A higher authority?

After the flare-up over Sharia law in the UK, the Church of Englands back in the news after a Synod debate yesterday on terrorism, security and human rights.

Passing a motion by a whopping majority of 235 votes to two, the churchmen and women of England emphasised - and I quote - the importance of society "maintaining a careful balance between the liberty of the individual and the needs of national security", while expressing "grave concern" that an extension to the current 28-day maximum period for detention without charge of terrorist suspects would "disturb that balance unacceptably."

Couldnt have put it better myself.

On the same day that President Bush sought to defend both waterboarding torture and the existence of Guantanamo Bay, this fight for human rights in an age of insecurity is still shaping up to be the big one of the foreseeable future.

I know I may have suggested this before - but please do support our Unsubscribe campaign and Not A Day Longer e-petition to No10. And feel free to join the Facebook group as well! Either way, get involved with the debate before it's too late....

Meanwhile, disturbing UK news about a calculated attack causing £100,000 worth of damage at the Stephen Lawrence centre in south-east London. Taken together with news of a record number of violent attacks on Jewish Britons, its a strange day to be told that multiculturalism is supposed to have been making Britain a soft target for violent attacks.

Cant really see how having basic tolerance for people with differing ethnic and cultural experiences adds up to a gaping hole in the nations defences. Instead, I can certainly see the negative affect of numerous young Muslims being targeted with 42 days pre-charge detention.

If, as a result, intelligence-gathering and policing suffer, who will have shot themselves in the foot then?