Well said. It's just a shame you weren't talking about the government of
this country.
Informed free consent is a luxury not afforded to us. The really useful
information, such as why the AG changed his mind on the legality of the Iraq war,
or how the intelligence changed from "patchy" to "solid" in the blink of an
eye, will never be divulged. A majority of citizens do not understand the
implications of freedom, nor do they realise the implications of giving up hard-won
freedoms for a little temporary security. Two cheers for democracy!
Ian B
------------
In a message dated 05/04/05 09:56:19 GMT Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
> A government that is responsive and accountable to its citizens is a
> cornerstone of democracy. To be able to give our free consent to a
> government, we must be informed and have the ability to inform ourselves
> as to what the government is doing in our names and with our money.
> Therefore, a freedom of information act is needed so that we as citizens,
> not subjects, can exercise our informed consent. To the extent that we
> lack information and cannot find out information, we lose our ability to
> give our free consent. As we lose that ability, we lose our ability to
> function as citizens and become subjects.
>
> The government intended the act to make government, and its organisation
> including the NHS, to be open and accountable. The act intends to shift
> the balance between the individual and the state towards the individual by
> making the state more accountable to the people.
>
Ian Buckland
Managing Director
Keep IT Legal Ltd
Please Note: The information given above does not replace or negate the need
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