Is the UK Really a police state?

ExittheLemming wrote: No-one wants to be in a car accident, hundreds of thousands of people want to appear on reality TV shows and would gladly sacrifice their privacy for a chance to grasp fame at any cost no matter how fleeting the latter turned out to be. This is a social malaise and not just the innate nosiness of the humanoid critter.

Dean wrote: ExittheLemming wrote: Neil wrote: I don't think that the UK is at all a police state.  Some politicians (strangely those who tend to associate themselves with the left) seem to want more and more state control using things like ID cards but the opposition of the public and the advent of the new coalition government has recently scrapped that idea.  The fact that you can openly call the prime minister a complete idiot or ridicule government policy on national TV and not attract any police attention tends to suggest that it's not a police state.   Modern technology means that more and more people will know more and more about everyone else and this can give increasing power to the state via huge databases of who did what and when but I get the feeling that the British will only tolerate encroaches into their personal freedom up to a point.  Interesting points and I'm in broad general agreement with you. Let's avail ourselves of the disingenuous 'populist' card for a moment: Given that the significantly greater portion of the UK populace have embraced the infinite types of 'reality' shows endemic on the airways over the last few years, (the ratings don't lie) haven't they just unwittingly endorsed the outlawing of privacy? (The latter now being deemed just another spectator sport) I find that a tad depressing. Reality TV is nationalised voyeurism, which is just a variant of rubber-necking a traffic accident and the ancient pastime of curtain-twitching (chicken and egg - were curtains invented to protect privacy or to facilitate neighbourhood snooping?). Humans are nosey by nature, taking pleasure in spying on people is not the same as endorsing being spied upon.   As Bonio sang: "Well tonight thank god it's them instead of you"

The problem is that a great proportion of the public out there are too lazy to think for themselves.  Even taking 9/11 into account we still have a far far greater chance of dying crossing the road than in any sort of terrorist incident.  Personally I'd rather take the risk and not have all these daft regulations which only really hinder the law abiding citizen; otherwise the terrorists win.  It's the same as banning guns and preventing you having new number plates for your car without the V5 document.  It only inconveniences the law abiding citizen; the criminal gets an illegal gun or his own number plate press because he doesn't care.

Ah but you're assuming there is such a thing as good and bad. 

Thanks for the links, Andy.  I'll check them out as soon as I can.

Blacksword wrote: "How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think" Adolf Hitler.

Ah yes, the great group of guys who brought us if you repeat a lie often enough people will believe it.

^^That cat must surely live in a psychological dilemma... He's both black and white already!

Snow Dog wrote: Maybe it is a police state after all.  Be careful what you write folks..even in jest. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a287347/appeal-rejected-in-twitter-joke-trial.html

We're doomed. Seriously stupid judiciary...

Just imagine any daft thing you write on a forum could be held against you in a court.

Mind how you go.

Hey, one of the little princes dressed as a nazi once I remember... He should be prosecuted ad burned! 

Equality 7-2521 wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Maybe it is a police state after all.  Be careful what you write folks..even in jest. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a287347/appeal-rejected-in-twitter-joke-trial.html "A man who was found guilty of writing a message of a 'menacing nature'..." Yeah that's a bastion of freedom you guys have going over there.

Every day Britain seems to become more horrifically oppressive. I keep seeing stories about people being arrested for speaking over there. It's a shame because it's such a lovely country, with such an interesting culture.

Equality 7-2521 wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Maybe it is a police state after all.  Be careful what you write folks..even in jest. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a287347/appeal-rejected-in-twitter-joke-trial.html "A man who was found guilty of writing a message of a 'menacing nature'..." Yeah that's a bastion of freedom you guys have going over there.

And, seriously, do you ever think the UK will get rid of the monarchy? They still can charge tourists high fees to visit Buckingham Palace but you don't actually need a group of mummies living there...