The laws concerning assisted dying, or assisted suicide, or whatever the proper term is, are being assessed, with new rulings imminent. It certainly is something that needs to be legally clarified, so that there’s no grey area. The problem with that, however, is that it’s extremely difficult to make absolute rules concerning something so relative, something so much about the individual cases. Some sort of flexibility is surely needed; something that will allow those terminally ill or in great pain and suffering to end their lives with dignity and at the hour of their choosing, while not at the same time allowing such a right to be exercised too easily.

It is, in essence, a massive grey area, and we have to hope that the law finds a suitable balance, but one primarily dictated by compassion. Surely, some concession has to be made to, in certain scenarios, alleviate terrible suffering?

Reports suggest that so-called ‘honour killings’, based around arranged marriages, are at a high in Britain. This sick tradition has been imported predominately from the lower elements of Pakistani culture, and predominately has women as the victims, though not always so. Recent cases have included a man being attacked, beaten and burned, by the father and brothers of a woman who perceived a ‘disrespect’ on his part, whilst another has centred around a woman being threatened with death and pursued by her own brothers on account of her rejection of an arranged husband.

It should be borne in mind that this perverse culture of honour killings is the vice of a minority in its community; a sick symptom of an underclass that hasn’t evolved from its backward, brutish mindset, is still at the intellectual level of the dark ages, has failed to be at all receptive to modern and enlightened sensibilities, and is clearly ill-suited to living in this country and society. How many more digusting cases of this kind do we have to read about before these mentally-retarded, culturally-stunted people show the slightest expansion in brain capacity?

I.D cards, apparently, are back on the agenda. And, just weeks ago, in this very blog, I was celebrating the government’s scrapping of the whole thing. I should’ve known it was too good to be true. They can assure us all they like that the I.D cards will be purely voluntary; but it’ll only be voluntary for a while; sooner or later, the entire population will be forced to adopt them. And to PAY for them ourselves. Yes, we will actually be asked to PAY for our own abject lowering to the status of cattle. How many more years before we’re all walking around with the equivalent of the Star of David sewn to our clothes to idenfity us? Or numbers branded onto our skin?

How much longer until we go the whole way and become a microchipped population? David Ike would just shake his silver head and say ‘I told you so’.

I’m not so much worried that we’re heading towards The Matrix one day; I’m more worried that we’re heading towards a future totalitarian state. If, at any point in the future, our present system collapses (maybe when the corruption or just plain ineffectiveness of bueuraucracy-loving politicians results in the slow decomposition of our democracy), the danger is that all the instruments of our subjection and domination will already have been well in place for some nasty, despotic regime to make use of.

Does anyone really think I.D cards are that good an idea? Or that they’ll even be that helpful? If not, then should we not ask ourselves why the government seems so determined to introduce them?

On a not-entirely-unrelated matter, an autistic British citizen has lost his battle to avoid extradition to the US, despite the best efforts (no, not really) of his government and legal system. The Americans are claiming him as a terror suspect; despite the fact that he is patently not anything of the sort, and that his illegal accessing of classified US government files was driven only by an interest in UFOs. How reassuring it must be to us all in this free and liberal country of ours to know that those serving us (definition of public servant?) are so capable of protecting our rights and interests. And how sweet to know that the vulernable are so well protected.

And in a STILL-not-entirely-unrelated matter, this week we’ve lost the last surviving World War I veteran to the heavens. Henry Allingham was the last man standing, of those who experienced the extraordinary, unparallelled horrors of the trenches, and our last living link to those historic four years of apocalyptic warfare and unfathomable numbers of dead that both stir the imagination and simultaneously make us grateful we weren’t born into that generation. A genuine hero of a bygone world, who himself and along with his generation of young men fought the nightmare battles and made the ultimate sacrifices that ensured the foundations for the development of this nation and of Western Europe along the trajectory of democracy and enlightened government.

It would be nice if the moronic elements of our nation would remember just what those millions of men were laying down their lives for, and if we, collectively, did our utmost to ensure that the freedoms, liberties, and principles that Britain and her allies were fighting to maintain (or, in some ways, to pave the way for) are wholly defended, preserved and ensured, now and in the generations to come.

Suggestions have appeared in the papers that Robbie Williams, as a ‘tribute’ to Michael Jackson, might be himself fulfilling all of Michael Jackson’s London gigs. Even if the rumour is true – and let’s hope to Jupiter it’s NOT – it’d have NOTHING whatsoever to do with honouring Mr Jackson. ‘Tribute’, my arse – it’d be nothing other than an undisguised cash-in from a star’s death by an irrelevant has-been, desperate to revive a lost career.

Speaking of the deified king, did anyone see the Uri Geller documentary in ITV about Michael Jackson? All other aspects of it aside, the suggestion that a NASA engineer was seriously discussing the idea of putting Michael Jackson on the moon (you know, to do the moonwalk, obviously) is one of the most extraordinary, bizzare, and – in its own way – cute, ideas I’ve ever heard. Just think how MENTAL that would’ve been. Oh, well, now we can only imagine…

Two interesting scenarios, both centering around issues of law and sentencing. One of them involves a woman being sentenced to two years for falsely accusing someone of rape, in a landmark sentencing. The suggestion is that this kind of punishment might act as a deterrant to women ‘crying rape’ without valid justification. No doubt, there is and has been for some time a serious problem with women bringing rape accusations against men for dishonest or ulterior reasons, and no doubt something is needed to deter such abuses of the system.

But, unfortunately, might there not be a negative side-effect of this kind of sentencing? Specifically, that a number of women might be reluctant to report even genuine rape, for fear of the consequences if the accused is found innocent?

Obviously a delicate issue and very tricky one to legislate for; where is the balance to be found?

Maybe there should be some sort of sex permits. All intercourse conducted without the proper permits from both participants will be considered illegal. I’m jesting… I think.

The other case involves a police officer who’s managed to have her sentence for drink driving overturned. How nice. Good to know that those enforcing the law can be exempt FROM the law. The police officer in question was not only drink driving, but carrying a FIREARM too. Thank God she wasn’t on tubes trying to apprehend Brazilian electricians.

Reports earlier this year indicated that as many as a thousand acting police officers had criminal convictions. Should that not bother us a bit? Shouldn’t those paid to enforce and administer the law be entirely ABIDERS of the law?

As for the question of whether superstar FOOTBALLERS are outside of the law, that remains to be seen, regarding Mr Steven Gerrard.

Who’s seen the footage of Indian border security men shooting dead asylum seekers trying to cross the border on foot? A regular sport, apparently, the aim of which is to open fire on unarmed people, invariably poor folk, and allegedly women with children too. It’s a safe bet that Nick Griffin and the BNP are taking notes.

Does anyone find it very strange that it’s taking more than a month to bury Michael Jackson? Do they REALLY need until August to finish the toxocology testing? Is his brain going to be restored to his body? And why can’t the cruder realms of the media take a hint and stop traumatising his children with all these stories about who their real father is, how they were conceived, etc? Probably never.

As for the endless parade of eccentrics, exhibitionists, performers and weirdos (in what proportions, I’m not sure) climbing onto the Trafalgar Square plinth, WHEN are we going to see the belly dancers and fire-eaters? Soon, let’s hope. And when is it time for the evangelical preachers proclaiming the End of Days, or the bearded clerics expounding the virtues of holy war? The best would be a proper vanishing act by a magician; a mysterious figure steps up, hides behind a cloak, waves his wand, and… is gone. Who’s gonna top that? David Blaine, the stage is set for your return…