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The Magistrate's Blog (2005-2012)

This blog has migrated to www.magistratesblog.blogspot.co.uk This blog is anonymous, and Bystander's views are his and his alone. Where his views differ from the letter of the law, he will enforce the letter of the law because that is what he has sworn to do. If you think that you can identify a particular case from one of the posts you are wrong. Enough facts are changed to preserve the truth of the tale but to disguise its exact source.

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Location: Near London, United Kingdom

The blog is written by a retired JP, with over 30 years' experience on the Bench.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Crossed Lines


I thought that I was beyond surprise at this Government's harebrained schemes, most of which share the characteristics of being illiberal and unworkable. The latest is a real cracker though :- mobile phones are all to be registered and tracked.
This plan, that shows an almost North Korean lust for control, is to register the user of each of the 72 million (or more, or fewer - nobody knows) mobile phones. There are more phones than people in the UK. Most of us have two or three old ones tucked away at the back of a drawer; and these control-obsessed idiots reckon they can all be made traceable. If 90% of the public is bullied and intimidated into cooperating that will still leave 7.2 million phones unaccounted for. That ought to be enough to avoid inconveniencing drug dealers and terrorists too much.

Afterthought:-

If you have unwanted mobile phones in whatever condition, any Oxfam shop will be pleased to take them. Usable ones are passed on for re-use, and the others are recycled. Apparently Oxfam made over £200,000 from phones last year. They have had all of my old ones, except the spare I keep as a backup.

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