Anon : ...just putting things into perspective that's all.

You are right, nothing wrong with fines for traffic violations, but surely you see now that they are prosecuted with an efficiency that would have brought a tear to the eye of old Himmler himself, while muggings, robberies and burglaries aren't quite policed so effectively.

Surely you have noticed that the bureacracy is never inefficient when its about to take your money!

There is also a big difference between someone who drives drunk, and someone, who in the case of my mate, accidentally rolled 40cm over the stop line at the traffic lights, and got a £60 fine. If I was a copper, I would have let that one go, but the copper was being a jobsworth about it.

Chris : The lie detector can easily be tricked, if you know the physiological and physical methods by which it works. An educated person is likely to know this, however, like most of these talk shows, I'm willing to bet this is not their target group for participants. Bet you get candiates for Jerry Springer on there! :)

Why would anyone be so fucking stupid to risk having their dirty laundry aired on TV?

Its a curious psychological phenomenon, this confidence problem. This is the problem, so many people believe it works, that if the lie detector says yay, good luck proving nay.

Graham : LOL, here's an improvement, instead of BUZZ, how's about a nice 240v electric shock? :) That way we could get some entertainment, and the top brass could find out what rendition feels like :)

Do the fools behind this realise that dangerous consequences of their research?

What is our obsession with going beyond every level of common sense and humanity to prevent crime?

Having once worked in local government, the anti-fraud measures are so ingrained into the system that they cause a loss of efficency comparable to a medium level theft every year. False economy?

We are obsessed with stopping crime, and there is no dangerous boundary that the 'defenders of the faith' will not cross. These are the Dr Strangelove generals, people possessed of a over zealous belief and total confidence in an incorrect world view that causes them to act horrifically and without reason. They stop crime, but they also strip the colour from our world. Look at the culture of bureaucracy that permeates society at the moment, with fines levied for swearing and traffic violations, while the police become increasingly powerless to protect people from real crimes.

If this research is allowed to gather momentum, it will not be stopped. The ignorant Charles-Clarkes and David Blunketts of the world will jump on the back of this, and will violate more freedom and do more damage to society than criminals ever will.

I am not a Luddite or a techno-fear reactionary, but research in this area of the brain is very dangerous indeed, and is a line that common sense should inform us that it should not be crossed.

(But who says that common sense is, eh?)

We have the right to lie, our society is ordered in such a way that it is impossible NOT to lie. You might despise your boss, but you pretend that you like him. Yes, honey that dress does make your derriere look a bit on the large side!

In the attempted annhilation of crime, there is no line that the 'authorities' fear to cross. However, in a world where even our thoughts could be open to inspection, would you want to live in this world?

I've gone off on one a bit, but like I say, this is a dangerous path to go down, and there might be no turning back.

I hope you are ok, thanks for listening.