The Mag

What if the LAW was the LAW?

Val_jean — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 16:18:52 GMT

and not some individuals opinion of what it is!

I am often exhausted trying to keep up with the legal issues of copyright, plaigarism, fair use, service agreements, terms and conditions... and all the various expert interpretations of the law... because they are all just that... interpretations!

Have you noticed how lawyers never seem to give you a de facto answer in most advices... is it to protect their revenue source, their on going billing engine?... i think it could be just that... because, if there were definitive answers to the law then one could just simply have a database, matching subject to answer and... 'Bob's not your Uncle'... problem solved... he is your Aunt!

Simple... and in the enlightened age of the Internet, one could just go to a website, enter the question needing clarity on the law and out pops a definitive answer... just for a few cents or better still a free public service.

Yes, there are some so called free services you can use, but they generally limit you to a simple question and answer... promoting that you will need to engage an attorney (of theirs generally) and pay a lot more money to get a more comprehensive (read expensive) answer. And if you do just that and ask the attorney for a definitive answer, he/she will invariably say "well, that is my opinion".

Unfortunately, if you act on his advice and end up in a court of law, your justice will depend not on his opinion but on the 'opinion' of someone completely different!!! .... what a joke!... unfortunately in most cases it is not a funny joke!

So what is the problem? Well most friendly lawyers... there are some... will tell you that it is because the law is so badly written... and because the process 'we' (who?) have adopted is to allow the changes to fix the badly written law of the first instance, forming a chain of modifications that take a team of agile and intelligent minds to unscramble and try and make some sense of... and then present that opinion to a wise old person to give their opinion about their interpretation... convoluted?... you bet!

This is, of course, further complicated by another team of agile and intelligent minds trying to find an opposite opinion that is also believable... in order to present same to the same wise old person, to get agreement on their interpretation!

And all of this process has to be paid for by the poor innocents who are caught up in this grandiose game of 'Find the flaw in the Law'.

Well to hell with paying for the mistakes of someone else who was already paid (taxes) by us to define the law correctly in the first instance.

My naive mind tells me, lets scrap all those laws that can't be clearly understood by reading a couple of clearly understandable sentences and have them rewritten by someone who does understand what they are doing and can clearly communicate what should or should not be done in reference to that law.

Do away with precedence and the need to search for precedent and the debate this lengthy and costly (to you again) procedure of other formed opinions by other wise old souls!

Laws from the dark ages should automatically be scrapped and rewritten... as our society and norms and language has changed considerably since the time they were first written.

Why won't this happen unless there is a miracle?... because the industry that thrives on this almost deliberate travesty of justice is the justice industry itself... it is much too profitable to even think of simplifying the law and lose it's carefully crafted and protected revenue streams... just like the power industry won't allow anyone to easily take their market away in order to have a healthier planet to live in!

So, if i end up in court or just disappear after this article... please, someone pass on this message ... on and on and on... and on and on... after all this is one of the benefits of the net, isn't it... free speech!... hmmm... until someone with a lot to lose doesn't like what you say and asks a lawyer to give an opinion and...

"oh no... not again"... that person who penned the defense of 'but don't spill a single drop of blood' now has a lot of blood on their hands!

What if political lobbying was a crime?

Val_jean — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 13:32:52 GMT

Well, don't you think it should be?

Think about it... big business with money, wines and dines political decision makers, offers them fund contributions... for what?... so that their investment interests are protected by the law makers!... at whose expense?... ours... yours and mine and the children of the future!

Read this article for an example of blatant bribery:

Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study

Ian Sample, science correspondent
Friday February 2, 2007
The Guardian

"Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today....."

Doesn't this get your blood boiling?... Especially as the reality of it all, is that this goes on ALL the time and more so than this example portrays... much more i'm sure!

And we all sit back and say... "Well, that's political lobbying"... SO WHAT!... that is bribery and corruption!... it is a crime in any other jurisdiction ... so why not in political circles?!

Am i being naive here?... shouldn't we the people whose lives are jeopardised by this corruption say "ENOUGH NOW... punish these people for their crimes... outlaw this legalised corruption we so politely call Lobbying!"

What do you think?

What if fear rules?

Val_jean — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:53:36 GMT

Well, we all have one fear or another about something. I remember the fear i had about the first post i did in a forum of intellectuals... what if they though i was an idiot and proceeded to tell me, how would i take that, how would my ego react? I pondered whether i should submit the post that i had spent much too long forming, editing and re-editing it to perfection... in the end i held my breath and hit the submit button and prayed they would be kind.

So what happened in the end?... nothing much, i was treated like anybody else and my confidence grew with every post and i really enjoyed the process.

Then one day i branched out on my first personal blog and the same fear crept in again, but i challenged it the same way and now i embark upon this new adventure and the same fear raises its ugly head again but it gets less and less with every repetition.

So why do i do this?... therapy probably or perhaps, I'll get lucky and be rewarded in attracting greater, wiser minds/souls to help me on my way or just help me to look at things differently... that will be reward enough. But who knows, maybe I'll even manage to help someone else... now, isn't that the best reward anyone could ask for?... along with a bit of Adsense revenue too;)

So onward I go, for doesn't therein lie the value of "Action" .. take that first step down that new road and we will be well on our way to a new adventure... No, we don't know where it will lead us to, that is the whole point isn't it?... there is no adventure or a whole lot of learning walking the same path, doing the same stuff over and over again after you have mastered whatever it is you are trying to master.

Where is the value in seeking to look wonderful just because we have perfected some disciplines, talents, skills etc... does a painter spend the rest of their life painting the same picture, a musician perfecting the one song, a blogger perfecting one post?... No they don't and nor should we, methinks.

Where is the value spending the rest of our lives just repeating the same things over and over in order to show ourselves off to rapturous applause, to bask in fleeting admiration or just to be perceived to be 'so confident'... 'so cool'.

Where is the value in collecting assets, if we have to spend the rest of our lives doing mundane repetitive tasks in order to just maintain our collection and have time for nothing else.

Where do these assets go when we die? What do we take with us in our never ending adventure?... i think we take our experiences and their vibrational influences on us... we take our wisdom... wisdom comes from our experiences, not from reading a book, getting a degree or watching TV... For sure, knowledge accelerates our learning but putting the knowledge into "Action" gives us the experiences which then stay with us forever.

What do we do in the sunset of our lives?... we remember the important, happy events of our lives, we continuously play back these movies... so my advice is make sure your movies are full length feature movies and not just promotional trailers!

No there is nothing wrong with being comfortable, clever, rich or having our toys to play with, but we mustn't become a slave to them and we shouldn't waste our life building an image of ourself which is tethered to our material gains, academic status or other peoples evaluation.

Yes, some things do require regular repetition to keep us healthy and strong, like brushing our teeth, breathing, exercising, maintaining positive thoughts and images in our mind .. and yes we have got to make a living, so some degree of repetition is required to survive but leave time for new adventures, for learning and for new experiences .. don't stand still in the comfort of doing the same old thing, for don't old things invite decay?.. and don't let fear of the new keep you frozen still because you will just end up a very well preserved empty vessel!

So if i let fear rule i would never have had this adventure and many more in my life and i would have been so poor for it.

Welcome!

Val_jean — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:17:08 GMT

So what is this section all about?... well, i think it will be a muse on anything that is crazy, amusing, frustrating or just needs to be aired.

On the other hand it could be posts highlighting something very cool or interesting... to me;)

I have no particular topics planned and i am going to say it "as it is"... sorry, but comments offering lessons in political correctness, grammar, form, narrow minds or ego 'bs' will be ignored... i want to keep it light but meaningful and fun too.

DISCLAIMER: "The thoughts contained herein are those of my mind and not necessarily those of the owner!"

What if I didn't start this blogzine?

Val_jean — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 21:15:57 GMT

Who knows and who cares? .. nobody right!... well that's not quite true because I'm sure the trees care and so does the kind soul that cleans my office and tries to tidy my desk which is often cluttered with pieces of paper recording random thoughts and ideas .. and I care! .. hell, that's important enough for me! .. and so I embark upon a new adventure not knowing where it will lead, not wanting to structure it too much so that it can just flow the course it finds, as does a conversation or discussion, not wanting to inhibit creative expression by being too concerned about grammar and form.

So onward we go .. if you care to comment please be my guest :)