Please help me: David Cameron's speech

[Naughtyhippo]

Please help me, David Cameron didn't really give a speech praising Ol Maggie and promising the mission of the Conservative's was to attack health and safety laws and human rights? Really? Please, he never did, did he?

 

[andyandy]

I listened to about one minute of his speech and then couldn't bring myself to listen anymore. Now that they know they will likely have another party conference before an election, they seem quite content to offer little substance beyond opposition of Labour.......

Surely he did not say anything even remotely interesting?

 

[Naughtyhippo]

I caught a recap on the news to the tune of good ol' Maggie, if we get in power we'll attack these ridiculous health and safety provisions and the human rights act, and then apparently right after promising something about a multicultural party, dragged on his shadow cabinet - all white men!






They're going to win, aren't they? Doom and gloom, doom and gloom.

 

[richardm]

Disingenuous, too. This caught my eye:

Listen to this.
It's the President of the Spelling Society.
He said, and I quote, "people should be able to use whichever spelling they prefer."
He's the President of the Spelling Society.

Odd, I thought. Surely the President of a society to protect spelling should insist on the importance of correct spelling at all times. Let's have a Google:

The Spelling Society started in 1908 and has the aim of raising awareness of the problems caused by the irregularity of English spelling and to promote remedies to improve literacy, including modernising spelling.

Okay, so they're not protecting conventional spelling, but are actually a crackpot organisation that promotes spelling reform (check out the pamflets on their website)

Well, Cameron popped them into his speech right between a comment on the attitude of the "Educational Establishment", and a statement about the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority - in other words hinting that they were actually a mainstream organisation working on our poor hapless children trapped in the dreadful Secondary school system. Nice!

They're going to win, aren't they? Doom and gloom, doom and gloom.

Yeah, probably.

 

[Naughtyhippo]

What's really getting to me is that the Tories aren't even hiding the fact they've reverted to the slimy smirking sleezy oiks of the '80's and the people they intend to push bottom of the heap are all in support! 'S political correctness gorn mad innit! That Cameron will stop them filthy slacker scum stealing MY benefits!

I should stop looking at spake you're branes. Or the news.

 

[Naughtyhippo]

But who do I vote for? It's not like the Labour party has been a bastion of liberal principles. And are people worth protecting and providing for anyway?

 

[richardm]

And are people worth protecting and providing for anyway?

Yes, of course they are. Who to vote for to best effect it though - god knows.

 

[Naughtyhippo]

Yes, of course they are. Who to vote for to best effect it though - god knows.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I suppose they are.

But I'd then be in a position of voting to protect people from themselves.

Do I want to protect people from their ill-thought out views?

 

[andyandy]

But who do I vote for? It's not like the Labour party has been a bastion of liberal principles. And are people worth protecting and providing for anyway?

I don't know if I could bring myself to vote for any of the three main political parties in England at the next election, I suppose it would be for the Liberal Democrats if I had to. I might throw my vote away with the Green party, who even though I disagree with some of their more tree hugging ideas, at least seem like nice people, and not the bunch of neoliberal careerist drones who have infected our entire political system......

 

[Darat]

There are a few obstacles for me voting for Labour at the moment, one of the major ones is one of principle and that's ID cards. Yes they are to be "voluntary" and so on but this is a principle thing for me, it is up to me to identify myself not the state. Albeit if there was a very compelling pragmatic reason for their introduction then I could set those principles aside however there ain't so I can't.

 

[Naughtyhippo]

The main issue with ID cards for myself is that I cannot see them working perfectly and for the uses that they're hyped for you really cannot afford mistakes. If you discover that the details held about you are incorrect, what procedures will be put in place to correct them? How inconvienced will you be by something that is entirely someone elses fault? It took over a year for the NHS to correct the date of birth on their records - this is basic vital data for identification, could I expect the same level of service from these ID cards?Would I be denied services because I told the truth and my ID card was wrong?

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

If we had ID cards then every day could have that same little bit of excitement you feel when you go through passport control in an airport.

 

[cyborg]

With the recent governmental record on losing vast swathes of personal information does anyone seriously think ID cards won't be anything but a monumental cluster-**** of a disaster waiting to happen?

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

I think it depends what ID cards are to used for. For example, it seems to me quite a good idea to have your medical records stored on a card you carry around with you, rather than hoping doctors in the hospital you end up being taken to after you drop down in the street will be able to access them remotely from a computer database.

We already have to provide ID in all different kinds of ways already. How many PIN numbers and passwords do you have to remember to prove who you are?

 

[Naughtyhippo]

I think it depends what ID cards are to used for. For example, it seems to me quite a good idea to have your medical records stored on a card you carry around with you, rather than hoping doctors in the hospital you end up being taken to after you drop down in the street will be able to access them remotely from a computer database.

We already have to provide ID in all different kinds of ways already. How many PIN numbers and passwords do you have to remember to prove who you are?

I can see the practicalities of having one card to do everything, and as a natural scatterbrain rather like it. But I don't have much faith in the technologies proposed - and I haven't seen any proposal of a complaints/mistake rectifying procedure.

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

I can see the practicalities of having one card to do everything, and as a natural scatterbrain rather like it. But I don't have much faith in the technologies proposed - and I haven't seen any proposal of a complaints/mistake rectifying procedure.

I think it depends on if the ID cards are considered the final word on who you are. There are already plenty of databases which potentially contain conflicting information. E.g., Passport, DVLA, NHS, social security, bank, employee, utility company and a million and one marketing databases.

 

[Beerina]

Could someone list the changes he'd make?

Ideally, he'd blow away censorship laws allowing people to be silenced because they don't "respect the dignity of religions".

 

[brodski]

considering that the 'evidence' he usd to support his silly asertions was largly based on long debunked myths, I doubt you'll get anything firm out of him.