Age of criminal responsibility

 Recently, a number of children aged 12 and 13 were in the UK courts being prosecuted for violent disorder during the the riots. No doubt they will be punished in some way, if the are found guilty, but they will not be sent to prison. Of course violent disorder is a serious matter and no-one should be allowed to get away with it no matter what age they are. However, I am of the opinion that children of 12 should not be held criminally responsible for their actions. Most European nations do not treat children under the age of 14 as being criminally responsible for what they do. The parents of children who commit crimes should be held responsible. What were parents doing allowing children out onto the streets during a riot, these children should have been at home with their parents. No-one should be a rioter who endangers the lives of the police and emergency service personnel or members of the public. No-one has the right to pick upon unfortunate asylum seekers some of whom are escaping from violence and prejudice in their home countries. Children should not be encouraged to riot or act violently. It is the adults who  encourage their children to be violent who should feel the full power of the law. We have seen enough of anti-semitism and islamophobia, and it is time for it to stop, and for children who indulge in this to be restrained and re-educated. 

Violent connexions

 The violence seen lately on the streets of the UK has at least one glaring connection with the violence seen lately in the Middle East: irrational hatred. One group of group of people hates others so much that they want to kill them. It doesn't matter whether it is an unprotected policeman being targeted or a child at a dance party, some revellers at a kibbutz festival or children in a Gazan hospital, let's see this violence for what it is: irrational hatred. The violence is caused by people who are sick in the head falling victim to their own internal irrational hatred. The human race should be careful not to allow this sickness to infect us all, as we could destroy ourselves.

Jailing oil protestors

 I can't help thinking that jailing  a stop oil protestor for five years is excessive. This was the jail term handed out to Roger Hallam for blocking the M25 in 2022. Some of his fellow protestors were given similar sentences. 

The protestors inconvenienced thousands of people but they did not injure or kill anyone directly . The protests were non-violent. Violent offenders have been given lesser sentences. They were protesting for political reasons, and it looks as if they are right to point out the dangers of climate change. Climate change has serious implications which could result in the starvation of thousands and huge migrations of people with all the attendant problems. The protestors believe that no-one is taking  the dangers seriously, so they are obliged to take drastic action  to get every one to take notice.

 I don't believe that it was right to block the M25 motorway, as emergency vehicles could have been prevented from attending fires and serious accidents; dying people could have been stuck in ambulances. However, I don't believe it was just to jail them for so long; they could have been given suspended sentences, so that they they would be forced to contemplate that they would be jailed if they take further illegal action.

The jails are full and the authorities are having to release prisoners early, so what is the point of jailing non-violent offenders when they could be given suspended sentences?

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/just-stop-oil-founder-jailed-for-record-five-years-over-m25-motorway-protest/ar-BB1qdGtO

Joe Biden dropping out

 It is my opinion that Joe Biden did the right thing by dropping out of the US presidential race. He may be perfectly healthy for a man of his age and still have acute mental faculties. His fumbling mistakes and his general physical demeanour, however, have led to a perception that he is not up to the job of being the next President of the US.  He would have lost the election because of how he is perceived. 

He is, now, right to concentrate his considerable abilities to  solving the conflict between Palestine and Israel, to ensure a lasting and just peace. If he can do this he will be recognised as  one of the greatest Presidents of the US.

He was also right to endorse Kamala Harris as the next prospective candidate. Ms Harris is very intelligent and comes across as a strong character who has an sharp sense of humour. She is also socially liberal. She is just the right person to put the misogynistic, spiteful and hateful  populists in their place. Machismo men are secretly frightened of a strong and intelligent woman, and Kamala Harris has all of the character and ability to appeal to the American public in order to win the election. She can  protect the American  people from the worst aspects of prejudice and extremism. I wish her well and hope that she wins.

Who to vote for?

 The UK is in a complete mess. The National Health Service is falling apart. Brexit has and will be a failure. The prisons are so full that the government is thinking of releasing some prisoners early. There are delays in judicial procedures. The immigration system is in complete disarray. Thousands of asylum seekers have not been processed: the boat people have not been stopped nor will they be without co-operation from our former partners: there is some doubt about the legality of the Rwanda deportation  policy. Threatening to leave the ECHR is almost as stupid as actually doing it. There is uncontrolled pollution of our rivers and seas. Now some people have been disenfranchised by the late reception of postal voting packages. The government has failed us and we need a change.

Who to vote for? Tactical voting will probably fail to remove my local Conservative MP as he has a huge majority. I cannot vote for Labour because of their policy on Europe; we need to re-join the single market and customs union. Britain voted to leave the EU not the single market, so there should be no argument about re-joining the institution, as Norway is a member of the market without being in the EU as is Switzerland, albeit by using separate treaties. When we were in the single market immigration was under control and the free market in labour was a better means of controlling the market than points based immigration systems.

I have no choice but to vote for a political party that supports re-joining the single market as a step towards re-joining the EU itself, if our friends in Europe accept this. This means that I have two choices the Greens or the Liberal Democrats. The more voices that are registered to support re-joining the EU  the better.

veterans' voting right

It is clear that the government's desire to control everything we do has gone completely wrong. We all have to show voter id: such as passports, photo-card driving licences etc. when we go to vote. There is a list of acceptable id that is as long as your arm. Military veterans, however, cannot use their veteran cards, because they are not on the approved list. Today, some of them have been denied the right to vote. This is bureaucratic nonsense. In today's super controlled society no one can use their initiative to allow veterans to vote as long as they have an acceptable id card, which the veteran's card is. 

Military veterans have fought for their country and defended democracy, they are entitled to vote and they probably regard their denial as an insult. It is still probably not too late for the electoral commission  to approve veterans cards on an immediate and temporary basis. The way this country now works, I doubt this will happen, so it's hardlines, veterans, you've lost your rights.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/may/02/minister-sorry-as-veterans-find-id-card-not-valid-for-english-elections

Rwanda deportation policy

 It is both tragic and ironic that as soon as the Rwanda bill was approved by the UK parliament, five migrants lost their lives trying got cross the English Channel in a small boat. One of the casualties was a four year old girl who lost her life. The migrants were attempting to cross from a beach at Wimereux, the French police were there but the small boat was overcrowded with 110 people on board.

It is apparent that there is very little deterrence to prevent desperate people to attempt dangerous crossings. They are determined to come.

It is clear that the Rwanda deportation policy is an abuse of Refugees' human rights, the policy has just been condemned by the Council of Europe and the UN , the policy is simply cruel and inhumane. A better way must be found. It is also shameful that the British government is trying to bypass legitimate objections by declaring by law that Rwanda is a safe country. to deport people to, when clearly it is not. King Canute would have been proud of this distortion of legal reality - I think not.

The policy will fail because most of the Refugees are resourceful and clever people, once they get to the UK thousands of them will probably disappear into the "grey" economy. A stupid policy will not stop the Refugees from coming to join their friends and family, so it is time to review everything and find a more humane and sensible policy.