In a day of speeches and discussions, academics, politicians, lawyers, writers, journalists and pop stars joined civil liberty campaigners to issue a call to arms for Britons to defend their democratic rights. More than 1,500 people attended the Convention on Modern Liberty in Bloomsbury, central London, which was linked by video to parallel events in Glasgow, Birmingham, Belfast, Bristol, Manchester, Cardiff and Cambridge…
In her speech, human rights lawyer, Helena Kennedy said she felt that fear was being used as a weapon to break down civil liberties. “There is a general feeling that in creating a climate of fear people have been writing a blank cheque to government. People feel the fear of terrorism is being used to take away a lot of rights…”
The Conservative MP David Davis, who resigned from the shadow cabinet in order to fight a byelection on a civil liberties platform, gave the final keynote speech of the day. He told the Observer that he believed the danger of a police state was a very real one and that justice secretary Jack Straw was leading a “piecemeal and casual erosion” of freedom in this country. “There has been a tide of government actions which have put expediency over justice time and time again. The British people wear their liberty like an old comfy suit, they are careless about it, but the mood is changing. Last year 80 per cent of people were in favour of ID cards, now 80 per cent are against…”
The Convention on Modern Liberty…was launched as an umbrella campaign last month under the statement of purpose: “A call to all concerned with attacks on our fundamental rights and freedoms under pressure from counter-terrorism, financial breakdown and the database state.”
Good luck to you all, folks. You’re gonna need it.
Funny at the beginning where it says noID then cuts immediately to a table full of name badges.
Good stuff, an informed and active citizenry is necessary for liberty.
That statistic, that the public opinion on ID cards has shifted 60% in one year! Stunning! I’m thrilled that people are waking up so rapidly!
They are already living in a police state. When they stupidly gave up their guns they gave up the one thing that the gov’t feared. An armed populace with the ability to resist draconian gov’t control. Too late for them. Gun control is NEVER about safety or crime and always about gov’t control.
Yep, anther country where libs are destroying personal liberty… Looks like conservatives are going to have to step in.
Bully for them! How do we get this started here? Reverse what happened the last 8 yrs?? And I’m a registered Repub at that!
#5 We have that one guy here – Ron Paul you might have hear about him and supporting what he stands for would be a very good starting point.
Some 11 states have started to reassert their constitutional rights under the 9th and 10th amendments. Many more are expected to join in. We can only hope (and add our support when possible) that this will be noticed and “…our lords who art in Washington…” will begin to realize, as Reagan said, that the fed government is the problem not the solution.
“The powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite.” – James Madison
Hah, hah. Show me an idiot defending his “rights” with a gun and I’ll show you an idiot with a gun identifying who the first rung of targets will be for the Homeland Security Advocates (Repugs hunting Conservatives- – – too bad tickets couldn’t be sold to this turkey shoot.”
#7–Nimby==I’m disappointed in your approval of the out of context extraneous quoting from a dead slave owner. At our founding, there were federalist and anti-federalist. Together their writings and musings form a literal bible of quotable quotes for any side of any issue you wish to name.
Surely your analysis could be brought within shouting distance of anything relevant?
But on topic: The Brits would do well to adopt a Bill of Rights against the Government. They couldn’t do better than adopting our own absent the prohibition issue and such.
If I were them, I’d even include the anti-slavery provision just to underline that little item.
Freedom – – a fragile thing.
#6 Yeah, Ron Paul. We’re gonna need someone with more mainstream appeal. He comes off as someone who makes the rounds with survivalist whaco’s. Thats the perception, at least.
This last election I think more people started to pay attention for a little while.
# 10 Thinker said, “He comes off as someone who makes the rounds with survivalist whaco’s. Thats the perception, at least.”
Anyone who tries to rise espousing the same ideas as Paul is going to get smeared 24/7 by the media.
V should begin making appearances over there shortly.
I hope it’s not too late for the Brits.
Americans suffered civil liberty declines after 8 horrible years but on a road to restoring them.
We dodged a fatal blow by sending Sarah Moosalini and Grandpa McCain pack’n.
We also dodged a comment recently so Obama is truly magical in so many ways.
# 13 Dallas said, “I hope it’s not too late for the Brits.”
It’s not. As I predicted on an earlier thread, the conservatives in the UK are moving to fight the civil liberty violations by the Libs who control the UK gov’t.
-history is short lived in our memories.
Excuse me Eidheard:
“Good luck to you all, folks. You’re gonna need it.”
-but are you exercising restraint on behalf of the survival of the DU blog, or are you, dare i say, blind?
i implore you to change your statement and add,
“We Must do the same here!”
the brits have been in Beta for what to, -and
IS befalling us here..only they actually have a clue as to their heritage and history, where as we herein America lay paralysed in front of our TV’s in a willing transe of 24 hour advertsing propaganda.
as if by design, our lower and high-schools no longer “infect” the harsh truth of our
history, our Constitution, our bill of rights and reasons *why* we fought for Liberty from an oppressive, tax-obsessed royal crown some 3000mi away.
I, in the 70’s high schools, was hardly taught this.
we were, -and are not, taught this first and foremost any longer. -for should we still carry in our memories what exactly brought about the reasons for the colonies of our forefathers to revolt against the king, we would not be anywhere near in the situation we now find our country in.
no stronger a place time does the old addage “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it” have more meaning than NOW.
we are methodically repeating mistakes made and (corrected) which lead us back in to servitude of our past faux masters..unilateral governments and banks posing as the voice of the people.
people, go back and re-learn the American Revolution. find videos if you do not wish to read it.
you will find astonishing resemblances, simularities (and symbolisms) of what
happened then, -and what is happening now.
-and you must do this with your ideology(s) put aside. learn and view with the eyes of an American, not as a democrat, republican or other politico.
-with child’s eyes tempered with time, if you will.
you will learn of a history and tactics which are being used against us yet again. -only this time, they have near succeeded by doing this from within.
someone said America can now only be destroyed from within..
i beg you to take heed of this thought and examine with your own eyes, all that was done
to lead us on the brink of financial ruin. -then note *ALL* the players involved and then look at who is has been put in charge to *fix* calling the shots today.
only self-exploration of the facts can shake some ill conceived ideology from the minds of those who can not see (by external design)
-what is being done to America, its heritage, history and future.
-and do see in the end result, that this is an opening as well as almost final salvo via new laws and governance that will strip us of our sovereignty and force us to be ruled by proxy of those same forces from long ago.
the are now about to exploit the global scam they perpetuated and create a global governing body that will take away not only American liberties, but those same Liberties enjoyed by peoples of other nations fortunate to fought for the same.
-history revisionists are in full force.
i dare anyone to prove it otherwise.
-say NO to global new world order. it will take another two centuries before we recovery
from such treachery. if we agree to PM Browns
rants, we’re totally screwed.
-s
#15–soundwash==”you will find astonishing resemblances, simularities (and symbolisms) of what
happened then, -and what is happening now. /// Name one.
Did they hand out Guy Fawkes masks to the attendees?
(Personality, you beat me to it)
Too late. Too late for the Brits, who already live in A Clockwork Orange world. Too late for the US, where they just put a smooth-talking Stalinist in power.
Just get used to your chains, fools, there’s NOTHING you can do because you’re too soft and comfortable and easily scared….you’re not willing to stand up for yourselves, not willing to risk arrest by taking to the streets (not to mention overthrowing corrupt governments), not willing to anything but bitch on the internet.
You have proven that the WWII generation was the last generation of free people. So I have no sympathy. That’s why I work for the govt. If we’re going to live in a police state, I want to be on the right side of the fence.
Best you can do is tell your kids to get govt jobs and move up as fast as they can.
# Paddy-o
How soon we forget Thatcher. What a boon for liberty she was! If your rich, of course. If your poor then you get a jackboot in the face.
The masons will never bow to it’s little slaves.
Get on your knees. Get on your faces and lick the boots of tyranny.
“A call to arms”? A little late for that I would say. Your govt took your arms years ago. Maybe time for pitch forks though. Good luck.
# 22 Rick Cain said, “and the Liberal/labor party is also Conservative.”
ROFLMAO!
You’re FUNNY!
#22 R.C.,
Good to know. I also don’t think Americans understand how American political parties are seen outside it’s borders. As I understand it, to Europeans both our parties are seen as reactionary. So in general converting “liberal” or “conservative” between (at least) the US and European countries must be done with care. Pointing to a “liberal” government in the UK and saying the same policies will happen in the US with our majority “liberal” government is quite ignorant. One only has to look at the previous “conservative” government and all it’s civil liberty violations to see that!
Remember, Guillotines work. Just sayin.
#28 ROFLMAO! Yes, Labour is closer to Ayn Rand than to Marx. LOL!
#29 Paddy-Oh
Ok I’ll admit they are a bit to the left. In terms of social repression and suspension of civil rights, do you mean like the Patriot Act? No, I dont think Thatcher went that far. She was too busy trying to dismantle unionism and put down riots.
# 30 Hugh Ripper said, “Ok I’ll admit they are a bit to the left.”
Don’t BS someone who has run a business in the UK. I know how far to the left they really are. I’ve run business in France & the US also. I’m very familiar with the political parties in the major EU countries.