It's been a busy few weeks for me, with a new job and a move to the other end of the country, so I've not had much time for posting or indeed keeping up with current affairs.
The most interesting recent news story was the decision by President Obama to give Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a civillian trial in New York for his alleged role in the mass-murder comitted on 9/11. This is an excellent decision in my view and something that should have been done when KSM was captured in 2003. Bafflingly the relatives of some 9/11 victims don't want KSM to set foot on American soil, as if he will somehow manage to escape custody and live a free life in the US. A free and fair legal system is the bedrock of Western civillisation and denying this right to KSM is arguably as damaging to the principles of a free society as 9/11 itself. The Attorney-General also announced he'd be pressing for the death penalty, which would seem to bizarre punishment for a man who openly craves a martyr's death. It would be far more appropriate to let him rot in obscurity in some anonymous super-max prison, than to reward his peverse world view by making him a martyr.
I caught the last ten minutes of Question Time this week and both panelists and audience were getting rather vexed on the subject of immigrants taking British jobs. Certainly there are many serious problems with mass immigration, particulary with regards to integration and the effect on public services. However, I notice that, in my local bank at least, a number of cashiers are Polish. I would imagine that employers such as banks would much rather employ native English speakers, so if they cannot fill these vacancies with British citizens, at a time of high unemployment, then it presumably means that they do not want the job. Perhaps one problem is that the welfare system does not provide enough incentive for the unemployed to find work, nevertheless if 'native' Brits are not willing to take on such jobs then they can hardly complain if foreigners leave their families and friends and travel hundreds of miles to fill the gap.
