UK Snooper's Charter To Extend Police Access To Phone and Internet Data (theguardian.com) 59
An anonymous reader writes with this news from the Guardian about a proposed expansion of UK government agencies' power to eavesdrop under the so-called "snooper's charter": Powers for the police to access everyone's web browsing histories and to hack into their phones are to be expanded under the latest version of the snooper's charter legislation. The extension of police powers contained in the investigatory powers bill published on Tuesday indicates the determination of the home secretary, Theresa May, to get her controversial legislation on to the statute book by the end of this year in spite of sweeping criticisms by three separate parliamentary committees in the past month. The bill is designed to provide the first comprehensive legal framework for state surveillance powers anywhere in the world. It has been developed in response to the disclosure of state mass surveillance programmes by the whistleblower Edward Snowden. The government hopes it will win the backing of MPs by the summer and by the House of Lords this autumn.
We need kryptonite (Score:3)
Re: We need kryptonite (Score:1)
if this helps to prevent just one criminal act, it's worth it. Think of the children!
Re: We need kryptonite (Score:4, Insightful)
if this helps to prevent just one criminal act, it's worth it. Think of the children!
If this allows the police to mis-interpret just one kid's conversations, it's not worth it. Think of the children!
Re: We need kryptonite (Score:5, Insightful)
My MP make a similar claim when I asked her about this a few years back. She said something along the lines of "in the past this helped the police get to a girl who was about to commit suicide, so you can see why it's so important a power." I pointed out that abuse of this power has lead to several suicides, but she did that standard MP thing of ignoring the point/question put to her and simply repeating her pre-prepared statement.
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The unfortunate thing about such people is they have no grasp of the fact that they're morons.
To them, "won't someone think of the children" trumps any rational thought. Stopping that one suicide is a perfect justification to shit all over the rights of everybody else.
Sadly, your MP is too stupid to know she's a fucking idiot.
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Sadly, your MP is too stupid to know she's a fucking idiot.
This is more or less generically true.
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The real lesson from Snowdon is: If the government has the data, everyone else will get it real soon.
Re:We need kryptonite (Score:4, Insightful)
Funny also how she wants to rush this through, right when everyone is distracted by the Brexit farce. Coincidence? I think not.
Great comeback (Score:4, Insightful)
So their answer to state mass surveillance programmes is more state mass surveillance programmes?
People: Hey guys, we're sinking!
Government: Let's pump more water into the boat!
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Whoever you are, we've probably beaten you in several wars, so just fuck off.
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I dunno? I live in the US. You could say 1812 and point to the White House but then I'd just point out we burned the capitol of Canada prior and Jebus saved us and put the flames out with his super awesome rain. I'd also point out that it wasn't really a win, by any stretch of the imagination.
Unfortunately, who bombs who best isn't really a good metric. I'm kind of partial to tiddlywinks competitions to see whose citizens are best. I guess we could play jacks except I'm only aware of one way to play it and
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I don't know if they even sell marbles any more? Kids might eat 'em, you know. I do have some very nice yo-yos. I was pretty into them when I was younger and have retained the skill. I juggle and do a few illusions including a bunch with cards. I do the rings and I have my own ball and cup routine, things like that. I even have a clown outfit but I've not worn it much in years. The last time I wore one was at my daughter's request when I was visiting her. She works in a children's trauma unit as a doctor an
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Does the USA have loads of football stadiums that are (or were) regularly visited by English fans?
Not you then, is it. Daft old git.
Re:Great comeback (Score:5, Informative)
Are you fucking dumb? The solution isn't to pump more water into the boat... you've gotta drill holes in the bottom of the boat so that all the water flowing into the boat has a way to escape. Stop thinking like an American, and start thinking more like the UK.
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A standard logical falicy: false dichotomy
A solution could be to both drill holes and pump more water in.
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So their answer to state mass surveillance programmes is more state mass surveillance programmes?
Of course! Their answer to needle-in-haystack problems is always to add hay.
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Re: Great comeback (Score:1)
The only way to fight this is through a higher power and authority, like the UN charter and the UN bill of rights. There has to be a higher authority than the Regent and the Parliament. At the very least, the European Parliament should not remain silent on this proposed legislation.
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How to create a police state; (Score:3, Insightful)
give the police the powers enjoyed by the police in a police state.
It seems strange to me that they do not realize that in asking for these powers (well taking these powers and subsequently making any illegal actions retrospectively legal) they mark themselves as exactly the people and organizations that should not in any circumstances be given these powers.
Shameful really.
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It's political cowardice. Cameron in particular is a coward, but there are plenty of them in his party.
The police/MI5/GCHQ find their job difficult and so demand new powers to spy on people. The politicians don't want to say no because then if something happens like a terrorist attack of particularly nasty crime they will get the blame. "Why didn't you give police/MI5 the powers they needed to prevent this?" newspapers will ask.
The politicians don't have the backbone to stand up to this. Cameron has even sa
Re:How to create a police state; (Score:4, Informative)
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Indeed. Well, maybe the UK votes to leave the EU soon and the subsequent inevitable implosion of their economy will make this pretty irrelevant.
Come to think of it, maybe these are _preparation_ for a collapse of the UK?
Someone Needs To Curb Stomp The Queen. (Score:1)
Assuming it gets though parliament (Score:1)
Given the beatings it has received from the parliamentary comities, and how little it has actually changed since, it may not. Even if it does not it needs a super-majority if the lords take a dislike to like it, which they may well.
I wish it the worst of luck.
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Exactly. By pushing this Theresa May is ignoring three (!) parliamentary committees.
Go watch reality TV, nothing to see here! (Score:2)
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I still don't get this. (Score:2)
Once again I have to ask, What is going on in the UK? Or should we start calling it "Airstrip One"?
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That was my first thought too... but then I thought about it.
What if what she's actually trying to do is to get out in the open and put legal limits on what all countries/governments are already subversively doing anyway?
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No, if only for the simple fact that the existing "legal limits" clearly aren't stopping them, if that is the case. More legal limits won't help matters.
Indeed, though, the thought itself is scary- whether the goons are trying to obtain greater powers of surveillance, or just trying to legitimize what they are already doing...
Yes you should (Score:1)
The politicians act on lobbying from the security services, who have American funding, from the NSA without the consent or knowledge of the American people either
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/01/nsa-paid-gchq-spying-edward-snowden
bought and sold by treasonous toads.
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What is going on is what Orwell predicted a long time ago. And, of course, Orwell describes the end-state, not the way there. But the surveillance camera in every living room, for example, sounds eerily accurate as do the "hate" sessions and the continuing economic degradation. Sure, there is the legend that 1984 is really about the Soviet Union, but I do not buy that (even if he said it himself and even if some things are clearly copied from there). I think he knew the mind-set of a particular faction of h
Spooks and the Home Office (Score:2)
It's hard to tell why exactly this has happened under successive governments, particularly as this one clawed back some of the totalitarianism of the last one.
We know that Theresa May's is advised by Stasi spook, Charles Farr, as well as his fiance. Farr wrote this legislation about 8 years ago. This is his 5th attempt to get it passed.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new... [dailymail.co.uk]
I also know that MI5 are strongly anti-privacy, through somebody who did contract work for them.
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Defence of the Realm Act 1914 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] really started to dig deeper into mail and communications on a national scale with collect it all, read it all funding and staffing levels.
HOW the home office warrant was also used a lot. A network of Security Liaison Officers, Defence security officers got used to keep track of all political any other e