No, this isn’t a crude Valentine’s Day post. This is much more me: it’s a rant about politicians and their damn politicking.

In this instance, it’s about Lord Falconer and his silly governmental colleagues.

The lord chancellor is to call for a change in the perception that the Human Rights Act is a “terrorists’ charter”.

In a speech in London, Lord Falconer will say that human rights, freedom and the rule of law are the most effective weapons in the fight against terror.

The Human Rights Act, of course, is not exactly what it seems. It is almost an anti-Bill of Rights, spending much more time on trivia than on what inalienable rights we have. And, of course, it isn’t really that binding, as parliament can safely overwrite bits and pieces as it feels the need.

But let’s get back to that second paragraph. Lord Falconer will say that human rights, freedom and the rule of law are the most effective weapons in the fight against terror. With this I wholly agree; a discussion was held the other day at work about this very thing, touching on how such oft-tried devices as mass arrests, internment without trial, scare tactics, secret police, army patrols on the street, etc,etc are self defeating in most cases. Yet they’re being brough into law (again) by the very same government that Lord Falconer is part of.

Freedom and the rule of law are, as the lord chancellor says, the things that set us apart form the terrorists. But the rule of law is being used to remove the freedoms that we have. So what would set us apart from the terrorists would be what, the fact that there’s a strong state? How is that better?