Law, culture, and politics

What are the sources of law? In the West, the law embodies a phenomena that transcends individual or even social group control; arguably it is above politics and above social or even economic class. Is this true?

One thing that I've understood based on my studies is that law is a product of two powerful forces in society which are distinct and intertwined in the same breath, namely: culture and politics.

Law differs largely on how important one source is over the other or how much one source has overcome another in society's makeup. For instance, while the law against murder exists in the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, the interpretation of legal murder differs from one society to the next based on the culture. In the Middle East, some cultures allow for the "murder" of one's daughter if she has brought shame on the family, in the US, one may "murder" another for self-defense but may not kill one's daughter for her acts. In Europe, the death penalty is banned while in the US and many other societies, the death penalty is still alive and well, e.g. Saudi Arabia. The point being made here is that while law against a specific human behavior may exist universally in all systems, the circumstances allowing the application of this law or exceptions to it differ drastically.
So next posting, I'll talk a bit on politics and I invite commentary on my points thus far.

Disclaimer and FYI

I think its important in any public forum that one defines the limits of discussion. If not, the audience might have high expectations that might surpass what is reasonably possibly. This blog attempts to raise issues that the author thinks are important in today's world. Grammar and prose will be diminished in importance for the sake of informal discussion. Having this in mind, I'll start off the initial topic that I'm interested in: law, culture, and politics.

Finally..

I've finally entered the 21st century! Its taken me a week to set up this blog but I've finally evolved to the point that I can now blog. Unfortunately, with all my previous travels abroad, I maintained a travel diary at best, usually keeping it to myself. This blog will now allow me to publish my thoughts, keep me in touch with friends and possibly get feedback on current research I am doing. Well, I loathe rambling and I will keep this short but I'll leave this posting with an observation that has occurred to me: Having been to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Americas, Europe, I realized that the more one travels and experiences different cultures... the more aware one becomes of the incredible similarities between people. I'm not an anthropologist by training or education, but this simple thought, which is probably "anthropology 101" is also one of the single greatest points that is largely forgotten in the US when we watch our nightly news describing violence in Gaza, crime in Baghdad, and the multitude of other problems and issues around the world. The only thing separating us from them is distance and even this is a minor formality in today's age. Everyone needs food, water, shelter, and a sense of security for a basic existence. Lacking one of these can mean the difference between peace and war, life and death, stability or migration. Just a thought as I sit in a nice cafe in Phnom Penh. Cheers and more to follow.