Just for fun scenario

[Steve]

Mortblanc raises some excellent points as usual, particularly about the information held about us all and the huge surveillance system in place here.

I'd like to think that plans exist to destroy the data and CCTV system in a "Red Dawn" scenario, but somehow I don't think it would happen, the Govt is way too attached to all that information and would probably use it as a bargaining tool to get a better deal for themselves.

When you think about the data that exists, it's scary. Analysis of your "card" spending will tell an awful lot about you, then there are your driving records, phone bills, employment history, medical history, club memberships, vehicle ownership, ANPR movement records, tax history, education levels, web browsing history, all your parents records, spouses records, your childrens records, friends records. Add the next generation surveillance - cameras that recognize the way you walk, facial recognition, mobile phone tracking ( actually already happening ), contactless credit cards.

Imagine that lot in the hands of a dictatorship and you'll understand why some people protest about our surveillance society, but are usually shouted down by people saying "If you've done nothing wrong you've got nothing to worry about", and we're told it's all for our own protection.