Reaping the innocent – government’s terror DRIP law

On Tuesday 15 July, the House of Commons will debate ‘DRIP’, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill. They will pass it.

On Wednesday, the House of Lords will debate ‘DRIP’. They will pass it.

American firms dictating our laws

Hello. I wrote this thing at work, and I feel so strongly about half of it that I’m quoting myself:

Patrick Mercer MP: Enigma or Moron?

Are the GCHQ/NSA revelations equivalent to giving up ENIGMA secrets to the Nazis?

Nag your MP: Oh hai, please save our freedoms bbz

In my LibCon article on the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill I was criticised for
i) overstating the dangers of the Bill,
ii) offensive language,
iii) failing to appreciate the reality of street thuggery and other social problems which need addressing.

The first two I have no issue with – I wrote in massively hyperbolic fashion, because it’s fun to be a bit demagogue on my own blog and I didn’t expect LibCon to take it, and because I felt some populist urgency was warranted, given how little media attention the issue had received.
The third criticism is more difficult. At a wider angle, there are much more positive things the government could be doing to ameliorate antisocial behaviour. However, without vast economic and social changes, I acknowledge the need for an effective police force.

With this in mind, I’ve written a sober letter to my MP, which I’ll forward to relevant committee members and ministers.

“Waah!” screams Prince George, trying to alert you to the fact your freedom to protest is gone

That is an example of an alarmist title. Sorry.

Equally, the legislation in question is rather alarming. It has passed ‘committee stage’, meaning it’s close to becoming law.

Poet’s romantic dilemma meets surveillance state

Executive Summary

-It’s important that clandestine government power be kept in check.
-A climate of complacency has developed which stops the media and society from holding the government to account.
-The PRISM/SOCMINT/TEMPORA revelations are genuinely terrifying.
-This revelation deserves greater civil outcry.

Sand Castles

This essay spectacularly failed to place in the Bodley Head/Financial Times competition of last year. It was written to be non-academic and readable, so I hope someone enjoys it.

It is mostly about the internet, although in quite wide terms. The Snowden Revelations now show a lot of it is mislead, but not irrelevant . Hopefully the thing overall is entertaining, if you are an especially bored person.