Dostoevsky was English?

[KBCraig]

I seem to recall a certain exchange involving the Grand Inquisitor:

"No science will give them bread so long as they remain free. In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet, and say to us, "Make us your slaves, but feed us." They will understand themselves, at last, that freedom and bread enough for all are inconceivable together, for never, never will they be able to share between them! They will be convinced, too, that they can never be free, for they are weak, vicious, worthless, and rebellious."

Ol' Fyodor and George Orwell must have been buds.

"Teach them in the waythey should go...."  I dread the age when they "do not depart from it".

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=409867&in_page_id=1770

Young shoppers want to pay with chip in skin

Last updated at 14:13pm on 11th October 2006

Some customers are willing to have microchip implants as a means of paying in stores, a report out today says.

Teenagers are more open to the idea of having a high-tech shopping experience, the Tomorrow's Shopping World report suggests.

Around 8 per cent of 13 to 19-year-olds were open to the idea of microchip implants while 16 per cent wanted trolleys to be fitted with SatNav systems.

This compared to just 5 per cent and 12 per cent respectively for adults asked the same questions. Two thirds of teenagers and 62 per cent of adults questioned for grocery think tank IGD's report wanted self-scanning systems at shop check-outs.

Some 7 per cent of people in both age groups were willing to use biometric iris or retina recognition payment systems.

On a more low-tech note, 61 per cent of adults and 57 per cent of teenagers wanted staff to pack their bags in shops.

And a "cashless society" is not expected to have materialised within the next decade.

The report says 39 per cent of teenage respondents and 30 per cent of adults said they would still be using cash in 10 year's time.

It adds: "The current and future progress of technology services in store is counter-balanced by the need for shopping with some form of 'human contact'."

One third of adults and 40 per cent of teenagers wanted lots of staff involvement with the shopping experience.

The report, sponsored by technology services company EDS, followed an IGD poll of 500 teenagers and a similar number of adults about their predicted grocery shopping habits for the next decade.

[KBCraig]

Two more headlines from UK today, which invoke the "Make us your slaves..." quote.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006480089,00.html

Now even Yanks claim UK asylum

By ALEX PEAKE
October 16, 2006
 
BRITAIN is such a soft touch that even AMERICANS are coming here to claim asylum and sponge off the state.

The incredible revelation comes from immigration whistleblower Rory Clarke.

And yesterday the Government was forced to admit figures that backed him up.

Disgusted Rory, 34, contacted The Sun to expose the true depth of the asylum shambles. He said:

"Britain is seen as such a soft touch that poor people from countries such as America are even coming here now.

"A couple of years ago I met two black guys from the States who were over here because they thought they could get a better standard of living.

"One was from Ohio and the other from Kansas. They claimed asylum because they said they were racially discriminated against at home.

"But they freely admitted they were here for the free healthcare and accommodation. It is an absolute joke."


http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/15/061015093636.r5gmx8lm.html

Police want spy planes to fight anti-social behaviour
Oct 15 5:36 AM US/Eastern

A police force is considering using unmanned aerial surveillance drones to fly over troubled local council housing estates to help tackle anti-social behaviour in respective areas.

The police force for Merseyside, in western England, has formed a new Anti-Social Behaviour Task Force which will have a budget of one million pounds (1.85 million dollars, 1.5 million euros), and a staff of 137, drawn from both the local police and fire services, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

"It's a cheap way of doing aerial surveillance, it's a cheap way of doing intelligence and evidence gathering. Put over an anti-social behaviour hotspot, it is quite a significant percentage cheaper than the force helicopter," said Superintendent John Myles, the joint-head of the task force.