There is only one crime, is there not?
The last bastion of global freedom was put in chains last night. Now, on a whim, a government minister elected by no-one can legally shut down absolutely any site on the internet, indefinitely, on the mere suspicion that it might, in the future, infringe someone's copyright, or in some way inadvertently assist some third party in the breaking of some other law.
Of course, these powers will be used only sparingly and with the most careful and wise consideration. No further democratic scrutiny is or will be required. Authority has been wholly established.
New Labour has plenty of form in this field, of course. Eight years ago it tried to introduce more Minority Report-style legislation, in that case a new Mental Health Act aimed at granting it the power to put mentally-ill people in jail if it was thought they might, in the future, commit some crime.
And of course, Labour have already brought us the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which grants our supposed servants the right to snoop on just about any conceivable form of private communication, just in case we might, in the future, be thinking of doing something which is now or might someday become a crime.
(And even now, it only requires the government or police to allege that we might have committed some crime, or be thinking of doing so in the future, in order for it to lock us up without charge for weeks at a time, and to forcibly extract and indefinitely record the DNA of millions of citizens not found guilty of – or even charged with – any offence.)
The logic plays out pretty obviously, of course. After an administration that has introduced too many thousands of new crimes to keep track of, what could be more reasonable for a future government than to clarify and simplify this bloated, unwieldy penal code by reducing those thousands of crimes to just one?
A Big Brother state doesn't happen overnight. It happens in steps and increments, with each individual one often barely noticed. But beneath the watchful eyes of New Labour, that police state has progressed in leaps and bounds, undoing centuries of freedoms in barely a decade of government given absolute dictatorial power by the assent of just 36% of voters, and barely 20% of the eligible electorate.
Last night, in indecent haste, with barely any of our elected representatives even bothering to attend, one of the most significant single destructions of civil liberties ever to take place in the United Kingdom was smuggled through a deserted Parliament under the cover of darkness, both literal and metaphorical. They might come for you next. Be prepared. Good luck.
"He had committed – would still have committed, even if he had never set pen to paper – the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it. Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed for ever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you."
It’s 4-5 years until Chairman Murray returns from the UN…
Were in the **** now!
It's getting to the point where I'm just hoping and waiting for it all to be burnt to the ground. Let it all start from scratch again because this place is a lost cause and on an irreversible downward spiral of madness.
We were sold out and off long ago and the time to make a stand about it was many years ago. As long as the bread and circuses keep coming, nothing will happen. There are some good people who try their best, but that just makes me feel sorry and sad to see them be taken down with the rest. The manipulators at the top played their game well.
This (and other changes like it) are just the icing on the cake and when it is finished and too late to change the order it will be served up on a plate to us all.
People need to remember that the first british empire was built on piracy.
We could have a second one if we wanted it…
Check this shit out: link to bitterwallet.com
I'm so glad that these people are looking after our best interests and keeping us safe on the wobbly world web (that's what it stands for, right?).
Well, that's my site knackered then.
I even wrote to my MP, and the bastard barefacedly lied to me about his intention to oppose the Bill…
My local MP promised to oppose this kind of thing.
They never do live up to their promises. Yet more awful legislation shoved through parliament with barely a whisper raised against it.
Yet another reason we need to get it done this time.
You’ve just taken a right turn darling, now scroll down click on off-topic, scroll down and click Quarantine – really boys!
Aweright CameronB.. aye, a year and two days later we did indeed get it done (one way or another!)
That was crucial in preparation for indyref2, for when the people of Scotland are ready for their question again.
Welcome back to just over five years ago: April 08, 2010
Going back to the future now (Scotland’s future..)