Does the US government even need SOPA?

And the first casualty of war. The popular file-sharing site Megaupload has now been taken offline by the FBI and its "Chief executives" have either been arrested or are being hunted down for extradition to the United states.

This comes at a time when the whole Internet have come out fighting against the American governments attempts to pass into law two acts "SOPA and PIPA" allowing them to take down any site they deem to be "Enabling Piracy". Baring in mind both that the site Megaupload is one massively used legally to send files by millions of people and two that they are in fact based out of New Zealand and not America, should the internet as a whole be worried? This was what was feared would happen if Sopa ever passed but it seems they don't even need the laws anyway. The FBI have classed Megaupload as an "International Organized Criminal Enterprise" and as such are going after them with full force. Should the Internet as a whole now be worried?

More than the simple fact that millions of users who use the site legally and have now been frozen out of it while still paying their subscription fees with they're uploaded files disappearing from the vapour or the fact that Megaupload themselves were just about to launch a legal online music marketplace that was hated by majority of the American Record labels. There's the little fact that this comes not even a month after the Megaupload team started legal action against Universal Music (UMG) over copyright infringement of their own, a case now most probably going to be voided by the FBI.

It feels wrong to be rooting for what are effectivly hackers acting outside the law but in response to this and apparently the only action anyone can really take the Hacking group "Anonymous" have said to have taken down the sites of UMG and the US Department of Justice among others although the Justice department seems to have come back online recently.

So has the Internet now entered a state of war? SOPA and PIPA were meant to be the tools used by the US government against online piracy as whole but as this speedy shut down and arrests has shown maybe they already have the power to do whatever they want? So should all other information and file sharing sites be worried and just how far are the FBI willing to go in their "Fight" against piracy?

Are they fighting for the right of law or just serving the vested interests of Corporate America?

Westminster: The mother of modern democracy, yet so unable to do the same to itself.

My title may be a bit obnoxious but my point is simple. It was Westminster through its colonies in the new world that shaped and created what is American Federalism through its local assemblies and autonomy. A system adopted in many countries around the world Germany for example. It is a highly praised system for its ability to separate what are bigger priorities to central (federal) governments while containing the issues that matter to local areas in those local areas.
                 So why is it that Westminster, the mother of all this democratic system, has been unable to enact these sort of reforms onto itself?

England as the main focus here are ruled by two chambers. The House of Commons elected through MPs that represent the people of the country and The House of Lords that has appointed or inherited Lords and Baronesses that are able to enact laws and scrutinise all policy that comes from the commons. So it is and so it has been pretty much since before the act of union more than 300 years ago.

While yes Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland all have local assemblies and parliaments, that is the right way to go but what about the people in England? They are stuck with Westminster a place where MPs from all countries can vote on English only issues when MPs from England cannot touch the local issues from the rest of the UK. Why haven't they been given a parliament? Why is there still a House of Lords when all other western countries no longer have such inherited undemocratic institutions? Polls are showing a massive increase in a demand for an English Parliament even with the major parties brushing it off as nonsense and unneeded.

So what's the solution? All this centuries old discussion on reforming the House of Lords is tedious beyond belief. Maybe just scrap the whole house would work, set up the House of Commons as the UK-wide federal government and give England the parliament it demands. Maybe then in a federal Britain democracy could be restored and people's opinions properly represented as it should be. Then we could say goodbye to the "Problem with the Lords", "The West Lothian Question" or whatever other catchy name people have for this situation, but then again there are those who would ask Do we really want to end up looking exactly like America?

Oh how the tables can turn!

With the Coalition fast approaching two years in power we see a Lib-Dem party in ruin, major members now indistinguishable from their Tory "Partners". How could Nick Clegg go from the height of Clegg-mania where the country seemed to be behind his promises of change to what people see as just a puppet of a Tory Government? All promises but shattered: Democratic change to the Voting system: broken, Free eduction for Britains youths : Broken, Drives for an Ecologically responsible country: Broken to name but a few.

The aftermath really is telling

•   Lib Dems lose three out of four of their voters

We have seen what local elections and devolved elections have done to the party and with another round shortly on its way well it will be a wonder if they don't lose they're homeland voting grounds too.

So now we have a leader of a party that may soon be insignificant, disapearing into the Vapor of Democracy but instead of making amends and apologising or even trying to rectify peoples fears and wants he has now launched personal attacks on all that don't share his or indeed is "Partners" Views.

• If you back independence, you’re an extremist, Nick Clegg tells Scotland

Not only is breaking promises and blindly shifting your position way beyond any mandate you have become a norm for Clegg and his party but insulting and threating all those that seek mandated a democratically right change seems to be the new tactic. 

I have but one question to ask really: Oh Clegg how could you have fooled soo many in 2010?