Changing the law on assisted suicide in Britain - NO!

I note that Lord Falconer the ex lord Chancellor believes we need to change the law in order to cover cases where people go to places like Dignitas to end their lives because of a terminal illness and are assisted by their loved ones in achieving this objective. Under current British law this assistance is illegal and Lord Falconer presumably wants to make a change to make it not illegal. I think this is a very dangerous change to make and is typical of this Government. something is wrong, we need a new law. No we don't the old law is adequate. It is illegal to assist people to commit suicide. This is fine. The Director of Public prosecutions still makes the call as to whther to prosecute or not. So, in cases where no good purpose would be served by a prosecution the DPP could choose to not bring a case. But in cases where it is felt that those assisting were doing so for purposes other than assisting their loved ones then the DPP could elect to prosecute. So, if you persuaded your old confused grandmother to go to Dignitas because you fancied moving into her lovely house then a prsoecution would be right. keep the law. the government by seeking to relax this law opens the door to state mandated euthanasia. i think this choice should be the individual's and not the state. No to Euthanasia by the back door is what I say.

Sarkozy wants to ban the Burka!

I saw the announcement that Sarkozy wants to ban the Burka. Not sure why the shortarse wants to ban the burka when in times of stress he could hide under someone else's, but perhaps he hasn't thought it through properly yet. His advisers will help him out there.

It got me thinking though. Did I think banning the burka was a good idea. On balance I am opposed to government dictating how we should live our lives and this seems like yet another instance where some government wants to do exactly that. It's not my country but Brown is desperate for a policy that might win back public affection, so who knows, if it gets passed in France it might be proposed here.

I have heard the argument that it treats women unfairly and I am 100% in agreement that it does. I also read that many women who wear the burka choose to do so. There is an argument they might be forced to choose to do so and that I think is unplesant. I then read a letter stating that Westerners did not understand because wearing the burka empowered women to go out in public which they would not otherwise be able to do. Sounds like an argument for not banning the burka then. Then I realised the whole 'choice' story was a big con job. Women can choose to wear the burka or stay at home and not go out in public. I can see why so many 'choose' to wear the burka then. It is the lesser of two evils. Disguting is the most polite word I can find for that choice.

Do I think we should ban the burka on the back of that? No. Muslim women and men should realise that this is a repressive thing and make the choice to change on their own. We should not be forcing them to do so.

Should the burka be allowed in the workplace? This is a different story. Where communication is vital I believe the burka has no place at all and therefore should not be permitted in most workplaces. If muslim women wear a burka when going out shopping and are easily misunderstood as a result then that is another issue and we should be no harder on them than we would on any other disabled person, becuase that is what their 'choice' is making them. I still think banning the burka is a bad idea.

I hope Muslims eventually see sense about this. I am not holding my breath while I wait.