Something Feral

Digging up the flower-beds.


Friday, October 17, 2008

When in doubt, empty the clip: United Faildom Edition

- Yet another reason a nationalized health-care system would be disastrous: "Stand aside, plebeians, we are on Imperial business!"

- It's for your own protection, and for the sake of the children:
"Ministers claim the database will only be used in terrorist cases, but there is now a long list of cases, from the arrest of Walter Wolfgang for heckling at a Labour conference to the freezing of Icelandic assets, where anti-terrorism law has been used for purposes for which it was not intended."

- Oops! We almost forgot about your encrypted data. We'll be needing that too.

- Yet another example that the behavior exhibited is symptomatic of a larger problem, not the problem itself. Proposed solutions include throwing more money at the problem, mandatory limbing of trees within 15' of ground-level, and a background check with a 30-day waiting-period on gravel and landscaping boulders.

5 comments:

Elusive Wapiti said...

"...disclosure was incompatible with the privilege against self incrimination"

That's the money shot right there. When any right becomes a privilege, given or taken at will by the State, it may as well not even exist.

Something Feral said...

Yep. I'd feel worse for the Brits, but they're in the same boat we're in. In fact, the chief reason I take so many shots at the penal-colony across the Pond is that I believe it to be an indicator of where the USSA is headed, much like the PRK leads the USSA in socioeconomic trends.

If something like this goes through over here, I'm going to have to install a self-destruct mechanism in my case.

Elusive Wapiti said...

"If something like this goes through over here, I'm going to have to install a self-destruct mechanism in my case."

I've heard of some software that does a pretty clean wipe/overwrite of a hard disk if one fails to enter the encryption key three times in a row.

May come in handy one day.

Who knew we'd wake up one day on the set of some 80s dystopian movie about how bad life was in the USSR?

Triton said...

Thermite works, too. Just be careful not to burn your house down.

Something Feral said...

Is it bad that thermite was the first thing that crossed my mind when I thought about "self-destruct mechanism"?

Then I thought about the weight of the case with the concrete and steel, and it didn't seem worth the extra expense.

It's okay, though, the government is here to save the day:

"Nevada is the first of several states adopting new laws that will force businesses -- from hair stylists to hospitals -- to revamp the way they protect customer data. Starting in January, Massachusetts will require businesses that collect information about that state's residents to encrypt sensitive data stored on laptop computers and other portable devices. Michigan and Washington state are considering similar regulations."

It's only for portable devices, but I'm sure that's just a temporary oversight.

*sigh*