Comments on: Photo essay: Galilee Bedouin face house demolitions

By: jennifer

jennifer — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:39:58 +0000

Wow, this paragraph is good, my sister is analyzing these things, therefore I
am going to inform her.

By: Greg Pollock

Greg Pollock — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:31:24 +0000

Trespasser: “arouses a question of whether minorities really need any democratic representation…” : minority representation allows such to form coalitions, endure, perhaps later changing the nature of the majority. Rights have nothing to do with minority representation; they are applicable to all, identically, and the purpose is to limit the concept of soverignty itself. What you are saying, most well named person, is that those that do not think like the People have no need of legal standing. Surely hard right Nationalist Torah Ideology. Fascists thought that, Soviets thought that. I don’t.

By: Greg Pollock

Greg Pollock — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:24:21 +0000

The UK has the Petition of Right of 1628 and the Magna Carta (first issued in 1215, reissued later in the century slightly modified), both considered foundation in English Law. It also has the Law Lords within the House of Lords which, after the Civil War, effectively became the final judicial body. It also has centuries of common law reports, which are really, really written down–volumously written down; and the jury, ancient of common law, which limits State power as applied. Canada and New Zeland, in so far as they import British common law (and I don’t know how far that is in NZ), import all the above.

Canada also has the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which, being part of the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 enacted by the British Parliament, makes it a written constitutional document beyond the Canadian Parliament.

Israel has the Knesset, which usurped soverignty when the Constituent Assembly, called to write a constitution conforming to the Declaration of Independence, instead transformed itself into false soverignty. An Assembly called to limit soverign power in a written constitution cannot usurp soverignty as an unbridled Parliament. The “constitutional” structure of Israel is nothing like that of the UK, and anologies asserting the contrary are adolescent fantasies.

By: talknic

talknic — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 07:39:34 +0000

Canadian Bill of Rights (1960)
* Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982)
* New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (1990)
* Human Rights Act 1998 (United Kingdom)

By: talknic

talknic — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 07:37:06 +0000

“… these citizens have no right to just compensation.”

But they’re “citizens”! You said so yourself.

By: The Trespasser

The Trespasser — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:07:31 +0000

Arabs have 3 parties and some 20 seats, yet Arab MK’s are too busy to help one single family.

The very representatives of mentioned minorities are doing absolutely nothing, which arouses a question of whether minorities really need any democratic representation…

By: The Trespasser

The Trespasser — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:04:01 +0000

Arabs have 3 parties and some 20 seats, yet Arab MK’s are too busy to help one single family.

By: shaun

shaun — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:41:58 +0000

“An unwritten constitution is not a constitution for all citizens.”
Canada, New-Zealand, and Great Britain?

By: Greg Pollock

Greg Pollock — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:21:39 +0000

above should read “… these citizens have no right to just compensation.”

By: Greg Pollock

Greg Pollock — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:18:29 +0000

“…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Fifth Amendment, U.S. Constitution

“the court ruled in favor of demolition within two years, without any compensation to the family. … the lands are privately owned by the Khawaled family” : These are Israeli citizens. The Government, empowered by the Knesset, simply implicitly asserts these citizens have to right to just compensation. That is, as applied, rights are at the whim of the Knesset. This is a direct consequece of Israel’s failure to establish a written constituion, and shows as well that an “unwritten constitution” can be blind to the fate of minorities not part of the ruling Knesset coaltion. An unwritten constitution is not a constitution for all citizens.