Freedom is a Fleeting Concept

The Value of Freedom
Written by Jack

King John may have altered the course of English history by indicating his agreement to sign the Magna Carta at an impromptu meeting of parliamentarians at the Old Parliament Oak located near his hunting lodge "King John's Palace".

Magna Carta required the King to renounce certain rights, respect certain legal procedures and accept that his will could be bound by the law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the king's subjects, whether free or fettered — most notably the right of Habeas Corpus, meaning that they had rights against unlawful imprisonment.

I've tried to come to terms with the present and past UK government's policy in the "War Against Terror".

Maybe King John is chuckling in his grave?

Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial.

NOTE: Magna Carta - "most notably the right of Habeas Corpus, meaning that they had rights against unlawful imprisonment".

Concentration
No government or organization has used concentration camp to describe its own facilities, using instead terms such as internment camp, resettlement camp, detention facility, etc, regardless of the actual circumstances of the camp, which can vary a great deal.
How many people have been hanged/confined when there "rights against unlawful imprisonment" have been ignored?

Seems to me: A charter made law in 1215 should still be relevant.

The value of being "free" can only be really appreciated by a person in shackles.
Just how long can I be locked up for something I didn't do?
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My Two Weeks in Crete

In reflection I should have cancelled the holiday.
My decision making process in the past few months has been far from perfect.
However, had I not come, I wouldn't have had the pleasure of my Uncle's company for a week that passed all to quickly.

I hardly saw anything of Crete, other than a few short walks and taxi rides.
John gave me a book to read called "Freedom and Death" written by Nikos Kazantzakis, which has some fantastic descriptions of how the fight for Crete's freedom was carried out in the late 1800's.

Believe me, the descendants of almost everyone describe in the book can be seen today.
Not sure if I admire "Captain Michales", but I'd sure like to have him next to me in my next firefight. Actually, the translation from Greek to English occasionally throws up some amazing sentences...

"She walked down the street as though petroleum was in her arse"

I'm assuming that the translator meant she had a bit of a hip sway going on!!!
The book is quite hard going and describes some tragic events and horrific atrocities on both sides.

I finished reading it this afternoon.

Tonight, with my first glass of wine, I toasted all the fighting Captains and the island of Crete. May it be free for ever.

History has a habit of repeating.

Invading countries or occupying nation groups will always generate extreme resistance that doesn't go away after a few weeks or years. Patriotic resistance and self sacrifice will continue for generations.

Hopefully, the lesson will be learnt when we're finally forced to withdraw our forces from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Now, on to Ireland...

It should be an united island, it's common f***ing sense, but sadly, that bag of bones will probably take another few generations to finally resolve itself.
Ireland WILL be an island united by common sense... one day.
So, just like any other package tourist.

I return to my home, vastly poorer in monetary terms, but slightly richer in my life's experiences.

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