Want to get deported?
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The latest deportation related measures being proposed by Tony Blair are a little worrying to say the least. This one seems particularly galling to me.
Make justifying or glorifying terrorism anywhere an offence
From what I heard on the BBC, this can be a deportable offence. Ok, the glorifying terrorism part, I can kind of get. But what about the justifying bit? According to Merriam-Webster online, one sense of the word is
to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable
I can very easily see many people falling on the wrong side of the ‘reasonable’ test, if it is indeed applied. There was a survey in Britain where the majority of people felt that the bombings in London where at least partly a response to British involvement in Iraq. Not to mention the leaked memo which said that
terror-related activity in Britain was a direct result of violence in Iraq
Is any of this ‘justifying’ terrorism?
Does the Patriot Act allow for anything like this? A long time ago, my father advised me not to discuss politics in public. That was when we were living in Kuwait. Not that I paid any attention to it then, being a youth and all. Believe me, after living in an oppressive place like that, living in the West (or in India for that matter, to a lesser extent) has been like a breath of fresh air. Too bad, things seem to be getting stuffy here too.
I agree that this could be abused as is the Patriot Act in the US but I also think that strong measures need to be taken. The terrorism is getting out of hand. If you are in the administration of one of these affected countries, what would you propose? I don’t think the people would be that happy with mediocre measures. Note that I am not condoning the prisoner abuses and such but people who glorify/incite violence against civilians should be put away.
Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing and let’s just hope that the likes of Al-Qaeida do not get their hands on a nuclear weapon.
Hmmm.. I wonder what happened to the freedom of speech here…
I think that the act of causing harm to people or property is justly criminalized, but the act of expressing one’s opinion, however wrong it is, should be protected based on the constitution.
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little safety will deserve neither and lose both.” - Benjamin Franklin
Well, we do generally accept limitations to free speech, but in this case, I feel the clause ‘justifying … terrorism’ can be too easily be abused to harrass people.
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The Economist has a good related write-up on this.
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Let’s see if I’ve got this right: Saying that the UK’s actions in Iraq made the London bombings more likely is justifying terrorism? Right? Seems obvious logic, and face it the UK wouldn’t have joined the US on the Iraq misadventure but for Tony Blair’s insistence. Although I imagine the US would have put extreme pressure on whoever was the Prime Minister. So stating the obvious is justifying terrorism. Hope you guys are finalising your emigration plans, because you’re risking jail time by staying. And with slammer time on your record, the chances of being accepted by another country are seriously degraded. I should imagine the current 1,000 per day emigration figure is due for a spike. In a few short months you too could be saying: “Britain, a good country to be from. A long way from.”
Yo Milner. None of us live in the UK. So yes, a long way from and I, at least, intend to keep it that way.
Ditto for US of A. Aka the United States of Torture.
Right and given the wonderful efficiency of your brand spanking new Heathrow terminal, it looks like you guys have decided to let everybody stay permanently in the UK after all.
LHR: Another reason to hate it and leave it.