Am I the only one who is feeling annoyed about the fact that goverment agencies not only want to gather more information on all of us but are so happy to rub it in with adverts that tell us so. There seems to be a whole division of adverts telling us that they know what we do, they know who we are, they know where we go - okay so we know that our credit card companies keep tabs on where and when we use our cards so that they can target us for different products but even they are more subtle than those who govern us. Okay so we don't want people committing benefit fraud but do we really want the government making it sound as though the whole nation is thinking about putting in a false claim.

The TV licensing agency is another one that has to follow the same tone 'Our database hodls the records etc. etc.' It's like 'we know where you live and if you dinae pay up we're gonna sind roond the heavies'.

Then we get more and more of this line like the vehicle registration mob 'if you don't comply by the deadline we're gonna fine you even more money'. Forget the carrot and stick, it seems more and more that these agencies only have the stick and the even bigger stick.

The same thing happens with congestion do they try to make public transport better? No, they only try to make it harder and more unbearable to travel by car. I'm glad that I don't live in London but I still find the public transport system a national disgrace. If you get on the underground in Paris, or Barcelona or Madrid etc they still have a public service you can travel cheaply from A to B via C and D and they charge you cheaply per journey but in London they charge you the same price to go a single station.

Okay so it seems I am.

It's good to know that the rest of you are not so bothered about it.

I.D. cards are one of those hair brained New Labour ideas that is destined to fail (with a bit of luck)

BB rocks

I know what you mean SplitInfinitive, but i'll take it a bit further..

"Social", government sponsored advertising is becoming more and more hardcore!
Watching those adverts leaves you in no doubt that "they" know were you live, when and who you work for, who you're "killing" (toddlers) with your second-hand smoke and your 40 mph on a 30mph zone (a little girl, aparently).
Or, when not wearing a seatbelt, your pizza-loving mates.


Don't get me wrong; i understand that they need to put a message across, and a tap on the shoulder won't do anymore- it'll have to be a slap in the face.

Is it working though?

In my opinion, the only people that might feel in any any way disturbed/shocked/scared/motivated by those ridiculous attemps at mock-"we're watching you through the telescreens" are people who actually read 1984, people who never did break the law (apart from smoking a doobie in Glasto' 1996!), and people who already vehemently oppose the idea that "one might be working, without one receiving the benefits one is entitled".

I suppose what i am (obviously) struggling to articulate in my semi-drunken state, is that those adverts only end up outraging the likes of "us" on a political/social level without being able to deter the culprits, in any way, shape or formzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............