestos no longer matter, arguments are not made out, principles are avoided as though they were as contagious and harmful as a plague, and instead politicians seek to acquire and retain office by the use of contacts and by sucking up to those with influence. This process goes at every level of politics. It has infected the civil service and the regulators.

It is of course a denial of democracy; votes no longer count because the question does not appear on the ballot box; only names appear and we do not really know what those names stand for. Democracy has been subverted by the lobbyists. We dance to their tune now.

Do you want a mayor?

A number of cities in England have recently held referenda to decide whether they should have a mayor. Some cities want a mayor and have voted accordingly while others have rejected the idea of having a mayor.

Odd Things – dissimilar similarities

Being religious is not the same as going to church, mosque or synagogue. Being honest is not the same as paying your taxes and avoiding stealing. Having integrity is not the same as behaving in a way that most people praise. Being charitable is not the same as making donations to a registered charity. Being strong is not the same as having the loudest voice and the most powerful body. Doing justice is not the same as following the law. Being democratic is not the same as occasionally allowing people to vote.  Being educated is not the same as having read many important books.  Being loved is not the same as having love.

A Neat Solution to the West Lothian Question

In two years time Scotland will hold a referendum about dissolving the Union. It is not yet known what questions will be put to the Scottish people and there is the usual political malarkey about the questions, but it is clear that the referendum will be about independence.

What do the Occupy Wall Street Movement hope to Achieve?

“What do they expect to achieve?” one politician asked. He was talking about the protests in the City of london, and no doubt the would apply the same rhetorical question about the protests in many other capital cities in the developed world inspired by or organised by the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

The Inconvenience of Democracy

The United Kingdom is not very united and not much of a kingdom. There is one Parliament which makes laws for the whole country and separate elected parliaments which administer and make laws for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The monarch has very little to do with the making of these laws, but signs off on them as a matter of formality.