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Justice Ginsburg to Egyptians: Look to the Constitutions of South Africa or Canada, Not to the US ..
MEMRI TV ^ | 1-30-12 | Al-Hayat (Egypt)

Posted on 02/02/2012 3:30:12 PM PST by DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis

Following are excerpts from an interview with US Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which aired on Al-Hayat TV on January 30, 2012.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: It is a very inspiring time - that you have overthrown a dictator, and that you are striving to achieve a genuine democracy. So I think people in the United States are hoping that this transition will work, and that there will genuinely be a government of, by, and for the people.

[...]

I met with the head of the elections commission. I think that the first step has gone well, and that elections have been held for the lower house that everyone has considered to be free and fair. So that's one milestone, and the next will be the drafting of a constitution.

I can't speak about what the Egyptian experience should be, because I'm operating under a rather old constitution. The United States, in comparison to Egypt, is a very new nation, and yet we have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world.

[...]

Let me say first that a constitution, as important as it is, will mean nothing unless the people are yearning for liberty and freedom. If the people don't care, then the best constitution in the world won't make any difference. So the spirit of liberty has to be in the population, and then the constitution - first, it should safeguard basic fundamental human rights, like our First Amendment, the right to speak freely, and to publish freely, without the government as a censor.

[...]

You should certainly be aided by all the constitution-writing that has gone one since the end of World War II. I would not look to the US constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012. I might look at the constitution of South Africa. That was a deliberate attempt to have a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights, had an independent judiciary... It really is, I think, a great piece of work that was done. Much more recent than the US constitution - Canada has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It dates from 1982. You would almost certainly look at the European Convention on Human Rights. Yes, why not take advantage of what there is elsewhere in the world?

[...]


TOPICS: Canada; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: baderginsburg; canada; consititution; egypt; egyptconstitution; ginsberg; ginsburg; humanrights; individualrights; ruthbaderginsburg; ruthginsburg; scotus; southafrica
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To: Politics4US

Don’t be surprised if this worthless piece of flesh bows out in the next couple of months so the Communist in Chief can replace her in like kind. No way she makes it another 4 years with a Republican in office.


21 posted on 02/02/2012 4:06:38 PM PST by DAC21
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To: Jacquerie

She is sworn to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” so she should be impeached.


22 posted on 02/02/2012 4:07:03 PM PST by shalom aleichem
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To: shalom aleichem

Agree. For some reason the firing of federal officials has gotten a bad name.


23 posted on 02/02/2012 4:13:53 PM PST by Jacquerie (No court will save us from ourselves.)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis

Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996

http://www.info.gov.za/documents/constitution/


24 posted on 02/02/2012 4:14:01 PM PST by DUMBGRUNT (The best is the enemy of the good!)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
I hate to agree with her, but she has a point for a few reasons.

The overwhelming majority of democratic countries use a parliamentary system that has a separate head of state and head of government. Very few use our idea of combining the two. That would make Canada a model constitution for a country wanting a parliamentary democracy.

Our Constitution has to be interpreted in light of English constitutional and common law as it existed at the Founding. Otherwise, how do you understand the meaning of "due process of law"? But very few countries have a common law system.

We have a federal system that at least theoretically has a federal government with limited powers. Most countries are geographically smaller and want a stronger central government.

25 posted on 02/02/2012 4:14:32 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: org.whodat
Damn old shank needs to move on to that place beside Joe in hell.

NO! Not until The Won is out of office! We already have two idiots which this fool has shackled us with for the next 30 to 40 years! We can ill afford another liberal, Marxist loon to be appointed for the next 30 to 40 years on the high court!
26 posted on 02/02/2012 4:14:55 PM PST by ExTxMarine (PRAYER: It's the only HOPE for real CHANGE in America!)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis

Senile bit** should be impeached.


27 posted on 02/02/2012 4:16:05 PM PST by boomop1 (term limits is the only way to save this country.)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis

Funny thing, she even LOOKS like a Communist.


28 posted on 02/02/2012 4:17:11 PM PST by alstewartfan (27 of 36 of Romney's judicial appointments were DEMOCRATS!!!!!)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
So the spirit of liberty has to be in the population, and then the constitution - first, it should safeguard basic fundamental human rights,

I guess this nitwit hasn't picked up any hints as to what the real intent of, or the real spirit of the Egyptian Muslims is as indicated by the 2/3 of the vote won by the Muslim Brotherhood and the even more fundamentalist Salafist.

And this creature is on our SCOTUS.

29 posted on 02/02/2012 4:18:14 PM PST by Will88
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To: ExTxMarine

Nothing wrong with getting sicker for 12 months.


30 posted on 02/02/2012 4:20:56 PM PST by org.whodat (Sorry bill, I should never have made all those jokes about you and Lewinsky, have fun.)
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To: G Larry

The dodo headed Democrat voters elect the liberal politicians who put these snakes on the bench.


31 posted on 02/02/2012 4:31:18 PM PST by cradle of freedom (Long live the Republic !)
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To: boomop1
Senile bit** should be impeached.

Very bad idea (before 2013, anyway).

32 posted on 02/02/2012 4:43:14 PM PST by cynwoody
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To: tell me
We have a supreme court justice who thinks our constituion that she is sworn to uphold is flawed.

Not just flawed -- but useless and hopelessly out-of-date. Not worth being used as a model.

A disturbing look into the mind of a liberal.

Remember how much good the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms did for Mark Steyn and his right of "free speech" and his publisher's "right to publish"?

33 posted on 02/02/2012 4:43:40 PM PST by okie01 (THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA: Ignorance On Parade)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
What simple-minded nonsense!

The 85 essays by Madison, Hamilton and Jay, commonly known as THE FEDERALIST, were, and are, the best expositions of the principles underlying our written Constitution which, as she pointed out has lasted for over 200 years.

One would think that a United States Supreme Court Justice speaking to a group from any country in the world might point to those essays as guides to constitution writing for a people who wish to live in liberty.

34 posted on 02/02/2012 4:47:02 PM PST by loveliberty2
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To: org.whodat

“Damn old shank needs to move on to that place beside Joe in hell.”

But she needs to hang on until after the election so we have a chance ( and only a chance given the RINOs in the Senate) to get a decent, constitutionalist as our replacement Justice. This old hag came from a position of leadership at the ACLU. My guess is that she rode her broom over to the SCOTUS.


35 posted on 02/02/2012 4:52:40 PM PST by vette6387 (Enough Already!)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis

Un,freeking,believable.


36 posted on 02/02/2012 5:02:04 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
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To: cynwoody

You know it will never happen, die maybe.


37 posted on 02/02/2012 5:24:31 PM PST by boomop1 (term limits is the only way to save this country.)
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis

Justice Ginsburg visits mark Arab Spring uprisings (Egypt and Tunesia)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2841410/posts

http://www.wrex.com/story/16657584/justice-ginsburg-visits-mark-arab-spring-uprisings


38 posted on 02/02/2012 5:28:15 PM PST by Whenifhow
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To: DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
Regime change in the courts. Impeach activist justices!
39 posted on 02/02/2012 6:07:37 PM PST by TigersEye (Life is about choices. Your choices. Make good ones.)
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To: boomop1
You know it will never happen, die maybe.

Hopefully, not any time soon.

Justice Scalia counts her as his best friend on the Court:

“I consider myself a good friend of every one of my colleagues, both past and present,” Scalia told Laura [Ingraham]. “Some more than others. My best friend on the Court is and has been for many years, Ruth Ginsburg. Her basic approach is not mine, but she’s a lovely person and a good loyal friend.”
Source

40 posted on 02/02/2012 6:38:03 PM PST by cynwoody
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