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Technologically illiterate UK porn filter MP gets hacked and threatens reporter

156 points by morphics 13y ago

NicoJuicy 13y ago
To bad people deciding the rules, don't have a clue of how it works :s
ordinary 13y ago
See here for yesterday's discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6095152 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6095152 There is no new information in this article.
beaker52 13y ago
I may impart what I have come to understand on others, but I will always convey the strength of my knowledge, especially if it is not strong, even if I appear foolish. It is called responsibility. This responsibility is at odds with pride. Understanding and acting in conjunction with this idea should be a pre-requisite for people in political positions.
ukandy 13y ago
Clueless. If the government want to deal with this sticky issue they need technically competent MPs at the helm.
- alan_cx 13y ago
  How? As I said in the other discussion, MP's and ministers have no working or practical knowledge of any department they run or over see. That's because we vote for them. When was the last time a Doctor (of medicine) running Health? Or a teacher or headmaster running Education. Then, would you really like a policeman running the home office? Imagine all the power the police would be flooded with. Or why is tech different? Why get that right and not the other areas? Advisers? Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. Not going so well either, is it? Take drugs, we have a whole panel of advisers which both this and the last government just plain ignored because the moron voters are too stupid and screamish to take their advice. Again, as I have said before, and been called a trite anarchist for saying so, the problem is democracy. We vote in idiots, usually lawyers, expect them to be experts in every area of life, then blame them when things go wrong. As some point the electorate need to grow up and take some responsibility. Which clearly they can't do because the moron-o-sphere rules. Like the poor Yanks, we too have the idiot government we deserve, and voted for. <Sarcasm> That's apparently trite anarchy </sarcasm>
  - Peroni 13y ago
    Out of curiosity, (I'm genuinely not attempting to incite a political debate) what would you consider a more effective alternative to the current structure? I don't have any solid opinion one way or the other apart from knowing that the current structure is ineffective.
    - dools 13y ago
      Is it? I live in Australia, granted but it's not so different here and for the most part everyone's lives are pretty awesome. I think the biggest mistake idealists make is assuming that there is necessarily a better way of doing things that we are capable of as a society right now. That's not to say I disagree there are better ways of doing things per se, and that given another 5,000 years many of these issues will have been resolved but I think it's a mistake to look at a system that's basically working and focus on all the bits that don't work because all the bits that do work have become so commonplace that you take them for granted.
      - Peroni 13y ago
        It's the facts that bother me. Long term unemployment being at almost a 20 year high, violent crime rates are the worst in Europe are two of the primary issues that indicate failure in my opinion. I'm very much an apathetic observer though. I really can't claim to know enough about the politics in this country to pose a very solid argument but the glaring issues above are too apparent to ignore.
    - Toucan 13y ago
      I quite like the system Hong Kong has: http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/govstructure.htm http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/govstructure.htm "The Legislative Council is the law-making body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It comprises 70 members, with 35 elected directly by geographical constituencies and 35 elected by functional, occupation-based constituencies. Apart from its law-making function, the Legislative Council debates issues of public interest, examines and approves budgets, receives and debates the Chief Executive's policy addresses, and endorses the appointment and removal of the judges of the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court." So their legislature is 50% industry experts. The Executive Council can be made up of experts as well, but it doesn't have to be. Take education as an example. The Secretary for Education is a businessman, however there is an educator in the legislature, the Voluntary Chief Executive (Development), Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union.
- drcube 13y ago
  Once you have "industry experts" involved in politics it's "corporate lobbyists buying votes" or "revolving door government", or even "regulatory capture". Without industry influence, you get a bunch of ignorant politicians trying to control things they have no clue about. You really can't win.
Stubbs 13y ago
"We live in a society absolutely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. That's a clear prescription for disaster." - Carl Sagan. It seems he had several different versions of this quote from different publications, but they're all equally applicable. I am reminded of the fact though that we voted for this! I wonder if any of the other parties, the fringe parties like the Greens or the Pirate Party could do any better?
- robertskmiles 13y ago
  > we voted for this Not really. Claire Perry was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency of Devizes in Wiltshire. Devizes has elected a Conservative candidate in every single election since 1924, so running for election there as a Conservative is kind of a formality. She was then appointed to the position of Parliamentary Private Secretary to Philip Hammond, the Secretary of Defence. My understanding is she has no official position, qualifications, expertise, or mandate with regards to technology, the internet, or children's welfare.
  - junto 13y ago
    Whilst I agree with you, one should point out that no politicians have the expertise or mandate with regards to technology, the internet, or children's welfare!
    - davidw 13y ago
      > no politicians have the expertise or mandate with regards to technology, the internet That's easily disproved. This guy is in parliament in Italy: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_Quintarelli http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_Quintarelli He's quite clearly competent with regards to technology and the internet, as even a translated version of that page ought to show.
      - Nursie 13y ago
        Is he one of the Grillini? The five-star movement in Italy seems to have largely rallied via the internet, so I would imagine there should be a few relatively savvy individuals in there.
Fuxy 13y ago
We should require all elected officials pass a "basics of technology" test before they are allowed to comment or vote on policies that include these topics. People who don't know anything about technology should not be allowed to make decisions enact policies on something they know nothing about.
- gburnett 13y ago
  Not even if people vote for them?
- groundCode 13y ago
  Perhaps those in power simply need better (commercially disinterested, emotionally neutral) advisers for topics about which said politicians know nothing.
- panacea 13y ago
  Slippery slope. From there we might start requiring basic knowledge of politics and policies before people can vote! ;]
  - omni 13y ago
    https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-slope https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-slope The whole point of a republic is to elect informed representatives that can make decisions on important topics so that all X million people in the electorate don't have to. It's entirely reasonable to expect the people in charge to know what they're talking about.
    - Hello71 13y ago
      whoosh.
hrish2006 13y ago
Burn Line: She can't tell the difference between a hyperlink and a screenshot.

156 points by morphics 13y ago

To bad people deciding the rules, don't have a clue of how it works :s

See here for yesterday's discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6095152 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6095152 There is no new information in this article.

beaker52 13y ago

I may impart what I have come to understand on others, but I will always convey the strength of my knowledge, especially if it is not strong, even if I appear foolish. It is called responsibility. This responsibility is at odds with pride. Understanding and acting in conjunction with this idea should be a pre-requisite for people in political positions.

ukandy 13y ago

Clueless. If the government want to deal with this sticky issue they need technically competent MPs at the helm.

alan_cx 13y ago
How? As I said in the other discussion, MP's and ministers have no working or practical knowledge of any department they run or over see. That's because we vote for them. When was the last time a Doctor (of medicine) running Health? Or a teacher or headmaster running Education. Then, would you really like a policeman running the home office? Imagine all the power the police would be flooded with. Or why is tech different? Why get that right and not the other areas? Advisers? Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. Not going so well either, is it? Take drugs, we have a whole panel of advisers which both this and the last government just plain ignored because the moron voters are too stupid and screamish to take their advice. Again, as I have said before, and been called a trite anarchist for saying so, the problem is democracy. We vote in idiots, usually lawyers, expect them to be experts in every area of life, then blame them when things go wrong. As some point the electorate need to grow up and take some responsibility. Which clearly they can't do because the moron-o-sphere rules. Like the poor Yanks, we too have the idiot government we deserve, and voted for. <Sarcasm> That's apparently trite anarchy </sarcasm>
- Peroni 13y ago
  Out of curiosity, (I'm genuinely not attempting to incite a political debate) what would you consider a more effective alternative to the current structure? I don't have any solid opinion one way or the other apart from knowing that the current structure is ineffective.
  - dools 13y ago
    Is it? I live in Australia, granted but it's not so different here and for the most part everyone's lives are pretty awesome. I think the biggest mistake idealists make is assuming that there is necessarily a better way of doing things that we are capable of as a society right now. That's not to say I disagree there are better ways of doing things per se, and that given another 5,000 years many of these issues will have been resolved but I think it's a mistake to look at a system that's basically working and focus on all the bits that don't work because all the bits that do work have become so commonplace that you take them for granted.
    - Peroni 13y ago
      It's the facts that bother me. Long term unemployment being at almost a 20 year high, violent crime rates are the worst in Europe are two of the primary issues that indicate failure in my opinion. I'm very much an apathetic observer though. I really can't claim to know enough about the politics in this country to pose a very solid argument but the glaring issues above are too apparent to ignore.
  - Toucan 13y ago
    I quite like the system Hong Kong has: http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/govstructure.htm http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/govstructure.htm "The Legislative Council is the law-making body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It comprises 70 members, with 35 elected directly by geographical constituencies and 35 elected by functional, occupation-based constituencies. Apart from its law-making function, the Legislative Council debates issues of public interest, examines and approves budgets, receives and debates the Chief Executive's policy addresses, and endorses the appointment and removal of the judges of the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court." So their legislature is 50% industry experts. The Executive Council can be made up of experts as well, but it doesn't have to be. Take education as an example. The Secretary for Education is a businessman, however there is an educator in the legislature, the Voluntary Chief Executive (Development), Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union.
drcube 13y ago
Once you have "industry experts" involved in politics it's "corporate lobbyists buying votes" or "revolving door government", or even "regulatory capture". Without industry influence, you get a bunch of ignorant politicians trying to control things they have no clue about. You really can't win.

Stubbs 13y ago

"We live in a society absolutely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. That's a clear prescription for disaster." - Carl Sagan. It seems he had several different versions of this quote from different publications, but they're all equally applicable. I am reminded of the fact though that we voted for this! I wonder if any of the other parties, the fringe parties like the Greens or the Pirate Party could do any better?

robertskmiles 13y ago
> we voted for this Not really. Claire Perry was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency of Devizes in Wiltshire. Devizes has elected a Conservative candidate in every single election since 1924, so running for election there as a Conservative is kind of a formality. She was then appointed to the position of Parliamentary Private Secretary to Philip Hammond, the Secretary of Defence. My understanding is she has no official position, qualifications, expertise, or mandate with regards to technology, the internet, or children's welfare.
- junto 13y ago
  Whilst I agree with you, one should point out that no politicians have the expertise or mandate with regards to technology, the internet, or children's welfare!
  - davidw 13y ago
    > no politicians have the expertise or mandate with regards to technology, the internet That's easily disproved. This guy is in parliament in Italy: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_Quintarelli http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_Quintarelli He's quite clearly competent with regards to technology and the internet, as even a translated version of that page ought to show.
    - Nursie 13y ago
      Is he one of the Grillini? The five-star movement in Italy seems to have largely rallied via the internet, so I would imagine there should be a few relatively savvy individuals in there.

Fuxy 13y ago

We should require all elected officials pass a "basics of technology" test before they are allowed to comment or vote on policies that include these topics. People who don't know anything about technology should not be allowed to make decisions enact policies on something they know nothing about.

gburnett 13y ago
Not even if people vote for them?
groundCode 13y ago
Perhaps those in power simply need better (commercially disinterested, emotionally neutral) advisers for topics about which said politicians know nothing.
panacea 13y ago
Slippery slope. From there we might start requiring basic knowledge of politics and policies before people can vote! ;]
- omni 13y ago
  https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-slope https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-slope The whole point of a republic is to elect informed representatives that can make decisions on important topics so that all X million people in the electorate don't have to. It's entirely reasonable to expect the people in charge to know what they're talking about.
  - Hello71 13y ago
    whoosh.

hrish2006 13y ago

Burn Line: She can't tell the difference between a hyperlink and a screenshot.