I agree that voting should be made compulsory (as the lesser evil) but this would not stop those who suppress the votes of minorities.
Posts by silverfern
46 publicly visible posts • joined 1 Jan 2017
Oh boy: MPs prepare to probe UK.gov's digital prowess and tech savvy
Swiss cops will 'tolerate' World Cup rabble-rousers – for 60 minutes
Thursday 28th June 2018 18:47 GMT
Here in Germany you're "allowed" to shower (and presumably have a bath) any time day of night and the neighbours (presumably on the same floor of your block of flats) have to put up with it. This has been confirmed several few times by court decision (Germans just love going to law!). Reason: cleanliness is a "higher good". I am not exaggerating: judges have said this.
Similarly, other court decisions have decided that as a source of noise, childrens' playgrounds do not need to be subjected to "quiet times" or be otherwise reined in because young children have to be free to jump around and yell and do all those things that young children do during childhood. Not unreasonable.
And the court cases that are conducted over next-door neighbours having a barbecue (cooking odours) have to seen to be believed.
But otherwise people do seem to be particularly allergic to noise here.
The only explanation I can think of is that with 60% of Germany's population having to rent (population density: about 200 / sq. km) and therefore living - mostly - in blocks of flats, you've got more people breathing down your neck and you don't have the luxury of your own back yard where you have more latitude to do your own thing.
So it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Switzerland and Austria have fairly similar rules for pretty much the same reasons. But that's only an educated guess.
Potato, potato. Toma6to, I'm going to kill you... How a typo can turn an AI translator against us
Creep travels half the world to harass online teen gamer… and gets shot by her mom – cops
Thursday 28th June 2018 12:10 GMT
Re: Just Wait till NZ gets the bill
1. If that girl's mother had shot this prick back home (New Zealand), she'd have been arrested and charged with various firearms offences in spite of the sympathy of the general public. And she'd have had to use a rifle or a shotgun because handguns are generally illegal except for handgun club members, collectors and dealers.
2. Just for the record, we have no free medical care in NZ. Never did. Our "social system" (medical care, pensions etc. etc.) is financed by the taxpayer but there are basic charges for most services, including prescriptions. And all dental care is fully private after age 15.
3. And like the UK, our police are routinely unarmed, although there are exceptions.
National ID cards might not mean much when up against incompetence of the UK Home Office
Clock blocker: Woman sues bosses over fingerprint clock-in tech
Google listens to New Zealand just long enough to ignore it
WikiLeaks a 'hostile intelligence service', SS7 spying, Russian money laundering – all now on US Congress todo list
Windrush immigration papers scandal is a big fat GDPR fail for UK.gov
Sunday 29th April 2018 10:17 GMT
Re: Windrush & Co.:
I'm talking about the Scottish National Entitlement Card (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_National_Entitlement_Card) which, while voluntary, entitles holders, e.g. pensioners, to free use of some services such as bus transport. There are fears that it will over time effectively become a (form of) ID card in that some or many services will be unavailable without it. All Scots are also assigned a Unique Citizen Reference Number (UCRN) which is linked to the Card. (See same link.)
The Republic of Ireland has recently introduced a Public Services Card which, while voluntary, is required if one wishes to obtain a driving licence and a passport. (I am not talking about the Irish passport card which is an adjunct to the Irish passport and is genuinely voluntary.)
Northern Ireland has had a Northern Ireland Voter’s Card since (I think) about the 1980s but I stand to be corrected on that date/period. Unsurprisingly, this card does not appear to be controversial.
Any social media accounts to declare? US wants travelers to tell
Saturday 31st March 2018 12:20 GMT
1. If I were a cynic, I would surmise that, as with the US-Visit scheme generally, Uncle Sam is requiring all this - mainly useless - information on purpose in order to deter all those from coming to the US except those who really want/need to come.
Reason: to reduce the risk of terrorism by keeping out the wackos. (This is also why they ask you if you have ever been a member of a Communist party: it keeps out all the nutcases, dangerous or otherwise.)
But as someone once said (it may even have been here, too), if you're looking for a needle in a haystack, you don't keep piling hay onto the stack.
2. But as I really am a cynic, it's clear that the US-Visit scheme is, in fact, not designed to prevent terrorist attacks but simply to show the American people, i.e. the voters, that Uncle Same is "doing something" about 9/11. It's not supposed to "work", it's just window-dressing. (How many terrorists have been caught as a result of the US-Visit programme?) Not that any of this is news but it's worth re-stating for the record.
And Uncle Sam can get away with it because foreign visitors have no lobby in the US. But if it gets votes, well, hey, I guess that "works" too.
Commonwealth Games brochure declares that England is now in Africa
Machines making music, translating Chinese, self-driving trucks, and more
'A sledgehammer to crack a nut': Charities slam UK voter ID trials
Wednesday 7th March 2018 20:46 GMT
Re: Just stop it already
I really ought to bite my tongue in saying this but having an ID card with your address on the back (the way it's done here in Germany) would solve most of these problems.
Don't get me wrong: I still don't like ID cards but as instruments of public administration, I have to admit with gashed teeth that they do have their uses.
Yorkshire cops have begun using on-the-spot fingerprint scanners
Digital version of Universal Credit still pricey, wobbly, failing to deliver – MPs
Thursday 8th February 2018 17:17 GMT
I'm not a techie but at a rough guess, I'd say the system in Estonia works because that country has a compulsory ID card system (gotta have) that everyone carries with them anyway because they need it so often: -ID, -digital signature, travel (EU), healthcare, electronic banking, use of public transport (ticketing), encrypting mail & voting.
There may even be more functions.
Accused Brit hacker Lauri Love will NOT be extradited to America
Monday 5th February 2018 16:52 GMT
Re: The intersting question is...
I suspect what pissed Uncle Sam off the most was the fact that he got caught with his pants down and was mightily embarrassed - as in the Gary McKinnon case.
This is more a case of revenge than justice, but then the US justice system is mostly about revenge anyway.
You can find me in da club, database full of faces… but this ain't privacy watchers' jam
The Reg visits London Met Police's digital and electronics forensics labs
'Australia Card 2.0' is dead: Government ditches plan for one ID to rule them all
Digital mortgage service sounds handy, right? Oh, it's through UK.gov's Verify
Irish priests told to stop bashing bishops
Surveillance Capitalism thinks it won, but there's still time to unplug it
Australia approves national database of everyone's mugshots
Accused hacker Lauri Love's extradition appeal begins
US govt's 'foreign' spy program that can snoop on Americans at home. Sure, let's reauth that...
Germany slaps ban on kids' smartwatches for being 'secret spyware'
Wednesday 22nd November 2017 15:48 GMT
Re: But the reason
Indeed.
This is why you cannot even get telephones capable of recording calls: they, too, are illegal.
It's called "Informationsselbstbestimmung" / informational self-determination" over here.
Personally, I suspect it has more to do with not being obliged to incriminate yourself.
This why you cannot - to give just one example - record in any way whatsoever (film/sound/whatever) neighbours who dump their rubbish over the fence onto your property. All inadmissible in court.
Childrens' watches capable of recording what teachers should be banned but not being able to record neighbourhood squabbles goes too far: loony tunes.
Manic miners, hideous hackers, frightful flaws, vibrating mock cock app shock – and more
Let's make the coppers wear cameras! That'll make the ba... Oh. No sodding difference
Do cops need a warrant to stalk you using your cellphone records? US Supremes to mull it over
How bad can the new spying legislation be? Exhibit 1: it's called the USA Liberty Act
Coding is more important than Shakespeare, says VC living in self-contained universe
US vending machine firm plans employee chip implant scheme
Look who's joined the anti-encryption posse: Germany, come on down
We are 'heroes,' says police chief whose force frisked a photographer
Saturday 6th May 2017 15:07 GMT
@ Christoph:
"There is no law that you are required to identify yourself to every puffed-up busybody who demands it."
What about the police in general? Do you not have to give them your name, address & DOB if required to do so?
Tangentally, you are required to identify yourself to the police here in Germany with an official picture ID (they will accept DLs unofficially.) If you refuse to cooperate, you can be taken down to the local police station where other methods, such as fingerprinting, can be employed to establish your identity. And if you refuse to hand over your fingerprints, force can be used. Charming. (They seem to have a thing about knowing who you are here.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
