[Power of the Church] Power of the Government

I’ve discussed before on this blog, what the differences are between America Churchianity and British Churchianity. I can’t think of a better example of why separation of church and state is a good thing, a thing invented by Christians than this little gem by the perspicacious Martin Turner:

“Richard Dawkins’s followers will no doubt be quick to claim this is another example of the heinous effect of ‘the God delusion’. But they would be wrong. Under charity law, the Church of England has to diligently pursue all of its debtors, and, coupled with the laws on ‘chancel repair liability’ which date back to Valor Ecclesiasticus in 1535, they have no choice.

<snip>

What lunatic changed the law in that way? (You know the answer to this one, but, in case you don’t, the legislation is the Land Registration Act 2002.)

Since the Church of England is powerless to extricate itself from a situation which bankrupts ordinary people and brings the church, and thus the entire Christian faith, into disrepute, the government ought to have intervened to simply cancel chancel liability. This would free the Church of England to pursue grants and even Lottery money. This is in fact what the Law Commission and the Church of England Synod recommended in the 1980s.”

At the time when this hit the headlines I was not aware of these facts. I’m glad I reserved my judgement.

[Minitruth] Loss of Confidence

This Post Is Rated: C for Controversial. Speculation over the decline of trust in British institutions.

In may, the Economist highlighted a YouGov poll taken earlier this year showing a general decline in the British peoples trust in public services, politics, work and journalism.

“…Confidence in almost every area of public life has fallen since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.” – The Economist, Trust Me, I’m A Judge

Unsurprisingly the only people to have gained more trust from the public were judges, whilst the usual suspects, including police, NHS hospital managers, estate agents, MPs and newspapers lost trust.

It’s easy to see why. I speak from my own experience in dealing with ‘the system’. People are realising that whilst those in authority seek more and more power over every detail of our lives, restricting our freedoms, judges are our last great hope in clearing our name and keeping society in balance.

Whilst the government seeks to speed up justice and skip past important checks and balances, the judge is a human being, our last recourse and hope for clearing our name and defending our innocence and rights. As the government have introduced more and more restrictive legislation, more and more British people have come to rely upon the courts to treat them fairly.

When are we going to have an honest, competent, open government? One that looks to the bottom line when making decisions and laws, a government that stands for integrity and trust?

I’m fed up of seeing pandering to the rhetorical right, unaccountability, cover ups, tax solves all problems, empty promises, technology solves everything, motorists are evil, environmental hypocrisy, weasel words, VIP treatment, cultivating fear, wasted money, not protecting UK citizens and allowing foreigners to dictate policy.

Technorati Tags: politics, corruption, yougov, the economist, government, trust, justice, united kingdom, legislation, law, judges

[Christ Mas] An Alternative Christmas Message

Rather than share the customary wishes for the holiday, I thought I would print some verses from the bible:

Woe to you who turn justice to vinegar
and stomp righteousness into the mud.
Do you realize where you are? You’re in a cosmos
star-flung with constellations by God,
A world God wakes up each morning
and puts to bed each night.
God dips water from the ocean
and gives the land a drink.
God, God-revealed, does all this.
And he can destroy it as easily as make it.
He can turn this vast wonder into total waste.People hate this kind of talk.
Raw truth is never popular.
But here it is, bluntly spoken:
Because you run roughshod over the poor
and take the bread right out of their mouths,
You’re never going to move into
the luxury homes you have built.
You’re never going to drink wine
from the expensive vineyards you’ve planted.
I know precisely the extent of your violations,
the enormity of your sins. Appalling!
You bully right-living people,
taking bribes right and left and kicking the poor when they’re down.

Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic.
Decent people throw up their hands.
Protest and rebuke are useless,
a waste of breath.

Seek good and not evil—
and live!
You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
being your best friend.
Well, live like it,
and maybe it will happen.

Hate evil and love good,
then work it out in the public square.
Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
will notice your remnant and be gracious.

Now again, my Master’s Message, God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Go out into the streets and lament loudly!
Fill the malls and shops with cries of doom!
Weep loudly, ‘Not me! Not us, Not now!’
Empty offices, stores, factories, workplaces.
Enlist everyone in the general lament.
I want to hear it loud and clear when I make my visit.”
God’s Decree.

Woe to all of you who want God’s Judgment Day!
Why would you want to see God, want him to come?
When God comes, it will be bad news before it’s good news,
the worst of times, not the best of times.
Here’s what it’s like: A man runs from a lion
right into the jaws of a bear.
A woman goes home after a hard day’s work
and is raped by a neighbor.
At God’s coming we face hard reality, not fantasy—
a black cloud with no silver lining.

“I can’t stand your religious meetings.
I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

Amos 5:7-24 The Message

That’s pretty much it from me for year. I’m off to Germany to be with my wife, who incidentally got her marriage visa from the embassy (another big joke I will share with you later).

[Quotey] In The Words of a Magistrate…

“Courts are not just there to punish – they are also there to protect the citizen from oppression. In this case they were not given the opportunity to do so.” – Bystander, The Law West of Ealing Broadway

This is what I have been trying to tell people all along.

[Payback] I Won Against Parking Injustice

You win some, you lose some. Back in October I blogged about how time constraints forced me to give up and pay the £45 bribe parking fine the police were demanding. I paid as the date they were asking me to appear in court I was due to be on a beach somewhere in Maui.

So you will either be pleased or outraged to know that 2 other outstanding Council Parking Fines (PCNs) were cancelled this month. I have had many hits for people googling “Parking Fine Template Letter” and “Get Off Parking Fine”. Now, let me make it clear there is no such letter and there is no such loopholes in the law. There is however, The Law and the Constitutional Bill of Rights Act 1688 which states:

“That all Grants and Promises of Fines and Forfeitures of particular persons before Conviction are illegal and void.”

This is a Constitutional Act, that means it cannot be overruled by a later by an ‘ordinary’ Act such as the Road Traffic Act 1991. Below is an edited version of the letter I wrote to Coventry City Council. The photos I included showed different angles of the road where the lines were almost entirely worn out. This is not a template letter, however, I hope you may find it useful in constructing your own defence. If you are going to defend against a parking ticket you may want to check out Pepipoo forums.

Coventry City Council Parking Services Unit
PO Box 3943
Coventry
CV1 9AF

Re: Penalty Charge Notices: 00XXXXXX / CV00XXXXXX

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to appeal against the Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), on the grounds that the offence did not occur. The enclosed images are taken of the road where I was parked on these occasions, on the corner of XXXXXX Road, outside of the residents bay, outside the [Landmark] and [Landmark]. Specifically, the restriction is not signed as prescribed by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 (the TSRGDs). References in this representation to Road Markings refer to that statutory instrument (2002/3113).

Representations:

1) The signing/road marking is non-prescribed, as road markings must conform to the enclosed diagram (Schedule 6 Road Markings). The road markings numbered 1017/1018.1 are continuous lines terminating with T-Bars. Particular attention is drawn to item 4, Permitted Variants: None. The road markings in the restricted area are not continuous, or visible and do not have the required T-Bar endings, therefore varying from the prescribed regulation.

From the photographs, there are no single or double yellow lines apart from some double yellow lines leading from the edge of the entrance to the [Landmark] to the corner before the drain. A closer inspection reveals that there are indeed some light faded patches of yellow on the road where I was parked, directly outside of [Landmark].

Since the road markings are not in conformity with the regulations then there can have been no contravention. This is clear form the court decisions of MacLeod v Hamilton (1965) S.L.T 305 and the PATAS Adjudicator decision in Cooper v Richmond (as reported on 18/07/00).

I also refer to legal authorities:
MacLeod v Hamilton 1965 S.L.T 305
If signs to indicate the effect of a “No Waiting” order have not been erected, or signs have been erected not conforming to s.64 of the RTRA 1984 and TSRGD 2002 (SI 2002/3113), no offence against the “No Waiting” order is committed.

Davies v Heatley [1971] R.T.R 145
Because by s.64 (2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 traffic signs shall be of the size, colour and type prescribed by regulation, if a sign the contravention of which is an offence contrary to s.36 is not as prescribed by the regulation, no offence is committed if the sign is contravened, even if the sign is clearly recognisable to a reasonable man as a sign of that kind.

2) Both of the PCNs issued fail to comply with Section 66(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1991 by not including a date of issue. This renders them void and unenforceable. See MacArthur v Bury (NPAS Circular 04/05) Case Number BC188 NPAS the Adjudicator decided that to comply with Section 66(3) a PCN must have a date. The date of the contravention is not the date of issue even if, in most cases, the PCN will be issued on the same day as the contravention. A real possibility of prejudice arises from potential uncertainty as to when the 28 day and 14 day periods for payment begin and end. Coventry City Councils PCNs do not have a date of issue (see enclosed).

3) Not withstanding the above, the appellant submits that Coventry City Council is attempting to extort money in an unlawful manner.

Please find enclosed an extract of the Bill of Rights Act 1689, enacted and formally entered into Statute following the Declaration of Rights 1689. I draw your attention to the section that I have highlighted:

“That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void”.

This states that a conviction is necessary before a fine can be imposed. As you will be aware, the Bill of Rights is a “constitutional statue” and may not be impliedly repealed. As stated in the ‘Metric Martyrs’ Judgment in the Divisional Court (18th February 2002) by Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Crane (I will paraphrase, but have included a copy of the judgment’s relevant sections 62 and 63):

62.”We should recognise a hierarchy of Acts of Parliament: as it were ‘ordinary’ statutes and ‘constitutional statutes.’ The special status of constitutional statutes follows the special status of constitutional rights. Examples are the … Bill of Rights 1689 …

63. Ordinary statutes may be impliedly repealed. Constitutional statutes may not…”

I am not aware that the Road Traffic Act 1991 makes express reference to repealing the Bill of Rights Act 1689.

Therefore, it would appear that Coventry City Council have no lawful authority to demand money for any alleged offence until or unless it has been dealt with by a Court of Law. Consequently, the forfeit that you have demanded of me is illegal and void. As I am sure you will understand, I cannot knowingly involve myself in an illegal act and accordingly decline payment of this fine.

Yours faithfully,

A Fear
Registered Keeper XXXX XXX

ENCLOSURES
1. Diagram SCHEDULE 6 ROAD MARKINGS
2. Extract of the Bill of Rights Act 1689
3. Extract of Metric Martyrs Judgment, Sections 62 and 63. 4. Photographs taken at time of alleged offence.

I must warn you I am no lawyer and by taking any advice on this blog you are solely responsible for any consequences of actions based upon this information.

That said, I wish you every success in sticking it to ’em.

[False Security] An Immigration Problem – Part 2

“It’s not Great Britain, it’s a crappy little Island with a complex. People are not queuing up to come and claim your benefits, there exists people in the world who would rather avoid the UK altogether…”

Read Part 1

“So, if we had said she was just visiting, there would be no problem and we could have got through?” I asked the pretty, young Asian immigration orificer who had been dealing with our case.
“Yes… but now you can’t and you have to leave the country. I’m really sorry, I can see you’re a nice couple and this has been a mistake, but unfortunately now it’s already been processed and your passport’s been stamped”.

[Payback] It’s Time…

I’m already in the process of doing this with one bank, maybe it’s time you join in too. UK residents only, as far as I know…

Tags: Abandon All Fear T-Shirts Bank Charges Refund Charges Illegal Charges Dirty Tricks Unlawful Charges

[False Choice] Justice or Mercy?

Mercy is not the opposite of justice, in fact, it can be argued that mercy compels us to fight for justice.

There is a false truth being propagated in the Church today, you may have heard it already.

I don’t know the exact source this has come from but it goes that people tend to fall into one of 2 categories: Justice (Judgment) or Mercy. Whichever side of the line you fall will influence your decisions and interactions with people.

I would go so far to say this is a lie and it has come from the enemy. For a start, God through Jesus is the only judge, he repeatedly reminds us in his word:

“For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” – Hebrews 10:30 NIV

Secondly, mercy is not the opposite of justice, in fact, it can be argued that mercy compels us to fight for justice. In fact Jesus repeatedly reminds us not to judge, in the word:

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:36-37 NIV

and

“…because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” – James 2:13 NIV

Tags: Abandon All Fear Justice or Mercy Judgement Bible Church

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