Ed Miliband's Fantastic Speech

Ed Miliband gave the greatest speech of his career so far at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. During the speech he made a number of electoral promises for 2015 and beyond. Here are a few of these promises:

1 million green jobs

Tax hike for 88,000 big businesses

Tax cut for 1,500,000 small businesses

Every primary school should have breakfast and after school clubs

Electricity and gas prices would be frozen for 20 months

Labour would build 200,000 social houses every year

Votes for 16/17 year olds

Bedroom tax would be repealed

Although that only seems like a few promises, it is still a year and a half from the next general election so expect a lot more at next year’s conference. It will be the last before the 2015 general election. The speech was very well received in the conference hall, he got four standing ovations during the speech as well as one before and one after.

Many people, particularly in the media and on the right, like to portray Ed Miliband as dorky and uncharismatic, as someone who has no social skills. Well let me tell them that they are categorically wrong. He gives fantastic speeches and is extremely personable and friendly. When I wrote about Ed Miliband last year I was totally wrong. He is a strong leader and will lead Labour to success in 2015.

Watch Them Crash and Burn

Today Republicans have gotten into a fight that they will lose and that should devastate their popularity. Already House Republicans have voted to repeal Obamacare on 41 separate occasions, naturally the attempts never went anywhere due to the Democratic Senate and Democratic President. Now they have tried a different tactic, one which the Senate cannot ignore. Periodically Congress needs to pass a bill funding the federal government, if a bill doesn't pass then the government shuts down. So naturally, you want a bill to pass. House Republicans have other ideas.

They passed a bill today that funds all of the federal government except it bans funds going to Obamacare. The bill passed basically along party lines 230-189 (one Republican nay and two Democratic yeas) and now it heads to the Senate. This isn't the first time Republicans have taken the country hostage, remember the debt ceiling crisis of 2011? The problem for Republicans is that this time there is no compromise possible, they will lose on this issue. Obamacare is the signature achievement of Obama's first term, he will never sign the bill that defunds it. As well as that there is the problem of the Democratic Senate. They would need to convince Harry Reid to bring it up for a vote and they would need to convince at least five Democratic Senators to vote for it, assuming there was no filibuster. If there was a filibuster then they would need the support of 14 Democrats, ignoring the fact that several Republicans including John McCain do not support the bill! This. Will. Fail.

Republicans may one day repeal Obamacare but I am doubtful of their chances. To repeal Obamacare they would need control of the House, presidency and a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. For a little historical perspective Republicans have not had this since the great depression.

If the Republicans do shut down the federal government, they will be devastated in the 2014 midterms. 

The Fallout of DOMA

When the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional it had wide ranging consequences for states with and without equal marriage. In the 13 states and DC where same-sex marriage is legal, same-sex couples who were legally married became eligible for over 1100 benefits from the federal government! Obviously this had wide ranging consequences for those states with same-sex marriage but is also had a large affect on the six states with civil unions, and even those with zero recognition.

Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada and Oregon all have legalised civil unions. This effectively gave same-sex couples in these states equal access to state benefits as opposite-sex couples, usually only withholding the word marriage. The Supreme Court ruling in  June matters a lot in those states as now there is a difference between civil unions and full marriage. The federal government doesn't recognise civil unions and so withholds 1100 benefits from same-sex couples in the above six states that it doesn't withhold from those in states with full marriage.

Previously supporters of gay rights in civil union states didn't feel an urgent need to legalise full marriage as all state benefits could be provided by civil unions. Now gay rights activists can turn round to supporters and tell them that they need to be more proactive when it comes to marriage as now there is a very real difference between marriage and civil unions.

We can already tell this has indeed changed things. In Hawaii, Governor Neil Abercrombie has announced that he will recall the state legislature for a special session on the 28th of October to vote on a same-sex marriage bill. Most people predict that it will pass as the governor would be unlikely to recall the legislature if he didn't have enough votes. As well as that the Hawaiian legislature is the most Democratic in the country. The house is 86% Democratic (44 Democrats, seven Republicans) and in the Senate it is an incredible 96% Democratic with 24 Democrats and only one Republican.

Illinois is the only other state where the legislature may be spurred into action. A same-sex marriage bill passed the Democratic state Senate 34-21 but was never called to vote in the House. With the veto session looming it could actually pass the legislature and get it signed into law by Governor Quinn.

Hawaii and Illinois are the only states who are likely to pass same-sex marriage in the next few months. Of the 38 states who do not have legal same-sex marriage, 30 have a constitutional ban on it, which means that the legislature in those states cannot legalise it. Of the remaining states that are liberal, Pennsylvania is completely controlled by Republicans whilst New Mexico and New Jersey have Republican governors that are opposed to same-sex marriage. The other three states without a constitutional ban are Indiana, West Virginia and Wyoming which are all very conservative.

Yet state legislatures are not the only way to legalise same-sex marriage. The judiciary and referendums are also means. At the moment organisations in Ohio and Oregon are collecting signatures to try and put marriage equality on the ballot. In Oregon, Oregon United for Marriage began collecting signatures on the 26th of July, exactly one month after the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA. At the time of writing it has gotten 80,764 signatures of the 116,284 required to put it on the ballot. Unfortunately I can't find anything on the progress the Ohio petition has made.

The DOMA decision has also driven gay rights activists to the courts. Already suits have been filed across the US from New Mexico to Michigan, already judges have cited the DOMA decision as a reason why they gave pro-gay decisions. 

No Intervention?

It all seemed set, the US was going to bomb Syria with French help and without the British. Although Obama decided to ask Congress, he refused to say whether or not he would bomb Syria if Congress said no.  Then Secretary of State, John Kerry, made some off the cuff remarks whilst in London that changed everything. In response to a reporter's question Kerry said that the only way Syria could prevent the bombings would be to hand over all its chemical weapons.

Now all of a sudden 'peace' seems to be an option. The Russians and Assad jumped at the opportunity to prevent the strikes. If Assad does hand all his chemical weapons to the international community then this saga will have been a success (in a way). It was the credible threat of force that made Assad agree to this and could save Obama a lot of face. Intervention in Syria is unpopular and Obama's reputation was on the line. Now he may have removed chemical weapons from Syria without a single bomb dropped.

Yet we have to be careful, as the old Russian proverb says; trust, but verify. As we do not know how many chemical weapons Assad has, it will be difficult to confirm that he has gotten rid of all of his them. We must not get overexcited either, the situation in Syria is terrible at the moment; after all it is a Civil War. It won't be easy getting UN inspectors into Syria to remove the chemical weapons and even harder for them to prove that they have taken them all. Nonetheless this must be done to get rid of some of these horrifying weapons.

Don't get me wrong, I still favour intervention. But my will to intervene has very little to do with chemical weapons. I've been advocating for a no fly zone for a while now to even the fight between rebels and the Assad regime. Removing chemical weapons will not do this but it still a good move and I applaud it.

Same-Sex Marriage Legislation Worldwide

Same-sex marriage is legal in only a handful of countries, but the number is rapidly expanding. In the parliaments of five nations full same-sex marriage rights are being debating and in a further 12 countries some form of same-sex civil unions are being debated. As well as countries, same-sex marriage or civil unions are being debated in sub-national jurisdictions of the USA, Mexico and Australia as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.

Countries debating full same-sex marriage rights:

Finland: As the only Nordic country that has not legalised same-sex marriage, it is a surprise that legislation has taken as long as it has. The two most recent polls in Finland put support at 57% and 58% by polling firms YouGov and Taloustutkimus respectively. A same-sex marriage bill was voted down 9-8 in the Legal Affairs Committee but a citizens' initiative will force all of parliament to debate and vote on the bill. The results are expected later this year. In 2001 Finland passed a registered partnerships bill 99-84 under the left-wing Social Democrats and expanded in 2009 108-29 under the Centre Party. The current government is the centre right National Coalition and the next elections are in 2015.

Ireland: According to most polls of the Irish public, support for same-sex marriage is consistently above 70%. This bodes well for a referendum on the issue in 2014. This means that Ireland will almost certainly have marriage equality.

Italy: As it is one of the more socially conservative countries in Western Europe, it doesn't even have civil unions. Polls in Italy consistently show that a majority of Italians do not support full marriage rights. The Catholic Church has also been very influential in preventing the legalisation of gay unions. Bills have been introduced attempting to legalise either same-sex marriage or civil unions. The marriage bill is almost certain to fail as only three parties, representing only 22.2% of the 2013 electoral vote support it. Civil unions ave more hope as the largest party also supports them, bringing the percentage to 55.3.

Luxembourg: The only thing surprising about Luxembourg is that it hasn't already passed same-sex marriage. In 2004 it passed partnerships and expanded them in 2010. A recent poll by Polimonitor put support for same-sex marriage at 83%! It looked likely that same-sex marriage would finally pass this year but early elections to be held in October have delayed its inevitable passage.

Nepal: The country is in the midst if trying to draft a new constitution and the government wanted to expand to same-sex couples. Unfortunately negotiations broke down and the parliament was dissolved until new elections. If same-sex marriage were to be passed. Nepal would become the first Asian nation to legalise same-sex marriage.

Sub-national jurisdictions debating full same-sex marriage rights.

Mexico

- Coahuila: Back in 20078 the state legalised a "civil pact of solidarity" aka civil unions 20-13. It is not currently debating whether to join Mexico City and Quintana Roo and become the third Mexican state to legalise same-sex marriage.
- Oaxaca is also vying to be the third state to legalise full same-sex marriage rights. Unlike Coahuila it has no previous legislative history on the issue.
- Yucatán is the final Mexican state trying to legalise same-sex marriage, but unlike the other two states, Yucatán already has a same-sex marriage ban.The ban's legality is currently making its way through the courts.

Australia

- Canberra: By far Canberra has been the most progressive Australian state/territory in regards to gay rights. In 1994 it passed the first unregistered cohabitation act in Australia and expanded it in 2004. Canberra tried to go further in 2006 by passing civil unions but the federal government overturned it, in 2007 it tried to pass a civil partnerships bill but again the federal government said no. Finally the federal government stopped meddling and in 2008 it legalised civil partnerships and then expanded them in 2009. In 2012 it legalised civil unions and is hoping for full marriage rights in 2013.
- New South Wales: The state passed an unregistered cohabitation act in 1999, which it expanded in 2002 and 2008. In 2010 it passed a relationship register bill overwhelmingly, 32-5 in the upper house and 62-9 in the lower house. A bill to legalise same-sex marriage has been proposed in the upper house this year, I don't know whether or not it will pass.
- South Australia: In 2004 an attempt to legalise civil unions failed in the lower house but in 2006 domestic partnership bill passed. In July of this year a marriage bill was introduced but went nowhere. I am not confident that it will pass.
- Victoria: The state passed unregistered cohabitation way back in 2001 and a relationship register was created in 2008 with strong majorities in both houses (29-10 in the upper house and 54-24 in the lower house).
- Western Australia: The largest Australian state passed an unregistered cohabitation bill in 2002 but hasn't made any more since. Currently a bill to legalise same-sex marriage is lingering in the upper house.

Countries debating legalising civil unions:

Bolivia: The only legislative history regarding gay unions in Bolivia is a 2009 referendum which banned same-sex marriage. The referendum passed with 61.43% of the vote. This doesn't necessarily bode badly for the bill's chance as a lot more strides have been taken on LGBT rights in the last four years. It is also important to note that civil unions consistently get higher levels of support than same-sex marriage. I couldn't find any polling on Bolivia and very few articles online.

Chile: Unfortunately in Chile there are attempts to ban same-sex marriage by adding an amendment to the constitution. At the same time there are attempts to create civil unions, legislation passed out of committee in April in a 4-1 vote.

Croatia: Unregistered cohabitation passed back in 2003, this year is a life partnership agreement has been proposed. Croatia's recent accession to the EU has helped to liberalise Croatia's attitude to same-sex marriage.

Cuba: The country's constitution currently bans same-sex marriage but no civil unions. There have been previous attempts to legalise civil unions in 2007 and 2009 that failed. It Cuba were to legalise civil unions this year it would become the first Caribbean state to recognise any form of same-sex civil unions.

Cyprus: A civil partnership bill has been proposed in Cyprus but I am sceptical about its ability to pass. The Greek Orthodox Church is extremely powerful in Cyprus and has consistently opposed the expansion of gay rights. The likelihood of it passing is slim to none.

Estonia: A bill has been introduced in Estonia that would create a form of same-sex union. Of the four main parties in the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) only the Social Democratic Party supports it. Of the Coalition Government the Reform Party is neutral whilst the 'Pro Patria and Res Publica Union' opposes it. The final party in the parliament, the Centre Party is also neutral on it. There is also a significant ethnic divide between Estonians and Russians, the former favour legalising same-sex marriage whilst the latter is staunchly opposed.

Israel: Certainly the most gay friendly place in the Middle East (it wouldn't be difficult) but Israel does not recognise any sort of same-sex union. according to a 2009 poll, 61% of Israelis supported full marriage rights whilst 31% were opposed. Unfortunately a same-sex marriage bill failed 11-39 in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament). This year a civil union bill was introduced and has yet to be voted upon.

Malta: Although Malta has never voted on gay union legislation, all the major parties have said that they support some form of recognition for gay couples. The new Labour government is currently trying to legalise same-sex union.

Poland: As it is one of the nine European countries that has a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, it is unlikely to legalise same-sex marriage. To make matters worse only around 25% of Poles support it. Nonetheless there are attempts to create a registered partnership for gay couples. Unfortunately it failed earlier this year, but has been re-introduced for another go.

Thailand: Historically the country has been very accepting of LGBT peoples but does not recognise same-sex unions. Recently there have been attempts to recognise gay couples, currently a bill to legalise civil partnerships is making its way through the Thai Parliament.

Vietnam: Since only 37% of the public support same-sex marriage it is unlikely that it will grant full marriage rights. Nonetheless the government is trying to give some form of rights to cohabitating same-sex couples.

Sub-national jurisdictions debating civil unions:

Campeche (Mexico): Only two states have legal civil unions. Campeche is vying to be the third.
Gibraltar: As one of the few Western European jurisdictions to have no recognition of same-sex couples, it is well behind the time. This year the government has introduced legislation to create civil unions.

End the War on Drugs Now - Why the World Should Legalise Drugs

The worldwide war on drugs has been an epic failure. It has torn apart the lives of millions of people and drug usage rates are rising, not falling. In Mexico the drug war has claimed the lives of around 100,000 people and in the US roughly 330,000 people are in prison for drug offenses, 48% of all people in federal prisons. Despite the generations’ long crackdown on drugs, in 2009 data from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says 39,000 people died from drug overdoses (in the US). It should be immensely clear to political leaders and civilians globally that the War on Drugs has been a disaster of epic proportions. It is time for a new strategy and I favour legalisation. Here I will outlay 10 reasons for legalising all drugs (bar a few).

1.  Nobody doubts that drugs can be extremely damaging to a person’s health especially when they are addicted. Legalising drugs will make it easier for people to get help as it will remove the fear of arrest or a criminal record. It will also make it easier for families or friends to get counselling for loved ones.

2. Alcohol is legal. Alcoholism is very damaging to society, just like other drug addictions. How can we argue that alcohol should be legal whilst other drugs are illegal? The reason is that alcohol is deeply rooted in European culture (and the culture of the Americas where many Europeans migrated to). Tens of thousands of people die every year from alcohol poisoning and many more are addicted. According to the NHS 9% of men and 4% of women are alcoholics. Alcohol is also frequently linked to violent behaviour and aggressiveness, whilst many illegal drugs have no such link.

3. One of the bonuses with legalising drugs concerns policing. Police spend many hours dealing with drug smuggling as well as possession and the paperwork that goes along with it. Legalising drugs would give police more time to deal with serious crime. Now don’t get me wrong, drug cartels are serious criminals, but they do a lot more than drug smuggling; racketeering, murder etc. Reducing the time police spend on the small fry would make it easier to get the big fry. Although a police raid might only last one minute, preparing for it takes hours of meticulous planning. As police gather information about who is who and what exactly they are doing. There are also many hours spent after arrest interrogating the suspects.

4. Another benefit would be to the judiciary. By legalising drugs, the judiciary would no longer have to waste time and resources on dealing with drug possession. This would reduce the length of time that people would have to wait for trials and make the whole system more efficient.

5. Furthermore, legalising drugs would benefit prisons systems. Around the world prisons are overcrowded and much of this is due to people with drug convictions. Removing drug offenders from the list of people being sent to prison would mean the pressure would be significantly reduced. It would save taxpayers money as there would be fewer new prisons built. It is also a well known fact that prison usually makes people worse criminals. Sending drug offenders to prison usually backfires as they leave prisons in a worse shape than they entered. Sending them to prison is extra stupid considering how prisons are awash with drugs.

6. One of the benefits to legalising drugs is for the users. A lot of people die from overdoses, but not always from the drug they think they are taking. They might get cheated by their dealer who sells them a cheaper alternative that is more dangerous. You also have the problem of impurities in drugs that kill or injure people. By legalising drugs and regulating them, people will know that the drug they have intended to buy is the one they have actually bought. Thereby reducing the deaths caused by cheap alternatives and impurities. I mean, when was the last time you heard of someone buying alcohol from a legitimate seller that turned out to be something else?

7. Ever heard of legal highs? These are new drugs that appear on the market every so often and are perfectly legal. Eventually law enforcement catches up and illegalises them, but by that time there is a new legal high on the market.  This creates a constant cycle where law enforcement is always one step behind the drug cartels. This further proves that the War on Drugs is a failure. To make matters worse, legal highs are normally more dangerous than many illegal drugs. If drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy were legalised, people would be more likely do take these, less dangerous, drugs than the legal highs.

-- The next three points I think are the most important reasons for legalising drugs, the big three if you will –

8.  Supposedly the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes, well when it comes to illegal drugs, there are no taxes! Legalising drugs would create a windfall for treasuries worldwide and considering the financing problems of most governments, it would be a welcome benefit. You would also have the tax on drugs higher than normal and you could use some of that money to help battle drugs by funding more drug rehabilitation centres and hospitals.

9. Freedom. Plain and simple. I don’t understand why one person gets to tell other people what they can and cannot do to their own bodies. If I want to smoke marijuana or take ecstasy, who are you to stop me? Why do you get to make that choice for me?  A lot of people argue that it is for my own good, I don’t know what’s best for me. But alcohol is legal, so is self-harm, and they damage the body. With self-harm and alcoholism we try and help people affected, why the double standard? Drug addicts need help, not a prison sentence and a criminal record.

10. Drug cartels. All around the world the drug trade is controlled by criminal gangs, mafias and cartels. They use the massive profits to fund murder, theft, torture and general lawlessness. Legalising drugs worldwide would take away most of their money, helping to reduce organised crime around the planet. This would help save lives and spread peace. If drugs were legal, organised crime would be a thing of the past.

I hope I have helped you understand why we must legalise drugs. Every day we wait, more people die, the drug cartels make more money and more people’s lives are needlessly torn apart. There are, of course, legitimate reasons for keeping drugs illegal, but while you keep alcohol legal, your argument falls flat. I have seen the affects of alcoholism on a family, and trust me, it is devastating. There should be exceptions for drugs that make you hyper aggressive, such as bath salts, as the affect on wider society is simply too great.

Thankfully the tide appears to changing in regards to drugs. In the USA 10 states have decriminalised marijuana, 17 states have legalised it for medical purposes (nine states have done both) and last year Colorado and Washington legalised it for recreational purposes. In 2012, after a yearlong inquiry, a group of MPs in the UK called for marijuana to be legalised. In the Netherlands drug laws are complex but making progress.

Most of the advancement that has been made in the War on Drugs is in regards to marijuana, this is because the drug is not dangerous at all. It reduces stress, you cannot overdose and it has medical purposes. All of these are qualities that alcohol has the opposite of.  It will be a long time before serious progress is made in regards to other illegal drugs; the argument that they damage your health too much is valid and true.

Legality of marijuana worldwide
source: www.wikipedia.org

Legalising drugs must be done across the globe for it to be effective. For example; if the UK legalises drugs then where will it get the drugs from? The climate of the UK makes certain drugs difficult to grow and so it would need to import the drugs. If all other countries keep drugs illegal then only drug cartels would be able to get drugs to the UK, meaning the affect on drug cartels globally would be minimal. Even in the UK the effect on drug cartels would not be as great as you might hope. Since the demand for certain drugs would be greater than the legally available supply, drug cartels would still be able to make profits by importing drugs from countries where drugs are still illegal but can be easily cultivated.

The War on Drugs has been a global disaster, so it requires global solutions. We must end the War on Drugs now.