After having passed the New Jersey State Senate, S-171 looks set to make New Jersey the first US state in four decades to give up the death penalty. The Democrats control the lower house and support the bill (A3716 in the House) and Governor Jim Corzine (D) has indicated that he will sign the bill.
Congratulations [...]

God must be an awfully insecure sort. God, Christ, Allah, YHWH or whatever you call1 the Supreme Being, seems, for something that is all-powerful and all-knowing, to being using the slander laws (or, as they are in this case, the blasphemy laws) an awful lot lately.
I think the right of freedom of speech includes, of [...]

The implications of the failure of the attempted Christian Voice blasphemy action could be really rather wide-ranging. Firstly, it hamstrings the blasphemy laws which are, in and of themselves, incompatible with freedom of speech and are superseded by the Religious Hatred laws. It seems increasingly unlikely that any prosecution could be brought under the provisions [...]

The right of habeas corpus is a key right because, in the same way as petitions to Parliament, they make all other rights effective because, although they only demand a case be seen, they drag it into the sunlight.
Regrettably, the government seeks to extend the current maximum time that someone can be held without charge [...]

Lynne Featherstone has tabled a new EDM on the situation around the Iraqi employees. It reads:
That this House recognises the courage of Iraqis who have worked alongside British troops and diplomats in southern Iraq, often saving British lives; notes that many such Iraqis have been targeted for murder by Iraqi militias in Basra, and that [...]

Erik Ringmar, a good friend of mine from the LSE, has written what, to my knowledge is a double first with his book, A Blogger’s Manifesto. It is the first academic study of blogs and it is the first book about blogging that isn’t about how public relations people should take advantage of blogging, how [...]