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BBC News – Just how important is Magna Carta 800 years on?
BBC News – Just how important is Magna Carta 800 years on?.
This year people in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and plenty of other nations will mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. The document will be lauded for establishing one vital principle.
A new book about Magna Carta is published today which claims to offer new insights into one of the most famous documents in British history.
This year marks the 800th anniversary of the charter’s first signing on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede on the banks of the Thames between Windsor and Staines.
The book by David Carpenter, professor of medieval history at King’s College, London, contains a new translation of Magna Carta and more than 500 pages of historical background and commentary.
The charter was agreed between King John and a group of leading barons, led by Robert fitzWalter, exasperated at the king’s arbitrary rule and high taxes. It was in effect a peace treaty designed to head off armed conflict. It failed.
U.S. torture debate underscores shifting view on personal liberties – World – CBC News
U.S. torture debate underscores shifting view on personal liberties – World – CBC News.
In America, you get a fair shake, or you’re supposed to. Here, you’re governed by law, not the whim of some swinish satrap.
America is not a place where peaceful dissent should cost you your freedom, or even your life. Americans don’t live in terror of their security police.
All of this is arguably less true today than it was 20 years ago; it’s certainly less true since Sept. 11, 2001.
Strangely, it is America’s conservatives, the people to whom personal liberty is a supreme value, who seem most willing to give it away.
“If you aren’t doing anything wrong, then you don’t have anything to worry about,” they say, while pushing new powers for law enforcement and the growing surveillance-industrial establishment.
That, of course, is the cheapjack police-state justification; the sort you hear in countries that are said to be “not ready for democracy.” It is most un-American in spirit, but the law-and-order bunch doesn’t see it that way.
Democracy or The Rule of Law – Ludwig von Mises Institute Canada
Democracy or The Rule of Law – Ludwig von Mises Institute Canada.
One of the most heated topics last month was the protest in Hong Kong, led by students who were later joined by other Hong Kong citizens. The main issue between the government and the protesters is the Chief Executive Election method for 2017. The Basic Law states that “the ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.” As of right now the Chief Executive was nominated by a committee of 1200 people, which is not via universal suffrage. Protesters are concerned that democracy and freedom in Hong Kong will be lost, and that their interests will not be represented.
This protest, otherwise known as the “umbrella revolution” by some media outlets, lead people to focus on the possible outcomes of these events, namely, to vote or not? However, voting (or democracy) is only one part of liberty, and the focus on change should include reforms of all institutions. The improvements of all these institutions will take time and great effort.
According to the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom, Hong Kong ranked no.1 with an overall score of 90.1 (The Heritage Foundation, 2014). This index consists of four major parts: the Rule of Law, Limited Government, Regulatory Efficiency, and Open Markets. According to the Heritage Foundation, Hong Kong scored its highest ever score this year. The lowest scores are Monetary freedom, under regulatory efficiency, which is 82; and Freedom from Corruption, under “Rule of Law”, which is 82.3.
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