mortov

You mean privately controlled, like this ?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/18/cctv_shoplifters/

Hey, they just need to suspect you and you're all over their web site. No need for any actual proof or any inconvenience stuff like an actual conviction.

Many UK retailers already share CCTV between each other and many operate central monitoring hubs for facial recognition of 'undesirables' - people convicted of shoplifting or people the police have asked them to look for.

Here, from guess where, parliament's site, is a paper explaining lots of the UK technology in use in 2002 :

http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/POST-PN-175.pdf

Have a look at the part about Newham in London using automatic facial recognition.

Are you serious about not being worried ?

Despite being individual countries with different characteristics, they are all equally docile. Coming originally from Scotland, I can tell you the primary interest is in events affecting Rangers or Celtic football [soccer to North Americans] clubs. Surveillance ? Only of interest if it gives more details on what the favoured football club is doing. Politics is, by definition, saying how much you hate Margaret Thatcher - her death did nothing to diminish the constant blame attached to her despite it being more than 20 years since she was UK Prime Minister. The monotonous regularity would be a source of humour if it were not for the fact these are supposed to be serious people leading a country forward to independence on the world stage.

Any spying on citizens in the UK is universal - the component countries do not make a difference to that in any way. CCTV, number plate cameras etc. are all present and operate universal surveillance throughout the UK. Nowhere is there any sizeable objection to it - especially since "only people with something to hide would object to the monitoring".

UK residents would do well to heed the words of Benjamin Franklin :

"They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"

Perhaps we would all benefit from remembering the US Founding Fathers who had railed against the rot of the UK by 1776 - it is amazing how much resonance their words have today and how much their meaning has been lost even to Americans who should know better.

Try discussing that with the family of the murder victim Sally Geeson. She wrongly believed an emergency 999 (911 to North Americans) cost money so she did not call when she knew her life was in imminent danger as she had no credit left on her phone:

From http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/oct/19/guardianwe...

"...tragic consequences last year when Sally Geeson, a student, was abducted and murdered in Cambridge. Sally, whose phone had run out of call credit, sent a series of texts asking for help to friends, apparently not realising that she could have made a 999 call for free."

Sure about that ? The Milgram Experiment would suggest otherwise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment).

I don't think you've ever tried dealing with the OFT.

Glacial would imply an excess of speed and action on their part.

Scam companies regularly set up, flout the legislation and the OFT 'guidelines' (which is what they are so a breach needs to be investigated before it can become subject to enforcement - more delay) and keep going until the OFT eventually acts then collapse to run off with the money.

Normally local trading standards units are much quicker at taking action but have limited powers and some things are reserved for OFT (see Glacial, above).

It has taken years of complaints to the OFT about mobile phone companies hiking 'fixed price' contracts mid-term for any investigation to be done (small print says 'fixed price' is index linked to whatever index they choose to apply an increase with). The investigation is still ongoing and although there is talk of action, it's not actualy happened yet, despite this being one of the most significant causes of complaints about mobile phone contracts for many years. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/mobile-con...]

Action on a scam site doing auto-subscribe ? I wouldn't hold my breath regardless of whether it is legal or not.

Alas you do not get the option to refuse to pay. They keep your credit card details and charge every month.

You're then stuck arguing with your card issuer. In the UK for example, you're shit out of luck unless the transaction is > £100 where the card company becomes 'jointly and severally liable' which allows you to pursue them instead.

Obviously this varies so it all depends on where you are and where your card was issued as to how much chance you have of 'refusing to pay'.

The US may not but some jurisdictions do but still have not prosecuted anyone.

The UK is an example where company directors can be prosecuted for corporate mismanagement (failing in fiduciary duties http://legal.practitioner.com/regulation/standards_9_3_6.htm) and there are new offences planned specifically for banking.

But in fact Fred Goodwin received a handsome pay-off and has 24x7 police protection as a result of protestors arriving at his house when details of his huge bonus pay-off became public. He even obtained a super-injunction making it illegal for UK newspapers to reveal he worked as a banker ! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Goodwin#Superinjunction)

edit: as someone else pointed out he did lose his knighthood but that hardly seems as severe as prison time.

I guess you need to make sure your devices are wiped or left at home.

A backup just means you have your own copy of what just got taken off you at the border for no good lawful reason.

Having my own copy would not reassure me of much.

However Police long ago started to switch to rigid handcuffs to stop people being able to move their hands and manipulate their way out : http://www.police-supplies.co.uk/handcuffs-keys-pouches/hand...

Since the indiegogo site will have been added to the 'criminal intelligence' database, every paranoid cop will take extra care.

You would be horrified at the number of snopes.com myths cops believe in, so something with the potential to be real will have them in a frenzy.

Expect lots of people to be beaten and tazer'd over the next week or two as a direct result of the hysteria this creates in cops all over the place believing people have a hidden super secret magic handcuff key.

I worked with a UK company which decided to 'professionalise' their HR function which, of course, meant adding psychometric testing.

I was doing fleet management software at the time which meant I was also bundled with actually handing cars out to new hires when they arrived. What can I say, they were cheap-asses and I was young enough to enjoy goofing around in cars.

Anyway, almost immediately one of the hires was sent to me and I had instructions to give him a car. He had no idea why he was to come to me so introduced himself and the usual stuff before I told him he could choose from a couple of cars I had available. The blood drained from his face and it was obvious there was something wrong.

After a few awkward seconds he looked around to make sure no-one else was around and explained he was banned from driving due to multiple drink drive (DUI/DWI in North American) convictions. A car was out the question and I now had a problem I had to go back to HR with.

When I spoke to HR, they were indignant and stressed their psychometric tests had guaranteed he was excellent for an on-the-road salesman and there was no problem giving him a car. I then had to point out it would be a criminal offence for me to give him a car so that was not going to happen. I left them still saying, 'but the test is very clear, he is an ideal candidate'.

I've never believed in them after that and anytime I see them I know the sort of brain dead thinking which goes along with them is a red flag not to join any organization using them.

Sure, the test says give the DUI guy a car - what could possibly go wrong ?

Sure, look at http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/20/groklaw-sh...

States explicitly "Groklaw relied in some cases on email tips from readers and other anonymous sources".

Following the early days of the SCO reporting it was obvious there was unreleased information being shared. There was even lots of discussion about whether Groklaw was some secret group of IBM agents and stuff like that due to the knowledge and insight being displayed at the time.

Groklaw started with some serious in-depth background knowledge of the whole SCO - Linux stuff (there's too much to describe it as anything else).

That sort of information comes from having serious inside, in-depth background information.

You know, the sort of stuff serious investigative journalists /used/ to do. Like the Washington Post in 1972 when they reported on illegal activity by the President (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal#Role_of_the_m...) rather than the Washington Post in 2013 when the report on Presidential Broccoli (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/07...).

We've seen a rare example of serious investigative journalism and how /our/ countries respond to it by targeting family and loved ones of the journalists. That's the way we used to say only the KGB or the Gestapo behaved in the Bad Old Days. Guess what ? The Bad Old Days are right here and right now.

No wonder PJ is concerned that continuing Groklaw may expose her to serious risk from the authorities. Commenting on court cases and filling in the background through back-channel information from Deep Throat (or whatever pseudonym they use today) sure does not seem to be worth that risk to me.

It's sad that any comment on this stuff makes it sound like you go around wearing a tin-foil hat.

I don't think this indicates a Google problem.

They're lucky Google even deliver them to any tab - based on their own figures it's almost a 90% chance of their email being binned by end users (OK, not opened but that's pretty much the same thing). On systems I administer that's way above the threshold I'd consider for blacklist/auto-reject.

Without trying to disparage their business, Mailchimp and associated 'services' are rarely providing 'quality' email in my experience and I don't get customers calling me up asking me to make sure such emails come through. Quite the opposite.

It's hard in the mass email business because most people (e.g. almost 90% it seems) think the emails are crap and don't want them or open them. If that's upsetting then don't complain. You need to look for a different business where you'll feel more loved and appreciated. Mass email is not it and never will be.

Such as in The Peoples Front Of Judea and The Judean Peoples Front

FTR carrying [some] pocket knifes is legal in England and Wales. It is a criminal offence in Scotland.

The UK consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 3 different legal systems (though England and Wales and Northern Ireland are similar).

Scotland is radically different with many things being criminal offences in Scotland but are perfectly legal in the other 3 countries, e.g. certain types of violent pornography are serious jail time in Scotland but legal elsewhere in the UK. Plus the knife thing, obviously. Children of 8 years are criminally responsible [i.e. /are/ prosecuted] in Scotland but it is older elsewhere in the UK.

Do I understand you correctly ?

You're saying that you would be happy to join 74 other non-terrorists (i.e. law abiding citizens) plus 25 actual terrorists and be taken off to Guantanamo Bay indefinitely ?

You're really sure about that being a Good Thing for law enforcement ?

Your neighbor is fed up with you leeching their internet connection.

http://www.ex-parrot.com/pete/upside-down-ternet.html

Get your own connection.

You're totally right, that was the wrong link, and the example I found is actually 3 weeks which is so much more reasonable for a serious crime like sending your child to the local school.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/8343865.stm

There are others and Wikipedia even has a special section on oppressive use : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_Investigatory_Pow...

[edit: to correct the time frame]

Frankly the Israeli situation sounds more proportionate and reasonable than many - plus groups are challenging it in court which is always a Good Thing(tm).

If you want to see the REAL masters, look no further than the UK Regulation Of Investigative Powers Act.

That gives (for example) local garbage collectors the legal powers to obtain, say, your medical records - all they need to do is establish they are 'investigating' some garbage related offence and they have access to anything they want so by saying you have disposed of some 'unauthorized' medical waste they are allowed to obtain your medical records to see if you have a genuine medical condition justifying it. It is an offence for the medical staff to refuse or to inform you that they have been handed over.

Want to send your children to your local school ? Expect 24x7 surveillance of you and your children for 3 weeks: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2248295/Second-counci... [edit: this is a different example of abuse, reply below has the correct link.]

The list is endless with over 500 different 'official' organizations entitled to mount total surveillance and the abuses of the legislation are so egregious that they read like a wild fantasy.

This is the "legal framework" which the UK PM David Cameron is assuring everyone keeps them safe from PRISM and the like.

Absolute power corrupts and this power has long ago corrupted absolutely in the UK.

[edit: originally said months and it is merely weeks, reply below has the link to the correct article. Thanks to Jabbles for pointing out the link was the wrong one.]

All UK ISPs have compulsory blocks already - courtesy of the unaccountable CEOPS under the guise of Thinking Of The Children/Child Porn. All sorts of URLs/IPs are blocked (many of which should be blocked because they ARE CP but some are not, just judged by The Powers That Be as being unacceptable [e.g. pirate bay]). There is no way to know what is on the list and no way to find out - anyone inquiring is automatically classed as a CP supporter and subject to investigation.

Coupled with the English removal of right to silence (discussed a few days ago), the UK long ago became a scary place for anyone interested in freedom and justice. [Scotland retains the silence right but don't expect that to help you much.]

We're just seeing an extension of this as people have been prepared already so it is time to extend the state monitoring and intrusion as everyone now believes it is a Good Thing(tm) because they know deep down that they truly love Big Brother.

(edit:spelling, twice. That's embarrassing)

I remember when it caught my eye as Postgres95 and I've always preferred it, even in the face of the huge surge for MySQL which left PostgreSQL looking like an also-ran for quite while.

The reality is it is one of the most amazing open source projects I know - enough to rival Linux itself for me.

These little snippets of PostgreSQL features and facilities which keep being posted give just a tiny hint of the truly enterprise grade features and facilities it has - I just wish I still had as much time to keep on top of it as I once did but I still keep it as my go-to database for project development. I've even dropped it in to replace full blown Oracle systems for serious cost savings.

The developers should be receiving far more kudos than they do.

Welcome to UK customer service. You got one of the good ones - there are many much much worse.

There is a convenient river boat you could have taken from the center of London but don't expect anyone to tell you.

Screw you customer service is one of the worst things about living in the UK - especially if you're used to North America. I constantly dream of the days I can move back to my lovely house in Canada and put all this behind me.

I also strongly recommend membership too. There is so much to see that a single visit will never be enough - time is complex and the astonishing story of measurement and ties to astronomy and navigation which were a coernerstone to allowing discovery and for our modern society to evolve are astonishing.

The time and navigation section at the Smithsonian in Washington is also an interesting adjunct but the true gem (to me) is Greenwich.

Plus, membership also gets free access to the Cutty Sark and the Queens House making for an interesting day or two in London for anyone to enjoy.

Yup, with noscript on, that page is just blank. What is the equivalent to TL;DR for page full of scripts, nothing shown so pointless waste of time ?

Europe has already imposed increasingly more strict caps on roaming fees and many operators now offer a one-off fee per month for europe wide 'tariff transfer' to take your free included minutes with you as you travel - they get more from that fee than they do from roaming fees. This sounds like the final removal of roaming fees altogether - remember in Europe you do not pay to /receive/ calls in your home area unlike the US & Canada so it is a bit of an anomaly to have roaming fees for receiving calls when you move around the EU.

Of course, the roaming fees /outside/ Europe are now eye-watering.

I don't think you understand.

Before the filming, the cruelty happened and profits were just fine.

After the filming was shown, profits went down/business was lost.

Clearly the problem they need to fix is to stop filming to help keep profits up and avoid losing business.

Clearer now ?

First, you do need a lawyer. Do not write or say anything directly as that will bite you in the ass. Hard. If there are scheduled court dates already, make sure you turn up and tell the judge you are seeking time to gain advice and representation and have limited funds. They will generally be sympathetic to that - they won't be sympathetic to a no-show.

If you have no money and no assets (you've just commented you are a student), there is not much to be got from suing you so it's not such a hot strategy on his part.

Depending on where you are (you don't say), there can be legal clinics or even unions/professional bodies who can help out or have on-call lawyers for basic advice and to point you in the right direction. Perhaps the instutution you are studying with may have something to go to first.

I suspect a sensible lawyer would start with a counter suit and some publicity. The fresh oxygen of publicity often curbs bad and bullying behavior - just look at last week's HN for an example of that.

Sounds like a canned damage limitation quote and not even remotely sincere (and doubt it is really an accurate reflection of reality either).

Anyway, where is the Sendgrid statement ? Their silence seems to be an endorsement of Adria's bad behavior (eavesdropping and then public humiliation via twitter).

I'm astonished that Sendgrid are OK with this.

There are 2 companies here I want to make sure I have no dealings with.

Sounds like a looming PR disaster because of a serious error in dealing with a perceived inappropriate comment (even if we discount eavsdropping on a private conversation being considered bad manners).

Sendgrid should be sending people who have enough skill and experience to know how to represent their company and what they stand for. This includes basic manners and enough insight to remember that all their actions are a direct official reflection of the company ethos.

Right now, their reputation just took a serious hit in my books because they feel best represented and aligned with someone who does not get basic courtesy (don't listen to other peoples private conversations) and think it's cool to damage someone's career and have them fired because of what they say in private by making highly public criticisms and maximising their distribution (i.e. twitter).

It did cause me to have a quick check over my mail scanning logs for a number of my clients and Sendgrid do seem to be a source of lots of complaints from my customers for spam. This whole thing pretty much cements my intention to just block their traffic in future without asking too many questions instead of suggesting customers use the opt-out links. It will cut down my own work and based on this incident I think I'll be doing my customers a favor.