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Questions Of The Day (Politics)
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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The World Service is running the Hurricane Tapes in fifteen minute tranches, of which I am halfway through. The problem is that Carter really was a fairly dreadful person, perhaps even a murderer, though not in the case of this particular triple homicide. Or so I assumed, but we're only halfway through and already some alibi witnesses are changing their stories. His trials and retrials illustrate again that the Judicial State can never reset the clock to zero once it's started ticking. And never back to 'innocent until proved guilty'.

The worst example I know of is Timothy Evans. After he'd been hanged for murdering his wife and child, it was discovered that Christie had murdered the wife (because he liked having sex with dead women). Cue an official enquiry which decided that Evans could still have killed the child! It made no sense but it meant they could keep the death penalty for a few more years.
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Mick Harper
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Which reminds me, demands for the return of capital punishment seem to have died a death. Last I heard, a majority of Britons were in favour but membership of the EU precludes it. I am surprised it hasn't entered the debate. Powder dry?
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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ONE of life mysteries is how come, when MPs have voted to take NO DEAL off the table, we are in a situation of being "out" (Crashing or otherwise), with NO DEAL unless we beg an extension for after the 12th.

Could it be that grandstanding MPs have been voting to control things that the EU now have sole control over?

Still I like the precedent. Wiley has submitted a motion for the house.

Ahem, that henceforward the English Test team will no longer drop slip catches....."Hear" "Hear"......
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Mick Harper wrote:
Which reminds me, demands for the return of capital punishment seem to have died a death. Last I heard, a majority of Britons were in favour but membership of the EU precludes it. I am surprised it hasn't entered the debate. Powder dry?


This is incredibly ingenious Mr Harper, the EU gave between 2008 and 2016..... a handsome 22 million Euros of funding to civil organisations that advocate abolition. We just need to leave, reinstate capital punishment and the Wonga will flow in from the EU.

We would only need to execute a token 1 or 2 rapists a year, (probably best to avoid Europeans or Catholics) if this is going to work.
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Mick Harper
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Since this is due to become an Act of Parliament this week (assuming the Lords does its duty and Her Maj is in town) I suppose, in the absence of EU co-operation, the government would have to take Article 50 itself off the table in order not to break the law. Of course it could just sign the Agreement under prerogative powers (as I've been arguing all along) because it is now forced not to seek Parliamentary approval by an Act of Parliament.
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Grant



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I am surprised it hasn't entered the debate. Powder dry?


People have been subjected to fifty years of bleeding-heart liberal propaganda about innocents being executed. Unfortunately for liberals they have only ever come up with one probably genuine case (Evans) where an innocent was hanged.
Meanwhile the murder rate has soared.
If you take advances in medical science - which have saved many potential murder victims - into account, the murder rate has multiplied at least ten-fold.
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Mick Harper
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I must be living on a different planet, Grant. On mine, the execution of innocent people has come in at number 47 among reasons advanced for why capital punishment should be abolished. The AEL has no position on capital punishment but that doesn't mean it permits its members to use phoney correlation claims. Or for that matter phoney lists of reasons for and against whatever it is.
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Grant



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What's your number one reason why it should be abolished?
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Mick Harper
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Straight AE. Societies impose draconian penalties to make up for the fact that catching criminals is very difficult in less developed conditions. As resources can be spared and technology improves for catching criminals, the penalties can be progressively eased off. Societies are not draconian, people are.

It was obvious by the twentieth century in advanced countries that the most serious crimes, murder especially, were not only dropping in number but the probability of being caught were close to unity if you made a career out of it. Since life imprisonment was your fate if caught, and being caught was a reasonable prospect, the idea of death being uniquely, or even especially, a deterrent was seen as highly doubtful.

When the number of executions in any given state was in any case down to (say, in Britain) half a dozen a year, it was thought safe to dispense with the whole grisly apparatus altogether. Though it's much cheaper to top 'em. I agree that capital punishment is more of a deterrent but it is so marginal as to be no longer worth the candle.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Grant wrote:
I am surprised it hasn't entered the debate. Powder dry?


People have been subjected to fifty years of bleeding-heart liberal propaganda about innocents being executed. Unfortunately for liberals they have only ever come up with one probably genuine case (Evans) where an innocent was hanged.



Correct, the case against the death penalty must consider the person who was in fact guilty, and did do the most despicable crime.
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Mick Harper
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Oddly enough, abolishing capital punishment may increase miscarriages of justice. When a death sentence is in prospect but it takes a long time to carry out (in the US but not, as was, in Britain) then there is some urgency in investigating the soundness of the verdict. Life in prison doesn't have nearly the same effect. Though, I suppose, contrariwise there's even longer to find out. Not saying it is, but saying it might be.

In the Evans case, it is definitely not a numbers thing. One person hanged in error takes an awful lot of making up. It may even be, in our present general climate, impossible to make up. In the Evans case the system survived because of a) the length of time before the error was discovered and b) the baby factor. It is noticeable that in America they have yet to experience a really clearcut case of an innocent man swinging.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Why don't politicians do Maths?

If the ERG had waited, instead of calling for a no confidence vote in December 18, May would now be gone. But no, they didn't bother with the basic maths and lost by 83. They strengthened May (who was in an incredibly weak position) and weakened their own position. Now being unable to get another vote till December 19, they are sidelined. It was basic lack of arithmetic that could change the fate of Brexit.

They lost by 83. That's out of 317. To miscalculate and lose by the single aye of a convicted felon on a tag is one thing, to lose by 83 is to make you wonder what they actually study at Private school.

May's problem is a mathematical one in that 73% of MPs are remainers. She has an excuse, the maths is tough.
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Wile E. Coyote


In: Arizona
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Bonjour Theresa.

Bonjour.

Would you like another extension?

Yes please, Sir.

How many is that Theresa?

It is 37 now, Sir.

Come into my office. You are such a naughty, naughty girl. Now, where is my cane?
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Boreades


In: finity and beyond
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Trouble is, I think she likes it!

European Council President Donald Tusk is reportedly to propose EU leaders agree to offer the UK a year-long “flexible” extension to Article 50 beyond 12 April to 31 March 2020 with the option of leaving the EU earlier if the UK parliament ratifies the EU Withdrawal Agreement.




Would you like to see my extension?
Ooh, you are awful! But I like you.
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Mick Harper
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In: London
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Can we please put an end to this smutty innuendo directed at our leader. He is a Catholic and wouldn't particularly appreciate it.
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