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BBC's "The Long view" on ID cards
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 06:45:15 -0500
------ Forwarded Message From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk> Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 10:45:05 +0000 To: <dave () farber net> Subject: BBC's "The Long view" on ID cards Dave: There has just been an excellent programme on BBC Radio 4 in their series "The Long View", which each week discusses some current topic, in the light of history. This latest one was on ID cards. From the programme's web-page: "London, 1950 and wartime Identity Cards are still in force. When Clarence Willcock refuses to present his card to a police officer, it leads to a test case in the High Court. The judges ponder whether ID cards are an unnecessary intrusion into private life or a useful weapon in combatting crime. Jonathan Freedland is joined by Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty, Martin Linton MP - who developed the protype of the new biometric cards - and Peter Byrne, alias PC Andy Crawford in Dixon of Dock Green, to debate ID Cards in 1950's Britain and today. " A recording of the broadcast is available for a week on the BBC web-site, reachable from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/longview/longview.shtml One notable quote that it includes, in fact from a 1939 speech by Winston Churchill is the following: "Perhaps it might seem a paradox that a war undertaken in the name of liberty and right should require as a necessary part of its processes the surrender for the time being of so many dearly valued liberties and rights. We are sure that these liberties will be in hands which will not abuse them, which will cherish and guard them, and we should look forward to the day, surely and confidently we look forward to the day, when our liberties and rights will be restored to us and when we will be able to share them with the peoples to whom such blessings are unknown." Would that our present leaders spoke (believably) in such terms! cheers Brian -- School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/ ------ End of Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- BBC's "The Long view" on ID cards David Farber (Feb 22)