Wednesday 30 July 2008

Where's My Privacy?!

‘If I have done nothing wrong why should I have anything to worry about?’ is the constant cry of those advocating ever increasing infringements on our privacy.

You may not think that you have done anything wrong, but who’s to say what the definition of wrong is? You, or the government? Can you guarantee that the stated uses of the ID card database will be the only uses to which it is put? Already we’ve seen how RIPA (supposedly only to be used against terrorists) has extended it’s murky tentacles into the lives of such hardened criminals as people putting the wrong item in their recycling boxes.

Then there’s the vexed question as to who’s going to have access to the data and whether they can send it through the post…

And, finally, maybe, this is a government project – underfunded and with impossibly great expectations, so I would doubt that the database would actually be able to perform to spec and this is something that you’d want to be right from day one.

Sunday 6 July 2008

Prince Caspian

I've just seen the latest film in the group of Narnia films this morning and enjoyed it quite a lot.

The film is a bit different to the book, particularly in the way that the film shows a conflict between Caspian and Peter as to whom was the leader of their merry band and the attraction between Susan and Caspian.

Some reviewers have commented that the girls don't get much action in this, but they must have seen a different version of the film. If anything, they are more involved than in book, particularly Susan. The reviewer also seemed to miss that it was both Peter and Susan who were stopped from coming back to Narnia.

Now we just have to wait until The Voyage of the Dawntreader comes round...

Saturday 5 July 2008

BBC - Radio 4 - Excess Baggage

BBC - Radio 4 - Excess Baggage: "JUNGLE - WAR GRAVES
Sandi Toksvig takes a trip through the Amazonian rain forest with Yossi Ghinsberg author of the 80’s US best seller Lost in the Jungle. She is also joined by The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Outer Areas Director Brad Hall and journalist and writer Nigel Jones author of The War Walk to discuss the work of the CWGC which operates in 150 countries around the world and the importance of maintaining and visiting war graves."

Not often that one hears one, let alone two, good articles on a radio programme these days but today's Excess Baggage managed the latter with the story of an Israeli born explorer who found himself having to survive several weeks with absolutely no experience or equipment. The second story covered the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Both stories were emotionally exceptional and enhanced by Sandi Toskvig keeping silent except for the minimal necessary intervention to guide the conversion - not something she always manages!

Hi There

My first post so this is just to say hi to the world out there.

Be seeing you all in the future