Death of the Internet?

[Hobby Dreamer]

Hi Guys,

 

(If this is inappropriate please remove.)

 

In Britain they have just passed a law that not only censures the internet but one where the government can keep track of sites one visits - a truly Orwellian and draconian law..

 

..passed the house of commons in the UK yesterday, legislating for government powers to restrict and filter any website that is deemed to be undesirable for public consumption.

The legislation would impose a duty on ISPs to effectively spy on all their customers by keeping records of the websites they have visited and the material they have downloaded. ISPs who refuse to cooperate could be fined £250,000.

 

which leads up to a future plan..

 

"IN 2008, the government announced its intention to create a massive central database, gathering details on every text sent, e-mail sent, phone call made and website visited by everyone in the UK."

 

I know that this is an alternate news web site and one I am unfamiliar with but I find that many of these sites are often quite honest - although its 5:00 am and I am too worn out to read it attentively..

 

http://www.prisonplanet.com/death-of-the-internet-unprecedented-censorship-bill-passes-in-uk.html

 

I think Benjamin Franklin said it best.

Th(ose) who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security

 

Rick

[Darren Jeffries]

Yes but let's notforger, we are just about to elect a new government and all laws are likely to be subject to repeal. The hunting act is one. I remember the opposition party opposing this when it happened and it is highly likely they will repeal this act too

[bill937ca]

A license is required to own a television in the UK, but not in most other countries.

[grumbeast]

Ah yes .. he TV license, but to be fair, a lot of that money went to making REAL entertainment as opposed to the absolute drivel I get here in Canada.  Not that all of the TV from the UK is good, but the highlights in TV over the last 20 years have often come from publicly funded sources (BBC period Drama's and Documentaries, or say some of the stuff done by PBS in the states (even if they do have to beg for money every few months))

 

Graham

[Mudkip Orange]

but to be fair, a lot of that money went to making REAL entertainment as opposed to the absolute drivel I get here in Canada.

 

I just watched the 1966 BBC adaptation of The Machine Stops this afternoon. Bad acting, laughable special effects - and yet, still more intriguing than almost anything else that's on TV right now.

[cteno4]

mudkip,

 

where did you dig that one up? sounds interesting, i remember reading that story years ago when i was a kid!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Mudkip Orange]

mudkip,

 

where did you dig that one up? sounds interesting, i remember reading that story years ago when i was a kid!

 

cheers

 

jeff

 

Enjoy: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2072180223855159236#

[Hobby Dreamer]

the absolute drivel I get here in Canada.

 

That's one real concern of the internet - many sites of interest are on the fringe and many of these report on what is really going on and not the news-lite we now get. Censure those and you get NewSpeak.

 

But giving the government the right to know all your internet sites, email etc is alarming. It gives far too much power to these people and, as we all know but often ignore, to those that control the strings.

 

Gotta go the Gestapo are at my door...

[NozomiFan]

IF you want a series that really gets you thinking try Neon Genesis Evangelion. I watched the series and couldn't watch anything on TV that required the smallest bit of thinking. It was that hard. I suppose that I hijacked this thread. But if anything like this hits the US, there would be revolts in the streets. I live in the Greater Portland Area, and civil rights marches are commonplace.

[Martijn Meerts]

Evangelion has been shown on US tv actually.

 

I have the series on DVD, imported from the US at a silly price =)

 

 

Back on topic, I think it's inevitable that sooner or later everything we do will be monitored, whether we know it or not, which is scary ;)

[Guest ___]

IF you want a series that really gets you thinking try Neon Genesis Evangelion. I watched the series and couldn't watch anything on TV that required the smallest bit of thinking. It was that hard. I suppose that I hijacked this thread. But if anything like this hits the US, there would be revolts in the streets. I live in the Greater Portland Area, and civil rights marches are commonplace.

 

not as commonplace as here in DC.