Thoughtcrime!!11!!

[Devlin]

How long till this?

[kalmar]

[toxibunny]

so what books are banned then? and what's the penalty for owning one?

[amanset]

Show me a publication that's justified in being banned.

Go for the extreme end: kiddie porn.

[arron]

There's probably a lot more to the story than that, but that's what they nailed him for as it was hard evidence he was up to no good. I think he was also pictured with certain other people involved in the London bombings and may have been part of the planning even if he didn't take part. Unfortunately, as dealings with the mafia have shown..getting a conviction of criminals further up the organised crime chain gets more difficult as they get people beneath them to take the fall. Hence nailing them on tax evasion, unpaid car parking tickets and virtually anything they can to get them sent down.

The conviction is done much in the same way that having a hard drive full of child porn is indicative of being a paedophile despite having no hard evidence that you've been serially abusing children- although you may have 'associates' who do. It is an attempt to take people out of circulation to stop a criminal network from growing back with new recruits.

We can't go around locking folk up because they "might" commit a crime. Even if that crime is This Year's Ready-to-wear Paranoia scam.

It's not that they "might" commit a crime. It's how you convince a court about someone who you know is guilty, through hard evidence that you have. In trying to convict someone who earns millions each year despite they have no job, and a large number of criminal associates who are involved in running all manner of organised crime, and have a number of smart lawyers to cover their arse every time they stand up, you've virtually no chance of nailing them..despite that they are the apex of a mountain of human suffering.

The problem with these things is that such people slip and slide like a slipply slidey thing. They know the system, they know how to avoid stupid mistakes. And so nailing them on large amount of information they may use to recruit and train others is your best hope. You're not going to get a conviction on association by dinner with people, or by phoning people on a mobile phone..in their role in crime. And they're never going to get their own hands dirty or have their collar felt armed with a backpack full of explosive. That's not what they do. So, how do you ensure such people are locked up? Find evidence that is a strong indicator of wrong action, and use that to build a case. A person with a hard drive with gigs of kiddie porn can hardly claim they accidentally visited the wrong site on the internet once can they? It's fairly indicative of sustained deliberate action of a kind that isn't going to convince people that they've no interest with sex with underage children.

[Fil]

so what books are banned then? and what's the penalty for owning one?

"BANNED" in terms of books typically means banned from publication and sale rather than banning ownership. A lot of books have been banned in the past, very few are still banned today in the UK.

[Foozwah]

That's not real, right?

Please tell me it's a Photoshop jobbie...

[arron]

That's not real, right?

Please tell me it's a Photoshop jobbie...

No, it's real. But don't panic. It did appear shortly after 11 September when the capital was on high alert to encourage people to keep their eyes out for suspicious goings-on - hence the increased use of CCTV network by the police. And given the bombings that happened a few months later, it seems that keeping your eyes open to stuff around you is not bad advice on balance. Telling people that they are watched can prevent people from doing something they will regret later. Speaking from personal experience in such things - prevention is always preferable to cure.

[Fil]

I don't visit London often but i've never seen giant floating eyes watching everything. Were they just a temporary measure?

[arron]

I don't visit London often but i've never seen giant floating eyes watching everything. Were they just a temporary measure?

Yeah, unfortunately..the drugs wear off after a bit and then all you see in the sky are clouds and seagulls. Time to see your dealer again, to get another dose..

[Foozwah]

That's not real, right?

Please tell me it's a Photoshop jobbie...

No, it's real. But don't panic. It did appear shortly after 11 September when the capital was on high alert to encourage people to keep their eyes out for suspicious goings-on - hence the increased use of CCTV network by the police. And given the bombings that happened a few months later, it seems that keeping your eyes open to stuff around you is not bad advice on balance. Telling people that they are watched can prevent people from doing something they will regret later. Speaking from personal experience in such things - prevention is always preferable to cure.

Not panicked (hey, I don't live there), but it does seem kind of sinister-looking. That's my gut reaction, anyway, and that of everyone who's seen it over my shoulder here in the last few minutes. But then I guess we are a country (in the words of Vizzini) "populated entirely by criminals".

I'm a bit confused about the rationale noted though - were the posters (do they still exist in public spaces, or are they gone now?) intended as a deterrent to bombings, or crime? (Of course bombing would be a crime, but I assume you'll get the distinction here.)

It's just that if it's really about preventing "teh terror", telling someone who's intending to blow themself up (and a bunch of innocents along with them, of course) that they're being watched, so that they might therefore not do it for fear of later consequences, would seem to be carved from an enormous block of pure Useless.

"Oh hang on, a camera might see me detonate and scatter my body parts, along with those of a bunch of accursed infidels, to the four winds? I'd better not do it then, because I might get in trouble after...Waitaminute... After? After is the hot and cold running virgins and enough sherbet to get me through eternity!"

So yeah, prevention might be preferable to cure, but what are they trying to cure here?

(I don't like to be watched. It just ain't natural.)

[arron]

I can see the issue with "scary eyes" and yes, I can see how people might feel intimidated. How about a set of posters with people on buses and streets doing their everyday thing..and then a benevolent figure lurking unseen around people to encourage the good and innocent performing skillful actions and to stop wrongdoers, by inspiring them to reconsider the evil they plan to do, or getting the police to cuff them once they're beyond saving. Sort of like this..

http://members.aol.com/JesusImages/index.htm

[Foozwah]

I can see the issue with "scary eyes" and yes, I can see how people might feel intimidated. How about a set of posters with people on buses and streets doing their everyday thing..and then a benevolent figure lurking unseen around people to encourage the good and innocent performing skillful actions and to stop wrongdoers, by inspiring them to reconsider the evil they plan to do, or getting the police to cuff them once they're beyond saving. Sort of like this..

http://members.aol.com/JesusImages/index.htm

Genius. Though the body builder one makes me want to add a speech bubble, with Jesus shouting, "Cmon! Pump it! Feel the burn! Do it, you softcock!"