Robin Wilton's esoterica

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08 Sep · Thu 2005

Is this policy logical?

Here's a strange one, which I fully admit I don't understand yet. The UK government is pursuing its policy of keeping undesirables (in this case, those it suspects are likely to incite terrorist violence) out of the country. Here's what I don't grasp: the terrorist threat seems to be one which transcends national borders; if someone is in your country, under your jurisdiction and committing an offence, you can do something about it; if that person is outside your country, in a jurisdiction which either cannot or will not stop them committing what you consider to be an offence, you can't do much about it... and the borderless nature of the threat means it is undiminished. It seems strange, in this day and age, to be behaving as though two people need to be in the same country in order for one to incite the other to a terrorist act. Don't they do all that kind of stuff via video-conference these days? "Help me understand.....""

Posted by racingsnake @ 02:40 PM GMT+00:00

More ID card satire

Chris Gerhard has already spotted this and posted a link to it, so apologies to Chris for nicking it. If you liked the "Modern Major General" animation I posted about a couple of months ago, you might like this one - expecially if you're a Wizard of Oz fan. Nuff said. In "1984" George Orwell famously referred to "Doublespeak"* (the use of harmless or preferably benevolent-sounding terms to describe things you really don't want done to you, for instance), and it often seems to me that, intentionally or otherwise, successive governments have learned it all too fluently. With no visible shred of irony, we have a Criminal Justice System (is it the system which is criminal, or the justice it dispenses, one might be tempted to ask); we aren't going to have an Identity (i.e. enforcement) card, we're going to have an Entitlement (i.e. the State deperately trying to give you stuff) card; we don't do 'shooting people' wars, we do 'peacekeeping' missions; we don't do "invasions", we do "regime change" And so on. It might all sound like bitter rantings (and indeed it may be bitter rantings)... but I think we always need to be on our guard against Doublespeak, and call it out when we see it. For all that an ID Card is 'spun' as an Entitlement credential, there is an enforcement side to it, whose name deserves to be spoken. If the 'spin' says one thing and the law and policy say another, we don't get a true picture of what we are being invited to use and, more important, why. More perniciously, it opens the way (perish the thought) for specious arguments along these lines: Policy-maker: "Hey, Mr Public: do you want illegal immigrants and bogus asylum seekers to soak up your job and your benefits?" Mr Public: "No way" Policy-maker: "Oh, and do you want suicide bombers to make your commuting life a misery?" Mr.P: "Umm.... no, I don't reckon" Policy-maker: "OK - you'll want one of these 'keep me, my job and my benefits safe' cards, then" Mr.P: "Yes indeedy... sign me up." Policy-maker: "Oh, by the way, we're going to use this to index everything we know about you, and you'll have to pay for the card... but we can't tell you how much. Also, odds are we won't ask suicide bombers to show it to us, in case they blow themselves up." Mr.P: "?" Now, I'm not suggesting that's the argument that's taking place... but neither do I think we're getting a straight story about what ID Cards are intended to solve, how they will do so, and whether the cost of the problem outweighs the cost of the solution. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Updated on Sept.13th. Oops. According to wikipedia, 1984 does not actually contain the word 'doublespeak'; what it does mention are 'doublethink' and 'newspeak'. Whichever of those it is, the concept I'm alluding to is the one behind the use of "Minipax" for the Ministry of Peace (i.e. War) and "Miniluv" for the Ministry of Love (Secret Police). [Shudder]

Posted by racingsnake @ 01:55 PM GMT+00:00 [ Comments [1] ]

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Such views as I express in this blog are based on my own opinions, experience and judgements. They do not necessarily represent the policy or views of my employer. It is not my intention to offend readers in any way. If you find anything on this blog offensive, please contact me in the first instance.
Robin Wilton

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