That Bloody Petition - Now 1m+ Signatures

rdwarr

I'm probably the only MSEr left who hasn't started up a thread on the Road Charging Petition so thought I'd mention the latest news at the BBC.

Just goes to show what you can achieve wih a combination of spam, scaremongering and stupidity :rolleyes:

reheat

I signed it 'cos I'm not prepared to swap one sort of scary stupidity for another. Yes road congestion and saving greenhouse issues are vitally important - stupid to overlook. But allowing the state to track us electronically - enforcible by law and payable by us - is an incredibly stupid and dangerous thing to allow. And the government would not even commit to ensuring the money went to road congestion schemes. If you trust people so much - politicians especially - you must be very gullible ... or a politician!

We are at the thin end of a very unpleasant wedge here. If you let the principle of human rights abuse to creep in at one level, once the precedent is set the level will insidiously creep up without further laws being needed for them to do so.

What is it you like so much about the idea of having an electronic gadget in your car whose sole purpose is so the state can know where you are and have been? I know that mobile phones and card transactions also give away locality information, but that is a side effect rather than primary purpose; there are no laws at present (so far as I know) which insist they have to. I value my basic human right to privacy, and very strongly object to the state seeking to abuse that right.

rdwarr

My post was essentially an objection to being bombarded with half a dozen "You MUST sign this petition" threads every day. If I wanted to sign it I would have done but whether I have or not is my business.
What concerns me about your post is that you think there's a basic human right to privacy. I don't think that's ever been the case and, as long as you're not somewhere you shouldn't be, what's the problem?

dag_2

To be honest, I don't see how road charging is conceptually different to paying taxes on fuel - which we already have.

Apparently Mr Roberts believes that road charging is unfair on poor people. However, if he really believed that, then he would be campaigning for a means-tested subsidy of petrol for poor people, which would be paid for out of the tax that the better-off people pay.

But he's not campaigning for this, is he? no siree. Hmmm. Can't think why! :rolleyes:

peterg1965

Here here... reheat..i am with you.

ManAtHome

Dunno, as Reheat mentioned, we already have efficient "trackers" - mobiles and bank cards, both carrried and use volountarily. A tracker in your car would allow the "powers what be" to track... your car - want to esacpe for a time, walk (but don't forget to leave your mobile at home!).

My main gripe is against the petition-spammers who seem to think that a petition will actually change anything (and as for the "only needs 750,000 signatories" - LOL long and hard).

reheat

rdwarr wrote:

My post was essentially an objection to being bombarded with half a dozen "You MUST sign this petition" threads every day. ... whether I have or not is my business

On this I agree with you, it's your private business no-one else's.

rdwarr wrote:

What concerns me about your post is that you think there's a basic human right to privacy.

I have to admit it never crossed my mind anyone would think privacy was not a basic human right.

rdwarr

reheat wrote:

I have to admit it never crossed my mind anyone would think privacy was not a basic human right.

If it were, the prisons would be empty

teeb

What worries me is one million people sign this, and Downing Street - as quoted in today's Times - basically says, "so what? We don't listen to you, we're going to do it anyway".

Utterly defeating the point of the petition system.


edit - I may start spamming this petition, just to see if it can get a million signatories.

ManAtHome

Teeb - at last a worthwhile one... Bet it's lost in the (forecast.??) "maybe technical difficulties"