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New laws considered to allow emergency cordons to be enforced in UK cities.

 
 
Aethelwine Jedi
13:40 / 29.12.02
BBC News - 'Terror cordon' plan for UK cities

I was expecting something like this to happen eventually, but now it's officially being 'considered', it sort of brings it home how fucking scary I find it. Still, I can't say whether I'm for or against the idea of cordons themselves, there's just something about the concept that makes my teeth itch.
 
 
Tryphena Absent
14:12 / 29.12.02
Actually I think this is very sensible, I like it when they plan ahead, means that I'm less likely to die. Just try not to take it too seriously and then hopefully it won't happen, we're British and nationally we love a crisis, stiff upper lip and all that! I wonder if this is really about terrorism or war on Iraq?
 
 
pointless and uncalled for
17:58 / 30.12.02
Having read the reports on what they are intended for then I am all for them under the proviso that there is a rigid and thorough human rights audit after they have been used to ensure that their position was not abused. Ideally there would be good measures during use to prevent abuses, but on the face a post even audit should be a nessecity.
 
 
Linus Dunce
18:18 / 30.12.02
Cordons in cases of looting, violence or infectious disease are fine with me, though being held within a dangerous area would perhaps cause me to reappraise my opinion, especially when one considers the tooled-up twenty-something in a flak jacket pointing a gun at me would be unlikely to have a PhD in criminology, psychology or biology. Or, likely, much in the way of manners. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

By all means have a policy and training for civil defence, but giving the police legal powers to cordon areas for anything, anytime they please, well, that's just not right. Why is it necessary to formalise this power before the fact? Is it to reassure us? Or to show us who's boss?
 
 
Turk
03:32 / 31.12.02
Perchance it should be named "McDonald's Law".
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
08:07 / 31.12.02
I'm confused now as to who to be scared of. Apparently there are untold legions of al-Qaida agents hidden amongst the general population (or so I gather from that unimpeachable news source the Daily Mail). So if we get quarantined or cordoned in or whatever, doesn't that mean we're stuck in here with - ulp - THEM?

I've long since lost track of which initiatives and legislation are meant to reassure us, and which to make us more paranoid. I've started working on a theory that it's all a big plan to make the British public so fucking bored with the idea of terrorism that it loses all power to scare, and hopefully the terrorists'll get bored cos no-one else is playing so it's no fun anymore. (Kind of like the IRA managed to do not so long ago.)

On a more serious note, yes, training and planning for security cordons and the like seems only sensible. Legislating in advance, as Ignatius says, is a little worrying, especially in a time in which the West is prepared to claim a victory after chucking a missile at six guys who were SUSPECTED of being terrorists. Cos, well, they haven't come up with any alibis or anything since being killed, have they? Well there you go then. Guilty as charged, m'lud.

And after all the great PR work everyone's agencies did after the last Gulf War claiming there was never the intent to kill Saddam Hussein because that would be assassination and wrong.
 
 
Our Lady of The Two Towers
17:06 / 31.12.02
I'm surprised that the Government are considering this, after all, the next time there's a major demonstration against them in the capital they're not going to get away with claiming that the demonstrators had scurvy are they? I expect these ideas to have a tad wider remit when it comes round to legislation, if that ever happens. Probably along with the mandatory carrying of ID cards too.
 
  
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