Iceland branded Terrorists: is this really the government we want?
I’ve just been reading an article on the BBC about how Iceland have been branded terrorists – basically, Iceland’s bank gets in trouble, and Britain realises that it has a significant amount of money invested in said bank. So, what is our government’s glorious solution? They use the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 to seize all Icelandic assets in Britain.
Call me crazy, but I really don’t think this is a correct use of that law. Imprisoning people who have threatened the lives of the British public? Yes. Imprisoning hackers for taking down police web sites, and disabling vital airport communications systems? Of course. Alienating a nation and seizing their assets because they’ve entered the recession? I don’t think I need to point out that the government is abusing its power here!
I’ve often ranted about how our freedoms are being slowly eroded by our current government and its campaign to eradicate all freedom of thought, speech and movement – but this just takes it too far. Could Iceland really help the fact that they’re the latest victims in the economic slowdown? Is it really diplomatic to dump them in the same category as the 7/7 bombers?
When I was younger, I was raised on stories of the Cold War, and how one nuclear explosion would end the world – I was constantly told how lucky I was that “we” had won, and that the world would now be a much safer place. Fifteen years down the line, and everything has changed: Orwell and Huxley were chillingly accurate in their predictions. What’s worse is that no one seems to realise it: there are some attempts to fight for our rights – but for the most part, the people in this country are content to do nothing more than moan while the police state solidifies around them.
When are people going to wake up and realise that we’re no longer free? That soon all of our electronic devices will be monitored, live? That saying the wrong thing – and there are a lot of things that are currently considered wrong – could lead to being detained without charge or legal representation for up to a month? Come on, people, this is madness!
