While Stoat is busy polishing his Green credentials with a series of mildly snarky posts about climate porn, I hope I am not the one who is hugely amused by the outrage expressed over an Honourable Member having his collar felt by Plod (in the form of a posse of Counter-Terrorism Officers).
For some time now, random members of the public have been harassed, arrested and had their lives generally turned upside down by said Plod, under the guise of various ill-thought-out draconian laws that have been rushed through Parliament in recent years. And this was brushed under the carpet, or considered an acceptable price to pay to Defend our Freedoms, or some such pious nonsense.
It would of course have been even better had the victim this time been a member of zaNU-Labour rather than what passes for an Opposition these days. But both sides of the House are equally culpable for the legislation IMO - both are so desperate to be seen "doing something" that they troop obediently into the lobby even when the "something" they are voting for equates to locking up innocent people. So I don't see this as the Govt knobbling the Opposition so much as the Houses of Parliament unleashing a police state on all of us and getting caught up in it themselves.
I only wish I had a vote so I could abstain.
For some time now, random members of the public have been harassed, arrested and had their lives generally turned upside down by said Plod, under the guise of various ill-thought-out draconian laws that have been rushed through Parliament in recent years. And this was brushed under the carpet, or considered an acceptable price to pay to Defend our Freedoms, or some such pious nonsense.
It would of course have been even better had the victim this time been a member of zaNU-Labour rather than what passes for an Opposition these days. But both sides of the House are equally culpable for the legislation IMO - both are so desperate to be seen "doing something" that they troop obediently into the lobby even when the "something" they are voting for equates to locking up innocent people. So I don't see this as the Govt knobbling the Opposition so much as the Houses of Parliament unleashing a police state on all of us and getting caught up in it themselves.
I only wish I had a vote so I could abstain.
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From Private Eye's Number Crunching:
£7bn Icelandic bank funds frozen under UK anti-terrorist asset-freezing orders
£0.0005bn Terrorist funds frozen under UK anti-terrorist asset-freezing orders.
I also think Monbiot had some comparison of the use of AT laws against (suspected) "terrorists" and non-terrorism matters. The latter seemed to be well ahead. Can't find the article now though.
It's a shame that Brazilian plumber on the tube wasn't an MP.
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