All entries for Monday 11 July 2005

Emphasis on Tongue in Cheek :P

I'd just like to clarify for people reading this blog (who'd have thunk it!? People reading my ramblings!!), most of the things I say that aren't personal will be deliberately one sided, I love a good debate and the best way to start them I've found is to give your opinion on one side of the issue and ignore the other side and let people start arguing the flip side.
I am no fool despite what people who know me may say! I can see the other side of the argument in everything but generally (as with everyone) I'll have one particular side which I personally believe and that is what I will write my blog about.

: 11 Jul 2005 19:48 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Privacy or Security? Your choice…

Writing about web page http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050710/ap_on_hi_te/terror_database

Why is this such a bad thing!?!

Surely it is a good thing that police can access information quickly and efficiently from a central location? This is all information that is in the public domain anyway (for all those people who neglect to tick those little opt out boxes in particular) or at least if it isn't in the public arena the police can certainly access it. Why make their job more difficult and make it harder to track down criminals?

Privacy advocates can go and sit in their house and never leave and do anything ever again if they're so worried about what Big Brother might find out about them. I couldn't give a flying f**k if the police know everything about me down to what time I go to the loo each day! I'm not doing anything wrong so what does it matter that they know what I'm doing? My only complaint in that area would be if they were spending money to track me (and everyone else) rather than just collating all the data already available on me and performing the same processing that is done every time you apply for a credit card.

Government is there to do just that, govern and protect us. By voting for them (lets not get into the fact that the majority of people didn't vote for our current Government!) you imply that you trust them to protect you and do what is in your best interests. If they are denied the ability to know what is going on in the country then how are they to do this?!
The same is true with the proposals for ID cards, I think it is an excellent idea if only for the fact I won't have to carry a drivers license, a passport (eventually), an NI card etc etc They can use the information I give them for whatever they like! My only problem with that is again the cost of the system. Compulsory ID cards would only work if they were just that, compulsory. You must have the thing with you otherwise what is the point? Mr Terrorist would just say to the nice policeman "I'll bring it into the station tomorrow" and then bye bye Mr Terrorist never to be seen again.
These cards would be a proof of ID, proof of address, proof of entitlement to benefits and NHS care, proof of residency and the list goes on. If they were sufficiently difficult to forge then it would help reduce the ridiculous immigration system, benefit fraud and so on.

But yet again another good scheme has been ruined by whingy privacy advocates. The only (and I stress only) points that these people have are the costs that could be involved and ensuring that the information is only available to the required people and is not going to be sold on to some call centre in India who're gonna pester me day in and day out to buy some double glazing!

Ahem, rant over… for now! Sure this will come up again; what with all the things going on at the minute the debate over ID cards and the rights for police to arrest and search people and suchlike will no doubt be resurrected.

: 11 Jul 2005 19:11 |  Comments (7) |  Close comments |  Report a problem