
Technologically illiterate UK porn filter MP gets hacked and threatens reporter - morphics
http://boingboing.net/2013/07/24/technologically-illiterate-mp.html
======
ordinary
See here for yesterday's discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6095152](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6095152)

There is no new information in this article.

------
Stubbs
"We live in a society absolutely dependent on science and technology and yet
have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and
technology. That's a clear prescription for disaster." \- Carl Sagan.

It seems he had several different versions of this quote from different
publications, but they're all equally applicable.

I am reminded of the fact though that we voted for this! I wonder if any of
the other parties, the fringe parties like the Greens or the Pirate Party
could do any better?

~~~
robertskmiles
> we voted for this

Not really. Claire Perry was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for
the constituency of Devizes in Wiltshire. Devizes has elected a Conservative
candidate in every single election since 1924, so running for election there
as a Conservative is kind of a formality.

She was then appointed to the position of Parliamentary Private Secretary to
Philip Hammond, the Secretary of Defence. My understanding is she has no
official position, qualifications, expertise, or mandate with regards to
technology, the internet, or children's welfare.

~~~
junto
Whilst I agree with you, one should point out that no politicians have the
expertise or mandate with regards to technology, the internet, or children's
welfare!

~~~
davidw
> no politicians have the expertise or mandate with regards to technology, the
> internet

That's easily disproved. This guy is in parliament in Italy:

[http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_Quintarelli](http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_Quintarelli)

He's quite clearly competent with regards to technology and the internet, as
even a translated version of that page ought to show.

~~~
Nursie
Is he one of the Grillini?

The five-star movement in Italy seems to have largely rallied via the
internet, so I would imagine there should be a few relatively savvy
individuals in there.

~~~
davidw
No, he isn't, he's part of Monti's group.

------
beaker52
I may impart what I have come to understand on others, but I will always
convey the strength of my knowledge, _especially_ if it is not strong, even if
I appear foolish. It is called responsibility. This responsibility is at odds
with pride. Understanding and acting in conjunction with this idea should be a
pre-requisite for people in political positions.

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Fuxy
We should require all elected officials pass a "basics of technology" test
before they are allowed to comment or vote on policies that include these
topics.

People who don't know anything about technology should not be allowed to make
decisions enact policies on something they know nothing about.

~~~
panacea
Slippery slope. From there we might start requiring basic knowledge of
politics and policies before people can vote! ;]

~~~
omni
[https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-
slope](https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-slope)

The whole point of a republic is to elect informed representatives that can
make decisions on important topics so that all X million people in the
electorate don't have to. It's entirely reasonable to expect the people in
charge to know what they're talking about.

~~~
Hello71
whoosh.

------
ukandy
Clueless. If the government want to deal with this sticky issue they need
technically competent MPs at the helm.

~~~
alan_cx
How?

As I said in the other discussion, MP's and ministers have no working or
practical knowledge of any department they run or over see. That's because we
vote for them.

When was the last time a Doctor (of medicine) running Health? Or a teacher or
headmaster running Education. Then, would you really like a policeman running
the home office? Imagine all the power the police would be flooded with.

Or why is tech different? Why get that right and not the other areas?

Advisers? Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. Not going so well either, is it? Take drugs, we have
a whole panel of advisers which both this and the last government just plain
ignored because the moron voters are too stupid and screamish to take their
advice.

Again, as I have said before, and been called a trite anarchist for saying so,
the problem is democracy. We vote in idiots, usually lawyers, expect them to
be experts in every area of life, then blame them when things go wrong.

As some point the electorate need to grow up and take some responsibility.
Which clearly they can't do because the moron-o-sphere rules.

Like the poor Yanks, we too have the idiot government we deserve, and voted
for.

<Sarcasm> That's apparently trite anarchy </sarcasm>

~~~
Peroni
Out of curiosity, (I'm genuinely not attempting to incite a political debate)
what would you consider a more effective alternative to the current structure?

I don't have any solid opinion one way or the other apart from knowing that
the current structure is ineffective.

~~~
Toucan
I quite like the system Hong Kong has:

[http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/govstructure.htm](http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/govstructure.htm)

"The Legislative Council is the law-making body of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region. It comprises 70 members, with 35 elected directly by
geographical constituencies and 35 elected by functional, occupation-based
constituencies. Apart from its law-making function, the Legislative Council
debates issues of public interest, examines and approves budgets, receives and
debates the Chief Executive's policy addresses, and endorses the appointment
and removal of the judges of the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of
the High Court."

So their legislature is 50% industry experts. The Executive Council can be
made up of experts as well, but it doesn't have to be.

Take education as an example. The Secretary for Education is a businessman,
however there is an educator in the legislature, the Voluntary Chief Executive
(Development), Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union.

~~~
keithpeter
_" Take education as an example."_

Graham Stuart and the cross party Education Committee have managed to head off
some of Gove's more ridiculous proposals.

Could we not find some MPs who have some idea of how the Web works to sit on
an appropriate cross-party committee?

Your proposals, while interesting, have absolutely no chance of happening on
any timescale that is relevant.

~~~
timthorn
Graham Stuart was also involved in education prior to entering Parliament,
albeit as a Governor.

~~~
keithpeter
And it shows. That was the point I was trying to make. There _must_ be a few
MPs who actually know enough about the Web to form a cross party committee
within the system as it is. Surely?

~~~
timthorn
There's the Science & Technology Select Committee, with at least some of the
membership who have an industrial background. And Julian Huppert is on the
Home Affairs Select Committee, which is perhaps more pertinent for this - he's
a research scientist, but has been very active in campaigning on web issues.

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hrish2006
Burn Line: She can't tell the difference between a hyperlink and a screenshot.

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NicoJuicy
To bad people deciding the rules, don't have a clue of how it works :s

