The new Australian prime minister today declared his Republican credentials and pledged to open a debate about the future of the monarchy only hours before his first audience with the Queen.
[ . . . ]
The Australian Labour Party’s election manifesto last year stated: “Labour believes the monarchy no longer reflects either the fundamental democratic principles that underpin the Australian nation or its diversity.”
they will watch. And listen. And examine.
I was talking with a friend last week about my concerns over the proliferating CCTV camera network in DC. He pointed out that there were no documented abuses, and that it seemed entirely sensible to put technology in the service of safety. And I suppose that when you take it in the narrowest sense - that the cameras will only be used to investigate specific crimes that have occurred, it’s not entirely objectionable. But the problem is that the narrow purpose rarely stays narrow - if there’s a way for the state to expand its surveillance of citizens and collection of information, I think it almost always will.
Case in point: Britain’s MI5 intelligence service wants to regularly monitor the movements of London’s Oystercard users (an RFID pass used for Tube/public transport trips, similar to DC’s SmarTrip). This isn’t a case of MI5 wanting to follow up on an individual already of interest to the authorities - they already have the power to access those records. Rather, MI5 wants to look at everyone’s trips, matching it to other information they’ve collected, ostensibly to identify patterns that might prevent some act of terrorism. Of course, any public transport riding terrorist could just eat the extra cost of paying with untraceable paper tickets.
So rather than addressing an actual intelligence need, I think MI5 is - without any real need - just automatically grabbing for as much as it can. And it’s this natural expansion of powers that we need to think about when agreeing to implement public information collection systems. The original purpose may well be perfectly sensible, but we need to consider what other purposes these tools can be appropriated for in the future.
Primary school children should be eligible for the DNA database if they exhibit behaviour indicating they may become criminals in later life, according to Britain’s most senior police forensics expert.
Gary Pugh, director of forensic sciences at Scotland Yard and the new DNA spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said a debate was needed on how far Britain should go in identifying potential offenders, given that some experts believe it is possible to identify future offending traits in children as young as five.
The above poster comes from London’s Metropolitan Police Service. It seems they’re not so comfortable with the idea of someone taking photos of them. Which is rich, considering the 10,000 cameras the Met has focused on the citizens of London.
And seriously, turn in a photographer who “seems odd”? In London? (Careful on your next trip, Gwadz) Just another ridiculous effort at turning photography into a matter of permission, instead of right.
The 80s saw a lot of trips between our home in Fulda (Germany) and our family in Nottingham (England). This trip always involved an overnight ferry, often from Zeebrugge to Hull (occasionally returning Dover to Calais). We usually had a family cabin, and my parents fell asleep long before I was willing to call it a day. As a result, I often ended up in P&O’s casinos or at the edge of dancefloors I shouldn’t have been. This is (part of) the soundtrack of those nights.
British Olympic chiefs are to force athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China’s appalling human rights record – or face being banned from travelling to Beijing.
In case you’re wondering, no, neither the US, France, Australia, South Africa, or most any other civilized country imposes such requirements on its athletes.
Yesterday’s examination of Arlington’s call to “respect mah authoritah!” (warning: sound at that link) reminded me of another public document apparently following the design principle of “there can never be too much Red, White & Blue” - the new passport. Despite the fact that I was aware of the coming ugliness, I failed to renew my passport in time to take advantage of the old stock. Now, every time I open it, I expect it to act like one of those old musical cards, except this one plays a Toby Keith song. As you’ve probably heard a dozen times by now, yesterday was the first day that the US government started requiring passports for travel between Canada and the US. A little sad, really, when even countries like Germany and Poland (they’ve got a slightly different history . . . ) can manage to avoid such silliness.
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Speaking of travel - this is an excellent resource for vegetarians on their way to Japan (or a good sushi bar). It explains, in detail, how to make sure your meal arrives veg friendly (and that your options range beyond seaweed and rice). I wish I’d seen this before I went to Tokyo, where I found ordering veg food a surprisingly difficult process.
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Looking for some new online reading? Check out WWI: Experiences of an English Soldier. A relative has the full collection of Mr. William Henry Bosner Lanin’s letters home from the European theater, and is posting them exactly ninety years to the date they were written. It’s a really fascinating way to revisit the Great War.
My interest in the technical aspects of operating systems disappeared long ago, but I found this review of the new OS X version (Leopard) so well written that I didn’t even skim over the bits about the kernel. Recommended if you’re considering upgrading (I think I’ll hold off for a while) or if you’d just like to see what a well written technical article for a popular audience looks like.
Prompted by the recent US airing of the most recent episode, I’ve started re-watching Michael Apted’s 7 Up series. It follows the lives of a dozen or so Brits from the age of 7 through 49. The first episode (7 Up) was filmed in 1964, and since then, Apted has attempted to include all of the original participants in an episode every seven years (e.g., Plus 7 (age 14), 21 Up (age 21), etc.) since then. It’s not only fascinating as a number of period pieces, it’s heartbreaking, as we watch the inevitable narrowing of life’s choices.
I imagine that the 49 Up episode will be available as a rerun on your local PBS station, but if it’s something that sounds interesting to you, you can find it at Amazon(or, as always, on the Internets).
(or, as always, on the 
