Is life a trap for logicians?
The English essayist G. K. Chesterton once wrote that life is “a trap of logicians” because it is almost reasonable but not quite; it is usually sensible but occasionally otherwise: It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is; its exactitude is obvious, but its inexactitude is hidden.

What is your opinion about life? I'd like to know because just when I think I have everything figured out, I realize it is impossible to have everything figured out. And just when you think you are finally happy, something comes along to make you question your bliss. Life in all its simplicity is indeed complicated.  ¶ 9:14 PM

  life has no favourites
just so totally agree with the b/m..... life, indeed, has no permanent favourites.

It is so easy to get jealous, but somehow, over the years, I seem to have come to terms with the fact that there always has to be one person who is the favourite, and that I will not be that one person. I can't hate my sis 'cos its not her fault. And I can't hate my parents either because really, it is only human nature to have a soft spot for certain people, I do too. Besides, they haven't done too badly by me. I am still well fed and watered. Just no favours. No safety net to catch me. I must make my own way in the world, make my own money, build my own life.   ¶ 10:03 PM

  rule of law & legal gaps
The Rule of Law lives in the hearts of free men and women everywhere. The maxim states that men should not be trusted to rule others unless their rule is tempered by fixed laws that prevent tyranny, laws that prevent those in high office from exercising power over the populace without restraint, laws that prevent the majority from acting without a due regard for the rights and well-being of individuals, laws that prevent the powerful from plundering the weak.

The Rule of Law is worthy of our highest efforts as a people. This principle that laws should govern us instead of men -- laws of our own making and not the cruel edicts of tyrant dictators or divine right decrees of kings -- is the bedrock of human justice, the philosophical cornerstone and the foundation of hope for all mankind.

ideal as it sounds, there are many ways to undermine the rule of law. one way is to circumvent it through the creation of "legal gaps". for example, in response to complaints that u.s. forces in the 1991 gulf war had violated the geneva convention's prohibition on "denial of quarter" -- refusing to accept an enemy's offer to surrender, the department of defense replied that:

"There is a gap in the law of war in defining precisely when surrender takes effect or how it may be accomplished. An attempt at surrender in the midst of a hard-fought battle is neither easily communicated nor received. The issue is one of reasonableness."

a more recent replay of the exploitation of "legal gaps" relates to the detainees held in guantanamo. here, the bush administration asserts that the geneva conventions do not apply as the detainees are classified not as prisoners-of-war but instead as "enemy combatants". many have however dismissed this as simply a disguised play with terminology.

next, it was held that american laws likewise do not apply as these detainees are imprisoned on leased cuban soil and not on sovereign american territory. thankfully though, human.rights.watch pulls us back from being lost in the elaborate legal justification game by stating that:

"Defeating terrorism means convincing the world of the importance of the rule of law. The Bush Administration severely handicaps this effort if, in the process of fighting terrorism´s violation of the right to life, it so fundamentally violates the right to a fair trial."

The written Law of the Imperium cannot be changed, no matter which Great house holds dominion or which Emperor sits on the Golden Lion Throne. The documents of the Imperial Constitution have been established for thousands of years. This is not to say that each regime is legally identical; the variations stem from subtleties of interpretation and from microscopic loopholes that become large enough to drive a Heighliner through.
-- Law of the Imperium: Commentaries and Rebuttals  ¶ 12:34 PM

  starting out...
bienvenue! so this is the beginning for targeter, a character borrowed from a book of fiction. anyways, never actually thought that i would start my own weblog... :p

now the founding constitution of this blog: 1. diversity. 2. succinctness and incisiveness. 3. event-focused and idea-centric rather than being personal. 4. no proclamation of objectivity, especially on certain key subjects. 5. working along the line of karl popper's open society, as further elucidated by soros.

so here again, a warm welcome.
targeter

The purpose of argument is to change the nature of truth.
--Bene Gesserit Percept   ¶ 8:43 PM