On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:49:50 +0100, Greg Hennessy wrote:
On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 00:35:53 +0100, ess (phil hunt)
wrote:
Are you saying that privacy is a bad thing ?
It's neither good nor bad.
I vehemently disagree, privacy is a fundamental human right.
If I do something illegal, do I have a fundamental human right for
others not to find out?
What about if I do something that's not illegal, but which many
people would be concerned about if they knew it? Do they have a
right to know?
Campaign contributions in the US are clearly visible at election time
So corruption is OK as long as you know it's going on?
Thats *not* what I said and you well know it.
No, I don't know it; AFAICT that's what you meant. To clarify, let
me ask you:
a. is it OK for someone to donate a few pounds to a politician?
b. is it OK for someone to donate a few million pounds to a
politician?
c. is it OK for someone to donate a few million pounds to a
politician, and then subsequently for the politician to pass laws
that make the donor richer?
d. does the answer to (b) make any difference if the money comes
from a business (where not all the shareholders necessarily agree
with the donation) rather than an individual?
e. do the answers to (a) and (b) differ if the donation is to a
group of politicians, such as a party, rather than an individual?
f. what about when businesses donate to politicians through a
go-between fund in an (apparent) attempt to disguise what they are
doing?
g. what about when a politician, say a cabinet minister, makes
decisions that favour a company, and then after the politician
retires the company gives him a well-paid consultancy or
non-executive directorship?
h. should companies that donate to politicians be obliged to state
so on the packaging of their prodcuts, so consumers can choose
to buy or not buy them if they wish to?
--
"It's easier to find people online who openly support the KKK than
people who openly support the RIAA" -- comment on Wikipedia
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