Scary things I've read today...

Home Secretary Clarke's remark, reported in the Guardian: "I'm all in favour of human rights, but I'm even more in favour of our national security being protected." I wonder why he thinks there's a conflict between the two. I also wonder what he thinks he's protecting with the second by denying the first. Who exactly would want to live there? Why bother trying to defend freedom against terrorism if in doing so, you remove freedom? It seems obvious, but, looking at the media, it seems it must be repeated over and over again, to get the message through...
Then again, we can compare the main parties and their attempts to put forward the most bigotted, racist immigration policies - is it some sort of competition? Coming home tonight, I passed a poster for the Tories saying something like "Is it really racist to restrict immigration?" Well, yes, it is - you're stopping people coming into the country on the basis of where they're from - what else could it be? What next - "Is it really racist to deny someone a job because they're black?". Hmmm.... So consider instead Mr Tony and Mr Clarke's proposition to stop people coming into the country unless they can amass enough points on some arbitrary scale. The one's who don't can be held in detention camps - presumably with some inspiring message above the gates about how work makes you free?
I sometimes wonder if this country's lost it's claim to be civilised. Maybe I should leave. But then I wonder where I can go...
The whole planet is heading down the shitter, and no one cares.
Still, mustn't grumble, right?