Dysfunctional Great Britain
Perhaps 'great' no longer, in the sense of now appearing to be incapable of governing itself intelligently in this new world of integrated cultures, societies and politics. Take internal justice, as an example, and take the case of British businessman Munir Hussain found guilty of utilizing "excessive force" while constraining a man who had entered his home, bound him and his young family, and threatened to kill him.He had the audacity to attack one of the three intruders who had, masked and armed with knives, put the fear of God into him and his family with their threats to kill them all. He must now remain in prison for 30 months to preserve "civilized society". His brother Tokeer Hussain who, living nearby, and alerted by a younger son of Munir Hussain, came to his brother's aid, was also sentenced to 39 months for his involvement.
The brothers, while described as "outstanding members of the community", were upbraided by Judge John Reddihough for actions in taking "...the law into their own hands and inflict their own instant and violent punishment on an apprehended offender rather than letting justice take its course, then the rule of law and our system of criminal justice, which are the hallmarks of a civilized society, would collapse."
The vaunted rule of law is a pathetic conceit in this instance, where the man who was attacked, one of the three masked and armed thugs who had entered Mr. Hussain's home to confront him, his wife and three children, is a criminal with 50 convictions. This man, Walid Salem, was permitted his freedom, allowing him to return to his lifelong pursuit of criminal advantage in a polite society that persecutes the innocent and excuses the guilty.
Yet another indication that something has gone dreadfully awry is The Daily Mail's revelations of horrendous waste of taxpayer funding by the Kensington & Chelsea Council in London, "following government rules". Newly-introduced rules forcing local authorities to house clients in private properties if suitable council accommodation is unavailable. And in accord with those rules, the following have occurred.
Francesca Walker, a mother of 8, gets $155,000 yearly in housing benefits in addition to another $26,000 allowance to enable her to rent a $4.5-million mansion in the Notting Hill district of London. Thirty-year-old Ms. Walker herself admits her accommodation represents a colossal waste of money. "There are a lot of people who defraud the system and abuse it - it's not difficult to take advantage of it."
Clearly not. And since money she earned from her organic soap and bath products enterprise had to be rendered to the council she sees no reason why she should now work.
And then there is the Somali asylum seeker of 40, with her seven children and her mother living in a six-bedroom house worth $3-million in central London at a cost to the taxpayer of $2,765 weekly. Her unemployed husband lives elsewhere, in a two-bedroom apartment.
An Afghan mother with seven children is being given $20,700 monthly to rent a seven-bedroom property with a lovely garden in Acton, west London at a cost thus far of $290,000. Life was never so good in Afghanistan and Somalia. These are people who have fled dire war conditions imperilling their lives and the futures of their children. Little did they think they might ever live in such splendour.
If word gets around there'll be a run on refugee claims.
Oh yes, and then there's the bi-country relations between Britain and Israel, two long-time, if occasionally restive collegial-democracies where lawyers in the pay of Palestinian activists have used a questionable legal concept termed 'universal jurisdiction' to issue arrest warrants against visiting Israeli officials whom the Palestinians accuse of having engaged in war crimes in a foreign setting.
In the past, some of Israel's diplomats, its IDF generals, and its ministers, the latest being Tzipi Livni, formerly the country's foreign minister and currently the official opposition leader, have been targeted surreptitiously by such an arrest warrant for support of her country's defensive move against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This has turned out to be an embarrassment to Britain's government.
With Israelis against whom such arrest warrants have been quietly invoked being informed of their imminent arrest should they step foot onto British soil making haste to cancel planned London trips. The secretly issued arrest warrants, awaiting the unsuspecting arrival of named targets has thrown a spanner in the works of diplomacy between the two countries, one the justice minister insists he will clear up as speedily as possible.
Britain, we know thee not... Political correctness of the most abysmally absurd measure has corrupted your fabled common sense and once-proud system of justice.
Labels: Human Relations, Israel, Political Realities
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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