* Posts by Bernard M. Orwell

1177 publicly visible posts • joined 12 May 2010

Ten years in the clink, file-sharing monsters! (If UK govt gets its way)

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: In other news...

"I wonder how many members of the "Open Rights Group" give their work away free?"

A few moments of research revealed that... "All ORG materials, unless otherwise specified, are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license."

So yes, they do indeed give away their work for free.

Perhaps next time one should do some research before one spouts?

GCHQ is having problems meeting Osborne's 2020 recruitment target

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Last time i checked

"yep the money will be as shit as any other civil service IT job."

Yep, here you go....

http://www.indeed.co.uk/cmp/Gchq/salaries

"Remind me what those other public sector workers got as a pay rise...........Oh yeah 11%"

That was just the politicians (and the high ranking civil servants they needed to bribe to shut them up about it). No actual member of the workforce (Actual IT people, clerks, nurses, council workers etc.) got that rise, or anything like it. In fact, most of the civil service just took a small pay hit with the adjustment to NI paid by public sector workers.

Hacktivists congratulate Daily Show's Jon Stewart via Donald Trump's website

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Donald Trump

"do you really think Trump gives a damn what you think of him? Do you?"

No.

And that's why he must *never* be President.

Latest in Apple v FBI public squabble over iPhone crack demand

Bernard M. Orwell

Appropriate Imagery

Can't stress how appropriate your cover picture for this story is.

Distastefully, two cocks illegally fighting? Yep, perfect.

Met Police wants to keep billions of number plate scans after cutoff date

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: One rule for you ....

"</Wobbly Screen, Imaginary scene effect>"

Where did you get a CGI budget for your posts?! Must've cost a fortune!

Norks uses ballistic missile to launch silent 'satellite'

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: National Insecurity

Ted Cruz is a nasty, small minded sophist and little else.

The excellent "More or Less" programme on Radio 4 revealed, following an analysis, that less than 35% of Cruz's statements (made during this electoral campaign) have any validity. The vast majority of things this man says are outright lies designed to rile a crowd rather than shed light on political issues.

He's another Trump, just a tad more savvy.

Danish Sith Lord fined in Galactic Republic rumpus

Bernard M. Orwell

Time for a move?

Well, if this is the sort of thing that Danish police get called out for and it makes the news in the UK, I think I might well consider moving to Denmark!

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: unspecified techniques

But we all know that Obi Wan was a liar.

UK Home Sec's defence of bulk spying: We 'found' a paedo (we already knew about)

Bernard M. Orwell

" To some extent, possessing it [intelligence], let alone demonstrating it, is often regarded as a bit of a disadvantage."

Yep, just take a look at how Jeremy Corbyn has been treated.

(....watches the balance of up/down votes with interest....)

Bernard M. Orwell

Missing the point.

The government, along with various departments of lackeys and lickspittles, but without oversight of Parliament, have been carrying out mass surveillance of the British public for the last 15 years. This latest bill is just another attempt to justify their criminal actions, and its floundering already.

When are the arrests going to be made?

US rapper slams Earth is Round conspiracy in Twitter marathon

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: THIS is the type of education.....

"fundamentalist progressives"

isn't that a contradiction in terms?

UK Home Sec stumbles while trying to justify blanket cyber-snooping

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: A necessary evil

hmmm... Many posts with a single downvote, yet a single upvote on this one. I sense a familiar presence......

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Well she could but "We wants it because...

"Interesting you refer to him as Gollum, when the characters name is "Schmegle." Gollum being who he is turned into by his lust for the Ring."

it's "Sméagol"; and he is called Gollum because few know his name (he barely remembers it himself) and that is the noise he makes when he swallows or speaks. It is arguable, also, that it was the power of the Ring itself that corrupted Sméagol and that the lust for the Ring is a manifestation of that power; a way of the Ring defending itself.

....I'll get my (very geeky) coat now.

Bernard M. Orwell

"cannot think of a single justification"

Oh no...no...she's *got* her reasons for it. They're just not ones she can say out loud, because then everyone would know the truth of the matter.

How hard can it be to kick terrorists off the web? Tech bosses, US govt bods thrash it out

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Orwell meant "1984" to encourage its adoption

"Yeah right. And Animal Farm was about conditioning us to accept pigs as our overlords."

No, no, pigs have an entirely different role in government. Allegedly.

It's amazing the UK Parliament agreed to track 22bn Brits' car trips. Oh right – it didn't

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Just to annoy the tin-foil attired!

In this particular instance I can confirm that MB is correct. ANPR do not identify the drivers and when an offence is detected by an ANPR (and the paperwork issued to the registered owner) you may have noticed that one of the valid defences is to claim that someone other than the named driver was operating the vehicle at the time of the offence, or that the vehicle doesn't actually belong to you (Stolen, sold, hired etc.).

This shows clearly that the ANPR database doesn't have a way of identifying the actual, physical driver and indeed even when linked to the DVLA database the information is not entirely complete.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Oddly

Careful...I believe it may be an offence to deliberately obscure your licence plate.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Since when has ACPO actually needed anyone's permission?

ACPO - Association of Criminals and Police Officers.

Bernard M. Orwell

"Just wait 'til the outlaws nick your stuff, and see whose side you're on."

Had my car broken into twice, in separate locations, with cameras pointed squarely at it. the Police informed me that "no footage was available" and that "witness statements are unreliable" so no further action was taken. This despite the fact that I had witnessed the second incident in person (saw the git smashing the window and running away) and was able to give them a full description and match to a locally known blagger on the ASBO records.

I asked the officers what the cameras were for and they answered that they didn't know as "most CCTVs are privately owned and they have no legal access rights".

Yep, I know which side I am on and its not the owners of private CCTV. (Surveillance for Profit).

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: AC Morality

"That is three simple "good" cases"

Let's see how you do with your own argument, MB. These are not cases you cite, these are simply "scenarios". Please provide evidence of specific situations wherein blanket ANPR has been used to effect in any of these scenarios? (NB: If I were doing a real impersonation of your rubbish arguments, I'd be asking for an example of when blanket ANPR has protected you as an individual, and refusing any other evidence.)

Go ahead.

Cache-astrophic: Why Valve's Steam store spewed players' private profiles to strangers

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Gaming's not much fun any more

"and then wait while it downloads a few gig of stuff *even though I played it only last week*. "

That's called an update. MMOs are prone to many updates, it's one of the side-effects of an expanding game.

" I can pick up my phone, start an app and have 59 minutes of fun"

Fruit Ninja vs LotRO? Yeah, those aren't really comparable gaming experiences you know. MMOs are well known as time sinks, requiring a lot of dedication to really get a good experience out of.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Good idea.

Oh gods, I remember Lotus Notes and WordStar! So much better than MSOffice! And CP/M was so much better than DOS! How I miss DOS, with all these new-fangled apps and interweb nonsense getting in the way these days!

Ah, if only I could have 5.25" floppy disks back instead of this stupid SAN Array.....

Yep, we're definitely going backwards.

{Sarcasm}

Big Brother is born. And we find out 15 years too late to stop him

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Re; Blind Bernie Bleater Bleating Bernie Big Brother, is that you?.....

" a completely airy-fairy definition"

You told me to define harm after I asked you to do so. Here is my definition, where's yours? Points lost for false dilemma argument.

"because the Tories got re-elected?"

No, because the cabinet is supposed to consult parliament on such things and didn't. I believe I made that clear. Points lost for straw man argument.

"".....and flouting of law...." "

It is illegal for a member of parliament to mislead the House or to withhold legislative process from members of either House. See the Parliament Act for details. Points lost for not doing some basic research into parliamentary law.

"powers were given to the spooks by the politicians"

Nope, its you who needs to do some reading of the article. The CABINET granted the powers using absolute authority they do not possess. They should've presented the issue before parliament, via a select committee, as given in the Parliament Act, and they did not. Instead, they created a statutory instrument without oversight. They're not supposed to do such things; they are not dictators but elected representatives with a responsibility to the electorate. Points lost for lack of comprehension.

"failed to show any impact on any of us by the "spying" you claim". We're not talking about spying on the public here, but instead about how intelligence agencies appear to be able, with the assistance of politicians, to sidestep the legal requirements under which government agencies, government and ministers are supposed to operate. Therefore, the law has been broken by those in whom we place our trust, and therefore that trust has been betrayed. This, by anyone's reasonable standard, is damaging to our democracy and our constitution. Points lost for your further non-correlative argument and bonus losses for further straw-man nonsense.

You have allowed me to define harm (Harm caused to our trust and relationship with government and this the undermining of democracy), and I have presented proof (this article). Points lost for still failing to grasp simple logic and rhetoric.

I suspect the only person who thinks this is a failure is you, whilst a very large number of people will see you as nothing but a failure (in argument).

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Bleater Bleating Bernie Big Brother, is that you? - Is an NTAC employee posting here?

Ok, I'll bite.

Harm, as defined by me, can be represented as damage to the political and social infrastructure of our nation; subversion of the democratic process and flouting of law in order to achieve poltically motivated capital.

You know, like the harm described in this very article, wherein a successive cabinets committed actionable crime, implementing mass surveillance programs from 1999 onwards, without legal oversight or the consulting of parliament.

You have allowed me to both define harm and provide an example of such. Therefore, harm is proven,

Off you trot to logic classes.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Bleating Bernie Big Brother, is that you? - Is an NTAC employee posting here?

I doubt your posts were removed based on your political bias, as if that were the case they'd all be gone by now, but I take your point that you replied and that reply was not seen.

"PS; - show me the harm"

Ok, let's see if we can't progress this. Please give us your definition of "harm" in this context, so that we can ensure our answers are suitable. Various people have shown various forms of harm arising from the governments action (and inaction), but none of these seem to fit your rather singular definition.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Big Brother, is that you? - Is an NTAC employee posting here?

Seems he doesn't want to come out and comment on this one. Could that be because its indefensible? Could it be because it shows actual harm to our sovreign state-hood?

Well, MB? What you got this time for us to downvote en masse?

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Wel, F***k me....

"So what happens when you hit a genuine "Private Snafu" situation where you really, REALLY don't want information to be revealed to the public for fear of Revealing Information to the Enemy?"

You obtain legal counsel and authority, resolve the situation, neutralise the perpetrators, make arrests as needed, ensure the loose ends are tied and then report to the authorities duly notarised as oversight. Eventually, reveal the details to the public who clearly have questions and want answers.

You do NOT hide the facts, let the miscreants carry out their plans, lie to parliament about the scope of your activities, redact all public record and ensure there is no legal or judicial oversight....

....unless you are ISIS.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: modulated outrage...

"Coudenhove-Kalergi plan"

You mean the one that includes this very telling line?

"The plague of interracial marriage produces each year thousands of young people of mixed race:"

I sense a political agenda being subtly inserted. A little on the "white supremacist" side perhaps?

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Big Brother, is that you? - Is an NTAC employee posting here?

Yeah, I was going to point at MB as well.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Curious

Additional evidence of "constructed terror":

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/hackers-trace-isis-twitter-accounts-7010417

Bernard M. Orwell

Wel, F***k me....

Set up in 1999 by Blair, continued by Cameron.

It didn't stop 9/11. It didn't stop 7/7. It didn't stop Lee Rigbys death. It didn't help prevent Paris attacks.

It doesn't work, clearly.

It was put into place without proper government oversight, without parliamentary assent, without the mandate of the nation.

It's function - whatever that may be - is not in the interests of the British people.

Those responsible for this heinous act should be immediately arrested and tried for treason, then sent down for the rest of their natural lives as a warning that we do not tolerate the subversion of our democracy. Are we not fighting against terrorism to preserve that very democracy?

Or are we just preserving the power of the elite?

This has to end, before we all get "radicalised".

Apple on the attack against British snooping bill. Silicon Valley expected to follow

Bernard M. Orwell

"If it doesn't get squashed between now & Royal Assent it looks like it will get squashed by another trip to the ECHR."

Unless, somehow, we withdraw from the EU and ECHR between now and then...

....good thing there's no move to do either...owait...

UK ISP Sky to make smut an opt-in service from 2016

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: walk in to any newsagent and see sexualised images

Equally, pick any TV "music" channel.

the moronic worjship of Ass, Cash & Guns, all uncensored, all massively inappropriate for children.

You can even use Sky to view them.

Newspaper kills 'what was fake' column as pointless in internet age

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: The problem is that Critical Thinking is not taught in School

"When, some years ago I did a course in Theology the graduation sermon was entitled "Things thought through and things not thought through""

Theology? Critical thinking? Those things don't go together.

If there were any critical thinking or logic applied to Theology then they'd tear up the "discipline" on page one, day one and no one would ever study it again. You don't get much more "not thought through" than a "science" that takes biblical writings as truth at face value and proceeds from there.

Graduation sermon....says it all.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: There's the problem....

"The Ad Men don't care. Their business is to sell FakeBelieve, and they'll get their percentage either way."

...and one day the AdMen will realise we don't give two figs for advertisements and the entire internet will collapse under its own weight. They assume that we are the "Product" by consuming ads, but there's no real product here, nothing is made, no cash changes hands in any realistic manner.

It's only a matter of time.

Who needs CCTV? Get a terrifying slowpoke hoverdrone cam

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Out o'curiosity ...

"If the police monitor city wide cctv it can help direct resources and prevent crime"

*IF* it did, yes, that'd be an improvement, but it doesn't. Instead, the presence of CCTV, whether functional or not, is used as part of the excuse for reducing "active policing".

The police are becoming less and less empowered for the detection and prevention of crime in favour of other areas of law enforcement (traffic, anti-terrorism, anti-protest, protection of key businessess) whilst the average citizen reporting a crime is fobbed off with "Crime Numbers" and Skype calls.

CCTV doesn't work as it should; it's just about spreading FUD.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Out o'curiosity ...

"CCTV isn't designed to "save". It's designed to record an incident and aid identification of those committing an offence."

Except it fails to do that too. The killers of Lee Rigby were identified from mobile phone footage, the CCTV coverage in Paris failed to identify the attackers, the arsonists on the Cutty Sark were never even caught on camera despite over a dozen being pointed in the right direction.

The police don't have automatic access to any and all footage, they have to obtain warrants (and rightly so). They don't serve as a deterrent to real criminals (hoodie and scarf time), and they clearly don't help in identifying criminals after the case. I've been a victim of crime myself in a heavily monitored area (I counted 17 cameras in the days following the incident), and the police said that no footage was available for review.

There is around 1 camera for every 11 citizens in the UK, what on earth are they all for?

Waste of money, except to try and scare the law-abiding in obedience.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/10172298/One-surveillance-camera-for-every-11-people-in-Britain-says-CCTV-survey.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6675381.stm

https://www.google.co.uk/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=KjZxVur2CIrDcJLfkIAM#safe=active&q=number+of+convictions+from+CCTV+evidence+in+the+UK

Man faces 37 years for sarcastic post insulting royal dog

Bernard M. Orwell

Streisand Effect

"In this context, a multi-decade jail sentence for being sarcastic to a dog starts to make sense."

No, it doesn't. Not for a second. It'll never make sense to a reasonable person.

" In reality, he adopted the dog..."

So, he's a liar.

"Tongdaeng would lower herself down on the floor, her ears in a respectful drooping position, as if she would say, 'I don't dare.'"

And that's a dog that has been beaten.

I know who I'd like to see take a long stretch in prison; This so-called royal PoS, but I guess I'll have to settle for finding the original images and ensuring they are used to highlight this bullshit. I guess this "king" has never heard of the Streisand Effect.

France says 'non' to Wi-Fi and Tor restrictions after terror attack

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: comments on ending comment

Speaking of WWI, it's worth taking a look at the actions of the French artillery during the battle of the Somme. They advanced their weapons, by hand, under fire, to reach vantage points to protect British troops... ...while the British Artillery fell back. Not many French soldiers survived.

You want to see heroes? You'll find them there.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: comments on ending comment

"Hm, I seem to remember from history class that someone invaded the US and burned their Capitol City down in, oh, 1812, or there abouts?"

.....and the young America was saved by whose armies? The French.

(P.S. Sorry about the proxy war ~ Yours, Europe)

Social media snitching bill introduced into US Congress by intel bosses

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: "recently stepped up their efforts to shut down accounts promoting racism"

" Islam is not a race "

No, that's true, they are not. Mexicans, however, are.

Obama calls out encryption in terror strategy speech

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Re:Atheism is no more rational and theism.

"I have very rarely encountered someone who needed to invoke a deity to excuse their actions."

Not heard of ISIS?

One name at the top of a very, very long list.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Hey, Obama!

"Please don't give this administration any ideas"

Even if there is an argument for gun ownership by the individual inside the US (and I don't really think it's a defensible argument at all), there is no justification for the US international trade in arms, largely with Saudi, who then sell the weapons on to....oh, I wonder where.... and absolutely no excuse for the US administrations continued opposition to control on the international arms trade.

it's easier to ship guns around the globe than it is jam (jelly to you!), and there is zero doubt that the weapons being used by ISIS and Pals right now carry labels that says "Made in the US" (Or the UK, as we're just as bad, but smaller...)

Selling fewer guns means fewer guns in circulation, which means fewer shootings. If criminals have to make each bullet and each gun, there will be less gun crime.

Bernard M. Orwell

Hey, Obama!

Here's a hint; if you want to tackle domestic shootings and international terrorism effectively, all you have to do is stop selling guns to everyone, home and abroad.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Re:Atheism is no more rational and theism.

"some are obviously desperate in their need to believe there is a greater power to explain that which they cannot comprehend."

Or, more often, to excuse what they have done to others.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: skelband: "Atheism, BTW, is not a rational belief."

"We have no proof that there is a god. We have no proof that there isn't. So the possibility exists of either being true."

Schroedingers Deity?

If there is a god, then he is guilty of crimes against humanity and is almost certainly in hiding, or at war with all the other ones. Either way, I'd like a word with him....

GCHQ can hack your systems at will – thanks to 'soft touch' oversight

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Graham The Failure @Matt Bryant - Graham NoBrain Yawn.

Stay away from the angry UKIPper, folks.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Graham The Failure @Matt Bryant - Graham NoBrain Yawn.

All the usuals from him, Graham. He's a lost cause, refusing to think outside the box he lives in. In his world, the powers that be never, ever do anything wrong and never, ever will.

No point in arguing with him any further. His lack of logical education, critical thinking and social skills combine to make him utterly unapproachable.

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: @Matt Bryant - Graham NoBrain Yawn.

Hi Graham,

I've called MBs bluff on this "show me the harm" question a few times and each time he has dismissed the evidence presented. My latest evidence comes from the very same edition of El Reg as his latest rant, and he has failed to answer it at all, in any way, despite me challenging him in several threads. Assuming that he doesn't bother to read replies in those threads (because he thinks he's "won" already), do you mind if I post here?

MB ~ Here is some actual, substantive evidence of direct harm to social liberties and the course of justice, here in the UK, as a result of anti-terror legislation. I look forward to your response.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/30/police_scotland_taken_tribunal_former_detective_unlawful_snooping/

Bernard M. Orwell

Re: Yawn.

@AC

You said...

" I can't sneak a bottle of spirits into a concert yet someone managed to get in with some serious firepower"

Are you suggesting that the perpetrators got into the Bataclan as part of the concert going crowd? I was under the impression that they attacked from the outside and worked their way in, but now you raise the point that was an assumption on my part. Do you have a citation or article that we can look at? If you're right, you raise a very interesting point....