Captain Codpiece reserves the right to lie

How much longer do we have to put up with these cunts?

We're all going to die!!!!

Wait a second; no we're not! Ever so sorry (and this wasn't really a lie).

Keeping the base happy

It looks as if Captain Codpiece, suddenly gone veto mad, will veto the temporary extension to the FISA act because it does not contain the provision he demands to protect the rights of the American people big telecoms companies. Not to hard to see what side he is really on if you still have doubts.

How safe are your data?

Not very if the Inland Revenue are to be believed. Ordinary citizens like me are allowed, even encouraged, to file their tax returns on line but the royal family, Members of Parliament and celebrities are prevented from doing so because of privacy concerns. Hmmm. I reckon its the postal system for me as well then!

Dear American Citizen,

I am sorry to inform you that we cannot provide you any information relating to the President of the United States violating American law and the Constitution in order to spy on you and those dear to you. If we did tell you we would have to kill you. Better luck next time.

Signed,

A Court You Shouldn't Even Know Exists

It's 11:58 do you know where your data are?

The Guardian is reporting that HM Revenue and Customs consciously choose to send more data than the National Audit Office desired to arguing cost. These are data on the 25 millions Brits receiving child benefit that went missing in the privatised post. HM R&C didn't want to bother to strip out only the elements that the NAO required, these did not include bank account details, and instead would appear just to have dumped the entire database. Now I know nothing about the structure of R&C's applications but I cannot believe that they do not have enquiry tools available that would have allowed a moderately capable programmer to provide the stripped down data with less than a half day's work.

Someone was just too bloody lazy and told porkies to justify it!

Missed opportunity?

I can't help thinking that, if Alistair Campbell were still the head spin-meister at Number 10, that the story of the 25 million sets of personal details would be being dealt with rather differently! Instead of the sacking, sorry - resignation, of the head of Customs and Excise due to his abject failure to prevent the use of privatised postal services for the transportation of critical and private data on all of the nation's children we would be being asked to applaud the diligence of an unnamed bureaucrat who tried to save the nation's taxpayers about £2.50 by using a non-recorded, non-tracking service. If we only had more bureaucrats like this great gentleman or lady we would soon have saved enough to procure clean sheets for half the beds in the NHS!