irony

the cleric abu hamza has won his battle to stop the british state from stripping him of his british passport. (he didn't win against the egyptian state that has successfully stripped him of his passport.)


funny thing is abu hamza is that he is not british by birth, but by marriage, nor is he particularly keen on the british (or western) way of life. he wants a caliphate or democracy, is less than keen on jews and homosexuals. but how he loves the european court of human rights.

it is a quirk of western civilisation and democracy: the defence of those who would see it destroyed. if you needed a reason to cherish 'our way of life' then you need look no further.

a little like david cameron i am 'disappointed' at the ruling, but another quirk about democracy: it isn't about me.

while david and i may not be happy with the outcome we both know that it is a strength of democracy, that it can, and will, accept differing views, even those that are utterly hostile to it.

the real battle is to remind everyone that while democracy may not be perfect, it is much better than the alternatives.