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GregB's avatar

On our Constitution. We do have a written Constitution, sort of, as I understand, it's just that it is spread over many documents. Alfred started it with his law code, c893 from which stems our Common Law.

However, our modern Constitution is made up of what is left of Magna Carta 1215, or those bits not traunced all over by PM Blair.

Apart from Cromwell's 'Instrument of Government', a written Constitution that existed briefly in the 17th Century, we have the Bill of Rights 1689, Acts of Union 1707 and 1800, Act of Settlement 1701, Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, Human Rights Act 1998, Scotland Act, Northern Ireland Act and Government of Wales Act 1998, to mention some of the leading statutes, conventions, judicial decisions, and treaties.

I suppose you could argue that it's success is that it is a living document, not requiring amendment by Constitutional Conventions and the like but its failure is that it can be ignored by those in charge, because it is so poorly known.

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HardeeHo's avatar

Watching YouTube of the battles to-and-fro suggests our immersion in a sea of propaganda. I check out https://www.youtube.com/@RFU and https://www.youtube.com/@DenysDavydov. I did watch https://www.youtube.com/@freerussia1. Did anybody observe that the audio seems generated?

I see staggering numbers of dead but a very real difference in morale. Ukraine is fighting for home and momma, Russians for money and because they must. For the moment it remain low level combat, mostly ground based with Ukraine greatly hampered by minimal air support. Russians have seemingly endless stockpiles of weapons and an obvious attempt to destroy all they can - if you won't give up, I will destroy you. The US is somewhat torn as most of the EU but do fear future Russian expansion. Nobody but Putin knows what he plans to do.

I had really thought Russia would stop this in the summer. It appears not to be. I dread what might lie ahead as "volunteers" arrive to supplement attrited troops. But appeasement led to the success of the Russian revolution, WW1, WW2 - a lesson that still gives pause.

So the grind of Russian is winning or Ukraine is winning, along with various moral and economy questions - propaganda. In the end there will be losers on both sides and a lot of work ahead fr already overextended economies. The world economic suffering ahead won't be pretty. Somehow I can't believe China is happy about fewer customers to fund their military ambitions.

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