UK draws up Orwellian "Bill orf Rights"
Straw sets out rights for 21st-century Britons
By Nigel Morris Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, yesterday set out plans for an updated list of Britons' rights and responsibilities redrawn for the 21st century - more than 300 years after their first introduction.
The Bill of Rights and Responsibilities would reaffirm every citizen's right to equal health care if they become ill, decent treatment if they become a victim of crime, free education for every child and universal access to good housing.
The statement of responsibilities could include the duty to pay taxes and obey the law, as well as vote in elections, undertake jury service if summoned and treat public sector staff with respect.
Reflecting modern worries about the planet's future, it could also require citizens to live "within our environmental limits". The proposals came after Gordon Brown put the issue of constitutional reform at the centre of his leadership campaign in 2007.
The moves were set out in a green paper, with the Government planning to draw up more detailed proposals next year. Mr Straw acknowledged there was no prospect of legislation before the general election, which has to take place by June 2010.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/straw-sets-out...
And that's the difference between a citizen and a subject. Inalienable rights are never subject to quid pro quo. While citizens should fulfill certain obligations to their community and country, they should never be obligated under threat of force to do so. Everyone's rights are vouchsafe from birth.
Any requirement that demands obedience to a condition in exchange to exercise a right, degrades the very word "right" to "privilege" . And privileges are not the same as rights. The effort by the UK to make a social contract is disingenuous, because while the subjects can be held liable for failure on their part, the government is never held liable for failure to fulfill its part.
They also want to do this!: UK population must fall to 30M
That is a 50% decrease! I wonder how they will do that?
JONATHON PORRITT, one of Gordon Brown’s leading green advisers, is to warn that Britain must drastically reduce its population if it is to build a sustainable society.
Porritt’s call will come at this week’s annual conference of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT), of which he is patron.
The trust will release research suggesting UK population must be cut to 30m if the country wants to feed itself sustainably.
Porritt said: “Population growth, plus economic growth, is putting the world under terrible pressure.
“Each person in Britain has far more impact on the environment than those in developing countries so cutting our population is one way to reduce that impact.”
Population growth is one of the most politically sensitive environmental problems. The issues it raises, including religion, culture and immigration policy, have proved too toxic for most green groups.
However, Porritt is winning scientific backing. Professor Chris Rapley, director of the Science Museum, will use the OPT conference, to be held at the Royal Statistical Society, to warn that population growth could help derail attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Rapley, who formerly ran the British Antarctic Survey, said humanity was emitting the equivalent of 50 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
“We have to cut this by 80%, and population growth is going to make that much harder,” he said.
Such views on population have split the green movement. George Monbiot, a prominent writer on green issues, has criticised population campaigners, arguing that “relentless” economic growth is a greater threat.
Many experts believe that, since Europeans and Americans have such a lopsided impact on the environment, the world would benefit more from reducing their populations than by making cuts in developing countries.
This is part of the thinking behind the OPT’s call for Britain to cut population to 30m — roughly what it was in late Victorian times.
Britain’s population is expected to grow from 61m now to 71m by 2031. Some politicians support a reduction.
Continued:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article595044...
Good luck with that
If the UK tries that, they will stir up a hornets nest among the Muslim community, as well as others who look at large families as part of their culture within Britain. It will only radicalize them further.
Of course, with the new proposed Bill of Rights, the government will take care of everyone from cradle to grave---very quickly from one to another, I'm afraid!
Conscience does not exist if not exercised
"No matter how cynical you get, it's impossible to keep up!
---Lily Tomlin
Conscience does not exist if not exercised
"No matter how cynical you get, it's impossible to keep up!
---Lily Tomlin
Wow...
how in the world is this supposed to be done? There are only so many ways to reduce population: either get rid of the existing people (oh dear) or prevent/limit procreation.
Wow...
“The law cannot make a wicked person virtuous…God’s grace alone can accomplish such a thing.” Ron Paul - The Revolution
AGHHH! You are making my head spin!!!
"Right to equal healthcare?!!!" Does that mean everyone will get the same disease? And they will all be given the same dose of the same medication and will be expected to respond in perfect conformity to their therapy?
NO GOVERNMENT GRANTS ME JACK SH*T. I am sovereign, my rights come from the fact that I am HERE, they are a fact of my humanness.
Truth exists, and it deserves to be cherished.