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The Big Brother State video

· Civil liberty, Law & Regulation · Privacy & Panopticon

Something for the afternoon tea break:

March 25th, 2008 |

13 comments to The Big Brother State video

  • Nick M
    March 25, 2008 at 9:29 pm

    This is not I hope too OT…

    Yesterday I was really gunning to buy a 1 Terabyte net drive as a simple back-up solution for my wife and I’s files.

    Now, obviously, we have back-up drives on our machines (except laptops) but this seemed a nice, simple, solution for an extra level of protection.

    PC World had a good price on the heavily TV advertised WD MyBook and I was all set to toddle off to Stockport when… I thought I’ll have a butcher’s at DK’s blog. Well, it turns out that for DRM purposes this drive will not share across the network umpteen file types including things like Quicktime, wma, mp3 Ogg-Vorbis etc… WD hobbled it presumably to prevent any DRM nastiness in the future.

    Now I know a million apes with a million typewriters who might have a need for 1TB of shared filespace for .docs but other than that what’s the point?

    Is this an example of the trusted computing mentioned in the video?

    Christ Almighty, a piece of hardware I legally own would not allow me to share video from my camera with my wife that I took when we were on honeymoon… If that is not bang out of order I have no idea what is.

    And no, it wasn’t that sort of video. For one thing I don’t think the TSA would have looked kindly on me taking my tripod…

    I could have brought down Western Civilization with that (or at least cold-cocked the officious bitch who poked around with my Thinkpad).

    So, I dunno, it seems it ain’t just government. They have their corporate co-conspirators to boot.

    So, DK, next time I’m down Brixton way I’ll buy you a pint! Cheers for the tip!

  • Jono
    March 26, 2008 at 1:26 am

    Terrific video, it was extremely well made and well narrated. I would have loved for it to have gone on for longer and pointed out even more ways that our privacy has been breached, and how our personal information is not secure, as demonstrated by the idiotic Home Office losing 6 million records last November.

  • One of the Little People
    March 26, 2008 at 2:33 am

    I don’t know what things are like on your side of the pond, but if you try to video tape a police officer over here, you’ll probably learn the hard way that super-citizens are allowed to turn off the telescreens.

  • RAB
    March 26, 2008 at 2:38 am

    Well I would love to view it
    trouble is, when I try to click on it
    it says
    rich media blocked.

    I have no idea why, do you?

  • Adriana
    March 26, 2008 at 2:41 am

    RAB, it’s a YouTube video which is neatly embedded in samizdata.net page. It looks like the problem is at your end. Perhaps an overzealous setting on your browser blocking videos? Nothing we can do, I’m afraid.

    Here is the link to the video directly on YouTube. I suspect you won’t be able to play it there either…

  • RAB
    March 26, 2008 at 3:04 am

    Thanks Adriana.
    You are correct. No luck there either.
    I will search for it on Utube.
    I can get that.
    I will be back if I have anything pertinent.

  • CountingCats
    March 26, 2008 at 3:32 am

    RAB,

    Do you want it emailed?

    If your service can handle an email file that large, that is.

  • RAB
    March 26, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    Yes please, CC. Thanks.

  • Eric
    March 26, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    Very well done. I’ve never seen that animation technique before.

  • darthlaurel
    March 26, 2008 at 5:41 pm

    There is a term for this kind of thing…..anarchotyranny. The state allows for a certain amount of instability (like letting in legal or illegal immigrants from hostile countries), and then turns around and uses that instability as an excuse to ‘restablize’ things by creating more laws. Eventually everyone is a criminal, by one type of infraction or another. Our tax laws in the US are a perfect example. The tax code is so complex that even lawyers and accountants don’t quite understand it. Everyone has fallen short somehow. Will they audit you or not? As Death says in Hogfather, “Have you been naughty or nice?”
    By the way, I have a mac and had no trouble viewing this.
    Thanks for the video. I intend to send the permalink around to a lot of people.

  • darthlaurel
    March 26, 2008 at 5:42 pm

    There is a term for this kind of thing…..anarchotyranny. The state allows for a certain amount of instability (like letting in legal or illegal immigrants from hostile countries), and then turns around and uses that instability as an excuse to ‘restablize’ things by creating more laws. Eventually everyone is a criminal, by one type of infraction or another. Our tax laws in the US are a perfect example. The tax code is so complex that even lawyers and accountants don’t quite understand it. Everyone has fallen short somehow. Will they audit you or not? As Death says in Hogfather, “Have you been naughty or nice?”
    By the way, I have a mac and had no trouble viewing this.
    Thanks for the video. I intend to send the permalink around to a lot of people.

  • Conrad
    March 26, 2008 at 9:08 pm

    Great vid, Thanks Adriana

  • Curly
    March 27, 2008 at 1:52 am

    These modern cctv cameras are not in the least bit funny, as I know from personal experience.

    Austin Mitchell MP has tabled an EDM relating to troubles such as mine, but so far only 80 MPs have signed it.

    Tells you a lot about the others!

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