In article <368bf6d0.301695928@news.ot.centuryinter.net>,
here's a quarter call someone who cares........ wrote:
 

Hammurabi wasn't the point. The Iraqis were the point, these
Sumerian and Babylonian cultures which released all prisoners,
including those condemned to death, at the accession of the
new bossman. Hammarabi could write down his laws to suit
himself, because the day he became bossman he had no prisoners.
After Hammurabi died, every person condemned during his reign
was let go. His laws could not condemn a person to be held
past the death of Hammarabi. They could not get a woman stoned
after the bossman died. The bossman's death, or actually his
successor's accession, released everybody no matter what.
 

This custom of universal amnesty was stronger than law. It was
actually religious, for such traditions were held to be of divine
origin. It means that judges can be wrong, and kings can be wrong,
but the Goddess is merciful. Your sentence cannot last much longer
than the king lives. That's actually the way they did things. The
reason you can't believe it is due to conditioning which compels
you to believe in the eternal threat of law. That wasn't Hammarabi's
doing. Somebody since him invented that.
 

By just making this day the exception in our time, we can break
a lot of compulsory conditioning. We can come to realize just what
an alien machinery our law has become. Our enlightenment on this
will be beneficial to all.
 

Regards,
Johnny Thunderbird
http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/mbs.cgi/mb275670 http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/millenialamnesty
http://www.dejanews.com/~millenialamnesty