Terror Bill Defeated...

[apolla]

Blair Defeated Over Terror Laws

And so he bloody well should have been. No country claiming to be truly free and democratic should be allowed to hold anyone for ninety days without charge. That is not what this country is built on, and I dare anyone to suggest I'm for terrorism for my saying so.

I'm sorry, but I believe that tearing our laws up is the exact opposite of anti-terrorism. We must guard our freedoms more fiercely than ever now, by holding onto them, not quietly and slowly diminishing them. You may say that 'no innocent person should fear such a law' but I think perhaps we should ask the innocent Irishmen locked up for bombing Birmingham, or the countless innocent people who have been wrongly imprisoned over the years. It is the innocent we must protect more than ever. Because the guilty have the luxury of forethought and planning. Ever noticed how the innocent person in a murder mystery never has an alibi? It's because they didn't realise they needed one!

I'm all for stopping terrorists. I'm all for removing their rights when they break our laws and kill our people. I find nothing more insulting than criminals screaming about 'their rights'! As far as I'm concerned, they have the right to a fair trial and... er, that's about it. Maybe not being tortured in prison, being given access to a lawyer, stuff like that. Stuff we take for granted, really. And that's as it should be! We should be so safe in our freedom that we take these things for granted. But we must not accept the slow eroding of our rights. Through history, the freedoms of people have often been taken not by terrorists, but by their own state. And that state has so often done so in the name of 'freedom'.

It's not pro-terrorist to say "Er no, I don't think we should be allowed to keep people locked up that long without charge. And while you're at it, I'm not so sure ID cards with all my genetic information, address, favourite food and iPod Top 25 are really a very good idea either." It is pro-Us. We the People have a responsibility to ourselves to protect our lives. That means allowing the police to do their job and keep terrorists at bay, but it also means protecting ourselves from the overwhelming power of the state.

We in Britain live in a country ruled over by a man who has lost his first vote since coming into power in 1997, and forty-nine Labour MPs voted against it. Forty-nine of his own party. Not that I consider Tony Blair to be any more related to what the Labour party is meant to be than John Lennon is related to the Lesser Spotted Owl.

And just in case you were thinking Tony Blair was all about 'Doing What Is Right' and unyielding standing up to terrorists:

'Blair Faces Bumpy Ride Over Fugitive Plan'

So, that's Tony Blair: Tough Against Terrorists and Tough Against The Causes Of Terrorists. Unless They're From Northern Ireland, Of course, In Which Case Would You Like To Come To Tea?

By the way, nobody gets the complexity of the Everlasting Irish Question better than I do- I know enough to know I don't really know anything at all. But this law, aside from highlighting the breathtaking hypocrisy of Our Esteemed Leader, will not only allow the republican side of the terrorists to escape jailtime, but it will do the same for the security forces. Yes, Tony Blair and his pals want to bring a law to pass that will allow the men of the notorious N. Ireland security forces over the years to get away with, literally, murder.

And if that isn't a police state, sure, I don't know what is.