Connected

ConnectedThe surge in communication technology, and particularly the spread of the internet, has made the world a much smaller place.

I sit here writing my blog, and with a single click, I can send my thoughts out to anyone on the planet who has the ability to connect to the world wide web.

As Globalisation proceeds, we find ourselves in an age in which the actions of everybody have the potential to strongly influence everyone else, be that with good, or not so good intentions.

Realising this, we must then alter our mind-set and strive to build a global society of mutual coexistence and mutual prosperity. This will be done by going beyond devotion to the interests of the self or of the nation-state and devoting ourselves to the interests of all humanity.

As Dr Martin Luther King said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’. We see injustice in so many forms, from discrimination against sex, race, colour or creed, to the disgraceful inequality in the distribution of wealth between the have’s and have not’s.

The key to the solution is for everyone to start having the imagination and will to care for others. It is the empathising heart, or what Buddhists mean when they talk about mercy.

A Shrinking World

Global SocietyThe surge in communication technology, and particularly the spread of the internet, has made the world a much smaller place. I sit here writing my blog, and with a single click, I can send my thoughts out to anyone on the planet who has the ability to connect to the world wide web.

As Globalisation proceeds, we find ourselves in an age in which the actions of everybody have the potential to strongly influence everyone else, be that with good, or not so good intentions.

Realising this, we must then alter our mind-set and strive to build a global society of mutual coexistence and mutual prosperity. This will be done by going beyond devotion to the interests of the self or of the nation-state and devoting ourselves to the interests of all humanity.

As Dr Martin Luther King said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’. We see injustice in so many forms, from discrimination against sex, race, colour or creed, to the disgraceful inequality in the distribution of wealth between the have’s and have not’s.

The key to the solution is for everyone to start having the imagination and will to care for others. It is the empathising heart, or what Buddhists mean when they talk about mercy.

The Truth Will Out

The Scales Of JusticeWith the final admission today, by ex-MP Chris Huhne, that he has been attempting to pervert the course of justice by lying to police about a motoring offence that happened over ten years ago, we can see that the lack of honesty can bring about anyone’s downfall .

Lying, or even being economical with the truth can swiftly get badly out of control. One lie leads to another, to another and so on, as the purveyor of untruths attempts to cover each falsehood with the next. How much better would it be for all concerned, in the long run, if the truth were told from the outset?

We might feel a modicum of compassion for Huhne, given that he has been described by colleagues as a very hard working MP. However, I think it only right that he serve a custodial sentence, bearing in mind the position of responsibility he held at the time, the number of people he has let down by his attempted deceit and the length of time he has taken to admit to the offence.

The court will decide his fate shortly, but it has already been mooted that he will serve time inside one of Her Majesty’s prisons. Sadly, like many other of his parliamentary colleagues over the last few years, he has been found to be a downright dishonourable member. Oh how the mighty are fallen, hoist by their own petard.

Doing The Right Thing

Justice For AllFurther developments in the Abu Qatada extradition story must be giving others the same troubled thoughts as I am having. Cleric Qatada is, without doubt, a dangerous man, extolling, as he does, acts of terrorism and killing on behalf of the mujahedeen. His release from Long Lartin jail in mid February caused outcry in the UK.

He has been accused of being one of the UK’s most dangerous extremist preachers as well as the spiritual head of the mujahedeen in Britain. Many, many people in this country would be very happy to see him sent back to Jordan, where he has been charged with terrorist activities in his absence.

But the fact that he is clearly a dangerous influence and potentially a risk to UK security does not give us carte blanche to put him on a plane and send him off to a country who make little effort to hide their use of torture to extract ‘evidence’ for legal cases.

We like to pride ourselves on our British characteristic of fair play, to extol the virtues of our democratic society and our belief that everyone is equal under British law. So it is beholding to us to extend those qualities to everyone, even if that person is undeniably an unsavoury and potentially dangerous character.

We must do, and be seen to do, the right thing by cleric Qatada. We must abide by the decisions made in the European Court of Human Rights regarding the terms and conditions of his extradition to Jordan. We must also make full use this high profile case, to exert pressure on Jordan to stop the use of torture under any circumstances and to press them to respect the United Nations Human Rights Treaty.

The reports today from Westminster, that Qatada can be removed from the UK ‘in full compliance of the law’ is meaningless if he is removed to a country that flouts international treaties and tortures confessions out of people. If we remove him in the wrong circumstances, we will bring more trouble upon ourselves in the future, so let’s get it right.

Justice? What Justice?

Abu QatadaAbu Qatada, one of the UK’s most dangerous extremist preachers, has been released from jail tonight. But what is really behind this BBC tag line? Whilst I believe that this man should not be at liberty to spread his message of terrorism freely around the UK, should he really be locked up for six years without being charged?

Another man, also evil in his own way, Ali Dizaei, the ex commander of the Metropolitan Police, has today been found guilty of perverting the course of justice, will serve a further three months in prison. Three months for misuse of his powers of position. There doesn’t seem to be much justice between the two, does there?

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want Abu Qatada set free, I too would prefer to see him deported, if for no other reason than to save thousands of pounds of taxpayer’s money. But I can only see one way to soften the hatred in his heart, and that is through dialogue. Only by reasoning, by talking to al-Qaeda, will we find a lasting peace between our civilisations.

As the Buddha taught us, even the most evil person has a portion of Buddhahood within them. Whether that potential is allowed to blossom is open to conjecture, but it exists never the less. If we continue to demonise these people, we will only reinforce their hatred and set them more strongly against us. We must engage in dialogue if this cycle of destructive hate is ever to be broken.