Sheogorath 17:36 04-27-2009
Oh boy, 4chan will have lots of fun with that one.
I can imagine the number of emails that will be sent discussing how their BIN's are LADEN with EXPLOSIVEly good AIRPLANE models.
Gotta lo-
[POST ENDS HERE. NOTHING TO SEE. MOVE ALONG. THE NSA IS HERE FOR YOUR PROTECTION.]
rory_20_uk 17:52 04-27-2009
Often when people are faced with calamity they try to do everything else. This is displacement activity as if somehow doing all the washing and mowing the lawn will make the impending exam magically go away.
When governments act in a similar manner it is rather disturbing. Wasting money and infringing liberties - great
Ja'chyra 11:48 04-28-2009
Thankfully I doubt our government could ever get it to work, but it shouldn't be allowed.
Does the government really need to know how much porn I watch or who I e-mail. Typical over reaction, punish everyone for the actions of a few.
Next they'll be wanting to ban supermarkets from selling vodka on offer to stop the small percentage of the population that are jakies from getting drunk and causing trouble with no thought to the normal people who just like a drink in the privacy of their own homes.
FactionHeir 11:51 04-28-2009
I didn't know the gvt loved spam so much.
CountArach 11:57 04-28-2009
Morons...
Brilliant.
Idea.
Not surprising, sounds like the average day at the Home Office.
Actually, it's not Her Majesty's government that will be keeping the data, this is being forced on the ISPs (I think even the government knows how impossible/costly this will be). The end result will be higher costs for internet access and probably the elimination of smaller ISPs.
So would you Brits call this more or less invasive than the CCTV cameras everywhere? Seriously, when did you decide to turn your green and pleasant into a privacy-free zone?
Crazed Rabbit 17:39 04-28-2009
Britain's governments have been pathetic on matters of individualism and privacy (and I'm not even talking about socialism) for decades.
And the British people have let it happen.
Originally Posted by :
Brilliant.
Idea.
Sarcasm?
CR
Hosakawa Tito 18:23 04-28-2009
I'm sure it's for their own good and they'll be...um...safer. Yeah, that's the ticket, safer.
Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit:
Sarcasm?
Never
LittleGrizzly 01:48 04-29-2009
Britain's governments have been pathetic on matters of individualism and privacy (and I'm not even talking about socialism) for decades.
And the British people have let it happen.
It was/is to keep us safe from terrorists immigrants fraudsters and then all other kinds of nasty people if you include the internet...apparently. They were appealing to the fear vote....
Its funny that your not talking about socialism because neither are new labour
BB makes doubleplussafe Airstrip One.
Stories out of the UK always make me feel better about America for a few minutes, before I remember that we're just slower than you guys...
rory_20_uk 11:27 05-01-2009
Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good:
Stories out of the UK always make me feel better about America for a few minutes, before I remember that we're just slower than you guys...
Housing crisis? You beat us.
Banking meltdown? Something of a draw.
Sidestepping
Habeus Corpus? You've paved the way for the last decade or so. We're only just catching up.
Litigous state of mind? A disease we caught of you lot.
Foreign aggression? You led, we followed.
rasoforos 13:08 05-01-2009
The tendency to flirt with anything Orwellian seems deeply rooted into the UK collective psyche.
I am not sure why and for the life of me I never found out but it would always use to make me wonder why such freedom loving people do not go berserk when their liberties are being questioned.
LittleGrizzly 14:27 05-01-2009
I can give you my theory...
Firstly the CCTV camera's.... i was reading up on this recently...
It appears CCTV got its first big success in the UK when the Bulger murder happened (2 10-13 year olds took a young boy and murdered him brutally) the murderers were caught thanks to some grainy CCTV footage. Not long after this the goverment offered grants to local councils that wanted CCTV camera's and thier numbers shot up, i think alot of councils saw it as a good preventative measure and a good way to solve crimes that after the original setup costs is fairly cheap to operate...
They saw it as a cheap way to reassure some people and a good way to collect evidence...
Most of the more recent stuff ID cards, and this kind of thing... is New Labour trying to appeal to more right wing minded voters, being tough on crime and the strong man is usually more a position associated with tory goverments but this Labour goverment has throughout its time in power (and since the early 90's under Kinnock) made a determined effort to seem as right wing as possible whilst still remaining the left wing party by default, this is how they have so successfully stayed in power since '97...
The problem is alot of natural labour voters, mainly left wingers are attached to the labour party due to the fact they have always been labour voters, they are/were the natural party of left wingers and appear less evil than those nasty torys to the left wing voter. On top of this they go for big bold right wing policys so the type of people scared of crime, terrorism and immigration can see the goverment is doing something about it, and it stops the tory's making the claim they are tougher on crime...
All of this combined with the fact that immigration and terrorism seem to be terrifying world ending things for some that they would happily give up thier civil liberties in exchange for...
Also it really doesn't help that the only party who does fight the civil liberties corner is our 3rd largest party... which is far small than the 2 major ones and doesn't seem like its going to improve that position any time soon...
rory_20_uk 17:21 05-01-2009
If you want no help from your MP state that you're a die hard voter for them. They then know you're in the bag and your views can be ignored.
As you point out, the two groups to get are the undecided and the other lot's voters. As long as you win more accross than you alienate you're quids in.
In Yes Prime Minister the discussion on getting Trident was as you say with CCTV - false reassurance. Somehow having some massively expensive weaponry we're all safer and so defence is Sorted Out.
CCTV I think is OK. It is in public areas and although I do not feel that this is instead of a police presence it is a useful adjunct.
ID cards could be - provided the scheme is though out by bright people - be a good thing. Sadly it wasn't so it'll be a wasteful mess.
IF ID cards could
replace several others this could be useful. If it could include very important encrypted medical information - this would be useful.
Terrorism / Immigration and the deaths of children will mean that the herd won't bat an eyelid until everyone is GPS tagged with a C4 charge.
Originally Posted by
rory_20_uk:
Foreign aggression? You led, we followed.

Hello, McFly!
British Empire? HELLO?!?
British Empire circa 1930's...
rory_20_uk 18:35 05-01-2009
History is it?? I was thinking a bit more modern that that.
Well, if you really want to rub it in, the Brits invaded America in the first place...
ICantSpellDawg 15:00 05-02-2009
The rights of the masses were never a concern of the British Government. Most of the rights that common Britons historically had they only had because it strengthened the rights of the non-royal landowners and created a populist buffer zone. The wealthy protected themselves from the intrusion of royalty and, in order to make the case, used the commoner as a rationale.
The current British system's egalitariansim is more accident than intent. This is not necessarily bad, my only suprise is that a nation that lacks a meaningful or written Constitution doesn't do this stuff more often.
Louis VI the Fat 17:16 05-04-2009
Whether her Brittanic Majesty's subjects appreciate it or not, Europe will force
freedom on Britain.
Originally Posted by :
UK faces court for failing to enforce EU privacy laws
The European commission has launched legal proceedings against the UK government for alleged breach of EU data protection laws caused by controversial internet advertising company Phorm.
Telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding said UK law will have to change to ensure the confidentiality of communications by prohibiting interception and surveillance without a user's consent.
Originally Posted by
Louis VI the Fat:
Whether her Brittanic Majesty's subjects appreciate it or not, Europe will force freedom on Britain. 
1066 and 2009. Once agian France saves the Anglos. Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah!
My Saxon ancestors (if there were such in England at the time :P) would take issue with that.
Furunculus 11:20 05-05-2009
Originally Posted by Crazed Rabbit:
Britain's governments have been pathetic on matters of individualism and privacy (and I'm not even talking about socialism) for decades.
And the British people have let it happen.
agreed, we are responsible for this mess.
Originally Posted by Grizzly:
Also it really doesn't help that the only party who does fight the civil liberties corner is our 3rd largest party... which is far small than the 2 major ones and doesn't seem like its going to improve that position any time soon...
the lib-dems have a very spotty record on that account, they are very nanny'ish on many matters and a little libertarian on others, some might call it schizophrenic as the left vs libertarian elements struggle for dominance of the party.
AI will likely be the tool used to sort through the overwhelming amount of data to comb. It's sorta like the CCTV system they have, good in theory but it requires people watching the CCTV to be effective.
CrossLOPER 01:55 10-13-2023
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