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Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Peter Hain and the horrible hackers




The Germans have a word for it - schadenfreude.  Loosely translated, it means taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. So how did you feel when you heard about Peter Hain this morning? Apparently bronzed Peter's computer, which may have contained "sensitive security information" was hacked by people working for newspapers while he was British secretary of state for this warped corner .  This follows yesterday's testimony to the Levison Inquiry, when the British intelligence officer Ian Hurst aka Martin Ingram, who is understood to have run informers within the IRA , said that his computer had been hacked by people working for The News of the World. Both Peter and Martin are seriously upset by this fact.

I'm not. Yes, I know that's socially irresponsible, and I know Peter and Martin have all our interests at heart, but I don't feel upset at the news. There was a time - there may well be still a time - when an awful lot of people here assumed their phone-calls were being monitored, their emails intercepted, their movements tracked at every turn. You didn't have to be a criminal or a terrorist - it was enough if the authorities thought you might, um, bear watching. Have criminal tendencies. And now that you and I have access to Google Earth for free, which can let us see into our neighbour's back garden,  imagine what the security boys can do with their professional, paid-for-by-you-and-me equipment. That little nick on the back of your thumb? Right now somebody is probably studying that through a satellite spy-camera. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, there were those who were highly insulted if they thought their phone-calls weren't being tapped. Whaddyamean, I'm not important enough?

So there is a delicious kind of irony at Hain and Hurst/Ingram going all puff-cheeked about News International taking a look at what they were up to. Is that because  H and H had important information to conceal and we hadn't/haven't? If that's the case, what were they doing spying on us in the first place?

Chomp. That's the sound of the biter being bitten. Put on your party hat - it's schadenfreude time.
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7 comments:

  1. giordanobruno29 November 2011 at 18:39

    Jude
    So you have no problem with influential newspapers allegedly hacking into Government computers, no doubt containing sensitive information on private individuals?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jude Collins29 November 2011 at 19:41

    Ah gio - nice to see you back. Re "no problem" - not sure what that means exactly. If it means do I care - nah. The British government has sensitive info on us all - that old song 'I'll be watching you' (Sting, was it?) comes to mind. Besides, I thought the NoW etc (allegedly) went straight for the private individuals' phones etc - much easier (presumably) to do and it cuts out the middle man. But then as I said above, I really am horribly socially irresponsible. I once saw a car with no taxation and I didn't ring the police. That's how bad I am.

    ReplyDelete
  3. giordanobruno29 November 2011 at 22:30

    Jude
    You really are quite the rebel aren't you? I bet you've got a poster of Che on your bathroom wall.
    Anyway I sense you are making an attempt at flippancy here, so I won't labour the point.
    Suffice to say, if they have any sensitive information about me I would prefer if the NoW did not get their hands on it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. giordanobruno30 November 2011 at 12:58

    Jude
    A couple of comments I tried to post recently have vanished into the ether. I don't think they were especially rude or libellous.
    Can you ease up on the censorship old bean?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jude Collins30 November 2011 at 17:41

    gio - sorry about that. I promise you it wasn't censorship - I've followed advice and am checking responses before publishing but to date I've published just about everything and certainly any I got of yours. Send again and I'[ll try to do better...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1 December 2011 at 09:06

    Jude,

    there may be a problem in whatever you have done with the settings. I advised you to monitor the comments but since then I have not been able to get mine through. It is certainly not censorship on your part as there was nothing to censor and you don't censor anyway. Just wondering.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2 December 2011 at 09:43

    Jude,

    red face. I seem to have looked at the wrong thread for my comment. It is actually up. Sorry for the confusion

    ReplyDelete