Hoon taking liberties with database
TRANSPORT SECRETARY Jeff Hoon told a Question Time audience that not monitoring internet traffic and mobile phone records was tantamount to "giving a licence to terrorists to kill people".
When asked whether plans for a new database of web and mobile records would undermine freedom, Hoon said that the plans would only extend those already in place for landline phones to include mobile calls as well as data, calls and information sent via the Internet.
When asked how far his goverment was prepared to go to undermine civil liberties, Mr Hoon replied "Quite a long way actually".
Opposition parties have demanded that the Broon Army justify the proposal to maintain the enormous database which could feasibly hold records of every phone call, email and web click made in the UK. ยต
L'Inq
Beeb
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Perhaps we whould test the proposed privacy landgrab that politicians such as Geoff Hoon and Jacqui Smith are hoping for on those very politicians - put their private life under intense electronic surveillance and then put the details of everything found into the public domain. I wonder if they'll be quite so keen once any underhand dealings they may have been exposed in are known to the world at large?
I watched Question time last night and was amazed by how far from reality Hoon was. The truly terrifying thing is they actually believe the s**t there coming out with.

They don't seem to have any idea why we would fight tooth and nail against these policies. If we had even the slightest confidence that these policies would be used in the manner for which they are presented, then fair game.

However this government has again and again shown that it uses powers designed to combat terrorism, to control those people it was designed to protect.

Please don't think that I believe the conservatives are any better, because that remains to be seen.

Steve
...cant see the translation to other mediums. Just because you can monitor a thing doesnt mean you should. I mean, we can all speak to each other in person (and organise terrorism)...but you dont see teams of microphone wielding suits listening in to all and sundry do you?

Or do you? Maybe they've already bugged everywhere! Eek!
<tears house apart looking for the hidden device>
Motorists have a licence to kill people. "Only" 2946 in the UK during 2007, and 247780 "road casualties" according to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7635345.stm
I suppose that motorists themselves are included in the casualty and death tolls. On the face of it, if some mad deity allowed us to exchange our annual road deaths for a repeat of the attacks in London in 2005, we'd be way ahead on the deal - except for people in London, obviously. So the idea needs work but perhaps we are taking terrorism too seriously compared to other issues. Apparently we also can count on between 50-100 deaths a year in the construction industry http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6998178.stm which is comparable to the rate of murders by lunatics. Of course, most murders aren't committed by lunatics - or perhaps that surprises you.
...I live in the US, where we're not overreacting this much to the perceived terrorist threat!

:D
Good Lord, he must be in fits of hysteria by now. Turns out he didn't even need to train anybody, given the efficiency with which the nuts are doing the job for him.
Somehow I wish such declarations were immediately followed by a judge somewhere taking a judicial decision that the citizens are in danger from the individual and use that argument to bar the nutjob from any public office, effective immediately and for life.