The Political Thread

[Dandontdare]

Sharky, these legal nitpickings are entirely meaningless. I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of British Law. In the absence of a written constitution, our law is determined by precedent and acts of parliament.

If a policeman/bailiff chooses to go with the commonly understood version of the law (ie  carrying a knife is illegal, so you're nicked) then you have little power in that situation, Whether or not your argument about "common law" holds any weight will be decided by a court.

So if you try to argue your meaning of "comprehend" in front of  a judge or magistrate they will make a ruling based on their perception of the law, which in this example will almost certainly go against you. This sets a precedent that a future judge or magistrate will follow, unless they can see a good legal reason to go against it.

Or to put it another way - they've got the handcuffs and prisons, so telling them what the law is is only works if you've got a good lawyer (or an army).

[Dandontdare]

I meant "understand" rather than "comprehend" in the sentence above.

I hate to cite wikipedia as a source, but I got bored trying to find a better and simple explanation of common law and precedent so here goes:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law

so unless you can convince a judge that your argument outweighs all legal precedent and is against basic concepts of natural justice, it won't hold water.

My dad always used to talk about "barrack room lawyers" during national service, and I remember pub lawyers trying to convince me that you can't be nicked for drunk driving if the policeman wasn't wearing his hat when he stops you - but it's bollox.

[The Legendary Shark]

Fair enough, DDD - I hope neither of us ever has to find out for sure!

[Dandontdare]

Amen to that! 

[mogzilla]

And now to kick off the Campaign for an Independent Lancashire! Ey-up the People!

I'm with shark block

[The Legendary Shark]

Poor Ukraine. All that pain and death and suffering, on all sides, for nothing. No matter what happens tomorrow there's still the same old debt, the same old pipers to pay.

That kind of revolution never works. Things might change on the surface but its paid for with the same borrowed money, so no matter the depth of your new Utopia it is born with cancer. The government is not the target and never was. The government is nothing more than a human shield for the moneylenders. We don't need to smash that shield, we need to turn it around.

Or is that just me?

[ZenArcade]

Hear, hear Snarky....don't you worry buddy the people are eventually figuring out who's the monkey and who's the grinder! Z

[The Legendary Shark]

We've had at least two world wars, maybe more if you count the Cold War and this current Whatever the Fuck This Is. But with revolutions breaking out all over the globe, I wonder if we are living through World Revolution I?

No wonder they want to shut the internet down, watch it and keep it full of distracting bullshit covered in glitter and wrapped in money. Imagine globally co-ordinated revolutions. I bet that 0.001% and their buddies are terrified of the interweb.

Good.

[The Legendary Shark]

Speaking of which - this. As the old Vorlon saying goes, the avalanche has already started, it is too late for the pepples to vote.

And, as this is a website for those of us with a particular perspective, how many people here think that governments, organizations and peoples around the world would do well to adopt G'Kar's Declaration of Principles?

[The Legendary Shark]

Britain speaks in many languages, but only one voice.
The language is not English, or Welsh, or Cornish, or Gaelic or Manx
It speaks in the language of hope
It speaks in the language of trust
It speaks in the language of strength and the language of compassion
It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul.
But always it is the same voice
It is the voice of our ancestors, speaking through us,
And the voice of our inheritors, waiting to be born
It is the small, still voice that says
We are one
No matter the blood
No matter the skin
No matter the hearth
No matter the flag:
We are one
No matter the pain
No matter the darkness
No matter the loss
No matter the fear
We are one
Here, gathered together in common cause, we agree to recognize this
singular truth and this singular rule:
That we must be kind to one another
Because each voice enriches us and ennobles us and each voice lost
diminishes us.
We are the voice of the Universe, the soul of creation, the fire
that will light the way to a better future.
We are one.

[NapalmKev]

Britain speaks in many languages, but only one voice.
The language is not English, or Welsh, or Cornish, or Gaelic or Manx
It speaks in the language of hope
It speaks in the language of trust
It speaks in the language of strength and the language of compassion
It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul.
But always it is the same voice
It is the voice of our ancestors, speaking through us,
And the voice of our inheritors, waiting to be born
It is the small, still voice that says
We are one
No matter the blood
No matter the skin
No matter the hearth
No matter the flag:
We are one
No matter the pain
No matter the darkness
No matter the loss
No matter the fear
We are one
Here, gathered together in common cause, we agree to recognize this
singular truth and this singular rule:
That we must be kind to one another
Because each voice enriches us and ennobles us and each voice lost
diminishes us.
We are the voice of the Universe, the soul of creation, the fire
that will light the way to a better future.
We are one.

I agree, but the phrasing of it sounds a bit like - "WE ARE THE BORG"!

cheers

[Frank]

with revolutions breaking out all over the globe, I wonder if we are living through World Revolution I? No wonder they want to shut the internet down, watch it and keep it full of distracting bullshit covered in glitter and wrapped in money. Imagine globally co-ordinated revolutions. I bet that 0.001% and their buddies are terrified of the interweb.

There may be a less high tech explanation:

[Modern Panther]

"make us your slaves, but feed us"

[TordelBack]

The issue linking food prices and serious discontent is of course much broader than the 'starvation = riots' equation assumed in the comments at Sauchie's Motherboard link.  High food prices cut into disposable income, meaning that even where people have enough to eat in a meaningful sense, they see that they have far less of everything else as a result.

The tension between biofuels as a pressure on food prices, versus oil as a pressure on transport and processing costs, and thus on food prices, seems to be an intractable one.  At least until genuine serious efforts are made to reduce energy consumption generally, and in particular in the western world, where progress presently has only one measure: economic growth.

[The Legendary Shark]

And the thing that most affects food prices is debt.

Same old creditors at the heart of it.