Yet another erosion of civil liberties

There was a time Pete when we all policed each other. If I happened to get a clip on the ear off a neighbour I couldn`t run home shouting abuse and getting the neighbour arrested-I`d give a right whallop off my Dad-if a neighbour had to clout me I must have done done something bad. And probably get a telling off from the local bobby too for running amock on the streets.

 

Claire, rubbish. Ultimately it comes down to the police. They are paid to protect us. Also , Brown HAD to know this arrest was being made. They needed his permission for goodness sake.

 

Yep, I remember being ashamed of getting told off by a neighbour once for a monir case of vandalism (whilst a child) and terrifed of my parents finding out. They would have been livid - with me!

We are not in a police state - yet. But sending anti-terrorist police to arrest a member of the opposition for in effect, doing his job is absurd, and quite frankly, terrifying. I believe Nick Clegg (Lib Dems leader) has said we should be afraid of what this means.

Didn't fascist governments of the 1930s do exactly the same? Look where those countries ended up. We already have the longest period of detention in Europe, but they still wanted to extend it, we cannot protest within a mile of Westminster, we have an obscene amount of CCTV cameras and as has been said, this is all due to the government milking the fear of terrorism to the extreme. I don't doubt there is a problem with extremists, but they are home grown and a product of our own misguided foreign policy.

I remember reading 1984 and Brave New World and wondering how any society could end up that way and how they could have let it happen. Now I know-its insidious and gradual. And I for one am afraid, very afraid. If a member of the opposition can be arrested for doing his job (regardless if he was wrong or not), what hope have the rest of us mere mortals got?

 

Bye, bye and good riddance New Labour. Any Labour, come to that.

 

Agree Aaron and Dai.

 

Lets hope so. Thing is, will David Cameron and the Tories be any better?

Yeah I know, can't be any worse!

 

Reminds me of an incident about 25 years ago. I chased and 'collared' one of the local teenage nyaffs who had been chucking apples at our windows. I grabbed him by the hair and smacked his head gently and dragged him into the village cop shop which is next door (sadly now closed) where village bobby administered a hefty cuff on both lugs.

Result - No paper work for bobby. Appropriately chastised nyaff. Satisfied complainant (me). No further bother.

Now if the same scenario were to be enacted today -
I'd be done for assault. Village bobby would be sacked but only after months of expensive 'investigations'. Bobby, wife and kids would be homeless due to loss of police house. One of the news rags would pick up the story and run banner headline 'Headmaster Assaults Youngster' and I'd lose my job, be unable to pay mortage, lose home and me, wife and kids would have to be re-homed at tax payers' expense.

Meanwhile teenage nyaff would be 'supported' by social services following his trauma and be allocated a 'case worker' in his/her early 20s with next to no experience of life. I'm not knocking social workers - they have a next to impossible job and these days are over-worked, under resourced and expected to perform miracles
Next thing to happen is that smart law firm get on the case and decide to pursue me, cop and anyone else within range for a claim under Criminal Images Damages Compensation as teenage nyaff and his parents claim he can't sleep at night due to trauma. Case fails due to lack of evidence, though not through lack of public funding, but law firm decides to pusue case through European Court on grounds of 'Cruel and Inhumane Treatment'.
I could continue..

 

Reading Aldous Huxley for the first time was an eye opener for me too Aaron.

Ordinarily a labour supporter they have committed an atrocious act of social vandalism, and I personally think Tony Blair was a bad person, I will be voting tory next time.

 

Aaron, who`s Ian Cameron?

 

Its David Cameron, isn't it? I'll amend my post...

Opps!

 

We have ID cards.

A country that will go to war without reason

A country that suppresses free speech

A country that supports and colludes in torture (rendition)

A country were opposition MPs are arrested for doing their job

A country were membership of legal political party's can lead to loss of jobs

A country were lawfully protest is being limited

A country were you can be detained without charge

A country that monitors private communications

Lastly an economy in free fall with large amounts of debt and with a incompetent Priminister so inept that as Chancellor he sold the country's gold reserves when the price was at an all time low.

More akin to Zimbawe than 'Great' Britain.

 

Hmm! Surely the "Police State" started from when Maggie (Right wing:wink used them to crush working people. Since then, they're just an arm of the government (any government). They're no longer there to "help and Protect" just to follow official instructions. A democracy isn't a democracy just because you get to vote every now and then.

 

Here's a novel idea. Democracy, such as the form of government the "Western Democracies" have doesn't work. In fact Democracy only works in a small city state, with the concept of every citizen being involved in the running of the state. We are a constitutional monarchy, being run by an elected oligarchy.

 

Well your all far too clever for me, but anyone who thinks Tony Blair/ Gordon Brown are a complete pair of plonkers, I agree with.:gnthb:

 

Cajary, To an extent I agree however the labor government have instigated Farr more draconian laws than ever thatcher did.