DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY

2/DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY

DIPLOMATIC IMMUMITY.//

I recently heard a programme on BBC Radio4 about abuses of diplomatic immunity. Reportedly some foreign diplomats in Britain have been abusing their servants in ways that contravene British employment laws.//

Martin Salter, who recently stepped down as a Reading MP, was said to have introduced a parliamentary bill to try to sort the matter out. I assume the bill was unsuccessful, and Martin Salter said on the programme that initiating changes to diplomatic immunity ‘was beyond his pay grade.’//

I don’t see the thing that way. It is just a matter of coming up with a workable idea. As I listened to the programme I thought to myself what exactly is happening here, and what should be happening. I mention this as a thought process because an idea occurred to me, which might at first seem to be little more than a facile play on words.//

WE SHOULD REPLACE DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY WITH DIPLOMATIC IMPUNITY.//

I don’t know the origins of the term diplomatic immunity. I assume that there has always been, as far as all this is concerned, some confusion between immunity and impunity. At the moment we have diplomatic immunity, immunity from prosecution. This should be replaced with diplomatic impunity. That is, exemption from punishment.//

As I understand it, the police at the moment investigate possible criminality but once they see that a diplomat is involved the investigation is dropped, more or less because continuing would seem like a waste of public money. Changing from diplomatic immunity to diplomatic impunity would mean that the police could continue investigating and if they uncovered enough evidence they could initiate prosecutions.//

The accused diplomat could get automatic bail and automatic legal aid, if he or she did not want to pay for personally chosen legal representation. If found guilty, the diplomat could then say that he or she wanted to use his or her diplomatic impunity.//

It would make clear to diplomats from countries with particularly hierarchical societies, that in Britain they could not abuse their servants in ways which might seem reasonable in their home countries, but unreasonable here.//

REMEMBER, A BACKGROUND TO ALL THIS IS THAT MOST IMMIGRANTS TO BRITAIN COME HERE TO ESCAPE CULTURES OF BULLYING IN THEIR HOME COUNTRIES.//

I suppose an immunity to impunity parliamentary bill would be easy to draft as no new procedures would be involved. And, although such a bill would be likely to get government support, it would be a suitable bill to be introduced by a backbencher as a Private Members Bill.//

WE SHOULD REPLACE DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY WITH DIPLOMATIC IMPUNITY.//

Tom Smith, Thursday, 24th June 2010.//

posted by Rowan Alder  # 12:11

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OSBORNE on PROPERTY

From the Financial Times, Monday 5th September 2011.

"PLANNING REFORMS BOOST LOCAL POWER AND GROWTH, by Eric Pickles and George Osborne.

Planning reform is the key to our economic recovery. Opponents claim, falsely, the government is putting the countryside in peril. we say that sticking with the old failed planning system puts at risk young people's future prosperity and quality of life. No one should underestimate our determination to win this battle. We will fight for jobs, prosperity and our countryside,

Since the planning system was established in 1947, it has grown inexorably more complicated. Between 2005 and 2010, Whitehall issued some 3250 pages of guidance. As central prescription has burgeoned, the process has become more and more wasteful.

Today, planning delays cost the country £3 billion a year. It is twice as expensive to get planning permission in London's West End as in Paris., and 10 times more than in Brussels. In a global economy, where skills and capital`are more mobile than ever, our planning system is a deterrent to international investment, and a barriere to the expansion of home grown enterprise.

When planning acts as a break on growth, and on the much needed new jobs and new businesses, reform is imperative. Current policy runs to thousands of pages much written in technical detail. there is nothing democratic about a system that makes it virtually impossible for communities to understand how important decisions are made.

At the end of Labour's tenure, house building rates were at their lowest for generations. the average firast time buyer is already well into their thirties . a lack of new homes is sombre news for every young family waiting to get a foot on the ladder.

The house building slump was due to a range of factors, but a complex and adversarial planning system, which left many communities reasentful, was part of the problem. The aim of a National Planning Policy Framework is simple. The draft brings together the polixcy and principles that guide decisions about how our country should grow. It reduces policy from more than 1000 pages to under 100, and will pave the way for swifter, clearer decisions. In recent years, planning has come to be seen as a tool to say "no" to growth; as a means to delay and block. This goverment will change that. Insteasd of stopping development, we want to suport the right development. At the heart of the framework is a "presumption in favour of sustainable development."

This meanss the answers to proposals for reasonable, careful growth should be "yes," unless there are strong reasons to the contrary. A recent survey showed that a majority of the public support the idea of a simpler planning system and a presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Among the most vociferous in their calls for government to bring forward a growth plan have - surprise, surprise - been amomg the most vociferous opponents to one of its central planks. The goverment is ready to debate the framework based - based on facts, not myths. The idea that presumption in favour means that growth will be able to take place wherever, whenever and however is false. Protections for the green belt, for National Parks and areas of Outstanding National Beauty continue. The framework insists on high environmental standards and good design. Poorly designed and poorly located development is in no-one's interest.

Nor will our reforms give communities less say. On the contrary. We are abolishing the old regional strategies and housing targets. Councils will continue to exercise a vital role, drawing up plans for their areas.

Through neighbourhood planning, a key new right in the Locaklism Bill, communities will soon have the chance to say where they want new shops homes and businesses to go and what they should look like.

Reforming a slow and inefficioent planning system will be good news for the small businerss looking to expand;for the young family hoping for more affordable house prices; and for the community wanting to decide on their own future. this our opportunity to unlock the new investment and new jobs the country needs. We cannot afford to missit."

COMMENT: This is a work in progress. I intend to comment on the content, but I notice the piece is so badly written that, not only will I list all the mistakes, but I will also put forward a copy of the article, as it should have been written. Then I will comment on the content. There is a political reason for pointing out the mistakes. The mistakes indicate contempt for the electorate - any old nonsense will do!

Tom Smith, Monday 26th September 2011.

21/SOUTH COAST (east), WESTMINSTER MPs.

01/ New Forest West (Desmond Swayne) Con.
02/ New Forest East (Julian Lewis) Con.
03/ Romsey & Sou. Nor. (Caroline Nokes) Con.
04/ South. Test (Alan Whithead) Lab.
05/ South. Itchen (John Denham) Lab.

06/ Isle of Wight (Andrew Turner) Con.
07/ Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) Lib Dem.
08/ Winchester (Steve Brine) Con.
09/ Meon Valley (George Hollingbery) Con.
10/ Fareham (Mark Hoban) Con.

11/ Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) Con.
12/ Portsmouth N. (Penny Mordaunt) Con.
13/ Portsmouth S. (Mike Hancock) Lib Dem.
14/ Havant (David Willetts) Con.
15/ Hampshire E. (Damian Hinds) Con.

16/ Chichester (Andrew Tyrie) Con.
17/ Bognor Regis & L. (Nick Gibb) Con.
18/ Arundel & S.D. (Nick Herbert) Con.
19/ Worthing W. (Peter Bottomley) Con.
20/ Worthing E. (Tim Loughton) Con.

21/ Hove (Mike Weatherley) Con.
22/ Brighton Pav. (Caroline Lucas) Green.
23/ Brighton Kem. (Simon Kirby) Con.
24/ Lewes (Norman Baker) Lib Dem.
25/ Wealden (Charles Hendry) Con.

26/ Eastbourne (Stephen Lloyd) Lib Dem.
27/ Bexhil & B. (Gregory Barker) Con.
28/ Hastings & R. (Amber Rudd) Con.
29/ Folkeston & H. (Damian Collins) Con.
30/ Dover (Charles Elphicke) Con.

Tom Smith, Friday 24th June 2011.

20/AFRICA REFORESTATION

AFRICA REFORESTATION.

British politicians should take an interest in political and social developments in African countries, and an interest in how the Africans manage their natural resources. Ethnic Africans in Europe should take an interest in the political and social developments in their home countries, and they should take an interest in the way African natural resources are managed.

It is no exaggeration to say that the survival of the human species may be dependent on the reforestation of Africa . And at the moment it could be argued that African farmers should be encouraged to grow food crops. Food crops for Africans, rather than so called cash crops like flowers, tobacco and coffee for Europeans. Pleasantly enough this is not a European led idea. The Kenyan environmentalist WANGARI MAATHAI, about whom there is a lot on the internet, has had a lot to say about this sort of thing. As far as I know, she has claimed to have personally organised the planting of over 20 million trees.

It might be supposed that African countries are hopeless politically and that Africans themselves are hapless, permanently unfortunate. This is particularly unfair to Africans, and leads on to an important point. Basic realities have changed.

For the past fifty years, Europeans and others have supported corrupt regimes in African countries in order to establish ‘spheres of influence’ and easy access to natural resources. The ending of the Cold War and the recent collapse of Free Trade Capitalism has changed all that. The conditions now exist in which African countries can become pleasant well organised countries, with among other advantages well organised agriculture.

Of course, African countries still have serious social and political problems. Africans flee to Europe to escape cultures of bullying based on both female circumcision and male circumcision. African governments should be encouraged to make illegal both female circumcision and male circumcision. In many Asian countries and most African countries, cultures of bullying based on male circumcision have been going on for far too long.

British politicians taking an interest in political developments in African countries, should mean exactly that. A good starting point would be to memorise the list of African countries and capitals. Various people may think vaguely that they should get round to looking at such a list. Well, here it is. It allows one to make sense of maps and allows one to understand news items. There have been riots recently in Nouakchott. There have been elections recently in Brazzaville. And so on. I should acknowledge that the list has been abstracted from a Collins School Atlas, recommended and available from all good bookshops.

01/ Algeria (Algiers).
02/ Benin (Porto Novo).
03/ Burkina (Ouagadougou).
04/ Cameroon (Yaounde).
05/ Cape Verde (Praia).

06/ Central African Republic (Bangui).
07/ Chad (Ndjamena).
08/ Cote d’Ivoire (Yamoussoukro).
09/ Djibouti (Djibouti).
10/ Egypt (Cairo).

11/ Equatorial Guinea (Malabo).
12/ Eritrea (Asmara).
13/ Ethiopia (Addis Ababa).
14/ Gabon (Libreville).
15/ The Gambia (Banjul).

16/ Ghana (Accra).
17/ Guinea (Conakry).
18/ Guinea Bissau (Bissau).
19/ Liberia (Monrovia).
20/ Libya (Trípoli).

21/ Mali (Bamako).
22/ Mauritania (Nouakchott).
23/ Morocco (Rabat).
24/ Níger (Niamey).
25/ Nigeria (Abuja).

26/ Sao Tome and Principe (Sao Tome).
27/ Senegal (Dakar).
28/ Sierra Leone (Freetown).
29/ Somalia (Mogadishu).
30/ Sudan (Khartoum).

31/ Togo (Lome).
32/ Tunisia (Tunis).
33/ Uganda (Kampala).
34/ Western Sahara (Laayoune).
35/ Angola (Luanda).

36/ Botswana (Gaborone).
37/ Burundi (Bujumbura).
38/ Comoros (Moroni).
39/ Congo (Brazzaville).
40/ Dem Rep Congo (Kinshasa).

41/ Kenya (Nairobi).
42/ Lesotho (Maseru).
43/ Madagascar (Antananarivo).
44/ Malawi (Lilongwe).
45/ Mauritius (Port Louis).

46/ Mozambique (Maputo).
47/ Namibia (Windhoek).
48/ Rwanda (Kigali).
49/ Seychelles (Victoria).
50/ South Africa (Pretoria).

51/ Swaziland (Mbabane).
52/ Tanzania (Dodoma).
53/ Zambia (Lusaka).
54/ Zimbabwe (Harare)

Tom Smith, Wednesday, 14th October 2009.

19/A NEGOTIATED END TO ISRAEL

From the Financial Times for Tuesday 17th May 2011.

"Trouble In The Golan Heights. Israel must adjust to the new reality in the Middle East.

On Sunday, for the first time in 38 years, the uneasy peace on the borders between Israel and Syria was breached. Israeli troops fired on a group of Palestinian protesters, who broke into the Israeli occupied Golan Heights to mark the anniversary of the NAKBA, or expulsion of Palestinians from the newly formed state of Israel in 1948.

It is highly unlikely that the protesters were able to pass through the maze of blast walls and razor wire guarding the Golan Heights without a nod from Damascus. For Bashar al Assad, the Syrian tyrant clinging to power by ever more brutal assaults on his own people, a skirmish with Israel serves as a useful distraction. It is also yet another rendition of the tired old refrain that despots across the Middle East have chorused to the outside world for 40 years: oust me, and chaos will follow.

Yet regardless of the cynicism behind such moves, Israel got its response badly wrong. Shooting unarmed civilians (the protesters were carrying clubs and stones, but no firearms) is not just morally reprehensible; it also makes it easier for Mr Assad and his ilk to paper over the cracks in their crumbling legitimacy by claiming to hold the line against Israeli aggression. Moreover, such incidents have a corrosive effect on Israel's international standing.

That is not something Israel can afford, least of all now. The winds of change whistling through the Middle East have already brought into question some of the certainties (Egyptian assistance in enclosing Gaza; the split between Hamas and Fatah) that have helped sustain Israeli security for the past five years. A new generation of Arab leaders will be far less inclined than their autocratic predecessors to cut deals with Israel in defiance of Arab opinion. In this context Israel needs allies. Of late, it has been shedding them.

The best way for Israel to win back support is to show that it is committed to peace. What this means in practice has long been clear: division of the land in line with the parameters set out by Bill Clinton in 2000 and reaffirmed in the Arab peace initiative of 2002; the establishment of a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza with Arab east Jerusalem as its capital; and land swaps to allow Israel to incorporate some of the settlements around Jerusalem.

Sadly, Israel shows little appetite for compromise. It has even indicated that it might block the Palestinian elections proposed as part of the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. Israeli concerns about Hamas are justifiable. But as the West has found, thwarting the democratic process in Arab countries usually ends in bloodshed.

Barack Obama, the US president, has a chance this Thursday, when he gives a speech on the Middle East, to impress on Israel that the Clinton plan offers the best hope of lasting peace. He should take it. It would be in the interest of Israel if its government listened too."

COMMENT: Newspapers such as The Times, Die Welt, Le Monde, Pravda and The New York Times could reasonably be described as world class newspapers. However it could be argued, that the Financial Times is the voice of realism for political establishments throughout the world. And it has been stated clearly in the FT, that political realities have changed considerably for the Israelis.

Various political establishments can huff and puff about 1967 borders, Clinton initiatives, Norway accords, indefensible borders, demographic changes and whatever else, but it can only be a matter of time before one million or more unarmed Palestinians gather on the Israeli borders, pull down the fences and make their ways to Tel Aviv. Intending to stay there until they are granted their full democratic rights in their home country.

And of course the Palestinians would be supported in their endeavours by the eighty million or so newly secularist Egyptians.

The new reality is that the Israelis are simply not going to be allowed to use modern armaments to maintain their anachronistic, racist and undemocratic theocracy.

Tom Smith, Tuesday 24th May 2011.

APOLOGISE TO GADDAFI

I will put this essay online tommorow or the next day.

Rowan Alder, Tuesday 26th April 2011.

18/THE WINTER ACONITE WILD FLOWER

Winter Aconite. Eranthis hyemalis, hyemalis being the Latin word for wintery, of winter and so on. There are several low growing interesting but difficult to identify wild flowers, which grow at the edges of woodlands. Identifying such plants is a matter of knowing at what time of the year to look for things, which make each species distinctive.//

Winter aconites are easy to identify in March by their distinctive and conspicuous bright yellow, six petalled, cup shaped flowers. The flowers are about 15mm across and the plants themselves are about 12cm in height.//

Once winter aconites have been identified, one notes that the leaves are distinctive, although difficult to describe. The books describe winter aconite leaves as being deeply cut. Each long thin lobe of each deeply cut leaflet has a distinctive rounded end. Ho, hum.//

Each winter aconite plant stem has only one leaf or flower on it, and that leaf or flower is at the end of its stem. I am unenthusiastic about pulling plants apart, but if it is one plant from a largish patch of plants and it helps one identify the plant species, then I suppose that is alright.//

Winter aconite leaves are about 6cm across, and are made up of five deeply cut leaflets, something only ascertained by using the afore mentioned pulling the plant apart method. The leaflets are arranged in a rosette at the end of the 12cm high leaf stem. The leaflets are neat but irregularly lobed. In other words, the leaflets are not identical to each other.//

The leaves are difficult to describe, but easy to identify, once one is sure that one has learned to recognise winter aconite plants. Each yellow cup shaped flower has a rosette of leaflets around the base of the flower, such leaflets usually being called sepals.//

Winter aconites are the small yellow flowers one notices in March on the edges of woodlands. They are ranunculaceae flowers. That is, they are from the buttercup group of flowers.//

17/KILLING GADDAFI

KILLING GADDAFI.

I might get round to saying a lot more about this. I want to make something clear, something that should be obvious to anyone with two or more brain cells.

For Crusaders to turn up and kill Muslim leaders, no matter who they are or what they have done, is completely intolerable.

It is a national disgrace that we are represented by political halfwits like Cameron, who can say wink wink, nudge nudge we might get round to killing Gaddafi.

WORDS FAIL ME ON THIS, AT THE MOMENT.

Anyone who does not understand the psychology of this sort of thing, is one hundred per cent unworthy of public office in Britain.

Rowan Alder, Tuesday 22nd March 2011.