Sunday 22 April 2007

Tags For All Bloggers.

This house thinks that Anticant and Jose should be required to wear electronic tags at all times.
Discuss.
Having seen the suggestion from the science minister that 'older people at risk' should be required to wear tags I just had to think of my father and mother.
Not a hope in Hell of either of them conforming (and my father is long departed).
He would be turning in his grave to see what is happening here.
This is just a straw man from the government which will be swept away in favour of implanting chips in the 'old dears'.

13 comments:

anticant said...

A chip IN the old block instead of a chip off it?

Merkin said...

Sad but true, Anticant.
Point is, if it is technically possible it is likely to emerge at some time, to our detriment.
As was pointed out to me, there are many pensioners who would be more distressed by having to wear such a tag than not.
That our government should be even thinking about such a possibility shows us just how much we have lost.
We already have children used to give a veneer of respectability to the society of 1984, then the pensioners deemed worthy of special treatment.
Who is next?.
All bloggers to receive an ASBO in perpetuity which could be activated as and when required?.
Cradle to grave responsibility replaced by Beadle from birth responsibility.

anticant said...

I've several links from my arena to blogs keeping track of these endless lunacies. "Nanny Knows Best" [Ken Frost] is excellent.

And to think that ten years ago most of us were euphoric when this shower were elected.....

Anonymous said...

Well if a week is a long time in politics, 10 years is a bloody eternity!

Merkin said...

Ten years ago I was blissfully unaware of the nature of totalitarian government - being a resident in Poland.
When I came back here I was shocked by the liberty erosion that had taken place.
It was hard to believe at first, then I saw the stupidity of it all.
Last Summer my aged mother was invited to an award presentaion at the local school.
She took a camera because a famous actress, Emma Thompson, was due to make the presentation.
In fact, my mother was prevented from taking any photos of this big event (for the village) under the terms of legislation which was introduced as a way of protecting children. In short, she was told that only people directly related to the children present could use a camera.
I may have related this anecdote elsewhere but am doing so here because I am still so angry.

Anonymous said...

I do recall you mentioning that anecdote on Ducky's site - but its worth repeating because the point stands.

They (the ubiquitous "they") stopped people from taking photos of the bull sculpture in the new Bullring Centre in Birmingham due to some vague bluster about the threat of terrorism.

Like I said, this shit is really starting to do my head in.

Merkin said...

Me too, you can be sure.
What to do?.

Anonymous said...

I really don't know. Without wishing to sound too melodramatic, I hope that's just the mood I'm in as opposed to a greater sense of helplessness and weary resignation about the whole thing.

anticant said...

What's especially worrying is that the 9-year-old kids of ten years ago are 19 now, and have known nothing else. They think this ghastly state of affairs is 'normal', and will continue to do so unless there is an upsurge of protest from older folk and a massive campaign to regain our stolen civil liberties. This needs to go far wider than the 'Left'. I've been an active civil liberties campaigner mos of my life. Don't despair, trousers!

Anonymous said...

I was hoping you'd appear at this point in the proceedings, anticant! I do despair, sometimes - but only sometimes...

Merkin said...

http://geobay.com/e14218

For another tale of horror........
Don't fly if you are carrying a Harry Potter book.

Jose said...

It all started by Merkin trying to insert tags on Anticant and myself. About Anticant I can understand it, his importance to the British government must be great not because of age but because of spìrit.

As to me, being here late unfortunately, I don't think the Brits would give a penny to know where I am at any given moment.

New electronic IDs are being issued by the Spanish Authorities. I wonder whether that will be as useful as a tag, in which case ALL the Spanish might be subjected to scrutiniy continuously. As you may know here the Identity Card is compulsory by law, another inheritance from Franco's times.

And they say there has been a transition to democracy.

Democracy, bah!

Merkin said...

'Democracy, bah!'.
Exactly.