[pp.int.general] Pirate Manifesto: status of internal ballots

[Reinier Bakels]

>    I will not reiterate here the arguments why the "human rights" argument 
> is
>    dangerous. I'll add another argument: if you feel that your human 
> rights are
>    violated, go the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
>
> When most people talk about human rights, they are talking about
> a philosophical concept of an ethical imperative, an issue which
> must be interpreted at the philosophical level.
Richard, you are completely right. It is essential to distinguish three 
tiers:
1. existence of human rights
2. codification of human rights
3. enforcement of human rights
A common mistake (your comment, actually) is that the latter  two tiers arer 
considered prerequisite for thr first one. Indeed that is nonsense. Attempts 
to escape from human rights by establishing prisons on Cuba or torturing in 
Poland ("CIA flights") is nonsensical, therefore.
Still, for a political movement such as ours, eventually the enforcement is 
essential, and codification (at least) helps for enforcement.
In straight terms, under 1. you can call aviolator an asshole, but under 3. 
you can put him in prison. The latter action is not really "philosophical" - 
do you mind? (Uh, is "assohole" philosophical?)

reinier