It seems to be another of those weeks of great change, and any change is never bad change. At least the issues at stake are presently being thrust through the discussion millstone, and it seems to me to be better to have people thinking about it one way or the other than not thinking at all.
The Guardian leads with the Guantanamo Britons being sent home while the Beeb highlights Blair's defence of the new house arrest plans, saying:
"'[Terrorists] will cause death and destruction on an unlimited scale and they will and are trying to organise such terrorist activity in our own country. I just hope people get this in perspective.'"
Alas for him, I've already gained a much larger perspective - one greater than thinking that merely slamming anyone who could pose a possible threat in jail will work, ever. I feel it's perhaps time to remind myself, and anyone else that may have forgotten, that laws based on fear are laws that seek to punish, exclude and squash. While we continue to shout about avoiding the very real threats posed to us, we are simultaneously ignoring the very real causes and equally plausible solutions to them.
I have yet to work out what these new proposed anti-terrorist laws truly mean, but until our leaders begin to accept the true causes of terror (hint: "hatred of our freedom" no longer washes), I doubt that their "answers"will have any impact other than a draconian jailstate in which, yes, everyone will be safe, but also no - no global accountancy, no governmental transparency. We'll be safe asleep in our beds while the World burns outside.
The hypocrisy continues.
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