5 ms·

What's painfully not funny, is that the vast majority of the British public won't see this as a problem, and won't see any need to do anything about it. There

by junto 11y ago

What's painfully not funny, is that the vast majority of the British public won't see this as a problem, and won't see any need to do anything about it. There is a reason why all the data and calls go through the BT Tower in London, and why it is guarded like a fortress. All the taps are there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BT_Tower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BT_Tower

harkyns_ruins 11y ago
The tyranny of the majority. If you can control what they watch on tele, you can basically control what they think.
- noir_lord 11y ago
  Panem et Circenses (bread and circuses). As long as the average voter in this country has a job, x-factor, can visit the pub on a sunday afternoon and get away on holiday once a year nothing is going to change.
bobm_kite9 11y ago
really? I know electronic miniaturization is an amazing thing, but is this big enough for all data and calls to be tapped from?
- junto 11y ago
  See my comment above about Telehouse London
coldtea 11y ago
>What's painfully not funny, is that the vast majority of the British public won't see this as a problem, and won't see any need to do anything about it. You mean the same public that accepts and sponsors a "royal" class in 2015?
- hahainternet 11y ago
  > You mean the same public that accepts and sponsors a "royal" class in 2015? We make money from the royals, does that change your opinion?
  - RabidSquirrel 11y ago
    Pimps make money from prostitutes, doesn't make it moral. If you support having a royalty, great, that's certainly your right. If you are against the concept in principle then deciding it's okay since we make money from them seems wrong.
    - dijit 11y ago
      Regardless of anything relating to the royals, it is not Queen Elizabeth who is instituting this, it is the democratically elected. Please don't bring in our royals as if they're somehow the reason of anything. There is a symbiotic relationship in regards to the royal family that you have to understand, the people who hate them are jealous- yet would probably not like the spotlight they have. They do bring in a net gain to the country, they are educated enough in certain scenarios to represent us quite well. I don't take exception to them, but if the public /did/ then government could restrict the funding to Her Majesty. (Which has happened a lot before and has constituted the closure of many of her castles.)
      - coldtea 11y ago
        >the people who hate them are jealous You say it like it's a bad thing -- that those jealous should be ashamed of themselves or something, when it's the other way around. Democracy is all about people being jealous of royalty (kings, feuds, pharaohs) having all the power, land, free food and honors, for just being "born" special, and putting and end to that charade.
        hahainternet 11y ago
        > Democracy is all about people being jealous of royalty (kings, feuds, pharaohs) having all the power, land, free food and honors, for just being "born" special, and putting and end to that charade. I'm curious, are you saying that with a straight face? Because there's no way you can look at capitalism / US politics and believe that it's any different.
lucozade 11y ago
It's not guarded like a fortress. Unless you're including fortresses that allow the public in regularly. It's guarded like a very noticeable landmark in London for the same reason that most targets are guarded - because of bomb threats. As they had a bomb explode in the BT tower, it's not an unreasonable thing to do. Oh, and not all calls and data go through there. I think they still get a fair chunk of microwave comms but that's a very small proportion. If the taps are really there then GCHQ are mostly tapping BBC broadcasts.
- junto 11y ago
  You're right. It is a public face. The real hub is Telehouse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telehouse_Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telehouse_Europe and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastering_the_Internet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastering_the_Internet As I understand it, this is just Project Tempora being officially acknowledged, post-Snowden. The cat is already out of the bag anyway. The best way to announce such a shitty program officially is in another bag full of shit. That's why May has done this now. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-mastering-the-internet http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-mastering-the...
ionised 11y ago
The British public are largely misinformed and misled by fear, uncertainty and doubt by demagogue politicians and biased media. Plus since the 1980's or so the people seem to have been conditioned into a very self-serving and xenophobic bunch.

by junto 11y ago

harkyns_ruins 11y ago

The tyranny of the majority. If you can control what they watch on tele, you can basically control what they think.

noir_lord 11y ago
Panem et Circenses (bread and circuses). As long as the average voter in this country has a job, x-factor, can visit the pub on a sunday afternoon and get away on holiday once a year nothing is going to change.

bobm_kite9 11y ago

really? I know electronic miniaturization is an amazing thing, but is this big enough for all data and calls to be tapped from?

junto 11y ago
See my comment above about Telehouse London

coldtea 11y ago

>What's painfully not funny, is that the vast majority of the British public won't see this as a problem, and won't see any need to do anything about it. You mean the same public that accepts and sponsors a "royal" class in 2015?

hahainternet 11y ago
> You mean the same public that accepts and sponsors a "royal" class in 2015? We make money from the royals, does that change your opinion?
- RabidSquirrel 11y ago
  Pimps make money from prostitutes, doesn't make it moral. If you support having a royalty, great, that's certainly your right. If you are against the concept in principle then deciding it's okay since we make money from them seems wrong.
  - dijit 11y ago
    Regardless of anything relating to the royals, it is not Queen Elizabeth who is instituting this, it is the democratically elected. Please don't bring in our royals as if they're somehow the reason of anything. There is a symbiotic relationship in regards to the royal family that you have to understand, the people who hate them are jealous- yet would probably not like the spotlight they have. They do bring in a net gain to the country, they are educated enough in certain scenarios to represent us quite well. I don't take exception to them, but if the public /did/ then government could restrict the funding to Her Majesty. (Which has happened a lot before and has constituted the closure of many of her castles.)
    - coldtea 11y ago
      >the people who hate them are jealous You say it like it's a bad thing -- that those jealous should be ashamed of themselves or something, when it's the other way around. Democracy is all about people being jealous of royalty (kings, feuds, pharaohs) having all the power, land, free food and honors, for just being "born" special, and putting and end to that charade.
      - hahainternet 11y ago
        > Democracy is all about people being jealous of royalty (kings, feuds, pharaohs) having all the power, land, free food and honors, for just being "born" special, and putting and end to that charade. I'm curious, are you saying that with a straight face? Because there's no way you can look at capitalism / US politics and believe that it's any different.

lucozade 11y ago

It's not guarded like a fortress. Unless you're including fortresses that allow the public in regularly. It's guarded like a very noticeable landmark in London for the same reason that most targets are guarded - because of bomb threats. As they had a bomb explode in the BT tower, it's not an unreasonable thing to do. Oh, and not all calls and data go through there. I think they still get a fair chunk of microwave comms but that's a very small proportion. If the taps are really there then GCHQ are mostly tapping BBC broadcasts.

junto 11y ago
You're right. It is a public face. The real hub is Telehouse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telehouse_Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telehouse_Europe and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastering_the_Internet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastering_the_Internet As I understand it, this is just Project Tempora being officially acknowledged, post-Snowden. The cat is already out of the bag anyway. The best way to announce such a shitty program officially is in another bag full of shit. That's why May has done this now. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-mastering-the-internet http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jun/21/gchq-mastering-the...

ionised 11y ago

The British public are largely misinformed and misled by fear, uncertainty and doubt by demagogue politicians and biased media. Plus since the 1980's or so the people seem to have been conditioned into a very self-serving and xenophobic bunch.