Saturday, November 15, 2003

Nevertheless, President George W Bush has insisted that US soldiers will remain in Iraq until it is "free and peaceful".

He better be taking the piss.

Iraq won't be free and peaceful until occupying forces -- or any other kind of external military, invited or not -- pull out. And they won't do that until it reaches that state.

Iraq: Can you leave now, we want to be free.
USA: We can't leave until you are free. Sorry.
Iraq: Oh. Shit.
USA: Yeah, hahaha. Gutted. Pass me another barrel of Oil, cheers.
posted by alex_tea , 8:06 PM Þ 

Anyone like the Melvins?

They're playing in Milton Keynes soon.
posted by captain davros , 7:40 PM Þ 

Cripes - Blogdial on a Saturday!
posted by captain davros , 7:36 PM Þ 

"If we have nothing to hide, then why not?"
These people are total fucking idiots. Among many other things, they don't seem to care that it's going to cost a whole shitload of THEIR dollars to make these cards that ROB their privacy. Fucking dumbasses. I can't believe it, it's simple as baking a cake!

Biometrics: There was a story a few months ago, about how you are no longer allowed to wear your glasses in Canadian Passport photos. They admitted that this was because of biometrics. They have a database of everyone with a passport now, their facial measurements etc (even though this sort of thing has been proven useless - check the last issue of National Geographic). I have not yet gotten a passport.

Finding Nemo
I saw it, and while everyone else thinks it's charming and great, I found it crushingly normal and lame, full of general character types and a mega-cliched plot. Disney doesn't care about being imaginative. There is a Marx brothers joke though.

when half of one the hawain(?)
"Hawaiian." I like how almost every single disaster scenario means California is going to get aced. Goodbye Hollywood!
posted by Barrie , 6:57 PM Þ 

And as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end
That bullshit is bullshit, it just goes by different names

Beat surrender -
Come on boy, come on girl
Succumb to the beat surrender!
posted by Alun , 6:52 PM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 6:42 PM Þ 




Only 2 of 8 against in this straw poll. Seems the main 'reason' (now there's a misnomer, in more than one sense*) is 'if you have nothing to hide, why worry?'

Maybe not enough effort is going into telling people exactly why they should worry. It's hard to grasp real freedom when most believe that compulsory ID cards are not a limit on that freedom.

*Reason:
1. [n] the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination; "we are told that man is endowed with reason and capable of distinguishing good from evil"
2. [n] a fact that logically justifies some premise or conclusion; "there is reason to believe he is lying"
3. [n] an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon; "the reason a steady state was never reached was that the back pressure built up too slowly"
4. [n] a justification for something existing or happening; "he had no cause to complain"; "they had good reason to rejoice"
5. [n] a rational motive for a belief or action; "the reason that war was declared"; "the grounds for their declaration"
6. [n] the state of having good sense and sound judgment; "his rationality may have been impaired"; "he had to rely less on reason than on rousing their emotions"
7. [v] think logically;

"The children must learn to reason"


8. [v] decide by reasoning; draw or come to a conclusion; "We reasoned that it was EASIER JUST TO GO ALONG WITH IT than to THINK FOR OURSELVES"
9. [v] present reasons and arguments




Here's 'freedom' defined in 1913 for comparison;


\Free"dom\ (fr[=e]"d[u^]m), n. [AS. fre['o]d[=o]m;
fre['o]free + -dom. See {Free}, and {-dom}.]
1. The state of being free; exemption from the power and
control of another; liberty; independence.

Made captive, yet deserving freedom more. --Milton.

2. Privileges; franchises; immunities.

Your charter and your caty's freedom. --Shak.

3. Exemption from necessity, in choise and action; as, the
freedom of the will.

4. Ease; facility; as, he speaks or acts with freedom.

5. Frankness; openness; unreservedness.

I emboldened spake and freedom used. --Milton.

6. Improper familiarity; violation of the rules of decorum;
license.

7. Generosity; liberality. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
HyperDictionary.com is a continuation of an educational project to provide free dictionary services to any user on the web.
posted by Alun , 6:23 PM Þ 
posted by Claus Eggers , 5:42 PM Þ 

posted by Alun , 3:45 PM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 2:45 PM Þ 

A dreadful site with its heart in the right place:

http://www.no2idcards.com/
posted by Irdial , 12:10 PM Þ 

But putting Europe to one side, countries such as Japan feel no need to use ID cards, while Australia and New Zealand both came close to introducing them in the 1980s and 1990s, but the politicians backed off after strong public protests.

In Australia, a country where you are COMPELLED to vote, they refused ID cards.

Not even the genuine fear of terrorism after the horrors of the 11 September attacks have convinced politicians in the US that they need to curb their devotion to privacy and personal freedom to bring in what Republicans and Democrats alike would see as an unacceptable infringement on the rights of the individual. [...]

Everyone in the world is being compelled to get fingerprinted and retina scanned so that they can enter the USA, and this is being done in advance, by requiring that all passports have biometrics. Its not just for Visas anymore.

Where different countries have opted to carry a card it can often be put down to one of the following reasons:

Firstly an ID card is often seen as a useful document to the authorities in countries where war, state repression, or military rule is taking place. In that case they take the role of an internal passport. [...]

Hmmmm sound familiar? An internal passport so that you can leacve your house and travel. At Camden Station a few weeks ago, I saw 30 police with dogs checking everyone leaving the underground. I asked the station manager what was going on. He said, "Its a routine check". WTF? They cannot "check" you without a REASON. NO REASON, NO SEARCH. ID cards will make all of this "routine checking" (fishing expiditions) a daily nationwide occurance.

But even in nations where cards have been issued by enthusiastic politicians strict limits have still been put in place.

For example in Germany the principle of "information self-determination" saw the federal constitutional court rule that although ID cards are in use, the public would not be given unique identity numbers that could be accessed by all government departments.

Given The German Experience® they WOULD be frightened of Government, even an elected one.

However even in Germany research has found that the police are more likely to stop people from ethnic minority groups to check their ID cards than the rest of the population. [...]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2078604.stm
posted by Irdial , 11:55 AM Þ 

You are DORY!
What Finding Nemo Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I wanna see this movie! Has anyone seen it yet?
posted by Alison , 9:54 AM Þ 
Friday, November 14, 2003

What Is Cygwin?
# Cygwin is a Linux-like environment for Windows. It consists of two parts: A DLL (cygwin1.dll) which acts as a Linux emulation layer providing substantial Linux API functionality.
# A collection of tools, which provide Linux look and feel.

The Cygwin DLL works with all non-beta, non "release candidate", ix86 versions of Windows since Windows 95, with the exception of Windows C

http://www.cygwin.com/
posted by Irdial , 11:14 PM Þ 
posted by Josh Carr , 5:38 PM Þ 

no more suckpage!
posted by Irdial , 3:33 PM Þ 
posted by captain davros , 3:01 PM Þ 

posted by Mess Noone , 1:00 PM Þ 
posted by alex_tea , 12:40 PM Þ 



The Ampex Virtual Museum
posted by meau meau , 12:23 PM Þ 

There was a page about that ISIC card - is it still about?

Mom finds Blog
posted by captain davros , 11:50 AM Þ 

posted by Irdial , 11:13 AM Þ 

My kingdom for a horse!

http://www.huminity.com/
posted by Irdial , 11:11 AM Þ 

did anyone watch this last night ? ... it was quite amazing ; lots of typical horizon drama moments, big weather clips, much more entertaining than the transcript makes out ... very scary, actually ; i've read numerous pieces about this over the last 7/8 years or so, and always forget the details of the mechanics of the gulf stream conveyor, find myself experiencing mild convulsions of panic whenever my mind is refreshed about the extent of potential change that could could come upon us .............. one thing i found quite funny was the doom-merchant tone of the narrator as he explained that we could experience an environment very similar to that of alaska, as if that were the worst thing imaginable ..... those canadians amongst us may have an opinion ..... of course, for a country whose infrastructure cannot cope with mild snow falls, the change would of course be pretty catastrophic ........... one of their programs from a few years ago really stayed with me ; when half of one the hawain(?) islands falls into the sea as a consequence of volcanic activity, it will set off a tsunami of such magnitude that most of the east coast of america will be wiped out
posted by a hymn in g to nann , 10:20 AM Þ 

Scotland the brave(er - slightly)


-

again - a pdf file

?
posted by meau meau , 10:06 AM Þ 

Regarding scanners,

Epson Perfection flatbeds are generally pretty good. I have a lower-end, crappy model, but the studio has a really nice 2000-level model that scans well and even has a high-quality transparency adaptor (something hard to come by). The really high-end Epson models are just beautiful.
I don't know much about negative scanners, as I've only ever used Kodak models, which were pretty badassed in and of themselves. However I have never liked the negative scanners that "grab" the filmstrip holder and suck it in. I found nothing wrong with the old Kodak scanner where you would manually do the same thing in a much smaller amount of time (ie shoving it in so it clicks thrice to get to frame three, as opposed to the stupid mechanical one humming and hawing, scanning EVERY frame whilst whirring about - which is okay if you batch scan but I hate it).

Canadian ID Cards: Alberta recently started using so-called "super" driver's licenses with dozens of world-class security features. Apparently it is one of the most advanced ID cards in the world. It was properly forged one day after its public release.
Ahhh, security sure smells good, doesn't it.
posted by Barrie , 7:41 AM Þ 

Alun, that was the first record I ever bought. Joan Jett. I am sure I still know every lyric by heart.




In very fine print: "US AND FOREIGN PATENTS APPLY". Bitter pill.
posted by mary13 , 4:42 AM Þ 
Thursday, November 13, 2003

Swoon!
posted by Alun , 7:22 PM Þ 



This is, of course, one of the greatest single things in London.
I have always loved it.
It is pure Irdial.
posted by Irdial , 7:04 PM Þ 

posted by Irdial , 6:56 PM Þ 

"Replace your music...again"

I told you didnt I??!!

Slashdot
posted by Irdial , 6:16 PM Þ 

This spam seems interesting. Swap a few words around and you have David Blunkett!

Hi,Webcat, I have been receiving emails saying that I'm contributing to the "moral decay of society" by selling the Banned C D. That may be, but I feel Strongly that you have a right to benefit from this hard-to-find information. So I am giving you one last chance to order the Banned C D! With this powerful C D, you will be able to investigate your friends, enemies and lovers in just minutes using the Internet. You can track down old flames from college, or you can dig up some dirt on your boss to make sure you get that next promotion!
Why are they so upset? Because this C D gives you freedom. And you can't buy freedom at your local Walmart. You will have the freedom to avoid c reditors, judgments, lawsuits, IRS taxcollectors, criminal indictments, your greedy ex-wife or ex-husband, and much more!
posted by alex_tea , 5:52 PM Þ 

Blunkett's attitude to civil liberties seems to be limited to the old saw: if you've done nothing wrong you've got nothing to worry about. There are two major problems with this, of course. First, it assumes that people with the power to use your ID are infallible and incorruptible -- an assumption that the law has never made in the past. There are reasons why policemen need search warrants to enter your house without your permission, and nobody suggests that these are no longer necessary because only criminals need fear the police. Second, it assumes that no government will ever misuse its powers to define what's wrong and what's right. That may be true of our current happy band of pilgrims, but I would submit that history is full of governments who abuse their positions. When Blunkett can guarantee that all people are perfect and the impossibility of future governmental abuse, then no, there'll be no civil liberty issues. [...]

http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020505,39117847-2,00.htm
posted by Irdial , 5:39 PM Þ 
posted by Mess Noone , 5:21 PM Þ 

Do you do colour?

Alas no - too complex. It's a funny enough sight as it is watching me bash the chemicals about with my assortment of kitchen jugs and garden thermometer (note - I have separate utensils for photography and cooking - the photo ones are just domestic in origin rather than the super-expensive camera shop stuff; I couldn't justify £8 for a thermometer when there was one in the greenhouse and I'm such a kerrap photographer in the first place anyway...)

Regarding scanners, again, no recommendations (I wouldn't recommend my scanner - mechanically it's great but the software is nasty) although compooter magazines regularly do exhaustive bench tests, and there are lots of tips out there for negative scanning.
posted by captain davros , 5:13 PM Þ 

posted by Alun , 4:25 PM Þ 

For how long can most of the people be fooled for most of the time? Will people sit up and realize what has been going on, or watch another episode of Celebrity Wife-Swap on TV?

Alun - they will just watch TELLY

In Denmark the most used ID card is the creditcard DANKORT (in english DAN-CARD) also known as a VISA/DANKORT

Many people in Denmark have the stupid opinion I have nothing to hide, so I dont have a problem with control, ID- or Dan- cards, DNA-registers what ever
If that might help them getting hold of all those immigrants and criminals - so be it!

Stupid Sheeps!
posted by Alison , 3:52 PM Þ 

I do currently process B&W film at home

Do you do colour?

a flatbed scanner to see what I've got

Any recommendations?
posted by meau meau , 1:50 PM Þ 

Insidious EDS...
Long after the headlines, the fine print arrives on the subject of "baby bonds", or Child Trust as we should call it. This scheme to give every new parent, including a Mr G Brown of Westminster, savings vouchers for each baby seems bound to fail - "a disaster waiting to happen", as one expert called it yesterday. Why? It all hinges on the scheme's administration by the Inland Revenue's computer system, as installed by EDS. "Our members have been driven mad by the unreliability of the main computer system," Graham Steel, head of the revenue section for civil service union PCS, said in May. The system is very complex, with everyone registering a baby for child benefit being sent a £250 voucher to open an account with a third party. Hmm - does this sound at all like the government's earlier, much-hyped Individual Learning Accounts - an utter fiasco that collapsed through fraud and mismanagement?

... our government is more and more reliable on this firm. Your Money In Safe Hands (TM)
posted by Alun , 1:30 PM Þ 

Read it and weep.

Then find me a technologist willing to bet his own money (rather than a company willing to bet taxpayer's money) that any form of biometrics will be implementable within the next 10 years on a national scale.

Hypothetically, if I develop cataracts and go to the hospital, will they refuse to treat me because their retinal scanner won't say I'm me?

Read back issues of Private Eye for information on those companies making a mint out of data management, none of which systems are yet functioning to full capacity or with anything like success.... including EDS (Electronic Data Systems), whcih has gained over 1.5 BILLION POUNDS from the Inland Revenue alone over the last five years to provide the tax collection systems that there have been no complaints about, oh no sir, not a one. These are the same people tracking your movements round London with their Oyster Card system.

Some of the Private Eye info here, but the more recent stuff is only in the mag I think.

On the Oyster Card FAQ, there is no question "What data is stored every time I use my card and for how long and who is buying it from you?" Maybe we should ask Ken.
posted by Alun , 1:11 PM Þ 

Dr K, you need the Blarchive, to search the entries in Blogdial. Whatever happened to the Blarchive?

I don't live in London, but I do currently process B&W film at home, with a changing bag, in my kitchen, and then scan the negatives with a flatbed scanner to see what I've got. I'm currently doing a lot of medium format stuff and whilst it's nowhere near as good as a real darkroom, it keeps me using real film and real cameras, and one day a darkroom will appear and I will go in and use it.
posted by captain davros , 1:01 PM Þ 
posted by captain davros , 1:00 PM Þ 

1. Blunkett has proposed a completely compulsory scheme, the fact that it will not be implemented immediately, in no way detracts from this - the legislation he wants to push through will reflect this. In all he has said and in his response to the public consultation there is no mention of voluntary ownership of ID cards

2. The 10 year time span is for complete take up of the cards, the process of replacing existing documentation with biometric ID is threatened to begin in 2007 at the latest, that is 3 years.

3. Blunkett's response to the consultation is based mostly on the control of immigration. He says an ID card will enable people to prove they have a right to be in the country. This will lead to a disparate targeting of racial minorities and increase the tensions already present through the police's 'heavy handed' use of stop & search. He also thinks it will allow immigrants to be more accepted by communities, in fact it is likely that ID will be frequently requested from immigrants & residents alike.

4. ID cards as envisaged are a method to deny freedom to people. denial of the right to movement, to healthcare and that is the start of what they propose. If such a card becomes enshrined as the legal method of identification you will need it to open a bank account, get water, gas, electricity, telephone connections...

5. A comment to me - you don't know what it is like to live in a real totalitarian society. No and I don't want to. The issue is that as a free democratic society we should look to our freedoms as a measure of our values in and of themselves, not as a comparitive measure. Go down that route and you will end up bound and gagged and blinfolded but feeling glad you can wiggle your toes.

6. Privacy and anonymity are great freedoms, they allow people the space to develop their actions and ideas. The ability to gain Press injunctions and sue for breach of trust enshrine these freedoms. By accepting an ID card you say these freedoms are worthless.

7. If you've nothing to hide... then you should not be required to give evidence, and you should not need to be concerned about the possibility of justifying your actions.

8. In any case ID cards will not stop illegal immigration it will just control the people who come here, just like everyone else.

9. The only credible terrorist threat the UK has seen in recent times has been from Northern Ireland. The current perceived threat is only likely to materialise if the Uk government continues its obsequious desire to please the US government by helping invade countries as per the current agenda.
posted by meau meau , 12:17 PM Þ 

Those Identification cards sound like BAD NEWS. Well, they're worse than that. Faced with the same threat (that's what it is - a deadly THREAT to human rights) I would be full throttle against it. It is so ridiculous I cannot even articulate myself properly. There is just no need for one. Just NO NEED at all. They don't even have any good fake reasons for it. They're just like "yup, you're getting these cards. So we can control you. Yup."
And I thought the US gov't was fascist.
Identity is something completely personal (and subjective, I would say) and for anyone to store biometrics of it is simply wrong. It's like tagging cows, or branding sheep. And why, oh why would you need it to leave the country or travel at all? What is it going to say that hasn't already been said? That is truly baffling. Do they want to keep everyone in a pen, then gas them? What? Huh?
RAGE!!
posted by Barrie , 6:47 AM Þ 

ID cards... Blunkett....a case of the blind leading the......oh, forget it.

Nice pic Alison. This was one I took from the bottom of Monument [to the fire of 1666] last week. I lived in London all my life and had never climbed up it before.
posted by chriszanf , 3:41 AM Þ 
Wednesday, November 12, 2003

I did it - Thank you Meau and Chris

Gotta sleep....
posted by Alison , 11:26 PM Þ 

To the best of my knowledge, MyTunes can not be detected on a network. This should not be an issue however, because by using MyTunes you agree to not use it in any manner which may be considered illegal.[...]

http://www.drunkenaardvark.com/
posted by Irdial , 8:55 PM Þ 

Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Random thoughts and sightings today. A new(ish) site for Irdial, a cutting edge record company / all about the autobahn, via me-fi / one third of things recently had 'An Evening Out', over at tmn / Add a Lada to your life, part of the collection of Lada brochure scans at Simon’s Skip (amongst other interesting things, such as this page dedicated to the old Granada Cinema in Hove). [...]

http://www.thingsmagazine.net/
posted by Irdial , 8:44 PM Þ 

Furthermore, it is not the place of the state to give you your identity, or to manage your identity. Your identity belongs to you; it is your property. It is up to you to manage (or mismanage) it as you see fit. The function of the state is not to control or administer identity. As soon as it does, it instantly controls you down to what you can and cannot eat, where you can and cannot travel and where and when you can spend your money.

THAT IS WRONG.
posted by Irdial , 7:39 PM Þ 

re £3 billion: This does not include the fact that a majority of people (non-minimum wage, non-retired) would be CHARGED £40 each for the pleasure.

Its a pure insult.

I had an Identitetskort in Sweden. It is not compulsory, but there are times when you cannot do things without it.

Same as compulsory then. thats the big lie, they say its not compulsory, but you cannot evel live without it.

when buying booze at systembolaget as an age check (Systemet, the System: government-run off licences. Nice)

You cannot drink without it! In other words, you cannot drink without permission of the state!

when buying goods with a credit card at many, but not all, occassions - there is space on receipt slips for your personnummer to be written in
when doing pretty much anything at the bank

You cannot buy or sell anything without it. Appalling.

when buying e.g. a cinema season ticket

In France, you cannot buy a SIM card without showing a Carte 'd Identite (sp) I dont, and will never carry one, so I BORROWED someones to get the job done. Pathetic. And eveyone, everyshopkeeper is made into a COP, with these damnable cards.

whenever some shithead shop assistant/minor afficial fancies a quick powertrip

And they WILL use this power. Believe it.

I was never stopped by police and asked for my ID card

Hmmm I wonder if you would have that experience if you were from....Algeria say? What do you think? Ask any aparthied era south african about the pass laws.....ID cards are what power that kind of systematic abuse.

...however, you would be somewhat mistrusted in Sweden without an ID card.

And that of course, is the business of the Swedes. It is not my business, and nor do I judge them for having an ID card system in place. I simply will not ever live there. Period.

But a true ID card? Compulsory in order to get basic services? In the name of pseudo-security? I've not heard a single valid reason for, and a hundred well thought-out reasons against, and I will not comply.

All day I have been talking about this, and its unanimous, no one I have spoken to is going to willingly get a retina scan or be fingerprinted. This bullshit is dead in the water.
posted by Irdial , 7:33 PM Þ 

Claus, that is just fabulous.

Cap'n D (and others)... there were some great photography/camera links here on Blogdial somewhere. Any ideas? I'm still restocking...
And does anyone use a darkroom in London?
posted by Alun , 6:26 PM Þ 
posted by Claus Eggers , 5:46 PM Þ 

re £3 billion: This does not include the fact that a majority of people (non-minimum wage, non-retired) would be CHARGED £40 each for the pleasure.

I had an Identitetskort in Sweden. It is not compulsory, but there are times when you cannot do things without it. Each card gives your 'personnummer', which is a disconcerting title, alongside a photo and your signature. You're charged about £10 for it, to get it you fill in a form, provide additional ID, have someone with an ID card fill in another form (very Swedish) and the card is requested (as 'legitimatation' - Swedish word)...
when buying booze at systembolaget as an age check (Systemet, the System: government-run off licences. Nice)
when buying goods with a credit card at many, but not all, occassions - there is space on receipt slips for your personnummer to be written in
when doing pretty much anything at the bank
surprisingly, not at the doctors or hospital (I had a couple of accidents requiring surgical intervention in Sweden... it's a dangerous place and let nobody tell you otherwise)
when buying e.g. a cinema season ticket
whenever some shithead shop assistant/minor afficial fancies a quick powertrip
I was never stopped by police and asked for my ID card

...however, you would be somewhat mistrusted in Sweden without an ID card. As a foreigner you can substitute your passport, but it's the trust thing, even just buying something in a shop with no 'official' overtones. The Swedish ID card appears relatively benign i.e. I didn't come across any 'official' occassions where it was needed. I don't know enough to judge. Seemed to be socially facilitative rather than necessary to live. Mine now makes a nice souvenir... and is still in my wallet.
But a true ID card? Compulsory in order to get basic services? In the name of pseudo-security? I've not heard a single valid reason for, and a hundred well thought-out reasons against, and I will not comply.
posted by Alun , 4:52 PM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 3:03 PM Þ 

I'm far too angry at the moment to write anything coherent about ID cards

The introductoin of ID cards will not stop crime, will not deter crime, but will create a nation wide identiy theft eco system as people rely on them completely for identity.

We can see this starting to happen with the congestion charge; people are cloning licence plates to avoid the charges, and "legitmate" drivers are getting the charges. Of course, to clear your licence and prove that it wasnt you who drove into london on that day is a total fucking nightmare.

Imagine that somone uses your id card; gets it swiped during the commision of a crime. FOREVER your name will have a crime attached to it, even if it says "recinded" or "redacted" next to the accusation. That is totally immoral and wrong.

The same goes for a national DNA database. Criminals, like rapists, only get 2 years in prison. Are you telling me that a DNA database will stop these crimes, and furthermore, that when the criminals ARE intercepted, that after they go to gaol for two years, that this is worth all of the free people being tagged like cattle? I think not.

The fact of the matter is, Shlumberger or some other company is going to make a fortune out of this. ID cards do not solve any problems, instead, they CREATE problems where there are none. They should be rejected absolutely.

Accepting ID cards, which they are planning to issue with passports means that you are giving control of the entire planet and your ability to move about on it over to the government. If you refuse to have your fingers printed and your eyes scanned, you will be denied the right to travel. This is a total violation of your rights as a human being. A blind man could see...uh oh, THATS THE PROBLEM. A facist with no sight is going to tag everyone in the UK as a punishment for his personal pain over being born blind.

This is unnaceptable, on every level. It cannot be excused, tidyed up or made to make sense without the most convoluted double talk. I cannot believe that the people of the UK will put up with it. If they do, if they allow themselvs to be numbered, fingerprinted and retina scanned like pigs, then they deserver everything that comes with it, and that means total control over every aspect of their lives.

How the cabinet was turned around on this we may never know; what is for sure, is that the world is changing in a profound way, for the worse. I wont take part in it, and I spit on anyone that does, because they are not worthy of human life. That a single government can be elected and then completely dismantle this country is the greatest flaw of the UK. Previous governments, run by gentlemen (for the most part, evil notwithstanding) would never have contemplated selling the UK to other countries, or fingerprinting and retina scanning the entire country at the behest of the USA. That is how the UK remained more or less a reasonable place. Now, the gentlemen are all dead, and a bunch of immoral, Godless, souless animals are running the show, hell bent on dismantleing everything, and selling the pieces to the highest bidder, including the very flesh and bones of the British people, and make no mistake, that is precisely what this ID card deal is about. The company that gets the contract to do this abatoir work is being paid to measure the flesh of the British public, and then to store these measurements. It is a cattle operation. A slaughterhouse. Pure unadulterated evil, perpetrated by evil men who lie with the same ease that fish swim.

Can anyone actually believe anyting that is said about these ID cards? This is the same government that lied about Iraq and everything else. Just how stupid and brain dead have the British become that they would sit by and let themselvs be abused in this way? It is beyond imagination; you couldnt make this story up and be taken seriously 30 years ago.

Apalling, infuriating and disgusting in equal measures.
posted by Irdial , 3:00 PM Þ 


Sony unveils 'video iPod'

-

I'm far too angry at the moment to write anything coherent about ID cards but £3bn wtf happened to eradicating child poverty, the NHS, education^3, the railways and a million other things which may actually be necessary?

And this was the compromise?
posted by meau meau , 12:36 PM Þ 

ID cards are on the way

· Scheme marks Blunkett victory
· Compulsion for non-nationals in four years

Alan Travis and Patrick Wintour
Wednesday November 12, 2003
The Guardian

Millions of people in Britain will start receiving their compulsory national identity cards in only four years time under the detailed plans unveiled by the home secretary, David Blunkett, yesterday.

Under legislation to be published in January, the five million people who apply each year for a passport or driving licence will automatically be issued with an identity card and their personal details stored on a new national identity computer database.

Mr Blunkett made clear yesterday that they will also have to undergo hi-tech electronic eye and fingerprint scans to ensure that the new combined ID card/passport or driving licence cannot be forged. [...]

No one that I have spoken to will accept this; no one that I know will allow themselvs to be fingerprinted like a criminal when they have committed no crime.

David Blunkett, that blind man, will burn in hell.
posted by Irdial , 12:18 PM Þ 

Funny comic, and topical.
posted by Barrie , 7:40 AM Þ 
Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Blunkett outlines ID card plans

All UK citizens will have to have some form of ID card by 2013, David Blunkett has told the House of Commons.
posted by alex_tea , 1:48 PM Þ 



The Remembrance Service in the Albert Hall, where so many poppy leaves fall for so long, is one of the saddest sights I have ever seen.


Blair: He said: "What is happening now is very simple. It is the battle of seminal important for the early 21st century. It will define relations between the Muslim world and the West.
"It will influence profoundly the development of Arab states and the Middle East. It will have far-reaching implications for the future conduct of American and Western diplomacy."
He is WRONG. The battle is primarily internal. There is no 'battle' with the Muslim world or any of it's constituent parts or factions. The battle is between Western governments (actually, Western money) and their people; how far can they push before people say no? For how long can most of the people be fooled for most of the time? Will people sit up and realize what has been going on, or watch another episode of Celebrity Wife-Swap on TV?
posted by Alun , 10:02 AM Þ 

posted by meau meau , 9:52 AM Þ 
posted by Mess Noone , 9:22 AM Þ 
Monday, November 10, 2003



Early morning some time ago after the great party with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, the picture is Istedgade at 7.00 a.m, one of the main streets of Copenhagen - besides Nørrebrogade, the only street in Copenhagen that has that melting-pot-thing you find in other great citys like NY, London... I love this street have been on it in all conditions...
Thank you Chris!
posted by Alison , 7:22 PM Þ 
posted by captain davros , 2:05 PM Þ 

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

Which is quoted at the end of Commandante. It's amazing that Mr Stone looks like a cross between Tom Selleck and Jack Nicholson in The Pledge. Mr Castro was wearing trainers with a 'swoosh' on in one scene.
posted by meau meau , 11:13 AM Þ 

Sound of spinning in grave
Pop star Pink says her favourite track on her new album Try This is a tribute to rebellious rocker Janis Joplin.
Lyrics on the track Unwind are a nod to the late 1960s singer, for whom Pink says she has a great affection. "The song's about being tough on the outside and vulnerable on the inside. I see now that I am also talking about myself," said Pink.

Sound of sheep being fleeced
The final part of The Matrix trilogy has taken $204m (£120m) at cinemas around the world in a record-breaking opening weekend. The Matrix Revolutions was released on Wednesday at exactly the same time on 18,000 screens in about 100 countries.

Sound of barrels being scraped
Kylie Minogue has emerged as the most played artist on UK radio, knocking Robbie Williams off the top spot. Williams was the most played artist for four consecutive years but has now slipped down to fifth position.
1. Kylie Minogue
2. Blue
3. Pink
4. Sugababes
5. Robbie Williams

Sound of backs being scratched
Ken Livingstone is to make a dramatic return to the Labour party to stand as its candidate in next June's London mayoral elections, according to party sources. The Guardian understands that Tony Blair has signalled to his officials that a way should be found to bring his former bete noire back because Labour fears there could be disastrous repercussions if it sustains another heavy defeat in next year's vote.

Sound of a storm brewing
Actor Jim Caviezel has been struck by lightning while playing Jesus in Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion Of Christ. The lightning bolt hit Caviezel and the film's assistant director Jan Michelini while they were filming in a remote location a few hours from Rome. It was the second time Michelini had been hit by lightning during the shoot.

posted by Alun , 10:28 AM Þ 

I remember reading an interview of Clint Eastwood several weeks ago, and he commented that his favourite movie of the past year was "The Matrix Revolver or something." He didn't know what the movies were about, but the studio was so completely pre-occupied with the two movies that they didn't pay a lick of attention to his own movie "Mystic River," which allowed him to do whatever he wanted with it (even give it a *gasp* sad ending!).
So, in light of what akin just said, there's more to those comments than meets the eye. Eastwood is obviously glad that the studio did not get a chance to re-write his movie. Too bad the same cannot be said for the Wachowski brothers! I cringed at almost every line of dialogue in that movie (Revolutions). That's why, when I talk about it, it is an "action" movie... nothing more, nothing less.
Mystic River is really good, btw. See it.
posted by Barrie , 3:05 AM Þ 
Sunday, November 09, 2003

The Matrix Revolutions

This is the most appalling example of Hollywood contamination, comitee writing and butcherey ever to hit the screen.

The Matrix Revolutions was clearly re-written, in a most brutal and disheartening way. Every essence, every thrust of the "original" has been exanguinated, eviscerated, erased, expunged an annihilated. Another victory for the Lowest Common Denominator.

This trilogy could have stood tall amongst the greatest of cinematic science fiction expressions. Instead, it is another sad reminder that the LCD and the perceived tolerances of the masses is the ultimate meat grinder that all films go through before they appear on the big screen.

The question now has to be asked of the Wachowski Brothers; "Where is the original screenplay?"

I demand that the original, unedited, unspoiled screenplay for "The Matrix Revolutions" be released to the public immediately. Or I want my money back!
posted by Irdial , 5:30 PM Þ 

HAPPY (VERY) BELAYED BIRTHDAY MESS, and Chris I have send you a mail...
I have also seen the Matrix, it was a big dissapointment compared to the others, to many realy lame lines like:"Neo, kiss me Neo" Sorry if I offend some here at BLOGDIAL, but it was just to american (spelled out feelings, that made me sick) - but the action and the trainman was very cool
posted by Alison , 4:42 PM Þ 
Home
 
People
 
Services
 
Articles
 
News
 
About


Subscribe to “Irdial-List” Our Mailing List.
The Blarchives are here.
The Blogs on irdial.com are powered by WordPress.
Here is the Blogdial Atom XML feed.
Here is the Blogdial Feedburner XML feed.
Open Content 1995-2005 Irdialani Limited. All Rights Relinquished where applicable.
Links: STAND FIPR PI PF NUFORC M2M SB FTT FFF RMS A-SCROB ONGAKU Blogroll BLOGDIAL WOE CHEZ MANNING