Nothing to Hide

Just discovered the Rumpus Room’s video for the Pet Shop Boys’ Integral, complete with QR-coded web links to be read with camera phones. It’s a wee bit cheesy and bombastic, as you might expect, but it’s not without a point.

More. And.

Comments

[Dr.Dawg]

OT, but Happy New Year, David, to you and yours. Oh yes, and to the regulars here as well.

[David]

Likewise. And salutations to all the sleazeballs, ruffians and ne’er-do-wells who pop in from time to time.

[AntiCitizenOne]

Happy New Year to Everyone.

[Dr.Dawg]

"all the sleazeballs, ruffians and ne’er-do-wells who pop in from time to time."

Ouch. : )

[David]

It goes without saying I mean it affectionately. I was just hoping to head off an end-of-year love-in with hugs and touching and the like.

[Brendan]

Always down on the touching and feeling, eh? Well, from a respectful distance, Happy New year to you and yours.

[Squid Vicious]

I have mixed feelings about the whole "surveillance society" issue touched on by this and, David, I'd be interested to read what you think about it.

While I am inclined to give the government broad powers to protect us against terror and crime, it does make me uneasy to think that general surveillance is the way to get this done. At the same time, I'm suspicious of the whole topic just because it has become such a magnet issue for so many crackpots: from far-leftists shrieking about the United States of AmeriKKKa to far-rightists stockpiling guns and canned goods for the upcoming war against the UN Black Helicopters, this seems to have made the top of every wacky agenda.

[David]

Squid,

I’m rather ambivalent about the issue and I’ll try to organise my thoughts on it at some point. Generally speaking, I’m not unduly troubled by CCTV cameras, though I don’t have figures regarding their effectiveness as a deterrent. I’m much more concerned with the prospect of ID cards and vast state databases – which are, it seems, inherently insecure and liable to misuse. It’s also interesting to note the eagerness with which some are hoping to make such things mandatory, despite the recent, inexcusable blunders with citizens’ personal data, and despite the failure to produce a convincing argument for why ID cards are, supposedly, necessary. It’s the indifference to making a convincing case that concerns most of all.

[Candace]

Happy New Year David,and crew. How've you been?
I'm very happy to have found this blog of yours.

[David]

Candace,

And to you. Please feel free to rummage through the archives for amusement. Would you be the same Candace who used to grace the boards of OpenDemocracy?

[Candace]

Yes! I've missed you over there. I finally get comfortable at that site and everyone leaves. It's the story of my life, I tell ya.

I will gladly rummage around.

[David]

Candace,

“I finally get comfortable at that site and everyone leaves.”

OD just became too ramshackle, one-sided and cluttered with spam. And there are only so many million times a person can argue with Jay. Being called a racist, on the basis of nothing whatsoever and as if that were some kind of argument, tends to grate after a while.

Still, I hope you’ll make yourself comfortable here. I’ve just put down new carpet and the tables have been wiped. And your picture has been hung behind the bar.

http://davidthompson.typepad.com/photos/pictures1/fifty_foot_hoes_3.jpg

[Candace]

*waits for when David isn't looking...throws picture out of nearby window*

~~~~
"And there are only so many million times a person can argue with Jay.
Being called a racist, on the basis of nothing whatsoever and as if that were some kind of argument, tends to grate after a while."

I know what you're saying, but I'm sure he meant "racist" in the best possible way, dear.
I found the infamous thread a few weeks ago. OD reduced it to about 200 posts if I remember correctly.

[David]

From 2,500 or so posts down to just 200? Pah. A mere snack of a discussion.

[ Hangs new picture behind bar. ]

http://davidthompson.typepad.com/photos/pictures1/fifty_foot_hoes.jpg