‘The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill is hardly an
aerodynamic title; it doesn't fly from the lips. People have difficulty
remembering the order of the words and what exactly will be the effect of this
apparently dull piece of lawmaking.
But in the dusty cradle of
Committee A, a monster has been stirring and will, in due course, take flight
to join the other measures in the government's attack on parliamentary
democracy and the rights of the people. The 'reform' in the title allows
ministers to make laws without the scrutiny of parliament and, in some cases,
to delegate that power to unelected officials. In every word, dot and comma, it
bears the imprint of New Labour's authoritarian paternity.
Like all Labour's
anti-libertarian bills, it appears in relatively innocuous guise. The bill was
presented last year as a way of improving a previous Labour act and is
purportedly designed to remove some of the burden of regulation that weighs on
British business and costs billions of pounds every year. Labour says it will
enable ministers to cut regulation without needing to refer to parliament and
so simplify and speed things up.’
How We Move
Ever Closer To Becoming A Totalitarian State
Tit for tat
From the BBC
China hits back at US criticism
US human rights reviews often criticise China
China has hit back at US criticism of its human rights record by releasing its own document of alleged US abuses.
Washington said in its annual rights report that China was one of the world's "most systematic" offenders.
In return Beijing urged the US to "look squarely" at its own problems, such as a high murder rate and jail population.
While China often rejects US criticism of its rights record, this exchange is especially sensitive due to President Hu Jintao's visit to the US next month.
The report issued by China's cabinet, the State Council, on Thursday listed "a multitude of cases to show the serious violations of human rights both in and outside the US," according to state news agency Xinhua.
More at BBC...
glass houses .....
Hi Gus.
Amerikans obviously don't believe that there's a problem with people in glass houses throwing stones ..... not even when those glass houses are in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay or the Baghram Air base.
Arrogance, hypocrisy & a capacity for self-delusion are obvious "core" values of the bushit administration.
from rooster to feather-duster .....
‘Government
plans to force all passport applicants to have an ID card have been defeated in
the Lords for a third time.
Peers
voted by a majority of 35 to overturn the proposal, which was backed by MPs
earlier this week.
Opposition
peers say the plans break the government's promise that ID cards will initially
be voluntary.
The
Lords insist it should be voluntary for people who apply for new-style
biometric passports to have their details entered on a national database.’
Third Lords
Rejection Of ID Cards
a dangerous club .....
‘A National identity card scheme will be a
"present" to terrorists, criminal gangs and foreign spies, one of
Britain's most respected former intelligence agents has told ministers.
The warning from Daphne Park, who
served for 30 years as a senior controller for MI6, the Secret Intelligence
Service, came as the parliamentary power struggle over the identity cards bill
dragged on.
The House of Lords once again
defeated the government last night. Peers backed a joint Conservative and
Liberal Democrat amendment that would prevent ministers making identity cards
compulsory until at least 2011.’
Identity Cards A
'Present' To Terrorists & Criminals
lost identity .....
The identity card scheme was said to be in "intensive care" as leaked Whitehall documents showed it faced a new delay of two years.
The cards were set to be issued to Britons from 2010, when they apply to renew their passports, but private Home Office documents show the introduction is set to be put off until 2012.
The likely postponement follows a series of fiascos over the security of personal data held by the Government. Gordon Brown is also widely believed not to share the enthusiasm of his predecessor for the scheme.
ID Cards In Intensive Care