Boy, this Habeas Corpus thing is a bit of a pain, isn't it? Let's get rid of it.

Boy, there seem to be an awful lot of protestors around these days. Let's get rid of them.

Boy, this Parliamentary oversight thing is a bit of a hassle, isn't it? Let's get rid of it.

Boy, these Geneva Conventions really are a hassle aren't they....?

Guardian - Defence secretary calls for Geneva conventions to be redrawn: John Reid demanded sweeping changes to international law yesterday to free British soldiers from the restraints of the Geneva conventions and make it easier for the west to mount military actions against other states.

Blurred Clarity - Barbaric Democracy: John Reid's argument is that terrorists don't fight fair (he invents something called 'barbaric terrorism', which much be really bad terrorism in comparison to let's say, 'nasty terrorism' or 'naughty terrorism') so we need the powers to also not fight fair and no doubt bring about 'barbaric democracy'

BlairWatch - Who Needs The Geneva Convention? (links to full speech)

BSSC - Aggression Pre-Emption: What he seems to be saying is that nation-states should be free to take military action against threats which they believe exist, whether there is an imminent threat or not... Reid, of course, actually thinks that any new freedoms to pre-empt remote threats should only apply to "us", not "them". I'd like to see how he intends to codify that under international law. He says he's not a lawyer. No shit.

You really should worry when a government stops dodging laws and starts trying to change them instead....