KILLING NO WAY TO STOP TERRORISTS

A German law allowing the shooting down of hijacked aircraft has been ruled unconstitutional:

The German law had been intended as a last resort when all other attempts to resolve such a situation had been exhausted. The federal government, not the military, would have had the final say.

However, critics argued that the government had no right to kill those on the plane to try to save the lives of others.

Germany's constitutional court president Hans-Juergen Papier ruled that: "The protection of the right to human dignity is strict and an infringement is not permissible."

Gee, if I was held hostage I'd rather be killed as part of a noble effort to save lives rather than ride a hijacked plane into a city centre, possibly playing an incidental role in the murder of thousands.