Originally Posted by Mick Fisher (Post 35805789)

Welcome to my World....

Originally Posted by Osem (Post 35805698)

We're going to see more of this. Thanks to either misguided foreign policy amongst other things (some quite possibly sinister) our rights and freedoms are going to be eroded in one way or another. Of course it'll all be dressed up as being for the greater good but you have to ask what lies behind all that. Why are we being encouraged to entrust our whole lives to an internet which patently isn't secure when so many of us don't have the slightest clue how to protect ourselves properly? Why is it becoming increasingly hard to avoid having our personal information held on computers all over the place? We're being ever more closely scrutinised and forced into a situation where our lives can effectively be examined and, if necessary, shut down at the press of a button somewhere.

For me there are two possibilities and they're not mutually exclusive. This is all the result of pure negligence and idiocy on the part of our glorious leaders around the globe or these people have collectively come to realise that in order to have a chance of protecting themselves (the chosen few) and their livelihoods from what I believe is inevitable global turmoil, they're setting us up to be controlled. What better way to control people than by leading them into a digital existence in which all the tools they need to run their lives can be shut off in an instant?

I've never been a great conspiracy theorist but increasingly over the years I've looked at what's been/being allowed to happen and find it hard to put it all down to ineptitude, especially when it's clear that with growing pressure on resources and increasing population there's going to be less to go around and the rich/powerful are not going to want to see their privileged existence eroded.

Not long ago I'd have viewed the above as science fiction but I'm fast coming to the conclusion that this is all part of a plan in which global turmoil (however it results) is being used and even created in order to bring it to fruition.

Originally Posted by Damien (Post 35805855)

I don't think the move to digital is part of any centralised plan. Most people are moving more of their lives online because it offers quite a lot of benefits. I don't think Governments have welcomed this because with the cross-border nature of the Internet, the sheer volume of noise, encryption and the speed of the information Governments have lost some control. These actions from the Government are a misguided attempt for them to regain it.

I also don't think the World is heading for a major crisis. There is always global turmoil but we've already seen quite a lot worse than anything we can see when we look around today. People in the last 100 years have lived though two World Wars and many believed that nuclear apocalypse was inevitable during the Cold War. These problems eventually gave way to different ones and these ones will eventually go away to be replaced by something else.

Even with ISIS and mass Immigration into Europe the World today is largely safer, richer and healthier than almost any point in history. Only recent years would come close to beating it. In particular huge advancements have been made in the poorer nations with reducing poverty and child mortality and our experience elsewhere tells us that birth rates decline as those things improve.

Originally Posted by Hugh (Post 35805888)

Actually, with the cost of the means of production falling, and with access to information now much more widespread, things could be different this time.

There were similar portents of doom in the 60s and 70s (over-population, food shortages, raw materials running out, thermonuclear war leading to nuclear winter), that were forecast to happen in the 80s and 90s, but we are all still here and (mostly) surviving.

I would rather be an optimist (even in my late 50s) and fairly happy and be occasionally disappointed, than be a pessimist and always be miserable waiting for something to go badly...

ymmv ;)

Originally Posted by Hugh (Post 35805915)

There are some here who believe "we're all doomed", no matter the scenario - I couldn't live that way, always assuming (and in some cases, hoping for) the worst....

Originally Posted by Hugh (Post 35805915)

I am optimistic, but I am not unrealistic - I try to assess situations and work out likely outcomes, and plan for the sub-optimal ones.

Optimism is not blind faith everything will be all right - in my case, it is trying to not let negatives blind me to the possible positives (and vice versa).

There are some here who believe "we're all doomed", no matter the scenario - I couldn't live that way, always assuming (and in some cases, hoping for) the worst....

Originally Posted by heero_yuy (Post 35805700)

What concerns me about any of these snooping powers is the abuse: We've already seen RIPA anti-terrorism laws used by local councils to prosecute over dog poo and chase council tax non-payers. Unless there are some serious safeguards like a court order being needed to access records I can see this being abused as well.

The road to hell is truely paved in good intentions.:(