h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Imagine if you will that you were the rulling power in the world
(I'm not saying your not but if that is the case imagine a slightly different world)

what laws would you have?
what would be the penalty for breaking those laws?
would you make any exemptions for the breaking of laws...

for example

you could decide that you hate people who chew on pens
so now chewing on pens is against the law in your world
the punishment for being guilty of such is having your hand coated in bright blue ink - why? because then everyone will know your crime and will refuse to lend you a pen lest you chew on it, also since chewing on pens dosnt really endanger anyone the punishment is not too severe it will fade with time but hopefully the memory of being shunned by others for your pen chewing will not and you will refrain from doing so

exemptions if it's your own pen as long as you dont then lend it to someone looking for a pen, no-one wants your chewed pen!

All companies would have to issue their invoices in A4 portrait format with the invoice number, date and order number in specific places. The person guilty of breaking this law would be locked in a haystack until they found the needle.

I can't think of a single reason why there should be any exemptions to this law.

I'm well aware of what this says about me.

Deb
who wastes far too much of her working day looking for the order number, then the invoice number, then the date.

right with you there, Deb.

As a start, I would abolish poison ivy.

Then I would provide accessible places for people to stand or sit when they are talking on their cell phones. If they still insist on talking on cell phones in the middle of the sidewalk or the street , or in the middle of a busy restaurant where everyone can hear them giving personal details of their lives or the medical records of their patients, then I would fine them.

As for texting, I think there should be an age limit. Sixteen, maybe. Those who are younger would have the texting capability blocked from their devices.

Now, aren't you glad I don't rule the world?

Ooh, if I ruled the world?

Everyone would have to stop and stand facing the wall when I pass them. Or at the very least, cover their eyes.

Emergency services would have the sirens removed from their vehicles to be replaced by dwarves sitting on the roof waving frantically.

A compulsory selective breeding programme would be put into place so that all dogs look like Snoopy.

The world Anthem would be something by Linkin Park. "Bleed It Out" probably.

All residential housing would be cul-de-sacs.

Handshakes, kissing, hugs and all other unnecessary and unhygienic forms of public affection would be discouraged. Fist bumps would be ok.

A prize of £1 Trillion will be put up to encourage scientific research into developing a palatable bacon coffee.

I may have other proposals.

If I ruled the world, instead of half the people being happy and half being unhappy, I would change everything so that half the people would be unhappy whilst the other half would be happy.

No one will ever give me the chance though, it is far too radical.

As I wrote that last post the song from 'Oliver' ran through my head.

If I ruled the world, every day would be the first day of spring. And everyone would die of boredom.

EVERY newborn baby born in England would have national press coverage, just to even the score with the royals...see how they like it!

Every dog would be micro chipped and a dna sample would be taken and stored

Any poop in public areas would be tested and owners would have frst warning, £100 fine or dog school (like speeding school), for repeat offences the fine goes up by £100 after 5 offences, fines continue to go up and community service get added.

"EVERY newborn baby born in England would have national press coverage, just to even the score with the royals...see how they like it!"

That is just the sort of reality programming that the public needs! I bet a whole network could be devoted to it, and the ratings would go through the roof!

I would abolish all laws - there are too many and they are too complicated.

This would be on the basis that everybody OUGHT to know how to behave, so that when people behaved badly, the rest of society would be at liberty to punish / correct them appropriately.

Should the punishers / correctors behave in a way that in itself was the wrong way to behave, then they themselves would become subject to correction / punishment.

This way, over time, there would be a common consensus on what was acceptable (therefore against the 'law') and appropriate punishments and corrective measures would be taken.

It might be a bit of a bumpy ride for a while.

PP.

And leaders of countries at war would be made to go and sit in the middle of Tyne Cot cemetery in Flanders where there are 12,000 graves of soldiers (about 8,000 who's names are not known) and stay there until they have sorted themselves out.

And if this is too hard for them they should be moved on to the monument at Thiepval where there are the names of 72,000 men, who's names were known but who's bodies were never found because they were scattered in bits or simply buried in the mud of The Somme, inscribed on the biggest war memorial that I have ever seen.

PP.

Sho: for making me feel almost normal!

Peanut: Do you have direct access to my head? I can't count the number of times I've thought that about dog DNA whilst deperately trying to avoid another dog's mess whilst clearing up my own dog's It drives me mad and gives ALL dog owners a bad name.

PP: If the leaders can't agree and they start fighting then they should be made to be right in the thick of it.

Deb

We need a law by which we can remove or transform another law that is not applied or it´s clearly misapplied.
For instance:

With that law, we could abolish or change the activities of the IMF, the World Bank and similar institutions because they are not operating according to the reason they were created, on contrary, they are just doing the reverse.

Those and other institutions do not operate under the General Assambley of the UN, as it was stablished. They aren´t democratic institutions and they only seek the maximum of benefits for the corporations, which are their clients, in dctriment of ordinary citizens in the third world and now in Europe, mainly the south of Europe.

In the words of JOseph Stiglitz:
"The fundamental problem I see at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank is that the voting Rights are not allocated on the principles of any democratic society. Most of the votes go to the wealthy industrial countries. In the United States and Europe no one would accept the principle that one dollar equals one vote. But this is the principle that underlies the IMF and the World Bank. The more money you have, the more votes you have"

PP >> And leaders of countries at war would be made to go and sit in the middle of Tyne Cot cemetery in Flanders where there are 12,000 graves of soldiers (about 8,000 who's names are not known) and stay there until they have sorted themselves out. <<

One mans death is a tragedy, thousands of mens deaths is a statistic.

We need another law that makes compulsory for media to publish two points of view at least of the same story, maybe that law could have helped to make smaller the insults of this German paper to Spaniards and also to the German readers. It´s a complete lie, full of sick propaganda.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/southern-europe-sees-way-of-life-under-threat-a-908109.html
"The siesta hasn't existed in Spain since the fall of 2012. That was when the Spanish government, under pressure from the euro troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF, eliminated the siesta."

<>

Really? So we need to hear from the rapist and the paedophile?

Should a fossil discovery be reported from a scientific *and* a creationist viewpoint?

Or are we talking about the media not giving enough emphasis to *your* political views?

"The more money you have, the more votes you have"

Isn't that how it works in the US though - "democracy" in action. Similarly in both the US and Europe you have to be a member of a political party - which effectively run a cartel on who gets into power. Once in power, lobbyists, self-interest and the other factors (including political spin to appeal to the demos via the popular media) determine policy.

"Or are we talking about the media not giving enough emphasis to *your* political views?"

Yes, not exactly my political views, but sort of. I was trying to communicate the saddness I feel whenever I read those kind of unfair attacks, which are related to the previous post I´ve written.

Maybe I could have started another thread or posted it somewhere else. However, as this thread as others in h2 , do not follow a strict law of "this thread is for this topic and this tone, and this style" but on contrary, conversations seems to me quite open... I posted here.

Relax hombre,

Hi Maria - that's partly an issue of media ownership and the influence of the rich owners to directly appeal to and try to influence the populace. In Italy there is Berlusconi who directly got himself into power. In Britain there is Rupert Murdoch - who claims to have won the election for the conservatives in 1992: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_The_Sun_Wot_Won_It
Tony Blair how to run to Rupert Murdoch to get his patronage in order to get the Murdoch press on his side to win the election. Apparently he had to do a deal with Murdoch about changing the labour party (New Labour).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/8740530/Tony-Blair-is-godfather-to-Rupert-Murdochs-daughter.html