“For five years I have avoided using the phrase ‘police state’. But the sort of things going on here is what you expect in a police state, a banana state. This is the most extraordinary event of my parliamentary career.” (David Davis)
I find the items on this list extremely disturbing, particularly those which relate to his offices, phone and computer.
I regard the protests planned for the coming weekend to have a greater call on my democratic conscience than my vote at the next general election. I thus regard my participation as being a duty.
Fifteen years ago I would have regarded such statements as typical anti-state, activist emotivism. Now it’s undeniably bang on the money [EDIT: although I would substitute "authoritarian" for "fascist"] , almost trite, and you’ll find similar statements everywhere, from anarchist websites, to The Guardian, The Telegraph, on through to editorials in the Daily Mail. (How can I be so sure? Do I purchase dozens of newspapers and magazines and spend hours each day reading their contents? No, like many, I simply scan RSS feeds two or three times a day and home in on the surveillance-related material.)
I’ve never known the views of our executive diverge so significantly from those of the population as a whole. Sure, Thatcher broke the political consensus, but she did so with the support of a majority of voters. How many support the development of the government’s planned £12 Billion “total surveillance” database? I’ve yet to speak to a single person who does. Not one person.
Let’s see, who *have* I spoken to about our surveillance society in the last week or two? An experienced software developer, a project manager, a manager at a business consultancy, a senior sysadmin for a large bank, a member of a school governing board (grant maintained, not private), a property developer, and my own 73 year old mother. Not exactly a stereotypical collection of squat-dwelling, capitalism hating professional protesters. These are face to face conversations I’ve had in the last couple of weeks, not remote mutual rants on some web forum. Every person I’ve spoken to is somewhere on the continuum from deeply concerned to appalled. How can our government not be aware of the strength and breadth of feeling out there?
To reiterate, I regard the protests this weekend as being substantially more important than voting at the next general election. More is at stake than which flavour of perennially cash strapped, knee-jerking, media courting, homily spinning, platitude vending, technology intoxicated government we have. This is real, serious politics. The kind that will palpably affect our lives and the nature of our society as a whole.
If you want to oppose someone trussing you up in a straight-jacket, it’s essential to do it before they they force it onto you and start tightening the straps. If you’re misguided enough to believe that “if you’re not doing anything wrong you’ve got nothing to fear” then I strongly advise you to start with this post and — I’m arrogant enough to declare — wait for the next one on this blog (Edit: OK, as of 9th October, the post in question hasn’t appeared. It will, I promise. Here it is)
“We will be picnicking and carrying blank placards. The ludicrous nature of the law is shown by the fact that if anyone writes on their placard or decides spontaneously to progress from picnic to protest, they will immediately be subject to arrest. People in Common has no plans to incite such law-breaking.” (ibid)
Mrs Palin is such a hot property that ABC was planning to roll out the interviews over Thursday evening and Friday. Aides to Mr McCain said more interviews were scheduled for next week, but made it clear hostile networks would not be selected. (Source)
They would be the networks that refuse to act as an extension of Palin’s publicity machine, would they? The ones whose refusal to uncritically accept her scripted speeches is essential for a modern, functioning democracy?
Factoid: Todd Palin, Sarah Palin’s husband, works for BP (British Petroleum).
The barely disguised loathing that the Yes political establishment has for voters - when No never means No - must be the issue in any referendum re-run. It is the fundamental fault line in politics today.
EU plans the fix for the ‘infantile’ Irish
UPDATE: “the people that matter” in the UK wish to join the Euro